Retracing the lines of the flesh

Make a dry mixture of burnt Siena with a touch of black and red and precise again the lines of the face: eyebrows, eyes, nose lobe, nostrils and the ear lobe.

If other lines should be redrawn, use a clearer colour (red ochre). This choice of colour is done in order to avoid a systematic drawing and to put the accent on the central or essential parts of the face.

The last highlights

Although it can be done by floating, the last highlights can also be done by direct painting. Prepare a mixture of titanium white, a point of yellow ochre with also a small touch of red and make small tests on the nose or the ear lobe. When the tint is good (it must be of a clearer tone but without contrasting too much with the last highlight), apply the layer delicately, by small touches, with a rather dry brush, on the places to be highlighted. Let it dry completely and stump slightly with some emulsion and water (very dry brush).

The last features on the beard and the hair

With a mixture of burnt umber with a point of black, draw precisely (hair by hair) with a very fine brush the waves of the beard and the moustache.

With the same colour, retrace the external circumference of the hair, the separation of the great masses of hair and the hair/face delimitation.

The final highlights

After a close study of the original, prepare an off-white colour (titanium white and a small point of yellow ochre) and trace the lights of the face making fine and precise white strokes. Do not stump.

Next step:

The halo, the calligraphy and the codex

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