Watercolor Web

Burnt umber is the base for darker skin tones. To that mixture I add cadmium red light and/or cadmium orange along with a some raw sienna. In the shadows, I often add ultramarine blue, perylene maroon, or ultramarine violet in the shadows.

Here is an example of a quick sketch that uses burnt umber, cadmium red light, raw sienna, and ultramarine blue. There may also be some perylene maroon in the shadows.

African American Skin Tone

Here is another example that uses:

• Winsor & Newton Burnt Umber
• Winsor & Newton Raw Sienna
• M. Graham Cadmium Red Light
• M. Graham Cadmium Orange
• Winsor & Newton Ultramarine Blue

Another Example of Dark Skin Tones

In this example, there is more raw sienna than usual because the light was warm.

A further discussion of skin tones is available.