How to paint African skin with GW paints?

[ErikB]

Anyone have a good technique for painting "black" African skin (I have to specify since my wife is a a North African Berber and that's a different paint pallet)?

I've heard of using a mix of scorched brown and dark flesh to redden up the dark brown) but heck if I know.  Doesn't match any of my friends at all well.

Any ideas?

[Trooper]

Erik, just a suggestion, and it seems to work for me. Your initial idea of Scorched Brown, but with black instead of dark flesh. Use that as a base coat. Then highlights using the brown with some white added. When dry, give it a wash of brown ink, if you can still get it, or dervlan mud. Try that. To get a North African skin tone, add a bit more black to the brown.

[East Riding Militia]

Have a look at this site
http://www.jenova.dk/
the tips section gives some good skin tone mixes.

[dijit]

I use a black base coat, then scorched brown, then mix in bestial brown, snakebite leaher or bronzed flesh, a little dependent on what tone I'm wanting.

[ErikB]

Great ideas, thanks folks!

Oh, regarding North African - they look a lot like Penelope Cruz so I'm thinking of Dark Flesh, Dwarf Flesh, and then an Ogryn flesh wash.  It's a little too red so maybe Ogryn mixed with Delvan and diluted might do the trick, though when I dilute with water I get spots, but that's another problem.

[former user]

I use a darkish brown base (any You like) because then I give an armour wash and touch it up with the same colour (drybrush or layer), eventually a second lighter touch-up where the base colour is mixed with bronzed flesh. If a palm or footsole is visible, it should be touched up with the light highlight too

[Dags]

Try blue ink added to the base tone for a wash

[v_lazy_dragon]

I usually use dark flesh base coat, with flesh wash then dark flesh dry brushed back over the top. (Its a quick paint method, so not terribly detailed... but looks ok enmasse.) You can also mix in Bestial brown and scroched brown base/top coats to give a bit of variation across a group (Not something I do much these days if i'm honest).

Here's an example of the effect, on a group of African rebels I'm working on at the moment

[elysium64]

Has anyone used the new Foundry flesh paints?
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/paint/fleshpotsset.asp
Look quite useful

[leadfool]

Why limit yourself to GW paints?  I recently did a bunch of figs for the ACW2 period.  I used a inexpensive acrylic paint color called Espresso over a black primer and then a dry brush of the same color with a little khaki mixed in. I think it look good.

[ErikB]

Espresso, sounds like a good idea (minus the shaky hands  )

I'm using GW because I have a lot of them already, I'm used to them, and I like some of their thinner paints for layering (like the reds). 

I'm slowly migrating to vallejo for many other purposes.