How to Paint Figures with Acrylics Book Review

After a period of figure painting inactivity I have put my toe back in and found that I have forgotten more than I remember. So between the videos on YouTube by Dave Youngquist of lastcavalry.com ( in an effort of full disclosure, Dave is my boss) and my limited memory I felt I needed some additional help. Trying not to date myself too much but I relied primarily on oils when I painted my figures. By today's standard that makes me a little bit of a dinosaur. Almost all the really good painters are using acrylics. I have used acrylics, not that well, for clothing and accessories, but never faces. So I decided that I needed to learn more about painting with acrylics.

In looking around for some sort of guide I pulled Andrea Press' “How to Paint Figures with Acrylics” by Julio Cabos from our inventory. This is a 43 page all color book. It starts with the introduction to acrylics, through a little color theory then priming. Next we get into the meat of figure painting with a great description of painting the face with a four page, well illustrated, step by step. Then we are shown how to paint fabric, metal, wood, and leather. An informative piece is included on how to paint non-metallic metallics (NMM). There is also a short bit on weathering, airbrushing, and creating effects with blemishes and reflected light.

Overall this book is a great introduction to acrylic painting. However I found the part of the book on face painting to be the most helpful. Between the written description and the pictures I have a very good idea of how to proceed. Wish me luck!