Updated March 23, 2021.
Shading faces is one of the most challenging things to do in needlepoint. To shade a face you will use the basic technique of needleblending, but because there are so many more close colors, organization and analysis make this process easier. Today we’ll talk about those two things. Tomorrow we’ll cover basic needblending and blending with three shades.
Organization
Although you might think that the colors you use for a face are distinct when in skeins, cut some lengths and separate them into groups of two strands. Mix them up — can you tell the colors apart?
Because this is difficult to do, you will make the process much easier if you organize your threads first. You will have odd strands and lots of leftovers, so begin by picking a storage method that will let you store these scraps.
My choice is zipper-top bags. I use Flossaway, but any small zipper bag will work. Put one color in each bag and label it with a permanent marker.
Whenever you use more than one color of thread to make a blend, separate your strands of one color and then put the leftovers back into the bag. IMMEDIATELY. Then separate the other color and return leftovers to the correct bag.
By bagging immediately after separating, you never have more than one color out during separation and always have leftover strands in the correct bag. It sounds simple, but this will make your life easier.
Analysis
Besides organizing, analyzing your canvas before you stitch will make the most significant difference in the process. Although you don’t need to analyze in so much detail that you know where every stitch will go, you need to understand your canvas so you have a plan for your stitching.
Begin by lining up your threads. Turn the bags over, so the clear side is up. Group them into flesh, blush, and hair threads. Grouping makes colors easier to select.
With the threads lined up and the canvas in front of you, look at it. Start with the darkest colors, usually the hair. Note how much of the hair matches on of your thread colors and how much will need to be a blend. Is the hair in locks so there are dark and light areas? Are there highlights or lowlights? Is the main color in the hair one that matches one of the threads or not? Are the eyebrows and eyelashes the same color or a different one? In doing this, you are starting mentally to plan to stitch the canvas.
After you have completed this process for the hair, repeat it for the blush colors. Usually, these pink tones are on the cheeks. Ask yourself if both cheeks are the same color (one might be in shadow). Are there other areas that are pink or slightly pink? Which of these pinks match your threads? Which will need to be blends?
There is a tendency in needlepoint not to shade around cheeks. Even with very subtle colors, this results in “clown cheeks.” Often the area that will be a solid blush thread will be very small or absent. Don’t be surprised if this is the case.
Repeat this same process with the lips. Sometimes lips are the same color as cheeks, sometimes not, but you are likely to find these colors with your blush colors.
Repeat the process for the eyes. The highlights in the eyes are likely to be the whitest color in your threads. If the eyes are brown, those colors may be with your hair or shadow colors.
Now that you’re warmed up, it’s time to go to the more challenging part, the rest of the skin.
Your face probably has some parts in shadow. There are also areas, such as nostrils, that are naturally very dark. Begin by looking at the darkest areas and determining if these will be solid or blended threads.
Shadows can be very complex. Often they bring in tones, such as greens, you may not have expected. You need to look at the shadowed part of your canvas but you may end up deciding the whole thing will be done in blended threads so that flesh colors are combined with shadow colors. That’s fine, the shadow colors will darken and mute the flesh colors, but the stitching will still retain realistic warmth.
Working from dark to light take each of your flesh threads and see where it can be used as a solid thread. This may be only a few stitches. Understanding what is solid and what is shaded is the first step to successful shading.
It’s okay if at this point, it looks as if most of the piece will need to be shaded, that is as it should be. You’re almost done with the process, at this point look at the remaining areas and see if you can decide if they will be blends of two or more than two colors. If it’s hard to do this, look at the areas that will use blended shades and see if you think they are one color, a gradation of color, or more than one color. This part of the process is to get you looking closely at the canvas; you will be on much closer terms soon.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
Marsha Surad says
Janet, I am printing out and saving your notes on doing faces. I want to do a Petei canvas of a doctor that I want to do as a stand up for my cardiologist. And I have a woman’s face in the.version of The Kiss by Klimt that I am doing.for my goddaughter’s wedding present. So this is wonderful timing.for me.
THANKS for all you do to teach.us.
Hugs,
Marsha
Janet M Perry says
Thanks for the compliment. These techniques work great for realistic faces, such as the Klimt. However a Petei face is far too small and the figures are too simply painted for these techniques to work. They only work for realistic faces.
Keep Stitching,
Janet