When I paint, I work in layers. The background color goes down first. I find this easier than putting the subject in first and then having to paint the background around it. Less annoying white spaces and having to redo things that way. Usually before this I make a sketch with a rough idea of what colors I want to use.. other times I just wing it.
Next I start to fill in the shapes. The color I'm using here is a little bit lighter and more red/orange than what I actually want. I want this figure to look a little bit three dimensional, so I use a shade closer to the background color so that some parts will blend with it a little more, and look farther away.
Using both red and purple to shade and add highlights. In the center of the figure's chest I'm using cooler colors, since it's further away from the orange background. Using red more on the arm, ribs etc. Unfortunately this picture doesn't accurately show the colors... wish I could show it to you in person.
The necklaces were not originally part of the plan, but I added them because the figure's skin was very dark and not interesting to look at compared to the feathers on top. However I still want the mask to be the focal point, so I had to make sure not to make any of the jewelry too bright. The yellow was originally much brighter, I had to cool it down and darken it a bit because it was taking attention away from the mask too much.
And now you knooooowww
