Shading the Face
4 Begin your leather burning project by testing your temperature settings and pen tip profiles on a scrap of leather left over from the cutting of your main project.
Every piece of leather burns differently. Doing a quick test burn on a scrap will help you determine what temperature setting will give you the most control over your tonal values.
5 For my leather a temperature setting of 3 created a mid-tone value, a setting of 5 created a dark tonal burn.
Using a flat shader and a mid-tone temperature setting begin your face by shading along the side of the nose, the eye pads, the eye lids, the mouth, and along the wrinkle lines in the cheeks.
Add shading along the outside background area surrounding the leaves.
6 Using the mid-tone temperature range and your flat shader, work a shadow line along each of the vein lines in your leaves. Allow the stem veins of the leaves to remain unburned – the white of the unburned leather.
Add some shading lines in the mustache and beard area. Shade along the bottom edge of the nose.
Increase your temperature setting slightly, about one half unit from the setting you used in step 5.
With your flat shader deepen the shadows at the corner of the eyes, along the stem of the eye brow leaf, and along the right side of the nose.
7 Change your burning tip to a looped writing tip or ball tip pen. Using the medium-hot temperature setting shade in the pupils of the eyes, the nostrils, and the mouth.
Work a particle burned line along the lower eyelid. Touch the pen tip at the eye lid corner and pull your stroke towards the center of the eye. Stop the stroke slightly short of center.
When the two corner strokes are done there should be a small gap of unburned line at the center point of the lower eyelid.
The basic shading steps are complete. You can return later and add more shading if necessary after you have worked your detailing lines.
8 Using your looped writing tip, ball-tip, or micro ball-tip pen create very fine lines in the leaves to create the crinkled look of autumn dried leaves.
Add fine line detailing to the wrinkles under the eyes and along the sides of the nose. The mustache hairs are added at this time.
