Drawing Portraits

Learn the general layout of the face and how to start a portrait, focusing on positioning and measuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, plus a self-portrait.

The lecture describes the portrait teaching approach, focusing on the face layout and underlying structure, using markers and the grid method to improve likeness.

Understand the essential facial proportions for portrait drawing: eyes halfway from head to chin, width about three quarters of length, and alignment cues for eyebrows, nose, and lips.

Master portrait proportions by sketching a light egg-shaped head, marking an eye line halfway between crown and chin, and using five eye lengths to set the face width.

Capture a simple front-facing selfie framed from head to shoulders with ears visible and hair tucked. Look above the phone to keep eyes open and smile gently without showing teeth.

Practice drawing a simple layout of your own face using proportional guidelines, from the long axis and eye width to brow, nose, and lips placement, focusing on layout over likeness.

Start a portrait by laying out an accurate framework before drawing. Download the free guide to compare the subject with the general guideline, noting a wider nose.

Master sketching eyes, noses, and mouths with shading to achieve a realistic likeness, building on earlier face layout lessons.

Create a page of eye and nose sketches from photographs, exploring at least two variations, while downloading resource sheets to draw along with paper or sketchbook and three pencils.

Learn to draw portraits by seeing rather than assuming, using straight-line sketching to capture correct angles and avoid generic shapes while building realistic features piece by piece.

Master sketching and shading eyes using light lines, layered tones, and defined irises, eyelids, and lashes, while leveraging highlights and negative space.

Draw the second pair of eyes using the same steps: sketch straight lines, identify lines, build shading, and finish with a 6b pencil, guided by the resource sheet.

Learn to sketch high-contrast eyes by focusing on shape, highlights, and shadows, while detailing eyelashes and triangular forms before refining with a sharp pencil.

Sketch and shade a nose by mapping its bottom and nostrils with straight lines, then build shading with light to dark layers and highlights along the bridge.

Draw a snub nose with shallower angles and lighter shading for a subtle portrait look. Begin at the bottom of the nostro with straight lines and keep shading light.

Learn to draw the third nose with high contrast by identifying where darker tones begin beneath a large highlight, shaping planes, and using a razor to remove overly dark areas.

Learn to sketch and shade mouths by drawing the lip line with straight lines, building light layers of shading, defining the top and bottom lip, highlights, and likeness.

Create a rosebud-shaped, pouty lip by building texture and surface detail, using guidelines and center-line alignment to position and scale the second mouth sketches.

Study how to render the third mouth in a high-contrast portrait by starting with straight lines from the middle and shaping shadows and highlights with shading over linework.

Develop portrait sketching skills by building eyes, noses, and mouths from straight lines, layering shading slowly, and using photographs to ensure accurate likeness.

Part three of a portrait drawing series, this lesson guides six stages, including sketching layout, head shape, eyes, nose and mouth, shading, hair detail, and balancing tones.

Complete a portrait drawing from a photograph, focusing on proportion, shading, and tone to capture a likeness. Use provided resources and a black-and-white copy to study grayscale.

Choose a photo that shows the whole head and all features for accurate drawing. Avoid poorly lit or heavily edited images that hide eye details and flatten skin tones.

Analyze portrait by establishing a vertical axis between the eyes and chin to set size. Map the eyes, nose, and lips with proportional rules using horizontal axis and negative spaces.

Begin by lightly laying out the portrait's basic structure with pencil, mapping vertical and horizontal axes to place the eyes, nose, mouth, and chin with correct proportions.

Draw the portrait with straight lines, starting at the chin, using near-horizontal angles and negative shapes while continuously re-evaluating to align eyes, lips, and ears.

Begin with the eyes, then map the nose and mouth using horizontal and vertical guides, refine proportions, shading, and eye details like the iris and eyebrow placement to achieve likeness.

Master shading the eyes to capture likeness with depth, focusing on the iris, pupil, eyelids, and lash line, while using negative spaces, highlights, and careful line quality.

Practice nose shading by refining shadows and proportions to create form, use soft edges and gradual blending with a 2b pencil to integrate the nostrils and skin tones.

Master lips shading by building the top and bottom lip forms with careful tonal shifts, highlights, and blending, avoiding outlines to preserve natural lip form.

Use two tricks to correct portraits: photograph your drawing for an objective view and compare with the reference, then turn the image upside down to assess shapes and negative spaces.

Build up light layers to shade skin tones with smooth gradation from highlights to shadows, and use a blending stump instead of a fingertip to blend.

Focus on ear placement by aligning the bottom with the chin line and the top with the nose area, then study angles and shading to capture the ear's shape.

Master portrait shading by layering with a 2b pencil and blending stump, building dark to light tones, preserving highlights, and refining eyes, nose, and surrounding skin to match the photo.

Learn to depict hair by outlining tones and shapes rather than individual strands, follow hair direction, capture clumps, highlights, and shadows to create realistic volume.

Identify the eyebrow shape by noting dark and light areas, and hair direction cues, then shade to match tone. Do not blend to keep texture.

Develop a portrait technique that balances tonal values from light to dark, using 2B and 6B pencils to render skin tones, shadows under the chin, and eyes with precise blending.

Practice drawing portraits as lines, shapes, and tones to override preconceived ideas about faces. Analyze your drawing against the photo, flip the image to see details, and keep practicing.

Join sketch club tutorials to practice drawing in real time, covering proportion, shading, contour, mark making, perspective, and texture, with options for single purchase or membership.