Portrait Drawing

The best tricks I apply here to get the outline right without tracing it:

1 - Put it close to the reference image.

2 - Line up your paper with the reference image.

3 - Measure by drawing an imaginary straight line from the reference to your drawing.

4 - Double check proportions.

5 - Use a light pencil.

6 - Compare when putting the paper next to it, but also when it's above or below it.

You should start with the face, because then, if you mess it up and it's not salvageable anymore, you don't have to do everything all over again; just the outline and the parts of the face you did before.

I'm just saying that, because I've made that mistake in the past.

Yes, this young woman has such pretty eyes. Yeah... uhm... but not as pretty as the eyes of my wife. (She's standing right behind me, isn't she?)

Time to do the nose, the mouth, etc.

Another one of those models with a ton of hair. Hey, hey, I have an idea: Maybe all people should shave their heads and never grow long hair. Then it would be easier for artists. Huh? Huh? No? Okay. Fine. Not a good idea.

There. I said it. So much hair. Another video about drawing hair.

This just shows I'm human too. I made a mistake. What? Yeah, it's true. I admit. Don't dwell on it.

Another hair video. This is the third video about drawing hair. Where does it stop?

Have you ever experienced artist's block? Or writer's block? I know I have.

Here we will talk about the reasons for creating space in your artwork, the difference between positive and negative space, and much, much, much, much more!!! Actually, not that much more.... maybe one more thing, nothing else.

It already says it in the video, but just in case you missed it---however that's possible---here is the summary of how to create space, shown in the video, in bullet points:

Color, value, light and dark

Perspective

Focus: Detailed VS blurry

Placement on the surface

Overlapping

Size

Let's learn from the great masters of the past. They knew how to create space in their paintings.

Here, we will learn how you can use light, color, and negative space to create interesting drawings and paintings.

A brief demonstration about the use of negative space to outline a drawing, like the title says. Man, this must be the lamest description I've ever created. Maybe I can add something to it. Let's see... nope, I got nothing. Sorry, you'll have to put up with this one. The video should be enough.

The master painters in history sure knew how to use light and dark to create dramatic artworks. Let's study some of them so we may better understand what effect the values in a drawing or painting have on the emotion and dramatic atmosphere.

We want to make our art interesting, not boring. At least, that's what I assume everybody wants. Maybe there are some people out there that like boring art. Who knows...?

But anyway, I'm getting off topic here. One of the ways to make art more interesting, is to use the rule of odds. Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule, but it should be considered nonetheless.

As always, we start with the outline.

You can draw the outline by putting the paper next to or above the reference and compare distances between the facial features. Just to be sure, I put the paper over the reference afterwards, to see if I did it all correctly. Most of it was correct, but a few things were a little off. I am glad I did that so I knew before I started filling in all the shadows.

I've said before, but I'll say it again: Always start light. I'm using a light pencil for the shadows. You can go darker later, not in the beginning.

Since I'm right-handed, drawing the left eye first makes more sense. If you're left-handed, well... then starting on the right side would make more sense. Does that make sense?

Let's draw the ear...

What?

THE EAR! THE EAR!

Oh, sorry. I didn't hear what you said.

Let's draw the other eye. I think he's been waiting for that. I wouldn't want to be a one-eyed person.

The beard typifies this portrait, as well as the hat. Let's start with the beard.

There was so much to draw about the beard that I had to split it up into two videos. Well, I didn't have to, but I did.

The hat is simple. The hair is a little more complex, but not much. It should be no problem drawing these with a 3B or 4B pencil.

Let's add some shadows to the neck.

Although the most important parts are done (the face), the clothing can still add to the portrait. So, let's draw it.

Since I'm right-handed, this turned into another hair video, finishing the hair on the right side. I saved it for last, of course.

The point is to inspire, not to brag. But if you want to see it as bragging, then fine... as long as you also get inspired by these portraits.

This just proves again that Vincent, Vincent, and Vincent are three separate people, not the same person.

The woman's face can be a beautiful thing. Let us analyze and recreate these beautiful shapes and shadows in the form of portraiture. Let us access the inner depths of our brains and accurately emulate the perceptions we've perceived from studying a photograph of such a praiseworthy create.

Okay, enough with the poetry.
Let's get to the point and keep it short. This is a crash course in portrait drawing. You will get some theory, assignments, humor, and a live example of how to draw a portrait with grey pencils. That's it.

You want to learn how to draw a woman? Excellent. You're in the right place.

What is mark making? I have pondered this question all night. It's one of those questions we all seek answers to. Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going after this life? And what is mark making? Then it got revealed to me that.... (drumrolls, please...) I could search the term on Google. Ha! But that wasn't enough. I went above and beyond to create a 2-minute video to explain it a little better to you than just a one-sentence definition. Enjoy!

Sure, cross-hatching or stippling are interesting techniques that have been used before. But have you ever thought of hearts or butterflies? Too femmy? Okay, what about smiley faces? Or skulls? Or shotguns? The possibilities are endless!

Fancy word, but what does it mean? And no, this isn't as much about drawing as it is about painting, but I thought it would be interesting to touch on this topic briefly to point out a way of creating depth or an artistic style that's similar to mark making, or falls under that same category but in painting.

Hatching can work in any direction, but it works better if you understand the shape you're trying to shade, and if you use that knowledge to hatch and cross-hatch in the right direction, going along with the form of the object.

Whether you trace, measure, or draw from observation by estimation, always start with the outline.

It's great when the outline is finally done. The shadow areas are much more fulfilling and less stressful, in my opinion.

This young lady has dark eyes. For that, we will use a dark pencil.

The second eye is not much different from the first, except for that part of the outer corner is hiding a little behind the hair.

Shadows give the face that 3-dimensional effect. We are trying to create depth here.

This lady has a distinct nose. Let's make sure it's done correctly.

Drawing your ex is a challenging experience, one that not everyone should try.

This woman has beautiful lips. But at least her mouth is closed, so, that makes it easier.

The face is done, so, that's a relief. Let's draw the clothes. Now we can relax. A little mess-up on the clothes is less noticeable or important than in the face.

A hair video. What else can I say?

Another hair video. Again, enough said. Hair, hair, and more hair.

Is this another hair video? Yes, it is. What a surprise. Wow.

And yes, even the end video of this portrait is actually a hair video. Can you believe that?

She is so serious. But yes, beautiful portrait. I'm happy about the results. Ha! If I wasn't happy, I would have the nerve to make you go through this whole tutorial, only to say afterwards that I didn't care for it. That would be weird.

I went to art college, but looking back, I would say I learned a lot, but I think I could have done all that learning without actually going to a physical building with teachers, a curriculum, etc. Studying things online nowadays can give you the same knowledge, and video courses like these can give you a shortcut, because you get all the steps in the right order from an experienced artist/teacher.

In the next lessons, you will learn two things:

The first is how you can use different ways to distinguish the foreground from the background. I will show you through theory lessons how that's possible. (Yes, it is. You just have to believe it). Several "tricks" are used to make it clear to the person who sees your art that something is in front of another thing---or person... you know what I mean.

The second is just a big drawing section, split up into different videos, of a pretty girl, frontal view, on toned paper. Toned paper can be grey, which is what I used. It can also be brown, green, or a number of other colors. Grey is typical. Sometimes sepia or brownish. The benefit of doing this is that you can highlight certain areas with a white pencil to make them pop. I will let you know what some other reasons are as well in one of the lessons. Have fun!

Tangents are lines that shouldn't be there. Or objects that are placed in a relationship to another object that create the wrong impression, such as: Being the same object, connected, chopped off, incomplete, or awkwardly placed. Avoid tangents by choosing images with an interesting composition.

When you make a distinction between the foreground and background, it will move viewers' eyes in that direction too. The foreground serves a purpose and is usually the center of attention, but at times, the background can be too. Watch this video to see what options an artist has to guide a viewer to the right focal points by blurring, using light and dark, and color.

Making lines thin or thick can be useful when you want the foreground to appear closer to you than the background. This is specifically used in comic art or cartoons. What can happen in realistic art, though, is that you could use it to emphasize a shadow or shape.

Parallel lines are not that interesting. They're linear and boring. However, when you break patterns or parallels with something, that something draws attention. This is how you can make your drawings or paintings more interesting.

Some artists use proportional dividers. Let's see what that tool is good for. They're not expensive, so if you think it will be beneficial to you... by all means, I'm not stopping you from buying one. (Wouldn't that be something? "No! You can't buy one! Because I said so!" Yeah, right.)

Toned paper has some significant benefits over white paper. In this video, we'll break down which kinds of benefits. If you have been paying attention during this module, you'll also get this sticker.

The outline matters a lot. Many of the decisions you make during the process are based on the proportions you started with. Since I cannot check them by putting the paper on top of the reference and seeing through it, it's tricky to get them all correct. Always take your time with things like this.

We start with the eye on the left side, because I'm right-handed and I don't want to smudge the paper with my hand. Look at it carefully. The top is usually dark. There is always a light-reflection in the eyes. In this case, it's pretty evident.

The nose areas just needs very subtle shadows. It's not a line. It's not a hard shadow. The same is true for the cheeks and forehead.

In art college, sometimes I drew too much in one day. I got sick of it after a while, even though I enjoy it a lot.

The second eye was a little tricky because it had to line up with the other one very symmetrically, but looking at it from an angle, I felt like I kind of messed up. There is typically room for improvement if you keep the first lines light and don't go dark until later.

Fortunately, the lips were pretty simple in this case. When people open their mouths, that's when the problems begin. I guess that's true for when they start talking as well. So, kind of ironic in that sense.

The highlights on the face really add something. The contrast, the eyes in the lights... they just POP! Like a balloon. This is why grey paper is so interesting to draw on.

The hair consists of a lot of lines. But first, you want to identify the main areas. Squint your eyes, try to see where, approximately, it gets darker and where it gets lighter. That's the basis. Then use your three pencils to fill it all in. Make sure you go into the right direction.

More hair. What else can I say? We're pulling out the white highlighter, and we're trying to make things pop. POP!!!

We're adding a shirt, because the paper on which I'm drawing is larger than the reference image. Also, I'm exaggerating the contrast of the necklace to make it stand out. I saw someone else do it, and it actually creates a nice effect.

Then the other side of the hair... again,... lots of hair (why did I choose this photograph? Erg....)

Let's add some dark areas, some lines, some white, especially on the right side. Let's finish this drawing. Let's do it! Let's goooooo! Okay, forgive my enthusiasm. That was quite the task.