A portrait can be a beautiful memento of a friend or pet. Learning to paint portraits of people or animals is a skill that, if developed properly, can become a good extra income. Drawing a portrait is a challenge for even the most experienced and talented artists. John Singer Sargent, the famous Edwardian-age portraitist, was known for his quip "a portrait is an image of a person with a 'there is something wrong with the mouth'"! Be patient, and keep practicing every day!
Steps
Step 1. If you've never drawn a portrait, do as Van Gogh did:
draw yourself! Using a drawing paper base, or even Xerox paper attached to a sturdy plank, a count crayon or piece of charcoal (even a soft pencil will do) and a mirror, sit in front of the mirror and study your physiognomy. Arrange your work area so that there is light coming from one side. If you use your right hand, the light should come from the left, and slightly from above.
Step 2. Find a piece of paper that is larger than your head so that the drawing will be the same size as the portrait subject, in this case yourself
Keep your head still as you draw. Use your eyes, not your head, to look at the card. Don't move your head from side to side. There are several approaches that artists use. I would like to start with my favorite portrait painter, Richard Schmid: just look at one of your eyes. Study it carefully. You will be able to draw the eye first and then everything around it, comparing the proportions and measuring carefully.
Step 3. Look at the upper lid in relation to the lower one
Is there a prominent crease above the eyeball? Are the brows thick or thin, arched or straight or slanted? Draw an oval very lightly on the paper that is approximately the proportion and shape of your left eye.
Step 4. Don't worry about the rest of the head, hair or neck for now, but leave room on the paper to draw later
It is easier to draw a face for the first time if you look straight into the mirror. Most of the faces are quite symmetrical, but not perfectly. Note the distance from the right eye to the left eye. Using the eye width as the basic unit of measurement, evaluate the width of the space between the eyes and accurately draw the outline, eyelid and iris of the left eye, then mark the space between the eyes; then draw the outline and some detail of the right eye. Draw the direction and width of the eyebrows.
Step 5. Draw a very light straight line from the center of that gap between the eyes and down to the bottom of the chin, then up to the hairline
This will help keep the design symmetrical.
Step 6. Measure the unit of eye width and compare that distance to the distance from the inner corner of one eye to the bottom of the nose
Make a short, light line at the bottom of the nose. Compare the width of the eye to the width of the nose. Mark both sides of the line, indicating the width of the nose. Then compare the distance between the bottom of the nose and the lips. Keep checking the proportions! Keeping these proportions straight will help create a good portrait.
Step 7. Evaluate the width of the cheekbones and make a slight mark to indicate them, then move sideways towards the ears
The ear is a very complex thing to draw, and completely unique to each person. The top of the ear is usually placed around the level of the eyebrows, but again, look carefully before drawing. Each person's face is unique!
Step 8. Indicate the features of the chin and jaw
Step 9. Indicate the height and width of the hair, and carefully draw the outline, paying attention to the brightness of the hair
Don't worry about the details! When you look at someone's hair, you notice the color and shape, not the individual hairs. It should be the same in your drawing.
Step 10. When you have drawn the aspect ratio, look at the light and dark areas in your subject
Shadow some of the darker areas to get a sense of dimension. Focus on the darker areas first - usually the iris. Leave white for the curve of the iris. Note that the eyeball is curved and that one side of the eyeball is slightly shaded. Look carefully at the proportion and location of the important points.
Step 11. Note the shape and proportions of the upper and lower eyelids of the eyes
Don't worry about the lashes - they can be gently indicated by a dark line afterwards.
Step 12. Indicate the shape of the skull and the curves of the skin covering it by gradually shading the sides of the face and jaw, the eye sockets, the part of the skull above the eyes, then locate some of the lighter areas in the mass of hair
Step 13. Gently shade the dark side of the nose and try to capture the unique shape of it, especially the tip
This is another characteristic point of the face.
Step 14. Notice the little hook between the two halves of the upper lip and shadow that side and the darker side of the upper lip, which goes towards the corner of the mouth
Step 15. Note the areas of light and shadow on the mouth and shade them slowly; hence, the area under the lower lip
The lower lip casts a shadow, but don't draw too much. Finally, he points to the dark side of the jaw, points to the neck with some shading to make it realistic, and blurs some line in the hair with the corner of the gum. Are you done! But don't stop yet! Keep practicing! You will only get better!
Step 16. Don't draw from photos
Keep taking self-portraits until you can easily, then ask a friend to pose for you for an hour or so. He can watch tv, which you can put behind you. Or have him read a book. However, their eyes will look downwards and not towards you. Drawing real scenes is always better than drawing from photographs, especially in the beginning. Photography does not show all the details or subtle variations of image that are essential for a good portrait.
Advice
- It is very important to look at a face not as a set of distinct parts, but as a whole. If you draw the shape and proportions of the skull well, you are already three quarters of the way through!
- Practice, practice, practice!
