First Lines When Drawing A Portrait – Process

First Lines When Drawing A Portrait – Process

by | Mar 31, 2019 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 2 comments

I just recently added a brand new portrait drawing course in the member’s area over at Drawings Tutorials Online. This particular course focuses on drawing smaller portraits.

With every course, I like to review certain techniques via a screencast video. This particular video reviewed how I start a portrait drawing. Especially a smaller one, say about two inches tall.

I always start with the angles, combined with measure lines and negative space. Nothing new right?

No, it’s not new, I have been teaching these same techniques for many years. Unfortunately, I still see many artists who struggle with drawing a likeness. Don’t fall into the trap of just knowing the techniques because you have heard about them.

You have to constantly practice these portrait drawing techniques over and over again until you master them. It’s not enough to just know them in theory. You need to put them into practice.

Just replace the white lines in the video within photoshop with pencil lines on your drawing pad. Start off with light pressure at first.

Enjoy the video.

 

 

If you are interested in learning many more techniques similar to these consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online.

 

Drawing A Small Portrait

Drawing A Small Portrait

by | Mar 24, 2019 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog

Have you ever worked on a figure drawing where the head was really small? Did you ask yourself, how am I supposed to draw so small? The eye is the size of my pencil point.

I’ve been there too, many times. What I have learned over the years of painting smaller portraits on book covers is that shadow shapes are your best friend. 

You really do not want to start outlining little details like the bottom of the nose or say the eye lashes. You first want to block in shapes of shadow. Then you can gradually build up some softer tonal shifts to resolve the features. As you progress you can then start to use some crisper line.

Now I completely understand not every artist works with tone. If this is the case you’ll still want to draw shapes first, not features. If you work with line only you do not have to shade in these shapes.

The key takeaway from this short video, use light and shade to your advantage when drawing small. Also less is best. With a smaller portrait you have to know when to stop. Adding too much detail can take you down a road of heartache.

 

If you are interesting in learning more, you can check out the full course within the members area of Drawing Tutorials Online. Consider signing up to DTO. You will immediately gain access to all of our comprehensive course listing.

 

Anna’s Sketchbook – Animator’s Delight

Anna’s Sketchbook – Animator’s Delight

by | Mar 16, 2019 | Sketchbook Videos, The Blog | 1 comment

Anna is a student currently enrolled in my foundation drawing class at the School Of Visual Arts. I really enjoy having Anna in class. Her work ethic is pretty amazing. Not to mention she is super friendly.

Anna’s sketchbook is really special. She just absolutely loves everything animation and it really shows. Her characters have some really cool expressions. Movement and flow are a constant theme throughout her sketchbook.

I can really see Anna making great strides in her journey through SVA. She has such a passion for animation that will enable her to learn while having fun at the same time.

Loving what you do is such a key ingredient to becoming a successful artist.

 

 

Check out Anna’s Instagram. Thanks again Anna for sharing your art.

 

Drawing Facial Features In An Impressionistic Way

Drawing Facial Features In An Impressionistic Way

by | Feb 23, 2019 | Drawing Tutorials, The Blog | 5 comments

Drawing a small head on a figure it can be pretty daunting. However when it comes to drawing facial features that are mainly on the shadow side of the head, that can be even more daunting.

The key to drawing facial features that are mainly on the shadow side of the face is to draw them in an impressionistic way. I’m a big believer of drawing shadow shapes, not facial features. Think of them as one in the same. Getting a likeness is about seeing the shadow shapes within the features, then drawing them accurately.

You also want to think and draw in layers. Start off with blocking in light tone. Feel your way through the facial features with very soft light tone. This is where you want to practice your light touch. Diving into drawing the features with heavy dark tone at first will only create a mess.

Especially if you are struggling with measurements.

There are three key takeaways from this lesson. First, work from light to dark when applying tone. Second, don’t draw facial features, draw soft accurate shadow shapes. Third, think layers, build up the dark tone and detail gradually.

These initial soft layers of tone are a foundation for the detail that will come later.

 

 

To watch the course in it’s entirety consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. Not only will you learn many new drawing techniques, you can also get your figure drawings critiqued weekly.

 

Four Ways To Promote Form

Four Ways To Promote Form

by | Feb 19, 2019 | Video Critiques | 1 comment

In this video critique of the week we help out Hillary with her life drawing. To quote Hillary, I was going for a precise likeness by searching for shadow shapes, but once the drawing looked like her, I didn’t know how to develop the forms.

To be specific there are four ways to promote the three dimensional form of the head. 

First you have to use multiple pencil strokes directions. You can use a straight up and down pencil stroke to block in tone quickly. You can also use a diagonal stoke to do this as well. However what works best in promoting form is layering form lines on top of the already established tone. 

If you just block in tone in essence you are using flat graphic shapes. Adding into the mix curved form lines will create three dimension.

Second, you will definitely want to incorporate convex lines that wrap around the form of the head starting from the contour line. Without the use of convex line your contour line will add to flat graphic look of your drawing.

Third, look for value shifts. For every different value on the head and face there is a different surface plane. Light hits form and that form comes in the way of surface planes.

Fourth, use the modeling factors when possible. For those of you who have been with Drawing Tutorials Online for a while I’ve been teaching the modeling factors for years. It’s a way of shading that enables you to turn objects from the light into the shadow via a gradation.

Of course you have to pick and choose your battles when you are completing a life drawing that goes for roughly three hours. Three hours really is not that long of a time to use all of these techniques in a complete way. However even using them partially will most certainly promote form.

 

 

Thank you so much for reading this post. If you are interested in getting your artwork critiqued in a kind and informative way, consider a membership to Drawing Tutorials Online. 

We post up member critiques every Monday afternoon. Thanks Hillary for sharing your work.