Project Steps

Thank you for downloading this class! :) I hope you will be able to pick up a few
new tricks. This is a good companion to read while making a pencil portrait. If you
have any questions, please feel free to reach me at [email protected]

Thank you again and happy arting! :)

Materials and Techniques

First gather your materials! It’s important to have good materials from the
start. I’ve come to realize the better materials you have, the quicker you will
learn! If you have good tools, you will be able to spend more time actually
learning the
concepts. So you
won’t be wasting
time trying to get
mediocre materials
to do what you
want them to do.
Here are the
materials I like to
use. I would
recommend also
experimenting
though to find out
what will work
best for you!

Paper: Heavy
weight bristol
paper. I'd
recommend: 100lb
Canson vellum
bristol, 9”x12” or
11”x14”
Pencils: Mechanical pencils
I'd recommend: 0.3mm Draft
Line and 0.5mm graphite 925
Staedtler

Lead: Pentel lead refills

0.3mm 3H lead and 0.5mm
4B lead (If you can't find the
exact leads, just be sure to
buy at least one hard lead
(2H-4H) and at least one soft
lead (2B-6B))

Blenders: Tissues, toilet

paper, q-tips, and tortillions
or blending stumps
 Erasers: Pink
Pearl eraser (or
any regular
eraser), kneaded
eraser, and Faber-
Castell eraser
pencil

Miscellaneous: Hard board to draw on (I use a piece of cut masonite board),

scrap paper to put under your drawing hand, and a ruler







---

Practice your pencil strokes

Angle your pencil downward to make a smoother, broader line. It's difficult to
make a nice, clean tone with the sharp tip of your pencil. If you want
something to look soft and smooth, you have to be thinking soft and smooth
from the start. The blending tools won’t take care of everything. Go back and
forth quickly and neatly with your pencil, keeping each new line you make as
close to the one before it as possible (without too many paper gaps showing
through.) Keep practicing and this will become easier.

Practice the smooth pencil technique

Draw some clean strokes with your 3H lead and gradually make them darker
by applying more pressure and by adding more layers to the darker part.
If you like to blend, it is good to use tissues and blenders instead of your
finger because sometimes if you just use your finger, the oils from your hands
can make dark spots on the portrait! No good. This will work great for
smooth skin. Make sure to blend light to dark.
Practice the textured pencil
technique
Take your pencil and kneaded
eraser and poke holes into the
eraser. Now dab the eraser on
your drawing. This will create a
texture effect that works well
for rough skin, certain fabrics,
smoke etc.

Here I used the texture

technique for the skin.
References

Pick an image with good lighting

For the lessons I’m teaching here to get
a life-like portrait, it’s best to have a
reference with good light and shade
rather than a “flat” image with no
contrast. With an image having both
light and shade you will be able to get a
realistic, 3-D look. Plus, it will make
interesting to look at!

Here are some examples of good

references:
(Credit: CathleenTarawhiti Stock)
(Credit: CorneredRing-Stock)
Squint your eyes to see the light and shade !

Look at the mouth

Big smiles look awesome in photographs! They are not always the best for
drawing a portrait though. Teeth are difficult to draw and I’ve also heard it
said that big smiles in portraits can start to look strange after a while, because
no one in real life could hold a smile that long. If you would like to challenge
yourself by drawing teeth, go ahead. It’s been done well before and it can be
done well again.

A slight smile will do just fine. A soft smile or lips slightly parted are good
for portrait drawings.

Find photos online or take some yourself

There are some great free stock websites as
well as paid ones. Browse around the
internet to see what you can find. You can
also take your own photos. Experiment
with different light set ups and try taking
some of your family, friends, and of
yourself. See what you can come up with!
The higher the quality, the better. Don’t
torture yourself by working from a blurry
photo.
Print out your reference
I like to work from a computer monitor sometimes, but I also like to have a
print out of the reference. Also, it is best to work from a print that is the same
size as your drawing. This will come in handy if you need help with
proportions and need to measure.

(Work in
progress,
with print
reference)
Proportions

Learn general head proportions

In a straight on view:

-The eyes are located at the center of the head. Take the length from the top
of the skull to the bottom of the chin and divide it in half- this will place the
eyes.

-The face can be broken down into three relatively equal parts- From the
hairline to the brows, brows to the bottom of the nose, and from the bottom of
the nose to the chin. This idea will really help you if your portrait is not
looking human. (If you are drawing someone with bangs, try to imagine
where the hairline would fall by looking at the other measurements.)

-The bottom of the nose to the chin can be broken down into smaller thirds.

-The bottom of the nose to the crease of the lips is 1/3rd. The crease of the
lips to the bottom of the chin is the remaining 2/3rds.

-The space between the eyes is about the width of an eye.

-The ears are placed on the same line as the brow line and the bottom of the
nose.
As the head tilts this way or that, the perspective will change. However,
these measurements are very helpful to know and commit to memory.

Use measuring tricks for accuracy

If you are struggling with an angle- With the reference and drawing standing
upright next to each other, angle your pencil on top of the troublesome angle
on your reference. Then with a locked arm, drag your arm to your drawing.
The angle of your pencil will show you how much you need to change the
angle in your drawing.
On your reference, lightly draw a vertical line straight down from any point
to see what other points may line up with it. For example- dropping a line
from the pupil straight down will often line up near the corner of the mouth.
When you start drawing, if something is looking off grab a ruler and feel free
to measure! (This is when it is especially helpful to have a reference printed
out that is the same size as your drawing.)
Sketching

Start sketching
Sometimes I find it helpful to do my sketches on scrap paper first, then trace
the final sketch to good paper once it is a solid drawing. Doing your sketch
on inexpensive paper may make you feel more free to make mistakes and
erase.
When you erase too much on good paper, it ruins the tooth of the paper after
a while. (Making blending more difficult.) So this is a good idea if you will
be erasing a lot.
If you would like to trace your gesture to your good paper, you can do this by
taping your two papers to a bright window. This will work like a lightbox.
If you would like to start right on the good paper because you feel confident
enough, just draw with a lighter touch so you can easily erase things if
needed.

Capture the action

Draw the head, neck, and hair to get the essence of the pose. Gesture
drawing should capture the “attitude” of the head. Be sure to get the tilt of the
head- Note if it is going up or down, tilted to the left or to the right, etc. Also,
do you have a profile, 3/4 view, straight on view, or a pose somewhere in
between? Recognize these things and draw it so. Keep things simple and big
right now. A big way to think about the head is to think of it like a ball with a

jaw. Once you have that very basic concept, you can start looking at specific
angles and the contour (the outline) of the head.
(As a note: If you are unfamiliar with any art terms used in this class, I would
suggest putting the word in a search engine to learn more about it.)
Place the features generally
Once you have the head down, draw lines to place the eyes, bottom of the
nose, and mouth line.
Sometimes I like to make the bottom of the nose a simple upside-down
triangle and the mouth a smudge of tone or a line at the crease of the lips, to
indicate where the lips will be. This makes it start to look like a face already.
You can also bring a line down the center of the face, to help show the
direction the face is pointing.
If you need help knowing where these things should be placed, refer back to
the Proportions unit for general guidance.
Sometimes my gestures will start out looking like this:

Work until you like how the sketch looks

Work on the sketch until you are satisfied with it. If you don’t like how the
proportions look now, no amount of shading and details will change that. So
make sure you like your sketch enough before moving onward.
Planes and Light & Shade

Learn the big planes on the face:

See the planes on the side of the face

Try looking at different photographs to see this as well as the examples
below. You can find
the planes by
drawing 3 lines
from the cheekbone
(zygomatic) to:

-the side of the

masseter muscle

-the corner of the

chin

-the canine tooth

(where it would be
if you could see
through the lips)

Images from Drawing the Head and Hands, by Andrew Loomis

 See the planes on the forehead
The forehead has a front plane and
two smaller side planes. If possible,
try to see these on your reference.

See the planes of the eye sockets

The eyes are protected by the brow
ridge and they are on a plane that
faces downward. Therefore, this
plane where the eye sockets are, is
often in shadow.

Each artist has a slightly different

spin on how they portray these
planes, but they are all similar.
Likewise for every face- no two
faces are the same so the planes
will not be identical, but they will
be generally alike.

Knowing these big planes will help you get started shading so you can
capture the big light effect of your drawing. We will go into some of the
smaller planes later.

Learn light and shade

Here you can see an example of how light and shade looks on a ball. This is a
ball being hit by direct light. Direct light can be a light source such as the
bright sun, a spot light, etc. With direct light, it's easy to see the division of
light and shade.

There is also a lighting condition called overcast light. This is the light you
would see on a cloudy day. It is a soft, diffused light. In this lighting
condition, you can not easily see light and shade. So it is sometimes more
difficult. Softer light makes for a good portrait too, it just may be more
challenging.

This is why I recommend you work from a photo reference that has good
light and shade. It will make it easier to see what's going on and therefore
easier to draw.

To make your drawing look realistic, it will really help to understand light
and shade on a ball. These principles can be used in your portrait work as
well. For example, you can think about the shading of the ball when you are
shading the ball at the tip of the nose!
Light=
-Highlight
-Halftone

Shadow=
-Form shadow
-Form shadow core
-Reflected light
-Cast shadow

Nothing in shadow should ever be as light in value as anything in the light.

For pencil drawings:

Highlights will be the white of your paper.

Halftones can be made with a few layers of 3H pencil.

Form shadows should be rendered softly. As you work away from the
halftone value in the light, gradually get darker and darker. The gradualness
of this will insure your form shadows will be soft. You can use 3H and 4B.
I use a dark lead like 4B when I draw cast shadows.

Cast shadow edges should also be crisper than the form shadow edges.

Start shading your drawing with values

Try to keep the big planes in your mind while you begin to shade your
drawing. Try to see the light effect that is occurring.
Using the pencil technique you learned earlier for neat strokes, begin to put
down layers of value. In the darker areas, layer more and apply a bit more
pressure to your pencil.

In the beginning keep it as simple and basic as possible. While looking at

your reference, squint your eyes and you will be able to simplify the values.
Once you have the most basic light and shade, you can build upon that,
breaking down light and shade even more.
The Eyes

Learn the parts of the eye

Study the eye and learn its parts so you can better understand how it all
works. Check out some anatomy books to get more in depth.
Sketch the eyes and brows

Don’t start drawing the eye with a football shape. The eyes have angles- try
to see them first and then smooth it out. You will get a more accurate shape
this way.

To correctly place the iris (the colored part of the eye), try looking at the
negative space shapes the sclera (the "white" of the eye) makes around the
iris. Then make sure the upper lids cover the top of the irises. Unless you
intend for your portrait to have a surprised look. If you show the sclera above
the iris, the person will look shocked.

A lot of expression comes from the brows. If you find your drawing looks
sinister, sad, or worried and you did not intend for them to look like this-
tweak the brows until you get the proper expression.
Draw the eye using light and shade

Start drawing the eye using values. The eyes are protected by the brow ridge
and they are on a plane that faces downward and therefore are somewhat in
shadow. So feel free to put a light tone on the whole eye socket.

Now add the tone of the triangular shaped shadow depression between the
nose and the inside corner of the eye. Work that tone right into the brow.

Then begin to shade the orbicular form shadow, making it round. (Sometimes
this shading will be subtle. Other times it will be more dramatic, like in my
demo here.) Allow your tone to get darker at the upper eye lid crease.

Draw the top lash line and place a value down for the iris. Then add the
shadow of the lower lid and define the pupil, lashes, and eyebrow. Keep the
white paper for the highlights in the eye or use your eraser to erase them out.
Also, use your kneaded eraser to show the light in the iris.

The sclera or "whites of the eyes" will not be white! They will have a tone,
and will be shaded under the top lid where the uppler lid casts a shadow on
the eye ball.

Tips for drawing eyelashes:

Use quick, confident strokes.
The Nose

Study the anatomy of the nose

Learn the parts so you can better understand the nose.

(Image from Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist, by Stephen Rogers Peck)

Think of the wedge form

Think of the nose in a big abstract way as a wedge

with four surfaces- the upper surface, two side
planes, and the base. These planes will help you
simplify light and shade on the nose.
Image from The Human Figure, by John H. Vanderpoel
Draw the nose using light and shade

The whole nose will have a tone, so put a light tone using 3H pencil over the
whole thing.

The light and shade on the planes of the nose will depend on the reference
you are using. Try to find the wedge of the nose and leave light on the side
planes or lightly shade the side planes of the nose, according to your
reference.

The alar cartilage and the nose wings will have soft form shadows. Try
thinking about light and shade on a simple ball to draw the “ball” of the alar
cartilage.

Unless the head is lit from below, the bottom plane of the nose will be in
shadow. There will also usually be a cast shadow right below the nose or
there might be one being cast onto the cheek, depending on the light
situation. Draw the cast shadow to start developing a life-like nose. Be
accurate about your shadow shapes, as your accuracy will attribute you the
likeness.

Add darker accents where the nostrils are and a highlight with your kneaded
eraser for the highlight which is usually on the tip of the nose. (The nose
highlight is sometimes shaped like an exclamation point- from the nose
bridge to the tip of the alar.)
The Mouth

Know the forms

-The top lip has three forms. The middle

one often looks like a heart.

-The bottom lip has two forms, which are

teardrop shaped.

-At the corners of the mouth, you will find

the nodes. They have a convex fullness to
them and are a bean or comma-like shape.

-You can sometimes see a “W” shape under the lips. Be sure to keep the
forms here and around the mouth convex.
See the tooth cylinder and planes

Take note of the tooth cylinder, located between the nose and chin. It looks
almost like a tuna can. The lips lie on the rounded plane of the tooth cylinder.
If you don’t take notice to the tooth cylinder, the lips will look flat.

(Image from Drawing the Head and Hands, by Andrew Loomis)

Another way to see the mouth is to try to see the planes. There is the forward
facing plane and two side planes that will angle away, showing a simplified
planes version of the tooth cylinder.

To see the planes simply, you can lightly draw this on your reference: Draw
two lines, each starting at the septum of the nose, then through the sides of
the philtrum, through the points of the tubercle (cupid’s bow), through the
fullnesses of the bottom lip, and then to the corners of the chin. This will
show you the front plane of the mouth.
If the face is lit from the front in a straight on view, the light on the side
planes of the tooth cylinder will slowly diminish as they angle away from the
light.
The whole front plane can
almost look like a triangle.

(Image from The Human Figure, by

John H. Vanderpoel)
 Place the lips

1) Put down two dots to represent

where the corners of the mouth will
be. (Measure the distance between
the dots for accuracy.)

2) Connect the two dots with a line

which is the crease between the
lips.

3) Add a tone on the whole thing.

4)Then, find and place the “cupid’s

bow” and the shadow under the
bottom lip.
This will help you easily place the
lips.

Draw the lips with light and shade

Don’t outline the lips and color them in. This will look very flat.
Instead, put a value on both the top and bottom lip with your pencil. Then
notice that the top lip is (most often) darker than the bottom lip, because the
plane of the bottom lip will usually be catching light. Then there is often a
cast shadow the bottom lip leaves on the chin below it.
You can see the planes of the mouth easily in a side profile view. The planes
go in and out like a staircase. The planes that are facing down will be darker
than the planes that are facing up towards the light. So you will often get this
back and forth light and shade effect.

Draw the chin with light and shade

The chin continues the stair case planes the mouth also has. From side profile
you can see- under the bottom lip, the planes go in, then back out for the chin,
then in again, and then under. The chin has form shadow, so render the
shading softly.
The Ear

Place the Ear

In a straight on view, the ears will be placed between the brow line and the
bottom of the nose where the nose connects to the face. This will change as
the head goes up and down though.

Ears will help indicate the direction of the head. If the ears are lower than the
nose, it must mean the person is looking upward. If the ears are higher than
the nose, it means the person is looking downward.

In a side profile view, you can see the ear is placed at the back of the jaw.

Images from Drawing the Head and Hands, by Andrew Loomis

Simplify at first

There are usually 6 main angles on the ear, and this is helpful to know when
you are constructing one. Instead of drawing one line, think about the
different angles first and then smooth it out. (Also keep in mind there are
attached and detached lobes.)

If you break the ear into thirds, note that the concha is in the middle 2/3rds.
Study the anatomy

Study the anatomy of the ear and commit it to memory. Ears can have a lot of
variation from person to person, but they all have the same anatomy. For art
purposes, I would encourage memorizing these parts and their shapes in
particular: helix (and leg), scapha, antihelix (and legs), triangular fossa,
concha, tragus, antitragus, lobe.

Image from Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck

Draw the ears with light and shade

Render the anatomy forms you learned with light and shade. Don't make the
ears have too much contrast though. They have so much design already. Keep
them simple where possible. You don't want to take attention away from the
eyes with an overly detailed ear.
The Hair

Draw the gesture with design and rhythm

Make sure you have the “flow” of the hair still from your gesture earlier.
Think of the hair like it is flowing water.

You can also try using hair to point lines to the face. This will help design
your composition. When someone looks at your drawing, if the hair is long
and flowing for example, their eye should be able to easily follow the lines of
the hair and have it lead them right into the face. Look for rhythms in the hair
to point to the face- which is the center of attention in a portrait.

Remember these tips for drawing hair

-Look for big “S” shapes in the hair and group many pieces of hair together
into clumps.

-Remember there is still light and shade on the hair. Just because a person is
blonde, doesn’t mean everything will be light.

-Leave the edge where the forehead meets the hair soft and fuzzy. Otherwise
it might look like a wig.

-Don’t define the contour edge all around the hair. Leave some edges around
the hair defined, but others soft and a bit blurry.

-For longer hair, the hair will hang closer to the head around the skull. Then it
will flare out more when it gets to the ears and flows down and out.

-Don’t forget to think about the volume of the hair and draw with good
design in mind.
Try these techniques for drawing hair

When drawing a clump of

hair, draw the hair with
quick, confident strokes.
Go from the top to
midway, then from the
bottom to midway. This
works great because it will
create a highlight where
the strokes meet.

If you want very fine hairs,

before you draw anything-
take the metal tip of your
mechanical pencil (with no
lead in it) and draw some
quick hair lines on your
paper. You can’t really see
them yet, but this will
leave indents on your
paper. Then start to draw
the hair normally and you
will see very faint, light
hairs becoming visible. This is a very
neat effect if you want detail in your
hair. You can also sharpen your eraser
pencil and erase out flyaway hairs.
Drawing Tips

1. Get a new perspective

If you are having trouble with your piece, try looking at it in a new way:

Step back Always try to step back and look at your work from a distance.
Throughout the whole process and especially at the end. This will give you a
different take on things. Also, if something looks wrong from a distance, the
drawing often needs something to be simplified and taken out. Rather than
adding more details that will complicate.

Turn it upside down You will see new shapes when you turn your drawing
upside down. This can be very helpful if things aren't going well.

Reverse the image Try looking at your drawing in front of a mirror. Then you
will be able to see the reverse image of your drawing. When you do this, you
will be able to spot mistakes in proportions very easily.

2. Use your artistic license

Get rid of things in the photo reference that are distracting or don’t make
sense. Not everything from a photo needs to be copied into your drawing. I
used to want to copy every little detail the photo told me. But when I realized
I didn’t have to do that, it made my work a lot better. You are the artist and
you get to pick and choose what you want in the drawing and what you think
is better to leave out.

3. Put the focus on the eyes

As I mentioned before, the eyes are most often the center of attention. So
make them the thing that is most in focus and make everything else slightly
less focused then them. This will make the eyes really special. Use lines in
the hair, clothes, etc. to point the viewer of your drawing to the main thing.
The face (and eyes).
4. Vary your edges
When I discovered the power of edges, it really changed my work. Not
everything has to be outlined with exact detail. Sometimes leaving say the
edge of a shirt, or the edge of part of the hair soft and blurry can really make
the drawing begin to read as real! There is a lot of beauty in a soft, misty
edge.

5. Tell a story with the light

Make sure the lights in the drawing are connected to each other and that the
shadows are connected to each other and that they make sense. Make the
light “tell a story.”

6. Practice and learn new things

Finally, if you like portraiture and want to improve, always remember to
practice and be eager to learn. Draw from life, photographs, copy the old
masters and even draw from your imagination. You will grow and gain
knowledge with every new drawing you make!! :)

Progression from 1999 to 2009 :)

Additional Resources
Art Materials: http://www.dickblick.com
Pentel lead refills: http://www.pentel.com
Understanding pencil grades- http://smbhax.com/stuff/_pencil_grades.png
http://www.deviantart.com/resources/stockart/model/
http://cathleentarawhiti.deviantart.com
http://corneredring-stock.deviantart.com
http://www.planesofthehead.com/index.php
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/
0857680978
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Figure-Dover-Anatomy-Artists/dp/
0486204324
http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/anatomy/media/muscles-deep-latview-
morris.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Complete-Guide-Drawing-Head/dp/
0823003590/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8