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Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The 6 Steps of Portrait Drawing

Published by Remi | January 1st 2009 | Views:

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Drawing in always entails 4 distinct elements: line, tone, texture, and form. In the special case of pencil portrait drawing we can refine the list of elements to six: form, proportion, anatomy, texture, tone, and planes.

In this commentary we will give a detailed account of each of those pencil portrait drawing elements.

(1) Form Shape or Shape - The illusion of three-dimensionality in drawing and art in general has been central to Western art for centuries. The carving out of form using line, structure, and tone was vital to almost all Renaissance art.

On the other hand, eastern and much contemporary art stress flatness of form although this period in contemporary art is drawing to an end.

All form in drawing can be reduced to 4 fundamental three-dimensional solids: cones, cylinders, spheres, and bricks. The proper use of these forms together with perspective and tone leads to the illusion of three-dimensionality even though the drawing is, in actuality, located on a 2-dimensional piece of drawing paper.

In portrait drawing, the arabesque of the head, the square structure of the head, and all elements within the head (nose, eyes, etc.) are all 2- and three-dimensional forms that contribute to the overall illusion of three-dimensionality


(2) Proportion - encompasses all sizing and placements of form. Proportion refers to the idea of relative length and angle size.

Proportion givial to study as much as you can about anatomy. There are a lot of studies available on anatomy for artists. For a portrait artist it is really important to study the anatomy of the head, neck, and shoulders.

Anatomy texts regrettably include a lot of Latin terms which makes it a bit complicated to grasp. The idea is to study slowly and a little bit at a time because it can be very frustrating.

(4) Texture - in portrait drawing expresses the degree of roughness or smoothness of the forms. The texture of a rhino skin, for instance, is very different from that of a window pane.

There exist quite a few methods and tricks to help you with the creation of the correct textures. Creating textures presents you with the chance to be very creative and to use each possible type of score you can make with a pencil. In portrait drawing textures occur in places such as hair, clothing, and skin.

(5) Tone - refers to the variations in light or dark of the pencil marks and cross-hatchings. Commanding portrait drawings employ the complete range of contrasting lights and darks. Beginning artists many times fail to achieve this full "stretch" of tone, resulting in timid, washed-out drawings.


(6) Planes - create the sculptural sensibility of a portrait. The head has many planes each with a unique direction and therefore with a different tone.

The goal is to think of the surface of the head as a collection of discrete planes with a particular direction relative to the light source. You should try to recognize each of the planes and sketch its accurate shape and tone.

The accurate handling of planes adds a lot to the likeness of your subject as well as the illusion of three-dimensionality.
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