Pencil and Eraser
New Page in your Sketchbook
DRAWING A PORTRAIT
• Next, we’ll learn the basics of drawing
PEOPLE!
• You will learn about basic proportions of facial
features on the typical person.
• You will draw a portrait in profile.
• Afterwards, we’ll learn about the basic
proportions of the human figure and will start
regular figure drawing sessions.
20 minute warm-up
• Find a partner.
• You are each to draw a portrait in profile
of your partner.
• This is only a contour drawing – no
shading is necessary.
• This is a quick warm-up. Try your best to
figure out the distances between
features and the proportions of the size
of the features.
• NO ERASING: draw lightly
• When 20 minutes are up, switch!
A common error
• One of the most common errors that beginning
students make is called the “chopped off skull”
mistake.
• For reasons that are still unclear, most students
see the top half of the head as smaller than it
actually is.
• Perhaps this is because we naturally look at the
facial features more, and so we instinctively make
them bigger, because they are more important to
us.
Always take measurements
• Since you will encounter many of these sorts of
inconsistencies in what you THINK people look
like, you can never rely on your left-brain
information.
• Always take measurements between the
proportions.
• You must sight angles, sizes, and distances, and
more importantly: YOU MUST TRUST WHAT YOU
SEE.
• Even if it doesn’t look “right” to you; look
carefully and take sightings, trust what you see.
The basics of facial proportions -profile
• Draw the diagram and label it carefully.
• You will be quizzed on this information.
Portrait drawing from a sketch
• First, you’re going to draw a portrait from an
existing sketch by John Singer Sargent.
• It is a beautifully done portrait, but is
extremely simple.
• First, I’ll walk you through the entire process.
Just listen and pay attention.
• After I’m done, it’s your turn to draw. Don’t
worry though -- I’ll still guide you through the
steps.
Profile review
• Measure the top of the curve of the head
to bottom of chin
• Find the halfway point in that distance.
• Draw your halfway line. This is your eye
line.
• Find that halfway point of the halfway
point (the quarter distance).
• Draw your quarter line.
• What do we now know?
Profile review
• Draw the lips, nose, and eye.
• Measure the distance from the eyeline to
the bottom of the chin.
• Measure THAT SAME DISTANCE from the
back of the eye. Make a mark there. This
is the back of your ear.
• Draw a horizontal line from the top of
the eye. This is the top of your ear.
• The bottom of the ear is at the quarter
line.
Profile review
• The back of the neck meets the head at
the quarter line. It is not a vertical line.
Instead it slants in to meet the head.
• The front of the neck (the throat) varies
greatly from person to person.
• DRAW FOUR HEADS IN PROFILE USING
THESE CORRECT MEASUREMENTS.
TIPS FOR DRAWING THE EYE
• The eye is a sphere and has roundness.
• The eyelids have thickness
• The shape of the iris does not always stay
a circle, especially in profile.
• The area between the eye and the nose
is a depression and will usually be in
shadow
• The area between the eye and the outer
edge of the eyebrow is raised and will
usually be in highlight.
DRAW AN EYE!
• Find a partner.
• You will draw one of their eyes from three
different angles:
• Straight ahead
• Straight ahead with their head tipped down
• In profile.
TIPS FOR DRAWING THE NOSE
• The nose has three main planes: the bridge, the sides
sloping toward the face, and the underside above the lips.
• The nostril does not typically extend to the end of the
nose… it will be located within the underside of the nose.
• The bridge of the nose is almost never a straight line.
• One of the most important aspects of getting the likeness
of an individual nose is to capture its THREE ANGLES
correctly:
• Angle 1: The bridge of the nose
• Angle 2: The tip of the nose
• Angle 3: The underside of the nose
DRAW A NOSE!
• Look at your partner!
• You will draw their nose from three different
angles:
• Straight ahead
• Straight ahead with head tipped down
• In profile.
DRAW AN EAR!
• Look at your partner!
• You will draw their ear from two different
angles:
• Straight ahead
• In profile.
Experimenting with features
• Find a partner.
• You are going to draw each other’s features:
eyes, nose, and lips.
• Look very carefully at your partner’s features
and draw each feature from three different
angles.
• Emphasize the structure of what it is you’re
seeing.
DRAWING A PORTRAIT FROM REAL LIFE
• Sit in front of your model and compose the
portrait. Position the model in proportion on
your page, so the head is fully occupying the
composition.
• Next, focus on the basic unit. Your basic unit
will be the distance from the eye line to the
bottom of the chin.
• Mark the key points: the back of the head,
and the topmost point of the head.
• Use the negative space to draw the profile –
instead of drawing the features that you see,
draw the edge of the negative space shapes.
• Next, check the angle of the nose relative to
horizontal using your pencil as a sighting tool.
• Place the eye in relation to the innermost
curve of the bridge of the nose. Check the
angle of the eyelid relative to horizontal.
• Check the angle of the center line of the
mouth. THIS IS THE ONLY TRUE EDGE OF THE
MOUTH. The upper and lower contours (the
outsides of the lips) only mark a color change.
• In short, don’t draw heavy outlines around
the lips.
• The inner line of the mouth often
descends relative to horizontal. Check
this angle using your pencil as a sighting
tool. Don’t hesitate to draw this angle
just as you see it.
• The inner line of the mouth is almost
never a horizontal, straight line.
• Use what you know of facial proportion
to place the ear. Remember, eye level to
chin equals back of eye to back of ear.
• If the model is wearing glasses, use the
negative spaces to draw the glasses.
• In drawing the model’s hair; DO NOT
draw hairs. CLUMP IT
• If the model’s hair is complicated or
curly, you might get nervous: It’s not
necessary to draw every hair and
every curl.
• Look for the areas where the hair
separates.
• Look for the major directional
movements.
• Draw large areas of value, not each
individual hair.
• Look at your model’s hair with your eyes
squinted. This should simplify what you see
into major light and dark shapes.
• Try to get a sense of the CHARACTER and
nature of the hair. Is it smooth? Shiny?
Crinkly? Coarse? Rough?
• Begin to draw more detail where the hair
meets the face. (The Hair Line)
• Notice the shadow and light patterns within
the hair. Darken the darker areas and use your
eraser to “draw” in the highlighted areas.
• Complete the neck and shoulders. Make sure
to use the negative space to draw under the
chin (which varies a lot) and under the collar
(which is highly symbolic and will kick in your
left brain).
PERSONAL RESPONSE – PORTRAIT IN
PROFILE
• Take 10-15 minutes to write down your personal
thoughts about this unit. Include:
• A description of what we did to learn about facial
proportions and how we applied it to drawing a
portrait in profile.
• What you thought about it (good or bad).
• What were your strengths?
• What were your weaknesses.
• Write at least one practical way that you can
address those weaknesses.