The topic of this article is devoted to how to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step for beginners. Each of us is looking for convenient way depict what he sees. Therefore, I want to offer an option on how to draw a portrait of a person, be it a loved one, or a person sitting opposite on the train, or it will be portraits of celebrities. In this version, there is only one rule - simplicity.
And today is a training lesson. We will draw a person’s face with a pencil step by step, a person whom you see every day; you are used to “working” a little on his appearance, trying on makeup or a smile, severity or tenderness. We draw the face you know as your reflection in the mirror.
But first, let's get a mirror and look at ourselves like for the first time. All people are similar, and at the same moment different, and you are no exception. What makes us similar? Every healthy person has two eyes, a mouth, a nose, ears, eyebrows, and hair arranged in a hairstyle. What makes us different? The shape, size and location of these “details” of human appearance. So, a portrait is a kind of collage or puzzle of several passages, which we will “break down” into the plan of our work: Eyes; Mouth; Nose; Ears; Brows; Hair (hairstyle) and oval face.
And all this has its own shape, size and its own proportions of location on the face. This is what makes each of us “one of a kind” and unlike anyone else. And, if we are learning to draw a portrait of a certain person, then it would be good to first pay attention to the shape and type of each element of the face in detail. And only after this our final goal, and this is a portrait with colored pencils, will become more accessible.
We will first practice depicting all the details with a simple pencil. And also, please note, I draw myself and my eyes. You can practice drawing mine for now, but this will be an intermediate step on the way to understanding how to learn how to draw portraits with a pencil.
Step 1
Here we will draw an arc with a pencil. At the same time, pay attention to its shape. It is extended until the middle, and then “rolls” down.
Step 2
The lower arc is almost perfect. It is smaller than the top one.
Step 3
We connect the arches and perform the upper eyelid.
Step 4
Cornea and lower eyelid.
Step 5
Eyelashes appear on the upper and lower eyelids and the pupil.
Step 6
We make small folds near the eyes and mark the places where the shadow falls, making the eye seem voluminous.
Lips
How to draw sponges correctly? Just 5 steps and your lip drawing is ready.
Step 1
We start with a wavy line.
Step 2
Over wavy line depict the upper sponge.
Step 3
We complement the drawn mouth with a lower sponge.
Step 4
We connect the edges of the lips and some folds of the lips.
Step 5
We create a chiaroscuro effect and do not forget about the folds in the corners of the lips and on the chin.
Nose
How to draw a portrait of a person if you don’t learn how to draw one of the most difficult details, the nose. We do this step by step.
Step 1
We draw parallel lines - this is the width of the nose.
Step 2
The two lines end with the original “capsule”. This is a widening of the nose.
Step 3
We depict the nostrils.
Step 4
Shading for a chiaroscuro effect.
Step 5
To make the shadow look natural, we even it out a little.
Ears
Another element that is sometimes forgotten when covered with hair. But our pencil portrait for beginners provides it step by step. What is this? Ears.
Step 1
The shape of the ear is similar to an arch. Let's do it.
Step 2
We perform the upper part of the auricle, the helix and the tragus.
Step 3
We make an anti-curl. A lobe has appeared, which means I haven’t forgotten about my jewelry – the earring.
Step 4
I do the cheek, neck and hair.
Brows
Drawing a portrait also includes such details as eyebrows.
Step 1
Some find it convenient to do this first with an arc, and then each hair separately. And for some, it is more interesting to immediately draw the shape of the eyebrows, making them with abrupt lines.
Step 2
We correct the shape and thickness of the eyebrows.
Hair (hairstyle) and face shape
Having examined each individual detail, it is easier for us to understand how to draw a portrait with a pencil. And yet, I will show you the image of a person’s face in stages.
Action 1
My face is round in shape. And this is what I try to portray.
Act 2
I mark where the neck will be and the shape of my hairstyle.
Act 3
I draw the hair in more detail.
Well, we have learned to work on each detail separately. Time to put the puzzle together. Let's talk about having a pencil person.
Angle
Before we get a portrait with colored pencils, we again draw the portrait from scratch. But what else is important to know about depicting people? The fact that you can make a person's face in different ways. For example, if the model is sitting directly in front of us, her body and head itself are positioned straight, and her eyes are looking directly at the artist, then this angle is called full face.
Profile – if the model is located sideways to us.
How to draw a portrait of a person who is sitting half-turned to us? And what is this work called? This is three quarters. This angle is very convenient for a romantic and informal image. It brings out the beauty of the eyes and lips. This is exactly what we will choose to make the first pencil portrait from a photograph.
Working on an image from a photograph
First you need to select a photo suitable model to draw a portrait from a photograph. And now let's do the work step by step.
To understand how to draw a person’s face, let’s divide everything into stages.
Stage 1
We make an oval face with a pencil.
Stage 2
This pencil work for beginners involves auxiliary lines that will help maintain the proportions of a person's face when drawing a portrait outline.
Stage 3
Thanks to the diagram, we mark where the eyes, nose and other organs will be. We perform these facial details step by step.
A little more detail:
Eyes and eyebrows
Stage 4
Now, to make our pencil portrait from the photo look more believable, we erase all the auxiliary lines and pay attention to the hair. Don't forget about the effect of chiaroscuro.
Stage 5
It's time to make a portrait with colored pencils to bring it to life.
Test lesson
It's time to move on to checking what we have learned and continue talking about how to draw your portrait. I hope the portrait drawing lessons were not in vain for me, and I will be able to believably draw myself as a real beauty!
1) Oval face.
Visual video:
The sheet of material is secured with buttons to the tablet, which is a sheet of plywood nailed to a wooden frame. Tablet fixed to the subframe at an angle of 45 degrees. You've probably seen how artists hold a pencil. This is exactly how it should be held (not at all like when writing). In this case, applying strokes to paper fixed in this position will be very convenient.
Step 1. Studying proportions
First you need to know a little about proportions human head. When you first look at the face, the eyes appear to be at the top of the human skull. However, this is not true. The eyes are located approximately in the middle of the skull. And the feeling that they are in the upper part of the face is created by an overload of small details in the lower part.
Step 2. Constructing a person's face
Here in front of you blank slate paper. Two lines are drawn on it with a pencil - vertical and horizontal. It turns out to be a cross . The eyes will be drawn along the horizontal line, and the nose along the vertical line.
Thus, the face is divided by lines into 3 equal parts, starting from hair growth and ending with the chin. When thinking about how to draw a portrait of a person, you should take into account that the face is rarely drawn from the front.
Although, if you are drawing for the first time, then It's better to draw from the front in order to learn how to correctly mark distances. And the next stage of training will be drawing human face half a turn. To do this, you only need to make the straight lines slightly convex.
Step 3. Working out the details, clarifying the drawing
Starting from the marked lines, the contours of the eyes, nose, lips and ears are outlined. Here special attention focuses on the shape of these parts of the face of the person you are drawing. After all eyes can be round or elongated. The nose is wide or narrow. The lips are full or thin, and the ears are flattened or protruding. All this must be taken into account when working out the details. After all, the portrait should look like a person.
Almost every person wants to have their own portrait at home, which is considered one of the most complex drawings what an artist can draw. It is not surprising that there is a great demand for this type of drawings. Therefore, the duty of a beginner and an experienced artist is to step by step improve his skills in drawing a person’s facial features, because through the face you can convey not only gender and age, but also the character and temperament of a person. According to their characteristics, portraits are divided into three types: children's, women's and men's. Today we will learn to draw the last view - male portrait with a simple pencil. It has its own characteristics and secrets, which we will tell you about in this step-by-step lesson.
Tools and materials:
- White sheet of paper.
- A simple pencil.
- Eraser.
Stages of work:
Photo 1. Using a simple pencil, outline the height and width of the man’s face. The size is different for each person, but the average height is one and a half times greater than the width. This is what you should focus on:
Photo 2. We draw the portrait from the frontal view, so the task becomes a little easier. Right and left side make it symmetrical. Let's draw the rounded frontal part, and on top we'll outline the cheekbones and chin:
Photo 3. On the upper part of the face we will draw an oblique line along which we will later place the hair. We retreat a small distance on the sides and fix it (for the ears). Let's draw above the frontal part curved line to determine hair height:
Photo 4. Draw a center line across the entire face. It's no secret that it helps make facial features more even. To find the location of the eyes, you need to divide the entire height of the head in half, which we did by drawing a horizontal line. Now let's add the height of the nose. It is located just above the middle of the eye and chin lines:
Photo 5. Next, draw the width of the mouth. From the extreme corners of the nose we will draw lines that widen towards the bottom. And from the chin we will draw parallel lines. These four lines intersect approximately halfway between the nose and chin:
Photo 6. Let's draw the nose, determining its width. Add ears. They will cover the top slightly with hair:
Photo 7. Our man will have wide eyebrows. For now, let's outline their width using a line. We are in no hurry to work out their details. Let's draw the shape of the hair and the lower part of the face, softening the lines:
Photo 8. Now we can add the eyes. It is important not to over-dark here, so we make the lines light. Shade the eyebrows and draw the nose:
Photo 9. Let's move on to the lips. We make them of medium size with pointed edges. We make the chin round:
Photo 10. At this stage, we will outline the location of the stubble near the nose:
Photo 11. Using a simple pencil, highlight the main features of the face: contour, eyes, nose:
Photo 12. We begin to shade the face. First you need to draw the edges of the face:
Photo 13. Now let's add strokes to both sides of the nose, upper lip and the inside of the eyes:
Photo 14. Thanks to greater pressure on the pencil, we highlight the eyes and eyebrows:
Photo 15. Let's draw a shadow on the cheekbones, beard and hair:
Photo 16. We continue to increase the saturation of the shadows and work out the details:
Photo 17. From below, draw the guy’s neck, shoulders and clothes using simple lines. We enhance the contrast of the face by highlighting the cheekbones, mouth and eyes:
Let's draw a portrait. Methodological development for art lessons in middle school
Rules for drawing a portrait
Lesson progress
Today we will draw in a very complex, but also very interesting genre. But I won’t name this genre, because I hope you’ll name it yourself after solving my riddle:
With a pencil I draw the mirror of the soul,
The mirror is beautiful, the eyes are good.
What am I drawing? This is my secret!
Can you guess what genre it is?
(Portrait)
If this riddle turns out to be difficult, you can suggest another one:
I’ll portray my sister, she’s already twelve years old.
I draw with a pencil, create... (Portrait)
So, the goal of our today's lesson will be to draw a portrait.
Solving what problems will help us achieve our goal?
1. Compositionally correctly arrange the drawing on the sheet.
2. Study the proportions and structure of a person’s face.
3. Carefully draw the details and, if desired, color the drawing.
If children find it difficult to define problems, lead them to the correct answers with leading questions. For example: Is it possible to draw a portrait correctly without knowing where to place the eyes, ears, nose? Is it possible to draw a portrait well without knowing how to determine the height of the ear? Will the drawing look good if it is too small? Etc.
To get children interested in the topic, you can start the lesson with short story about the portrait genre.
The depiction of the human face has always been of interest to artists and viewers. But the portrait genre was not always the way we are accustomed to perceive it.
IN primitive society the person was depicted schematically, facial features were not drawn. And even in the sculptures of Paleolithic Venuses, the face was hidden by a strange hairstyle.
Perhaps people were afraid to convey portrait likeness due to the influence magical powers on a person through a portrait, as they thought. For the same reason, in Rus' they made rag doll without using a needle and without a face image.
IN Ancient Egypt They believed in an afterlife, that the soul must find its body. Therefore, the body was mummified and an exact copy of the portrait of the deceased person was created.
IN Ancient Greece The beauty of the human body was valued, therefore, when creating statues, they embellished both the face and body. It is not surprising that the main characters fine arts there were gods and athletes.
Realism in the portrait genre has reached highest point among the Ancient Romans based on the cult of veneration of deceased ancestors.
Portrait art developed, various types appeared, such as: family portrait, ceremonial portrait, intimate, self-portrait, cartoon, caricature. Contemporary art offered a unique idea of a person through abstract forms and a combination of angles.
We can talk about the history of the development of the portrait genre for a very long time. To move on to the drawing process, I just want to say that when creating a portrait, the artist, wittingly or unwittingly, conveys his attitude towards the person being portrayed. This is probably why it is more interesting for us to look at a painted portrait than a photograph.
So, let's start drawing.
Today we will not set ourselves the goal of drawing a specific person, conveying similarities and character. We will try to understand and remember the basic rules of facial construction. We will need these rules in subsequent creative works.
The first thing we need to do is outline the composition of the drawing. Using light, barely noticeable lines, we outline the oval of the head and neck lines.
We draw the central line of the axis of symmetry and divide it in half, outlining the line of the eyes.
Along this line we check the right and left halves of the horizontal line, we try to ensure that they are even, since the face is symmetrical.
Now the horizontal line needs to be divided into five parts. The eye occupies one fifth. The approximate width of the eye is plotted from the center line. We check the right and left halves so that the segments are equal (do not forget about symmetry).
We measure the length of the segment with a pencil. We put this length to the right and left twice.
The result should be five equal segments. If the segments at the edge of the face are slightly longer, then slightly increase the length of the distance between the eyes, or slightly reduce the width of the oval.
Draw oval eyes. The shape of the eye resembles a lemon. We are trying to give it this shape.
Draw the iris and pupil of each eye.
The eyes acquired a frightened expression, but this is until we cover them with the upper and lower eyelids. The upper eyelid is mobile and wider.
From above, not far from the eyes, marks the line of the eyebrows.
We draw the eyebrows, not forgetting that closer to the nose, the eyebrows are wider. The eyebrow shape can be any.
Now we outline the position of the tip of the nose. To do this, divide the distance between the eyebrows and chin in half. The width of the tip of the nose is determined by lines drawn from the corners of the eyes.
We begin to draw the nose from the eyebrows, drawing oblique lines to the central axis to the eye line.
We have determined the approximate width of the central part of the nose. Then we draw lines down and finish the middle part with the tip of the nose. Add nostrils on the sides of the tip of the nose.
We will determine the lip line by dividing the distance from the tip of the nose to the chin into three parts.
Draw a lip line through the upper section. The width of the lips is determined by lines drawn from the middle of the eye.
Draw the upper lip. It resembles the shape of a bird. Middle line lips repeats the upper one, only the curve is smoother.
Now let's decide on the position and height of the ear. The ear is located opposite the nose and its height is equal to the distance from the eyebrows to the tip of the nose.
We correct the lines of the neck, since they should start from the earlobes.
Now we will draw the hairstyle. You need to decide on the starting point of hair growth. The distances from the chin to the tip of the nose, from the tip of the nose to the eyebrows, from the eyebrows to the beginning of hair growth are the same length.
Half of this length should remain at the top of the head. That is, the face has three and a half parts in height.
How to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step: tips from experienced artists
Do you want to draw a portrait, but something doesn’t work out for you? Harass yourself and tons of paper, but desired result No? Don't rush to despair!
In this article, especially for you, we have collected tips from experienced artists of the Aquamarine drawing school, which will allow you to quickly master the technique of drawing a portrait with a pencil.
One of the main secrets of drawing a portrait step by step with a pencil
One of the main secrets of experienced artists is that they begin to make images from the whole to the particular, that is, gradually moving from simple to complex. While beginners prefer to immediately draw in detail the mouth, nose, eyes and other parts of a person’s face.
Thus, our first simple, but very important advice boils down to the fact that you first need to draw a portrait so that the face you depict has unclear outlines, as if the person is in the fog.
At the next stage of work, the imaginary haze will gradually disappear, and the facial features will become more and more distinct; we will draw them in detail.
We will also add another valuable information to the initial section of our article. It is no secret that a person in a portrait can be depicted from three angles - in profile, full face and half-turn (three quarters of the face is visible).
From what angle is it better for a beginner to start working? portrait painting? Experts at the Aquamarine drawing school advise starting pencil tests from the profile, and then moving to a half-turn of the face. When this technique is mastered, it will be possible to take on the most difficult task of depicting a person’s face from the front.
It has been proven that it is easier to draw a person from a photograph than from life. And here you also need to think about your strengths. In order to get an excellent result in the end, and to have a good understanding of how to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step, it is wiser to move according to the principle from simple to complex, that is, first learn how to draw a person’s face from a photograph or other image, and only then move on to life.
Making the basis for a portrait with a pencil
The basis or frame of the portrait is the oval of the head, as well as points showing the location of the nose, eyes, chin, ears, and so on. And at the very beginning of work, such contours need to be marked.
As an example, we suggest considering a portrait of a pretty girl, which is used as an illustration for this article. Let's analyze what shape of her head is? Round or ovoid? Or maybe she has an oval-shaped head with a square chin?
After we analyze the shape of the object's head, we draw it on paper. It will be a circle or an oval. Then, on this basis, it is necessary to place points indicating the location of the eyes, mouth, ears, and so on.
If you are drawing a portrait from a photograph, then simply arm yourself with a ruler and first mark the approximate height and width of the head, and then measure the other parameters of the face and indicate them with dots on the sketch.
If you are drawing a specific face from life, then extend your hand towards the model and visually use a pencil, approximately measure the distances from one point to another, and then transfer the segments proportionally and with the necessary scaling to paper.
So, first you will need to mark the approximate distance between the top of the head and the chin, then the width of the face, and then the remaining points, showing greater detail of the elements.
From the anatomical features, we will inform you that usually the width of the head is equal to three quarters of its height. This is a standard from which deviations of 1-2 centimeters are always possible. But the formula is given so that you carefully check the ratio of the sizes you indicated on paper.
For work it is better to use an HB pencil. It is necessary to strive to ensure that the outlines of the face at the initial stage are barely noticeable, light and gentle.
Take your time. The way we are designed is that each person is different, and you need to capture and accurately reflect your unique facial features on paper. If you have unreasonably left a lot of space for the image of the nose, then in the end it will be swollen, like a pig’s, and if you have little space left on your face for the eyes, then they will also be small like a pig. But we don’t want to offend anyone.
At each stage, check the basis of the portrait with the original. Notice facial features. Maybe it will be a large nose or wide cheekbones, or maybe a small mouth and big eyes. If you want to figure out how to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step, these points are very important.
Stages of drawing a portrait with a pencil.
Standard face
The standard of the face is the golden rule of portrait painters. It is there that the generally accepted proportions are indicated, which subsequently make it possible to accurately depict a particular person.
The portrait standard includes the following points:
The eye line runs exactly in the middle of the line running from the top of the head to the chin.
The line of the nose runs strictly in the middle of the segment located between the line of the eyebrows and the end of the chin.
The position of the lips should correspond to this proportion. If the line between the nose and chin is divided into three equal parts, then the end of the upper third will serve as the upper border of the lips, and the upper border of the lower third of the segment will serve as the lower border of the lips. This is the standard, and the rest depends on the individual proportions of the person.
The eyebrow line is determined as follows. Divide the distance from the top of the head to the end of the chin into 3.5 parts. The upper half of the part is left on the hairline. We measure one part behind it and draw a line, which will be the line of the eyebrows. We measure another part from it, and new feature will point us to the bottom point of the nose image.
The width of the lower jaw is calculated as three quarters of the widest part of the head.
If you are making an image of a face in a half-turn, then look at the illustration presented on how to correctly draw such proportions.
First, an imaginary line divides the head vertically in half. Then it’s worth considering that your face is only visible in two quarters. Therefore, the half of the face closest to the artist will account for two-thirds of the image, and one-third will remain for the rest of the face, which is visible only in a half-turn.
Stages of creating a portrait: Trimming the head
The chopping head is a human head presented in a simplified form. It is the “stumping” that aspiring portrait painters study in professional art institutions.
We suggest that you also try to draw the trimming head of the model: just the head, without the other elements of the figure.
At the second stage of the image of a person’s head, the features of the size of a particular face should be noted. In particular, the figure should indicate:
- the relief of the cheekbones, their thickness, falling and protruding parts;
- the bridge of the nose, the base of the nose, its width and length;
- eyes with distances in width and height;
- lips with dimensions in width and height;
- the bend of the eyebrows, their thickness and direction;
- chin triangular, square or other shape.
Now let's take a closer look at how to draw the main elements of the face. All this is also naturally included in the process of how to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step.
Step by step face drawing. Eyes
The shape of the eyes is a round sphere, so it is important to emphasize this roundness on a sheet of paper. To make the eye spherical in shape, volume is added to the white of the eye using shades of varying intensity.
You can determine the proportions of the eyes for a full face: you need to divide the width of the head into five parts, the second part of which will represent one eye, and the fourth the other.
If you are drawing a person in a half-turn, then first you need to mark the eye socket, located next to the temporal part of the head. Then you need to measure the distance from it to the farthest eye, which will be half the size of the one closest to you. Then on paper you need to indicate the distance between the eyes and outline the contours of the second eye on the sheet.
In the next step, use segments to show the position of the eyelids. Every eye has an upper and lower eyelid. At the same time, experts do not recommend making the lower eyelid too dark, but it will still be a tone darker than the white of the eye. Also look at the illustration provided to show how its thickness should be shown.
Step by step face drawing. Nose
The nose occupies a fairly large part of the face. To depict it correctly, pay attention to the following points:
The location of the wings of the nose can be outlined by drawing down two parallel lines from the inner corners of the eye.
By creating a half-turn face, the line coming from the far eye will be hidden behind the bridge of the nose.
In general the nose has the shape of a trapezoid, draw it and this will be the base of the nose. Use lines to highlight the sides of the nose. Place the pencil vertically, parallel to the nose, remember the angle between the side of the nose and the strictly vertical line, and reflect it on paper.
Step by step face drawing. Lips
We also begin the image of the lips by determining the size and drawing the contours. First, divide the height of the head into eight parts. The fifth line, if you go from top to bottom, will be the lip line.
On this line we draw a cylinder, which, when drawn in detail, should subsequently turn into a mouth.
The division into two lips is done as follows. We divide the height of the lips into three parts, one of them upper part falls on the upper lip, and the second two - on the lower.
Another interesting detail from the experts: the width of the lips will be equal to the segment that represents the distance between the centers of the pupils of the eyes. But when depicting a person in half a turn, the width of the lips will need to be measured from the photograph and adjusted to the scale of the drawing.
There is another way to determine the width of the lips on paper: measure the eye, multiply the resulting value by 1.5 and you will get the size of the lips in width.
Step by step face drawing. Ears
You can determine the location of the ear in the figure as follows: its top will be equal to the bottom line of the eyebrow, and the bottom will be equal to the bottom line of the nose. The illustration presented to you clearly shows how you can draw the “correct” ear.
When depicting a face in profile and in half a turn, we draw only one ear, the second one is not visible from this angle. Just don’t forget to depict the ear in the drawing as slightly tilted towards the head, this will be more anatomically correct.
We determine the angle of inclination by eye or using a pencil, which we apply to the photograph.
Detailing
On last stage process of how to draw a portrait with a pencil step by step, you need to learn how to do a detailed drawing. It consists of drawing all the elements of the face, depicting all its roundness and smooth lines.
To achieve a resemblance to the original photograph or model, one must naturally be painstaking and careful. After (or during) drawing extra lines contours should be removed.
At the final stage, shading of the portrait is done.
First, the darkest parts are shaded, and then it comes to the lightest parts. Then you need to put lighter spots on some details, for example, make highlights on the pupils, on the tip of the nose and in other areas.
The drawing is ready!
But some portraits can be done without shading. This will be a linear portrait, in which only lines are used as means of representation.
We invite you to see how you can draw a girl’s face in this way.
A portrait of a child can be done according to the scheme proposed below:
With tips from experienced artists on proportions, detailed drawing and shading, you too can draw successfully. different people in profile, full face and half-turn. Draw, train, come to classes at the Aquamarine drawing school and every time you will do better and better!