How to draw a portrait with a pencil for beginners. Drawing a woman's portrait. The easiest way

where to start drawing a portrait of a person step by step? how to learn to build a person's face. How to correctly place penumbra and achieve the desired similarity in pencil portraits. How to shade a portrait correctly. The artists will tellWORKSHOPPORTRET-ART.

Most portrait artists working in the pencil technique worked in various schools, where they learned the skill of depicting a person. All artists, based on their education, created for themselves their own basis for how to work on creating a portrait. In this article we will share your own secrets the most common drawing technique.

getting started and building the head

The artists of our workshop work with mechanical pencils, because... they ensure cleanliness while working; unlike classic pencils, they do not need to be sharpened for a long time, they allow you to deal with small details much faster. To draw a high-quality portrait, we will need a “nag”; this is an artistic eraser with which you can correct your mistakes and not spoil the portrait. To draw with a mechanical pencil, we need leads. We recommend using softness rods HB, B, 2B, 4B and 7B (where B means soft and H means hard). Now we need to take a regular A4 piece of paper and place it under your working hand so that it covers the surface that you have already shaded.

First of all, you should study the photograph, namely the general appearance of the head, how it is rotated relative to the horizontal and vertical. To draw a portrait of a person correctly with a pencil, we need to know some features of the structure of the skull. This can be seen in any anatomical atlas. Based on the shape of the head of the person you are depicting, you need to draw on the paper with light lines the general contour of the hair, the oval of the face and indicate the line of the lips, nose and its height, eyes and eyebrows.

working with planes

Now that the general lines have been drawn, we can move on to analyzing the planes of the face. We must indicate the height of the nose with a plane (if desired, it can be shaded to see the volume, this can be done with all areas in the shadow), the plane of the cheekbone, which is closest to us, the plane of the lips and the plane of the eyes, connecting to the eyebrows. At this stage, we do not draw out the face with smooth lines, we try to very easily outline the geometric features of the person’s face.

face detail

At this stage of the work, we take the nag and, moving it along the plane of the sheet, remove the top layer of the pencil, that is, we make the lines drawn before almost invisible. This is the difference between drawing portraits from photographs and academic portraits, in the second case, the construction lines are drawn and will remain in the final form of the portrait, which is why it may turn out dirty. This doesn't suit us. After we have made the construction lines invisible where necessary, we begin to draw out all the facial features, round them and give the face a resemblance to the photograph. In order to achieve similarity, you can measure the sizes and their relationship to other face sizes, thereby selecting the optimal proportions. For example, how much width of the nose fits into the width of the face, etc. You can measure anything, there are no restrictions here.

start of shading

To begin shading, you must complete all constructions and erase all unnecessary lines in the drawing, because Once you start laying the tone, you will not have the opportunity to do it carefully. Uniform rules There is no such thing as shading; every artist does it in the way that suits him best. This may depend on how you are used to holding a pencil/pen, whether you are right-handed or left-handed, etc. We recommend starting shading from the darkest areas of the portrait. Since you can later build on them without darkening your skin, clothes and eyes too much.

halftone development

Next, we must move on to halftones, that is, add tone to the skin of the face, hair and clothes, if they are not black, since black clothes are often worth emphasizing (even if the clothes white, there will definitely be partial shade on it to reveal relief and texture). At this stage, we should not wipe anything with nags (unless we have made a stain or smeared something). It is worth starting intensive shading of halftones (if you are right-handed) from the upper left corner of the sheet, so as not to smear what you have already done with your hand, and accordingly, if you are left-handed, you need to do everything in a mirror manner. At this stage, fine detailing of the background of the portrait is allowed.

working with highlighting

When you're done with the shading, you should have a nearly finished portrait, but it won't look 3D. Don't be upset, one of the most enjoyable stages in drawing a portrait with a pencil is the stage when you highlight the lightest places on the face. Most often this is the tip of the nose, the whites of the eyes, top part cheekbones, brow ridges, lower lip and in some cases the chin. Also, with the help of a nag, you can draw folds on the lips and small wrinkles that will make your portrait more alive. Hair needs to be lightened at the largest breaks in the shape, then it appears shiny and alive.

darkening the depths and cleaning

After highlighting, you need to darken again the places where you want to show space, these could be: the neck, the edge of the hair, ears, folds in the hair, the background. With the help of this darkening, we will feel that the person we are drawing is not “glued” to the sheet, but is looking from there. This is very important factor creating a portrait with a pencil.

Our portrait is already ready. But you will definitely have some unnecessary strokes or stains from your fingers, because they will be stained into the pencil (by the way, in order to avoid a dirty portrait, we advise you to wash your hands several times and dry them thoroughly), so you should take the nag in last time and wipe away everything that is visually unpleasant to you. Even if a portrait is absolutely similar to a photograph, we always leave room for creativity, you are not obliged to redraw what you don’t want to draw in a portrait, you can be creative and come up with new clothes, hair color, eyes, etc. The photo does not always turn out successful in all respects, therefore, we think out, adjust and do what the photographer could not do due to the specifics of his work, namely, create the ideal image.

With love and trepidation, Workshop

Find a model or photo. Make sure the photos you choose match your drawing skills. If you are just starting to draw, then you should not take a photo with too many complex shadows, or a photo taken from an unusual angle. Start simple. If you already have experience in drawing portraits, you can try something more challenging to test your skills.

• Decide whether you want to draw a man or a woman. As a rule, male portraits more saturated shadows; Whether it will be easier or not is up to you to decide. Women, in turn, have more long hair- some people think that drawing a lot of hair is boring or difficult.
• Decide whether you want to draw a young or old person. The faces of older people are more interesting to draw, but also more difficult due to the additional lines and textures - however, thanks to them, the portrait turns out to be expressive. It is easier to draw very young children, but if you are used to drawing adults, it may be more difficult for you.

Draw a portrait with a pencil not very difficult as it might seem at first glance. Let us recall that until photography appeared, the ability to draw portraits was a mandatory discipline in school. This article will help you learn how to do this.

When you depict a person's head, you need to make sure that proportions between the mouth, nose, ears and eyes are marked accurately and correctly. Please pay attention Special attention structure of the head, evaluate its main features; if you don’t do this, you are unlikely to get a truly worthwhile portrait.

Below are pictures with the proportions of an average head. But this is just a standard. But it is precisely discrepancies with the standard that give a person uniqueness and originality. It is worth comparing it with your model, in what ways they differ and in what ways they converge.

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Eyes are the most expressive element of the portrait, which is why it is necessary to maintain the accuracy of the form and the correct position. UchiEto wants to point out that the sclera (part of the eyeball) does not need to be made snow-white, it should change color due to the shadow cast by the eyelid and the effect of its own shadow. It is also necessary to pay attention to the glare of light in the lower eyelid, in the inner corner of the eye and on the iris. It is they and the shadows that make the eyes more “alive”.

The pictures below show the spherical structure of the eye, how to correctly show the eyelids on them and the drawing stage itself.

Draw eyes with different points vision and in different positions. Women's eyes are generally thick and long eyelashes, and the eyebrows are thin and well defined. In a child, the iris appears large compared to the eyelid. Over time, older people develop deep wrinkles that start from the corners of the eyes, eyebrows become thick and grow, and the lower eyelids have a baggy appearance.

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Ear formed cartilage tissues. It can look in different variations, but all ears resemble a sea shell, which is practically no different in women and men. In portraits, the ears are either partially or completely hidden by the hair, and their expression depends on how accurately you position them on the sides of the head. See sketch.

The height of an adult's ear is approximately equal to the length of the nose. Adults have smaller ears relative to their heads than children. In older people, the ears become longer due to weakening and thinning of the cartilage tissue.

Nose It's quite difficult to portray correctly because it is in front of the face, and therefore its shape changes quite a lot depending on the point of view. Try to identify areas of light and shadow (usually maximum amount light is present at the tip of the nose and on the bridge of the nose, while the most intense shadow is at the base of the nostrils), try to convey only this contrast so that your drawing is not overloaded (if the nose is not a key detail of the face).

After the eyes we draw mouth. It is the second most expressive element in the portrait. The pinkish tint of the lips is a consequence of the transition between the skin and the mucous membrane. When you draw lips, you should make sure that you have correctly defined the transition boundary. The lips are located on the semi-cylindrical surface of the jaw bones. The sketches presented below indicate the main features of the labial morphology. UchiEto wants to point out that the upper lip is thinner.

These sketches present you with variations of smiles that are usually drawn in portraits. The lips of old people are thin and covered with a large number of vertical folds.

Video lessons

We can now take a closer look at the details. And we'll start with the face. A person’s face is the first thing we pay attention to in any situation, and this also applies in a certain way to art: the observer will first of all look at the face with your characteristic features. Putting a face on paper, especially drawing lively, expressive expressions, is definitely worth the effort.

In this tutorial we will introduce the main components drawing a face - proportions, features and perspective, and in the following lessons we will look in more detail at various facial expressions.

1. Facial proportions

Full face:

In this position, the skull will be a flat circle, to which the outline of the jaw is added, which overall forms an egg shape, pointed at the bottom. Two lines perpendicular to the center divide the “egg” into four parts. To distribute facial features:

- Mark the midpoints of the left and right halves of the horizontal line. There will be eyes at these points.

— Divide the vertical bottom line into five equal parts. The tip of the nose will be at the second point from the center. The lip fold will be at the third point from the center, one point lower from the tip of the nose.

- Divide the top half of the head into four equal parts: the hairline (if the person does not have a receding hairline) will be located between the second and third point from the center. The ear will be located between the upper eyelid and the tip of the nose (if the face is at the same level). When a person looks up or down, the position of the ears changes.

It is useful to know that the width of the face is the width of five eyes or slightly less. The distance between the eyes is equal to the width of one eye. It is not typical for people to have wide-set or too close-set eyes, but it is always noticeable (wide-set eyes give a person an innocent, childish expression, while narrow-set eyes arouse suspicion in us for some reason). The distance between the lower lip and chin is also equal to the width of one eye.

Another measure criterion is the length index finger above the thumb. In the diagram below, all lengths are marked in accordance with this criterion: ear height, distance between hair growth level and eyebrow level, distance from eyebrows to nose, distance from nose to chin, distance between pupils.

Profile:

From the side, the shape of the head also resembles an egg, but pointed to the side. The center lines now divide the head into an anterior (face) and posterior (skull) portion.

From the side of the skull:

- The ear is located directly behind the center line. In size and location, it is also located between the upper eyelid and the tip of the nose.
- The depth of the skull varies between the two dotted lines (as shown in Step 4).

From the face:

— Facial features are positioned in the same way as in the front view.

— The deepening of the bridge of the nose either coincides with the center line or is located slightly higher.

— The most prominent point will be the level of the eyebrow (1 point from the center).

2. Facial features

Eyes and Eyebrows

The eye is made up of two simple arcs, shaped like almonds. There are no strict rules here, since eye shapes can be completely different, but there are general recommendations:

— The outer corner of the eyes is higher than the inner corner, and not vice versa.

— If you compare an eye with an almond, the rounded part of the pupil will be from the inner corner, decreasing towards the outer corner.

Eye Details

— The iris of the eye is partially hidden behind the upper eyelid. It crosses the lower eyelid only when the person looks down or squints (the lower eyelid rises).

- The eyelashes curve outward and are shorter on the lower eyelid (in fact, you don't have to draw them every time).

— If you want to depict the oval of the tear duct in the inner corner of the eye, and also show the thickness of the lower eyelid, it completely depends on your preferences; an excess of details does not always look appropriate. Adding such details is proportional to the complexity of the drawing.

- The same can be applied to drawing the crease of the eyelid - it adds expressiveness and makes the look less anxious. I think it's best not to add a fold if you're doing a stylized design or your design is too small.

The eye in profile resembles the shape of an arrow tip (the sides can be concave or convex), with a small marking upper eyelid and, optionally, lower. In life, we do not see the iris in profile, but we see the white of the eye. When I was working on the lesson, many people said that “it looks strange,” so the iris still needs to be designated.

As for the eyebrows, it's easiest to draw them after the eyes to follow the curve of the upper eyelid. Most of the length of the eyebrow looks inward, and its tip is always slightly shorter.

In profile, the shape of the eyebrow changes - it becomes like a comma. This “comma” continues the level of the eyelashes (where they bend). Sometimes the eyebrow appears to be one with the eyelashes, so you can also draw one curve for the top of the eye and the border of the eyebrow.

The nose is usually wedge-shaped - it is easier to visualize and give three-dimensionality before adding details.

Partition and sides The noses are flat, which will be noticeable in the finished drawing, but already at the sketching stage it is necessary to identify them in order to subsequently distribute the details correctly. In our wedge, the lower flat part is a truncated triangle connecting the wings and the tip of the nose. The wings curve towards the septum to form the nostrils - note that when viewed from below, the lines forming the sides of the septum are in the foreground, parallel to the face. The septum protrudes lower than the wings (when viewed straight on), which means that at a ¾ angle the far nostril will not be visible accordingly.

The hardest part of drawing a nose can be deciding which parts of the nose to leave out for a natural-looking result. You won't always have to draw the entire wing of the nose (where it meets the face), and in most cases the drawing will look better if you just draw the bottom of the nose. The same goes for four lines the septum of the nose, in the place where they connect to the face - in most cases it will be better if you draw only the lower part of the nose (wings, nostrils, septum) - you can alternately cover the lines with your finger to make sure of this. If the head is turned ¾, it becomes necessary to complete the lines of the bridge of the nose. You will need to do a lot of observation and trial and error to recognize the unique features of the nose. Caricaturists have this feature - you need to carefully examine the outlines of the noses to understand why they are depicted this way. We will return to this issue again in future lessons.

Lips

Tips for depicting the mouth and lips:

- First you need to draw the lip fold, since it is the linearst and darkest of the three almost parallel lines that form the mouth. In fact, it is not a solid straight line - it consists of several implicit curves. In the picture below you can see exaggerated examples of the movement of the mouth line - note that they follow the line of the upper lip. This line can be “softened” in several ways: the hollow above the lip can be narrower (to distinguish the corners) or so wide that it becomes invisible. It can also be the other way around - the lower lip is so full that it creates the feeling of pouting. If you find it difficult to stay symmetrical at this stage, try starting from the center and drawing one line on each side.

— The upper corners of the lips are more noticeable, but you can soften them by creating two wide curves, or soften them so much that they are no longer noticeable.

- The lower lip certainly resembles a regular curve, but it can also be almost flat or quite rounded. My advice is to denote the lower lip with at least a regular line under the lower border.

— The upper lip is almost always narrower than the lower lip, and it protrudes less forward. If its outline is outlined, it should be more clearly expressed, since the lower lip already stands out with its shadow (it should not exceed the size of the lip).

— In profile, the lips resemble the shape of an arrowhead, and the protrusion of the upper lip becomes obvious. The shape of the lips is also different - the upper one is flat and located diagonally, and the lower one is more rounded.

— The lip fold in profile deviates downward, starting from the intersection of the lips. Even if a person smiles, the line goes down and rises again in the area of ​​the corners. Never raise the line level when drawing in profile.

Ears

The main part of the ear (if drawn correctly) is shaped like a letter WITH from the outside and the shape of an inverted letter U With inside(border of the upper ear cartilage). Smaller ones are often drawn U above the earlobe (you can put your finger to your ear), which goes further into a smaller letter WITH. Ear details are depicted around the ear opening itself (but not always), and their shapes can be completely different from person to person. different people. The drawing can be stylized - for example, in the picture below there is an ear in its general view resembles elongated “@” symbols.

When the face is turned to the front, the ears are depicted in profile accordingly:

- The lobe, previously marked in the shape of an inverted U, is now visible separately - the same thing when you look at the plate from the side and then see its bottom as if it were closer to you.

— The shape of the ear hole resembles a drop and stands out against the general background of the ear.

— The thickness of the ear from this angle depends on its proximity to the head, this is another individual factor. However, the ear always protrudes forward - this is how it happened during evolution.

When viewed from behind, the ear appears separate from the body, essentially a lobe connected to the head via a canal. Don't underestimate the size of the canal - its function is to make the ears protrude forward. In this view, the canal is heavier than the lobe.

3. Angles

Since the head is based on a circle, where facial features are outlined, changing the angle of the head is easier than it seems at first glance. However, it is even more important to observe the position of people's heads in different angles in life, to remember all the protrusions and depressions that overlap each other in the most unexpected way. The nose undoubtedly recedes significantly from the head (the eyebrows, cheekbones, center of the lips and chin also protrude); at the same time, the eye sockets and sides of the mouth form some depressions in our “circle”.

When you and I drew a face from the front and in profile, we simplified the task to a two-dimensional image where all the lines were flat. For all other angles, we will need to shift our thinking to a three-dimensional world and realize that the shape of an egg is in fact an egg, and the lines we used earlier to place facial features intersect this egg like the equator and meridians on a globe: at the slightest changing the position of the head we will see that they are round. Positioning facial features is just drawing intersecting lines at a certain angle - now there are three of them. We can again divide the head into upper and lower parts, "cutting" our "egg", but now we need to keep in mind: the components closest to us look thicker. The same applies to drawing a face up or down.

Man looking down

— All features curve upward, and the ears “rise.”

— Since the nose protrudes forward, its tip drops below the original mark, so it seems that it is now closer to the lips, and if a person lowers his head even lower, the nose will partially cover the lips. From this angle there is no need to draw additional details of the nose - the bridge of the nose and wings will be enough.

— The arches of the eyebrows are quite flat, but can become curved again if the head is tilted too far.

- The upper eyelids of the eyes become more expressive, and it is enough to just slightly change the position of the head so that they completely hide the orbits of the eyes.

— The upper lip is almost invisible, and the lower lip is enlarged.

Man looking up

- All lines of facial features tend downward; the ears also move downwards.

- The upper lip is visible in in full(which does not happen in full face). Now the lips appear pouty.

- The eyebrows arch more and the lower eyelid rises, making the eyes appear squinted.

- The lower part of the nose is now fully visible, both nostrils are clearly visible.

Man turns around

1. When we see a person almost completely turned away, the only visible features that remain are the brow ridges and cheekbones. The neck line overlaps the jaw line and is located next to the ear. When a person turns, we also see eyelashes.
2. Also, when turning, we can see part of the eyebrow line and the protrusion of the lower eyelid; the tip of the nose also appears directly from behind the cheek.
3. When a person turns almost in profile, eyeballs and lips (although the fold between the lips is small), and the neck line merges with the jaw line. We can still see part of the cheek covering the wing of the nose.

It's time to practice

Use the quick sketch method, sketching out facial expressions that you notice around you in a coffee shop or on the street.

Don’t try to detail all the features and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, the main thing is to convey features from different angles.

If you find it difficult to draw in volume, take a real egg (you can boil it, just in case). Draw three lines down the center and add dividing lines. Observe and sketch the egg with contour lines from different sides - this way you will get a feel for how the lines and the distances between them will behave from different angles. You can outline the facial features on the surface of the egg along the main lines and watch how they change in size as the egg rotates.

Good day, friends!

Today we will learn how to draw a portrait of a person step by step, we will use the image as an example beautiful woman. In this article you will find tips that will certainly be useful for beginning artists.

Preparation

For any task you need the appropriate attitude, and to create a portrait of a person you need to have access to his physical appearance or photo. Even before you pick up a pencil, try to think through:

• what will the background be like?
• will there be anything depicted in the background;
• it will be horizontal or vertical format;
• and other important points.

Nature and light

Even if you are well acquainted with the proportions of the human body and are good at drawing abstract portraits, to achieve a portrait likeness you will definitely need life. You can also use photographs as nature.

The image you will use as an example has one very important requirement - light. It is advisable that in the room or in the photograph there is one dominant light source. Simple lighting will allow you to show the volume correctly, without errors, especially if you have no experience. Lighting is not all we need - but the right, good light can help you a lot.

All guides are necessarily present here: line of symmetry, eyes, nose, eyebrows, mouth, etc. If you are not familiar with the proportions of the head, please look at our lesson:.

At this stage, we learn to draw a portrait rather roughly and not entirely accurately, but we must try to correctly convey all the shapes: nose, cheekbones, chin, and other features that are most prominent and characteristic of a given person. You can use a stroke to show falling shadows.

Drawing human ears

Some tips:

• If you draw with a pencil, make a rough sketch very lightly, so that you can then apply precise, beautiful lines on top.
• If you are creating a portrait in oil, then the sketch can be made on canvas with a small brush, indicating only the shape of the face and a few guide lines. It is not worth drawing in more detail, since a layer of oil will cover all your pencil lines. Proceed immediately to the next steps of working with paints.

We clarify all the lines, try to make a beautiful, clean sketch.

You can stop at approximately this sketch and then continue working in color.

Shadow and light: large brushes

Most The best way make the picture three-dimensional - First, darken it as much as possible; as you add light tones, it will become more and more voluminous.

First, the face needs to be “painted” in a fairly dark shade, sometimes you can even make a mulatto out of a person.

The dot shows the size of the brush in relation to the size of the head, and the color that will be used as the main one.

Drawing a parrot

Then take a shade lighter than the base color of the skin and go over large areas where the light falls.

You can repeat the application of shadows and light with a large brush several times. Try to avoid using thinner brushes for as long as possible. The transition from large brushes to thin ones should be gradual. For example, to work with paints: brush No. 20, then No. 16, then No. 12, 10, 6, 4.

A little more precision

In order to draw a portrait correctly, move away from the canvas every time you are going to use a different shade or develop new uniform. Take a break from work and look around more often, especially if you feel tired or confused.

We repeat the manipulation of applying shadow and light several times during work; gradually we can move on to smaller brushes, thus refining the image on the canvas. Naturally, this must be done consciously and accurately.

We refine the shadows, the dot shows the brush size and color

At the refinement stage, you can draw in the eyes a little. This way, your face will immediately come to life, and it will be easier for you to figure out what else needs to be worked on.

Dry brush technique in painting

Important tip: as an example, do not use models with a huge amount makeup. This is very confusing, it is difficult to determine where the model's eyelid actually is and where the drawn arrow is; where the reflection is from artificial glitter, and where from the light source.

We add shadow, highlight, shine. We clarify the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows. In the example above, this is the shadow under the chin on the neck and along the contour of the face on the left side. We show the highlight on the hair in a lighter tone. Add a highlight on the right side of the nose, near the eye, and under the eyebrow.