Artistic Portrait Drawing: Capture Authentic Expressions

Meet Sam, discover how he began drawing portraits and how he merges his two passions into his art. Explore the wide range of artists that inspire his work and continuously influence his distinctive style of drawing.

Discover the different types of pencils, erasers, blending tools, and paper Sam uses, seeing how he creates different effects with each tool. Learn about how light behaves and interacts with objects and see how to reflect it in your drawings. Understand how shadow mapping works by creating a drawing of a face with five-value shading.

Learn how to select a reference image to help you produce a great portrait. Get familiar with the basic proportions of the human head and discover the Loomis method to draw accurate proportions. See the basic structures of the eyes and nose, then the mouth and ears.

Begin rendering your final portrait. Start with shadow mapping, then the hair and edges. See how to create hard, soft, or lost edges to define bone and muscle, create convincing shadows, and give a focal point in your portrait.

Focus on the details and add finishing touches such as key highlights and redefined edges. Then, learn how to take high-quality photographs of your work with Sam’s expert tips. To finish the course, get Sam’s advice on how you can continue improving your skills and see some topics to further your studies in portrait drawing.