Portraits
It is arguably the most difficult challenge an artist can take on: rendering the human being with a photo-like quality of realism.
So what does it take?
It takes the artist to understand the importance of the value scale. A high quality portrait will not only include the blackest of black shades, but also the whitest of white shades. And, VERY importantly, every shade of gray in between.
It takes the artist understanding the importance of precise placement. A realistic portrait will have every flicker of light accurately placed so that the glint of the eyes, the shine of the hair, and the shadows that naturally fall on the face are drawn so that one just may have to take a second glance to confirm that what they are looking at is a drawing and not a photograph.
In that vein, it takes the artist understanding how light behaves. Faces are unpredictable in that no two are alike. However, faces are incredibly predictable in the fact that there is always shadow under the eyes, under the nose, in the groove of the chin, in the hollows of the cheeks, under the jawline, and along the sides of the temples. A true artist marries the unpredictable with the predictable and creates a unique portrait for each person they draw.
It takes an eye like a hawk. To notice the SUBTLE change in the shifting of values is a skill that takes time to achieve. This is critical to being a successful portrait artist. You need to do what a camera does, only with a simple piece of paper and a pencil and nothing more. Before we begin any portrait drawing in the 2-D art class at ACGC, we spend a considerable amount of time practicing drawing a value scale and practicing applying the value scale to volumetric shapes (see the volumetric shapes lesson under the 2-D Art tab).
It takes understanding proportion. You can completely destroy an otherwise beautifully drawn portrait simply by placing the glint of light in the wrong place on the eyes or on the mouth. You can ruin a perfect drawing by placing too much space between the lips and the nose. You can create an awkward drawing by putting the hairline in a too low of a location on a human being that you are drawing. Leonardo da Vinci was known for his sketchbooks which so precisely detailed the mathematically perfect proportions of the human face and students must understand these thoughts before they can understand how to sketch out a face with any degree of realism. What was observed hundreds of years ago in the Renaissance era holds sound today - human beings are, generally speaking, predictable in the way they are proportioned.
Minnesota State Visual Art Standards:
So what does it take?
It takes the artist to understand the importance of the value scale. A high quality portrait will not only include the blackest of black shades, but also the whitest of white shades. And, VERY importantly, every shade of gray in between.
It takes the artist understanding the importance of precise placement. A realistic portrait will have every flicker of light accurately placed so that the glint of the eyes, the shine of the hair, and the shadows that naturally fall on the face are drawn so that one just may have to take a second glance to confirm that what they are looking at is a drawing and not a photograph.
In that vein, it takes the artist understanding how light behaves. Faces are unpredictable in that no two are alike. However, faces are incredibly predictable in the fact that there is always shadow under the eyes, under the nose, in the groove of the chin, in the hollows of the cheeks, under the jawline, and along the sides of the temples. A true artist marries the unpredictable with the predictable and creates a unique portrait for each person they draw.
It takes an eye like a hawk. To notice the SUBTLE change in the shifting of values is a skill that takes time to achieve. This is critical to being a successful portrait artist. You need to do what a camera does, only with a simple piece of paper and a pencil and nothing more. Before we begin any portrait drawing in the 2-D art class at ACGC, we spend a considerable amount of time practicing drawing a value scale and practicing applying the value scale to volumetric shapes (see the volumetric shapes lesson under the 2-D Art tab).
It takes understanding proportion. You can completely destroy an otherwise beautifully drawn portrait simply by placing the glint of light in the wrong place on the eyes or on the mouth. You can ruin a perfect drawing by placing too much space between the lips and the nose. You can create an awkward drawing by putting the hairline in a too low of a location on a human being that you are drawing. Leonardo da Vinci was known for his sketchbooks which so precisely detailed the mathematically perfect proportions of the human face and students must understand these thoughts before they can understand how to sketch out a face with any degree of realism. What was observed hundreds of years ago in the Renaissance era holds sound today - human beings are, generally speaking, predictable in the way they are proportioned.
Minnesota State Visual Art Standards:
- 2. Evaluate how the principles of visual art such as repetition, pattern, emphasis, contrast and balance are used in the creation of, presentation of, or response to visual artworks. (9.1.1.5.2)
- 1. Identify the tools, materials and techniques from a variety of two- and three-dimensional media such as drawing, printmaking, ceramics or sculpture. (0.1.2.5.1)
- 2. Revise artworks based on artistic intent and using multiple sources of critique and feedback. (9.2.1.5.2)
- 2. Revise presentation based on artistic intent and using multiple sources of critique and feedback. (9.3.1.5.2)