Pencil Portraits for Realistic Faces
Learning to draw portraits and figures can be deceptively difficult, but there are few results that are more satisfying than capturing the likeness of a person. And drawing allows for artistic license and methods of imbuing the portrait with the essence of someone that not even a great photograph can capture.
How to Draw a Portrait
Award-winning figure drawing artist Costa Vavagiakis takes portraiture beyond the basics in this figure drawing workshop, with a thorough examination of anatomical features drawing from a live model. Learn how to draw a realistic face through in-depth lessons on using shapes and lines to construct the features. Then, follow along to discover great lessons for drawing the effects of light and shadow on a portrait in profile, place the features and get accurate results in your art.
Great Art Instruction
Vavagiakis is a great instructor, with tons of teaching experience that shows in the organization and clearly presented lessons in this video. You'll love learning and adapting his drawing techniques into your own style. Some of the lessons you'll learn include:
How to draw a realistic face and accurate anatomySee why these reviewers loved learning how to Draw a Portrait from Life:
"Clearly presented instruction throughout…this artist has a unique approach to drawing the portrait, with tips, ideas & pointers that apply across the board for any medium or style." – Anne, Northlightshop.com review
"Need more from this fellow. he does beautiful work and calmly explains so much as he goes along. Very pleasant concentrated learning from this teacher." – Kathy, ArtistsNetwork.tv review
Start Learning Now
Watch the preview to pick up some drawing tips to get started drawing pencil portraits. Then, head over to ArtistsNetwork.tv for the full-length video, the materials list, to leave reviews, and more!
Check out this gallery of Costa's images or check out his website for more information at CostaVavagiakis.com.
Learn more about drawing faces with this FREE download!
References I found and use for doodling-
Hopefully you all like?
Sources:
- Body Shapes - Practice by tabbykat
- Hand Reference, part one (?)
- headshots by ErrantCrow
- Source Unknown
- pinfluxsketches
- pachurz
John Nevarez is a visual development and storyboard artist working in animation. His projects include Monsters University and Cars 2, among others. He has recently left Pixar to establish a freelance career.
His long-running blog has examples of his work on various projects, as well as personal work, warm-ups and sketches for fun. Fun is the operative word by which I would describe his drawing style, particularly his line and tone drawings (which may be traditional pencil or the digital equivalent, it's difficult to distinguish these days).
Nevarez has the kind of springy, lively line quality that makes it look like his drawings happen out of the pure fun of drawing, and just coincidentally are exactly what's needed for the project on which he's working.
In addition to his own work, for which you can see an overview here, his blog features work by other artists in the field, as well as a cornucopia of links to artist's websites.
There is a video interview with Nevarez on Bobby Chiu's Schoolism, and an older text interview on the Character Design blog (with additional images).
Digital artist and illustrator Florian Nicolle (previously here and here) blends layers of newsprint, watercolor, pencil, and digital painting to create rich, frenetic portraits that seem to fly off the canvas. Over the past few years, Nicolle has been tapped by some of the world's largest brands including Nike, Adobe, Warner Brothers, and ESPN, but still finds time for personal work. You can explore more on Behance and on his website.
'Kiss Scene rough sketches - Drawing for Boys Love (Yaoi)' (Part 2 of 3)
A 103 page book/CD rom with male/male kissing scenes, from many different angles, for artist drawing references.
Other art references like this can be found here:
- Kiss Scene - Drawing for Boys Love (Yaoi) (Part 1 of 3)
- Kiss Scene - Drawing for Boys Love (Yaoi) (Part 3 of 3)
- Love Scene - Drawing for Boys Love (Yaoi)
- Mangaka Boy Love Pose Collection: Love Scene 2 (Part 1 of 2)
- Mangaka Boy Love Pose Collection: Love Scene 2 (Part 2 of 2)
- Mangaka Boy Love Pose Collection: Love Scene 3' (Part 1 of 2)
- Mangaka Boy Love Pose Collection: Love Scene 3' (Part 2 of 2)
- Mangaka Boy Love Pose Collection: Love Scene 3' (Part 3 of 3)
I personally believe that all artists need to have a foundation before they try to take on any sort of extreme style. It will likely show if they try to use a "style" cover up a lack of knowledge about anatomy or the basic tenets of art. There's a difference between deliberately ignoring rules and knowing when and how to break them.
<3 Admin Kin
An appreciative fuck-ton of bird wing anatomy references (from various sources).
Reference! Reference! is a free database that collects different video clips, with categories ranging from facial expressions, to styles of fighting, and animals in motion.
You can play and pause the videos, and move through them frame-by-frame easily.
I'm freaking out, man.
-Evvy
An okay fuck-ton of simple shoulder movement references (per request).
- I'm not certain but I think this is a stock photo from Ahrum-Stock
- pachurz
- timepolice-art
- Anatomy for Sculptors
- Shoulder Tips by arandadill
- Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth
- Twitchfinger
