Portraits drawn while my kids nap. The document provides guidance on selecting good photographs to work from when drawing portraits, including ensuring the image is in focus, large enough, and has clear facial features and contrast. It also emphasizes observing and drawing what you see in the photograph accurately rather than altering features. Basic anatomical proportions and measurements for portraits are described to help artists get proportions correct, including dividing the head and face into sections and using eye placement to guide other facial features. Rendering details like eyes, nose, mouth, and facial contours with value and shadow rather than outlines is emphasized for realistic portraits.

1. Portraits drawn while my kids nap.

8. When working from photographs one of the most
important elements is selecting a good image. The
best portraits for my business begin with good
photographs.
The most successful images:
Are in focus
Are large enough to work from (a digital issue)
Have contrast on the face
Have the head/shoulders positioned naturally

9. The second step to a successful portrait is to trust
what you see and draw what you see-- don’t draw
what you think you should be seeing, that is how
you miss key details or accidentally alter
someone’s face so the likeness is not
recognizable.

12. This is one of the toughest pictures I have been sent to work from–
there is simply no detail or contrast in the face.

14. Portrait
Drawing

15. When beginning a portrait drawing, there are some basic
measurements that you can consider to help you get your
proportions correct.
When looking at your subject straight on, the width of the
head is two-thirds of the height.
When looking at your subject from a perfect profile, the width
of the head is seven-eighths of the height.

16. From a straight forward view the face can be divided into four
equal sections.
The top quarter is where the hairline begins, the center line is
where the eyes are located (yes, the eyes are in the middle of the
face!).
The bottom of the nose falls just above the line for the bottom
quarter.
If you divide the bottom quarter in half again you can judge where
the bottom of the lip falls.

17. From a direct profile view the features fall in similar places.
The top quarter is where the hairline begins, the center line is
where the eyes are located. The bottom of the nose hits
above the line for the bottom quarter.
Notice that the ear falls almost halfway back from the center
of the head-- people often misplace ears in portrait drawings.

18. The eyes are a useful way to judge the placement of all the
features on the face.
-Seen straight on, your subject’s face should be five eyes in
width.
-There should be the space of one eye between the eyes.
-The edge of the nostrils will fall in line with the center edges of
the eyes.
-And (not shown here) a line drawn from the pupil (the center of
the eye) straight down will tell you where the corners of the
mouth should be.

19. Drawing eyes on the face can be challenging.
As always, be sure you are looking carefully at
the subject and drawing what you see.
Many people draw an eye as an even, almond
shape. This is incorrect. Notice that the eye
above has a much more complicated shape
than that.

20. The red line in this illustration indicates the widest
point at the top and bottom of the eye. Notice
that they occur in different places (and they will
occur at different places on different faces).

21. The bottom lid of the eye has a slight thickness to
it that observant artists will be certain to draw.
You can also usually see the thickness of the top
lid at the edge of the eye near the tear duct.

22. The top eyelid has an almost angular shape to it.
The top edge nearly flattens out across the top of
the eye before sloping sharply down in either
direction.

23. A common mistake is to leave the white of the
eye white, but shadows do fall on the eyeball.
The eyelid casts a shadow across the top of the
eye (shown in purple above) and there is
shadow apparent in the corners of the eyes as
well.
The brightest part of the eye should be the
highlight in the eye, which is determined by
where the light source is.

24. When drawing the pupil and iris of the eye,
remember that the iris is a circle. You can
never see the full circle as the eyelid covers
part of it.

25. When you begin the details
of the face, start with simple
contours to help guide you
but finish the drawing using
value to describe the face,
not outline.

26. Finally, if you are drawing a person in profile,
notice that the shape of the eye is different
than when you are looking at the subject
straight on. From the side an eye looks a lot
like a triangle.

27. When drawing the mouth, the top lip curves down and
therefore usually has darker shadows than the bottom
lip which catches the light.
The top lip is smaller than the bottom lip as well.
Obviously, every mouth is different so it is most
important to try and draw exactly what you are seeing!

28. Noses can also be tricky. The most
important thing is rendering the nose
with light and shadow. Begin with
light lines and then begin to define
the shadow.
There is always a shadow on the
underside of the nose, though the
lighting will determine how dark it is.

29. Look closely at this well drawn nose-- it is
completely described with light and dark. NO
OUTLINES. For a realistic rendering, having
edges defined by shifts in light and dark rather than
lines should be the goal.

30. This is a well drawn
portrait- notice that value
describes all of the
features on the face.
Additionally, the subject is
not looking at us straight
on, which means that
many of the rules we
discussed won’t apply to
this drawing.