Foundations of Portrait Drawing & Painting
There is a yawning delta between perception and reality. We look, but we do not see. The realist artist's training is the stripping of the veils of faulty perceptions until the actuality of shape and form presents.
Drawing and painting portraits is essentially about shape. And getting the BIG shape right is where the likeness and gesture resides. Everything--proportion, expression and meaning--builds upon that simple premise.
I call getting the BIG shape striking the arabesque. Arabesque denotes rhythm and movement. Terminology implies intent.
This is where the beginner is well advised to start.
20 lessons. 5 hours, 22 minutes
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100-MODULE-1-SHAPE-&-PROPORTION : Read this first!
1.22 MB
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101-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-square
Deceptively simple. Easy to dismiss this lesson, but the square is the fundamental determinant of facial proportion. The square also calibrates your sighting skills to ensure that you are doing it correctly.
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102-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-root-phi-rectangle
The square root of the golden number (1.618 - the number of the world soul according to Plato) is my favorite dynamic rectangle. It proffers an elegance few other dynamic shapes do.
HD [captioned]Download the reference image at: https://www.artacademy.com/tv/102.jpg
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103-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-truncated-root-two-rectangle
The third lesson in the Fundamentals of Portrait Drawing & Painting continues developing your understand and skill of striking dynamic rectangles.
The truncated Root 2 dynamic rectangle is the third most common ascribed to the structure of the head.
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104-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-striking-shape-part-1
I call drawing the BIG shape 'Striking the Arabesque'. This is the singularly most important skill an artist must acquire. Arabesque infers gesture and rhythm. Terminology implies intent.
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105-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-striking-shape-part-2
In lesson 105 the ante is upped, the difficulty level is increased. Your striking skills are further developed.
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106-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-striking-shape-part-3
A favorite of Edgar Degas, the 7/8's profile view is, perhaps, the most elegant of the portrait poses.
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107-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-facial-martrix-part-1
The BIG shape is deconstructed interiorly establishing the proportions within the facial matrix.
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108-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-facial-matrix-part-2
The interiority of the facial matrix continues.
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109-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-the-facial-matrix-part-3
The facial matrix of the 3/4 view continues with placing and articulating the labial tractor (the mouth). HD [captioned]
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110-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-facial-structure-part-1
The major planar forms of the frontal pose are presented.
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111-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-facial-structure-part-2
The structural aspects frontal and 7/8's profile view of the skull are presented.
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112-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-facial-structure-part-3
Study of the planar aspects of the 3/4 pose.
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113-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-facial-structure-part-4
The facial structures of the 7/8th's profile view present a sculptural, haptic quality.
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114-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-part-1
Morphology is the study of size, shape and structure. It is the landscape of the portrait. The frontal pose is presented in three parts.
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115-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-part-2
The forms and structures of the frontal pose continued.
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116-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-part-3
Part 3 of the morphology of the frontal pose.
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117-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-2-part-1
The facial angle and construction of the labial tractor (lower face) is the locus of this two part lesson.
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118-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-2-part-2
The forms and structures of the 3/4 profile continued.
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119-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-3-part-1
Morphology is the study of form and structure. Lesson 119 studies the 7/8 profile view in this two part lesson.
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120-MODULE-1-SHAPE-and-PROPORTION-morphology-3-part-2
The forms and structures of the 7/8th's profile view continue.
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Use the same reference image as the previous chapter.
