[font=Comic Sans MS] Amy M. Everhart www.amyeverhart.com
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There is a fine line between impressionism and poor realism.
Capturing people’s likeness with acrylics
In my opinion, the most important thing in a commisioned portrait is a good likeness. If there is one little thing off the commisioner will notice. The second thing is capturing the personality, and the third an overall good painting. (Not the same criteria used in a competition.) If you seriously want to do paid commissions it would be worth the expense to invest in a good projector. It will help you get all the features in the right place, and then you work from there. Some purists think this is cheating, but it’s simply a time- and frustration- saver. You still have to be able to draw and paint. No one faults an accountant for using a calculator, saying he can’t add.
June 8, 2009 at 11:10 am #1119989
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Shadow shapes, distances between one shape to another, on the planes of the face. Large shapes, down to tiny miniscule shapes; observing them and accurate relationships of distance and placement, in relation to each other. That will keep you likeness. Once you have that likeness in your large mass block in stage, keeping it throughout is the trick. A few shadow, mid and light areas can show someone’s likeness just as easily as detail. It’s the relationships and distances between the masses and areas that make up the unique planes of someone’s face, big to tiny.
Jocelyn
June 8, 2009 at 11:30 am #1119993
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I have been told that those who commission a portrait isn’t looking for absolute likeness. They would like improvements of the blemishes, and removal of the double chins, but I find that quite difficult to do. My husband on the other hand says the importance is to concentrate on the woman. The man will be checking out his woman, and the woman will want to make sure she looks good. If you are looking for a prefect likeness the only thing I can say is to focus on what you see, not what you think you see. But then, you are pretty good at capturing a good likeness.
[font=Comic Sans MS] Amy M. Everhart www.amyeverhart.com
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There is a fine line between impressionism and poor realism.
June 8, 2009 at 11:34 am #1119994
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If you seriously want to do paid commissions it would be worth the expense to invest in a good projector. It will help you get all the features in the right place, and then you work from there. Some purists think this is cheating, but it’s simply a time- and frustration- saver. You still have to be able to draw and paint. No one faults an accountant for using a calculator, saying he can’t add.
I have been told that the use of a projector is just “One’s technique” and we all have our own. I like that about the calculator.
[font=Comic Sans MS] Amy M. Everhart www.amyeverhart.com
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There is a fine line between impressionism and poor realism.
June 8, 2009 at 12:01 pm #1119990
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A projector won’t guarantee you keeping the likeness all the way through.
June 8, 2009 at 12:26 pm #1120001
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A projector won’t guarantee you keeping the likeness all the way through.
It will if you keep within the projected image guidelines and draw the outlines more or less accurate.
June 8, 2009 at 12:33 pm #1120002
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I seem to be obsessed with portraits at the moment and I really would like to know what the secret is to capturing a likeness.
There is no secrets,observation and the drawing ability to get the proportions right. You can lose the likeness just by getting the shape of the eyes,nose,mouth,chin, wrong. When you get a minute or two take a look at a good photo of someone and learn to read the face,little details like goosebumps,spots,warts ect are miniscule detail and should be ignored but put in at the very end if you want to include them.
June 8, 2009 at 1:22 pm #1119991
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It’s impossible to reproject over a painting surface, it’s way harder work than just learning good observation and skills. It won’t help with the masses of building up form and blending at all. There is too much sublety to rely on a lined projection, in the facial planes ans their relationships.
June 8, 2009 at 1:27 pm #1120008
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I only became good at likeness when i followed every contour and broke every value down , study the ref no matter how intense . Jocelyn and The baron are spot on with advice but different people see different things . Regards
June 8, 2009 at 2:10 pm #1120006
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Thank you all for your imput. Georgia, I don’t use a projector but I do print out the photo and trace the main outlines. I’m not working on large works yet, so a projector is something I might invest in later. I don’t have issues with so called cheating – I can draw but with a job, three kids etc etc, it would take me longer to get to there and I don’t think I would be any further forward. That’s not to say I don’t thibnk drawing skills are important – if I can get to a life class, I’ll be a happy bunny. I agree that a projector / tracing / using a grid will get the proportions right to some extent, but I also agree with Jocelyn that they won’t get you through to the end. I also agree that if you have the shapes right, you will have a likeness even if there is no detail (otherwise, cartoonists wouldn’t be able to do what they do). So far, it looks as if we are agreed that acute observation is the key. Anyone have any other suggestions? Jools
June 8, 2009 at 3:28 pm #1120009
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I’ll throw in my two pence worth. I draw the image using a grid – usually scaled up in size although my current work is scaled down. Sometimes I might break the grid down further in areas around the eyes or mouth so I can get more accuracy at the drawing stage. I’ll use some artistic licence with the hair or clothing where I feel its necessary. As I deliberately limit myself to painting in acrylic red, yellow and blue I ultimately look for those colours in my photo reference. (I have painted from a photograph where the colour has had more of a green tinge, which took some thinking about). My favourite part of portrait painting is adding white to the eyes, lips etc. which can truly bring out the likeness, or not. Graeme
June 8, 2009 at 3:36 pm #1120005
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I am almost always struggling with getting and – maybe more important – keeping a likeness. Over time I learned some hints and tips from several people but I am not even sure if they are correct as they contradict themselves very often : 1) The likeness will be there if all the features and planes are placed accurately and not even a millimeter wrong. 2) When you have a drawn a very accurate likeness and then try to paint over it it will not be a likeness anymore after that. 3) If you capture the likeness too early in your work you will loose it when progressing. Better to start with accurate overall forms/shapes and get the likeness without the features in place yet (I find this difficult, but think it is true). 4) Don’t draw lines and features but just draw/shade the shadow shapes. When you do that correctly the likeness will appear äutomatically”. So , this will not help you very much I am afraid but I liked the question as I guess many are struggling with this including myself, regards walter.
June 8, 2009 at 4:46 pm #1119995
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You can ruin a likeness if a feature is out of line. If you look at the painting I am working on of my stepbrother, the eyes were not quite right. That spoils the painting. We are hard wired to see faces, so if a face is not right, it is disturbing. Tracing can be very problematic, because paper moves. then you trust those lines instead of your own eyes to your ruin.
Also, communication is important. Ask your clients early on what they think of your portrait. I painted a lady recently and she was disturbed because the eyes didn’t look like they had enough make up. So I added “makeup” and she was happy with the end result.
[FONT=Georgia] Mimi – My art blog
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June 8, 2009 at 4:54 pm #1119992
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I truly feel that nothing replaces hard work towards good drawing skills. Really, is there an advantage to Having to resort to all kinds of stilted, drawing flow interrupting methods that hamper the simple freedom of confident drawing? The grid, though it works for many, I find awful stilting. I never learned to observe and use continuous line the times we were asked to use it in classes. However, these methods are definitely there for anyone’s freedom to make use of, for sure., and I certainly don’t myself label them “cheating”. I just personally always found them so hampering to my drawing skill development which I desired. They kind of were there for me to use later, if I so chose to.
The projector and such, all come in handy to an artist whose drawing skills are already well developed, and they also do help one learn to “edit” what is needed in their prelim. drawing for a portrait, etc., but there is no short cuts.
I know I’ve done way more accurate drawings freehand then many of the times I’ve used my projector for larger or more comprehensive commissions. This is because I’ve drawn almost (not 100%) every day of my life since I can recall conciously wanting to.
Just keep developing those observational skills and keep up your drawing practice, either from a weekly or whatever open drawing session or just form what you see around you. That skill will easily then be able to be applied working from reference material when desired or needed.
Sometimes, a photo can belie the “likeness” as can certain lighting conditions, etc. But, it’s all a matter of getting down accurately what you can physically observe of your subject, be it from life or from reference. Sometimes, I actually find, photo reference shows Too much and one can get caught up in itty bitty detail, and not the overall shadow and light masses that fall over the planes of the face, fill the concave parts, and get cast by the parts that rise from the surface planes (like the nose).
If you want to be able to draw likenesses accurately, or anything, it all in developing second nature strong drawing skills. It is also the same for painting skills. The more you do it, and the stronger your observational skills translate into hand skills, the easier and more accurate it all will come eventually.
I’ve heard it related to starting with training wheels on a bike, using all kinds of tricks and aids, but I began by getting on a bike and being pushed down the sidewalk and just getting used to it. Same thing with swimming; I never was given water wings, I just had to learn to swim from being put into the water. So I look at it in that way, just work and work on it full force, till it comes. Jsut draw and draw and draw and you’ll get better and better
These are just my thoughts.
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If you can’t capture the eyes people will never recongnize the person you drew but people recongnize others from a far because they know the shape of the skull so the eyes first if you draw a portrait then the skull must be first when you draw figure.
Great comments and helpful sharing. JanetK, are you familiar with the Sargent quote “a portrait is a likeness in which there’s something not quite right about the mouth”? (or similar).
I think he was both commenting on the demands of commissions and clients and the difficulty, subtlety, and expressiveness of the mouth. Anybody have any advice on building/drawing the actual structure of the eye? I find myself drawing the socket, then placing the inside corner, then my process goes to heck–sometimes i even place the eyebrow next. How do you tackle the lids? Do you draw the orb and then cover it? Also, how do you address the slight bulging of the eye at the pupil? Does everyone wait until last to put in the iris and pupil?
I also begin with a gesture to familiarize myself with the person’s face, general placement of features, the way they hold their head, etc. And of course, make many corrections and erasures in the process. But what truly makes a portrait for me is the mouth. I know it is said that the “eyes are the window to the soul”, but I find often the soul is expressed very subtlely in the mouth. I looked again at the Singer portrait and on my screen at least, I see very little in the eyes. But the mouth, ah, that’s another matter…
I start with the nose and the shadow formed by the nose. Then I move up to the eyes..
After that i seems to come together…
I always start with a gesture of the head shape and then th placement of the nose. After those are on paper I can actually build the face in Quadrants.
I like to start with the large shape of the head and a space and outline of the hair. While i am looking intently at the eyes, nose flares, and corner of mouth because this also is much of the expression of the person but without the shadow shapes will never look like them for me if i start there so only looking for placement with small lines, then I start blocking in base color, the dark shapes, dark sockets for the eyes and along the nose and corner of mouth along my measurement dashes,side of the face Once my dark tones are satisfying, I start blocking more of the eyes, nose and mouth in trying to get back to the original expression that caught my eye, then after l lay in the actual features which are nearly there if I got the tonal color and my darks correctly, then I start with the pizzaz of hightlights to being it all together. Makes people really easy. When I first started drawing people, I started with one eye and then connected the other, nose, etc. Had an o.k picture but lacked the 3D dimension to where they seem to be more real and natural. Still, still learning though- who know what more I can learn if you ask me next year! isn’t it amazing how we all have the same features and all look different – that still is awesome to me.
When I’m drawing I usually start with getting the eyes in place (size proportion shape) and the I usually work outward with light pencil lines for the other parts and then evaluate “likeness”. Then I go back and add shading and other gestural line (usually lots of erasing too). I haven’t painted a portrait yet, but I just read a book by David Lefel and his approach is much like what Bob describes. This seems to make sense to me in oils but I’ve been drawing like I described since I was a kid, I’m not sure if I’ll change.
It’s really wonderful to see everyones approach — great discussion.
My favorite feature is the eyes, because a dark pupil with a highlight makes the portrait come alive. But I save the eyes for dessert, even though I am drawn to draw them first. First, a light arabesque to get the shape of the head, and some light center lines for the features. I will erase those as soon as I am done with them, so that I can see a more natural context. Don’t forget the shoulders and neck! The way a person’s shoulder’s sit play a major role in recognizing them even from a distance. Where do the shoulders intersect the head? What angles are they? How far out do they come (use some triangulation from head and face features). Then the spacing for the major features — eyes, lips, nose, nostrils, chin shape. If the spacing is wrong, you won’t have a likeness. If the eye spacing is wrong, it might not even look human. Now some details: The shapes of the eyes — their relative size, where their corners are, eyelid folds, eyebrows relative to the eyes and the edges of the head, position and size of the irises. The shape and size of the lips — how the corners turn up or down, how full, hint of modeling, where the corners line up relative to the eyes. The nose — shape, curve and thickness relative to the eyebrows, the shape of the bulb and position of the nostrils, some modeling (one side of the nose might blend into the cheeks while the other may be contrasted), gentle skin folds around the nose and mouth. As I go, I will erase and adjust relative positionings as needed. Then I will develop the details is a sequence that gives me the best context for developing humanness — the pupils with highlights, the hair and hairline. Then I focus on the values and hues. – David D.
I’m pretty much self-taught when it comes to portrait work, Bob, so I’m not surprised my approach seems unorthodox. And I’m continually learning, so these discussions are great. Thanks!
That is pretty interesting, Carolyn. Most instructors seem to advise going the other way–drawing the typical or ideal proportions, then adjusting for the idiosyncratic proportions of the particular sitter–but I can see how your approach would work. lasotman and Phil, agreed….no matter what feature you start with, it’s fun! Even if I start with an eye, i usually end up adjusting it significantly anyway, soon enough. Maybe someday I will be a good enough draftsman to just put it down right the first time, but for now, I rough it in, erase, rough it in, develop it, erase…moving around the whole face.
When trying to capture a likeness I look at the structure of the head and the size and shape of the features and their relationship to each other. Then I do a number of quick sketches which helps me to “get” the person and to come to know their features. Sometimes I also try to “think like a caricaturist” meaning I think about what features seem to stand out. For instance are the ears slightly pointy? is the nose flat? does the bottom lip protrude? If I slightly exaggerate the more unique features of a person I sometimes can get a better likeness. And I find that sometimes a slightly “off” drawing looks more like the person I’m drawing than a drawing that has everything perfectly sized.
I have to agree with Phil. It is all so much fun to do! I think because when we meet someone we look into their eyes first so there fore when we look at a portrait we look into the eyes first. I try to get the eyes first then work on that pesky nose.
I do lots of portraits and I find that getting the length of the nose to be the most difficult. If it’s too long you lose and if it’s too short you lose. It defys most rules of proportions of the face and has to be just right to get a good likeness. Where the nose ends determines the placement of the lips and of course this affects the height of the face. But it is all so much fun to do.
Thanks for commenting, Sharon. I follow a similar procedure. I do a lot of erasing in that early phase. Getting the neckline from the most prominent ear to the shoulder is a problem for me, as is placing the chin correctly in relation to the neck. If that silhouette of the neck into the ear is right compared to the body, then the proportions are going to be OK–the ear is as good of a landmark as anything. I suppose each of us has a different trouble spot, and mine is that particular silhouette. After that, I remember what Jon deMartin and Dan Gheno (and Anthony Panzera, and Leonardo!) have taught me through Drawing mag—divide the face into the tried-and-true proportions to get a rough guideline of the head’s structure and facial-feature placement, then adjust for the individual’s idiosyncratic differences from the norm.
I generally will start with a quick shape for the face and neck, deciding the width and length. Then deciding placement of brow, eye, nose length, mouth and chin are the best indicators of the sitter’s likness. I will then look in a mirror to see if placements are correct. Once satisfied that I’m close to a likeness, I will place the cheek bone and then begin the eyes with the socket and ball shape and I will draw eye lids around the ball shape. It is so true that if I have the eyes then the rest of the drawing flows but if I do not have the placement correct on the face it won’t matter how well I have rendered them.
Step 5: Adding Nuances to Facial Features and Deepening Shadows
It’s starting to look closer, but there’s more details work to be done. As you can tell, the pin on the woman’s lapel can be seen, faintly under the glazes. It’s time to paint it in. And there’s more work to do on the man’s tie–shadows on the edges that will give it depth and make it look like it’s really there, resting on his shirt.
Step 6: Smoothing out and Adding Detail
I feel like I’m in the home stretch at this stage, where I could call this finished, but there’s just a few final details yet: The details on the woman’s necklace, the tie-in values (where you take sharply defined shadows and merge them into smooth gradations) on the man’s tie. Highlights on the faces. And even just a few spots on his forehead to give him some character.
The Finished Painting
Done! All in all, this painting has dozens of layers of translucent paint and over 25 hours of work put into it. It was worth every minute. My friend really appreciated it, and it brought a lot of encouragement as it helped to keep this memory alive.
Let me know what you think of this mini-tutorial, and how I can improve these for you in the future. Share your paintings with me anytime and let me know how I can help you become a better artist.
Be blessed in your painting,
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