PORTRAIT DRAWING: The Features

Joy Montague

Elijah Schwarz

Andrameda Martinez

Last night the class began Portrait studies. Before drawing the whole face the class made a series of studies addressing the individual features. When drawing eyes it is important to remember that you are drawing a spherical form. The eyelids should have a top and frontal plane. In addition, they should arc across the eyeball. Shadows should be placed in the corners of the eye as well as below the upper eyelid.
Noses should also exhibit top, side and possibly bottom planes. The ball of the nose should overlap the nostrils and should not only be shaded on the lower half but should project a cast shadow as well.
And lastly, the mouth should be drawn with a subtle arc across the dental sphere. The upper lip is generally darker than the lower lip. In addition, the mouth will have more volume if the lower lip is rendered with tone and limited line rather than totally outlining the shape.