Drawing a Pencil Portrait Project of Myself

Painting a self-portrait is a useful mean for an artist to hone his skill in drawing the human face in its various expressions. It is an opportunity to experience much freedom to experiment with different techniques and medium without being influenced by other people because you may or may not show the pencil portrait project to others. While it can be difficult to accomplish, it is nevertheless possible to capture your own facial features as long you employ the right tool for the challenging task.

Steps in Making a Self-Portrait

• To begin the pencil portrait project, position yourself in a comfortable and well lighted spot. Position a good sized mirror with double sides in your front while at the same time allowing sufficient room for your sketch pad. Look at your own facial face on the mirror using interchangeably the regular and the magnifying sides. Using the magnifier can help you in drawing all the finer details of your face to be transferred on the paper. You can also line up other photos of yourself to view your face from different perspectives.

• Make a light outline of your face using a graphite pencil. Start from the head top making sure to include all the contours and curves that your eyes see. Once you have completed the outline, compare it with the mirror image to check the ratios. If you started with the inaccurate ratios, the self-portrait is not going to appear like you.

• Start by drawing the eyes. Make sure to get the correct space measurement between the eyes to achieve the desired self-resemblance. To have the correct ratio, use a ruler to draw a straight line across the eye part. Use the outline of both eyes as guide in marking the right spots for the eyes. When the eyes are properly set, start filling in the irises and pupils. Always use pointed pencils to draw the tiny details of the eyes.

• In drawing the nose and the lips, follow the same procedure in measuring the space between them. Both facial features are best emphasized by shading them instead of drawing them with harsh lines. Finishing touches can be added by using pencils with fine tips to create short creases in the lip area.

• Draw the ears the way they are seen from the mirror. Make sure to include the small details even your facial flaws or marks, to come up with a pencil portrait project that most resembles you. Initially, draw the hair with light pencil strokes then proceed to do the shading technique to darken the hair in the right areas.

• Use a kneaded eraser to remove smudges and unwanted lines. Once you are satisfied with your self-portrait, spray it with a fixative to protect the surface.

The above steps clearly show that the key to have an accurate rendition of your own face is to break it down into shapes and proportions. While people generally disregard their facial features, the method of dividing the face into different parts can unfold features that are unnoticed before. Discovering your own facial attributes can help you in transferring your own image into your work of art.

Creating self-portraits is one of the most popular means by which an artist can improve his craft. It is a challenging pencil portrait project even for seasoned artists. While it can be a breeze to sketch another person’s face, it is totally different when it comes to drawing your own despite the fact that you have been looking at your own face for countless of times already. With yourself as your own model, you can come to terms with yourself and discover that there are indeed facial features that make you unique and worth painting with a thousand pencil strokes.