The Essentials Of Pencil Portrait Mastery

Among the different forms of drawing, pencil portraiture can be challenging yet can also be rewarding with its results. It takes a lot of passion, perseverance and inspiration to achieve pencil portrait mastery and gain its many benefits. But, before dabbling with pencil and paper, there are some essential factors to be considered especially by one who is just learning the craft.

It takes a while to see the results of tedious, hard work on a canvas. Even the great masters had to linger for many years before completing their opus. As the saying goes, practice and perseverance are the best combination to get the desired outcome. Better yet, it needs to be coupled with pencil portrait mastery to capture the exact representation of an image.

Precision with Drawing Techniques

Every subject has different facial features that require different and specific drawing techniques to create its nearest impression. A light touch of the finger or a slight dab of a tissue can bring about the richness of shadows and shadings to make a face look more interesting. Carefully choosing the medium is fundamental in creating the right blend of tones and hues. Dare to try different mediums to determine their strengths and weaknesses for every drawing technique.

Using the Right Kind of Paper

Achieving pencil portrait mastery also involves knowing which type of paper to use for any art work. While there can be several kinds of drawing paper for sketching, knowing the most suitable type is important to gain long lasting results. Choose materials that are resilient to moisture, ultraviolet rays, and other substances as well as being slow to age. Use a descent drawing board to support the paper material to allow a comfortable positioning of the body during a painting session. The descent board is also the best place to display an artwork. Use a good fixative to preserve the finished work. A fixative is a different type of varnish that is sprayed over a sketch to provide protection to a prized artwork from liquid and other substances. However, most fixatives emit toxic fumes thus it is advised to use it where there is good ventilation in the room.

The Masterful Art of Drawing the Face

Professional artists can adeptly draw the human face from any facial attributes. However, beginners are inclined to come up with misaligned or disproportionate figure if there is no facial framework to trace. It is best to create an oval outline with intersecting horizontal and vertical lines. The outline can initially represent the positioning of the eyes, mouth, nose and ears in perfect alignment. In drawing the mouth, start out by outlining the shape of the lips to establish the right expression. Technically, the lower lip is fuller while the upper lip is darker thus it requires more shading effect. The mouth part is one of the most difficult facial attributes to draw because the upper and lower lips are not the same. With masterful outlining and shading of the lips, the personality of the subject can be revealed by the skilful gliding of the artist’s pencil, If the teeth are to be shown in the portrait, start out by outlining the contours and adjust the proportion before making heavy pencil strokes.

Budding artists try their best to show the world that they got what it takes to become a professional in the world of pencil portraiture. With zealous effort to understand the art and focus on how to achieve pencil portrait mastery, anyone who knows how to sketch can someday belong to the line-up of masters whose works made the world stare in awe.