Drawing Freemium Angelo

Artist Daily Step by Step:

Draw PeopleFrom a

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Artist Daily Step by Step:

ARTIST DAILY STEP-BY-STEP: DRAW PEOPLE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS www.artistdaily.com 2

STEP-BY-STEP

DRAW PEOPLE FROM A PHOTOGRAPH

Drawing from photographs has itsadvantages and disadvantages.Deciding whether to draw from

life or from photographic referenceshould be a matter of choosing thepractical path. Drawing from life willallow an artist to see a fuller valuerange than what can be observed in aphotograph, while drawing from a pho-tograph of a child, say, rather than ask-ing the child to pose, can make a diffi-cult task much more manageable.A lot of artists concentrate on the

eyes when starting a portrait. Someconcern themselves with the generalshape of the head, while others mayfind that likeness resides in the mouth.But many beginners are filled withtrepidation at tackling the most change-able, finely detailed, and idiosyncraticfeature of a person: the hair.Shiny, silky, smooth, frizzy, wavy,

kinky. A person’s hair is as individualas his or her facial features. Both thestyle and texture speak volumes aboutsomeone’s age, personality, social sta-tus, and history. But many artists over-look that important aspect of a sitter’sappearance and individuality in record-

ing what I call a “personality portrait.”They scribble lines, rub tones, and fillin shapes after they’ve completed theface, hoping no one will notice that thehair looks more like a floppy hat pulledtightly over the head.

Have the Right Tools for theJobYou could use a tablespoon tomeasure a teaspoon full of liquid,but why risk pouring too much ortoo little? It’s always better tochoose the right tool for the job athand. That’s as true in drawing asit is in cooking.

I recommend buying at least sixgraphite pencils, ranging indegrees of softness from an HB toa 9B, as well as an F. My favoritebrands are European, because theyyield a much wider range of val-ues. Yes, you could use the yellowNo. 2 pencil in your desk drawer,but you will struggle to get thedeep, rich darks and the soft, lighttones that are easy to create withartists’ pencils.

Artists’ erasers are also a mustbecause, unlike the pink eraser at theend of a writing pencil, they won’t dam-age the paper surface or leave uglymarks. I use a kneaded eraser for lift-ing graphite from paper, to soften an

ARTIST DAILY STEP BY STEP:

Draw People FromA Photograph

31 Tips on How to Draw a Person From a Photograph | by Sandra Angelo

For this demonstration, I took ablack-and-white photo of the modeland made a contour drawing of themajor shapes within the hair on asheet of two-ply, plate-finish paper.


edge, or to lighten a value. As the nameimplies, a kneaded eraser can be pulledapart and pushed back together likebread dough to clean graphite from theeraser. I also use a hand-held, battery-operated eraser for establishing sharpedges or for removing lines completely.The surface I prefer is a plate-finish,

100% cotton, pure-white drawing papersold in 11"-x-14" spiral-bound pads. Ialso have one pad with thin, one-plypaper that I take along when travelingor sitting in a doctor’s office, andanother pad that contains a heavier,two-ply paper for studio work.If my drawings are going to be han-

dled by a lot of people, I spray them witha light mist of Krylon workable fixative.If they are going to a framer immediate-ly, to be placed under glass, I don’t needto give them that protective coating.

Where Do I Begin?I encourage beginners to learn by copy-ing Old Master drawings, then progressto working from large photographic ref-erences. The two advantages of copyingOld Masters are that it’s easier to ren-der from drawings, because you cansee how materials were used, andbecause you will always learn morefrom copying a great drawing thanfrom duplicating an average drawing.

It’s important to work from a largereference, be it an Old Master drawing,a family photograph, or a magazineillustration. Source material has to belarge enough for you to see subtletiesin tones—particularly in depicting hair.

Fashion magazines often have largefaces that are excellent references. Stayaway from family snapshots wherefaces are smaller than a thumbtack; theface in your reference needs to be atleast 5" x 7" for you to gather enoughinformation for a drawing. With com-puters and laser copies readily avail-able, it’s quite easy to enlarge photos.Just make sure your enlargementretains adequate resolution.

To save time when drawing a gridover the black-and-white enlargement ofa drawing or photo, my students use theDiscover Art grid kit; the grid lines areon an acetate sheet that is placed overthe reference. A sheet with grids (darklines that show through drawing paper)is placed under the drawing surface.The sheets come with 1⁄2", 3⁄4", and1" grids. The more detail in your draw-ing, the smaller your grid should be.

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Rachael2002, graphite, 11 x 81⁄2. Collection the artist.Working from hard to soft graphite pencils, I drew thelines of the hair in varying lengths. Following thethree-dimensional form of the head, I worked up to arich, dark tone near the forehead and around the bun.

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If you can’t get the grid kit, you cansimply use a ruler to mark 1⁄2" inter-vals along the edges of your photocopy,and draw grid lines connecting themarks. Draw a proportional grid on aclean sheet of drawing paper, using alight graphite pencil to keep your linesfaint. Now you are ready to create a con-tour-line drawing that will serve as amap for your shading. Draw the outlinesof the major shapes within the OldMaster drawing or other reference byrecording how those outlines move fromone part of the grid to another. Forexample, you might observe that the out-line of the mouth begins at the bottomof one square and goes diagonally overto the next square, then the line movesdown to the edge of the third square.Draw that outline crossing the same setof squares in the grid on your drawingpaper. Also observe the width and heightof the hair in relation to the face.

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I practiced drawingstrands of hair, makingsure they varied inweight and length. Thecircled areas show howunnatural the hair looksif the lines end abruptlyor if all lines end in thesame place.

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This demonstrationshows how to draw hairwith an awareness thatthe lines flow over andaround a three-dimensional form, andhow the position of thelight source (at upperleft) affects theplacement of light anddark lines.


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If you are struggling with accuracy,consider turning your reference anddrawing paper upside down. Or place apiece of paper (with a 1⁄2" window init) over your reference, blocking every-thing except the information containedwithin a 1⁄2" square. That will forceyou to see abstract line and shape rela-tionships instead of working from pre-conceived notions about how the sub-ject should look. Once your line draw-ing is accurate, you are ready to startfilling in the contours with lines char-acteristic of human hair.

It may seem that using a grid is acheater’s way of drawing, but it’s actual-ly a process artists have relied on forcenturies. It’s a simple way of transfer-ring the major lines of a drawing and,at the same time, either reducing orenlarging the image. Furthermore, agrid helps us understand that drawingand painting depend on seeing theabstract relationship of shapes, lines,and values. Once you accept that prem-ise and stop being intimidated by themagnificence of Raphael’s Madonna orthe intricacies of Aunt Gertrude’s lace

blouse, you’ll be able to draw anythingaccurately—including hair.

How Can I Make It Look Real?I recommend that beginners build uplayers of graphite from the lightest to

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Dianne2000, graphite, 9 x 9. Collection the artist.

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Just for your amusement,I’ve shown how unnaturalhair looks when it’sdrawn as a clump oflines that surround theshape of the head.


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the darkest values, because studentsseem to have more confidence in pro-gressing toward the intense darksrather than away from them. Followingthat idea, you should start drawing thelightest highlights and work toward thedark twists and folds in the subject’shair. Use your graphite pencils innumerical sequence, increasing theamount of pressure you apply to themas you build tone. Always place a darkvalue at the hair roots, to prevent hairfrom looking like it’s a wig that landedon the model’s head. Dark roots anchorhair to the head.

The lines of your drawing shouldflow with the three-dimensional form.That is, have them move as if they wereactually strands of hair undulating onyour paper over the surface of yourmodel’s head. Don’t draw each lineexactly the same length; let some stopshort and others flow beyond the out-lines you made over your grid. No mat-ter how much mousse or hair spray isapplied to a head of hair, a few strandswill always stray from the pack. Painters talk about establishing “lost”

and “found” edges with the movementof their brushes; the same idea appliesto handling a drawing pencil. For exam-

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Ankaby Gordon MacDonald, 2003, graphite, 10 x 8. Collection theartist.“Take 20 or 30 photographs of a person from differentangles so you can get a sense of the sculptural form ofthe head and the subtle differences in facialexpressions,” advises Gordon MacDonald, a finalist inDrawing magazine’s 2004 Drawing Competition. “Just oneview of the head is limiting, and I need to have enoughinformation to distort things for the sake of capturing a totallikeness. A good portrait has three main ingredients: thepersonality of the sitter, the likeness of the facial features, andthe design of the image on paper or canvas.”

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Jenniby James Wallace, 2003, graphite, 10 x 8.Wallace observed his daughter, Jenni, lost inthought while sitting on the patio of theirhome. He quickly grabbed a camera andtook candid shots, one of which capturedher pensive expression. Once back in hisstudio, Wallace used a Sanford design ebonygraphite pencil to makea quick gesturedrawing to place the head in the middle of apiece of Strathmore Bristol board. he thendeveloped the drawing being careful not tosmudge the graphite on the white board.


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ple, the edge between a person’s faceand hair is usually a hard one, becausethere is a shadow cast by the overhang-ing hair, whereas the crown of the headoften fades into the background andbecomes a softer, lost edge. There is alsoa lost-and-found character to individuallines when they begin as firm, darkmarks and gradually soften and meltinto white paper. The balance of hardand soft edges helps establish a realisticquality in a drawing.

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Shades of Grayby Carrie Ballantyne, 2002, colored pencil, 15 x 12.Private collection.

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Hannahby Carrie Ballantyne, 2003, charcoal, 15 x 11.Private collection.This charcoal portrait was done after the colored-pencil piece because Ballantyne wanted to tackle thechallenge of charcoal, and because she wanted toexecute a more accurate depiction of her daughter—she wasn’t satisifed with certain parts of her colored-pencil portrait. The process for both drawings beganwith many photographs, which she developed inblack and white to allow her to gauge each onewithout being unduly influenced by color.

Ballantyne was featured in the premiere issue ofDrawing magazine, in 2003.


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How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? Yes, practice is the only way to masterany art form, be it music, dance, or fineand applied art. It’s especially impor-tant in drawing, which builds confi-dence, facilitates the motor coordina-tion between eyes and hands, andincreases an understanding of how todepict specific subjects. Practice is alsoa way of being sure of what you’redoing once you’re in the middle of adrawing. If you aren’t quite sure how todraw the next section, practice on aseparate piece of paper so you won’tworry about ruining all the good workyou’ve done. �


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Sadieby Cindy Long, 2003, graphite oncold-pressed Bristol board, 141⁄2 x111⁄2. Collection the artist.Long, who studied with Ballantyne,starts her process with a photosession, during which she attemptsto capture the essence andpersonality of the subject, as wellas begin the design andcomposition process. She thenstrives to transfer that glimpse ofthe inner person into her drawings.“It’s important to capture morethan just the likeness of thesubject in a drawing,” sheexplains. “There is an emotion, anattitude, or a moment in time toportray as well.”

About the ArtistSandra Angelo is a the author of aHome Study CorrespondenceCoaching Program titled Turn FamilyPhotos into Art: Faces 101, avail-able at www.DrawFACES101.com.A Fellowship Award Recipient fromRhode Island School of Design,Angelo has assembled a compre-hensive, award-winning curriculumthat includes 18 step-by-step DVDSand five companion books, as wellas numerous coaching programsfor beginning and intermediate stu-dents. View 18 of Angelo's freeonline video lessons at: www.FREEOnlineARTLessons.com. Email theartist at [email protected] or call Discover Art at(888) 327-9278.

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Choosing & Using Portrait Photo ReferencesBefore cameras, portrait patrons had thetedious task of sitting for their portraitfor days or even months on end. Enterthe camera, a fabulous tool for freezingaction, glances, and subtleties. The digi-tal age catapulted photo references toan even greater level of convenience forthe portrait artist, because now:

� Reference images can be enlargedquickly and easily on a home printer.

� Values can be modified in image-manipulation software such asPhotoshop to explore details difficultto view from traditional prints.

� Even the photo shoot itself providesinstant feedback. One can shoot andimmediately check the LCD monitor onthe back of the camera for any sign ofdouble chins or dangling cellulite--and allbut the finest photos can be deleted.

Yet even with modern inventions, artistsneed to avoid pitfalls that could other-wise force portraits into an uninspiredmold, not unlike holding up a banal mir-ror in front of the sitter.

Three Ways to Stimulate a Good ShootBefore you begin your photo shoot,excite your imagination by lookingat masterful portraits. Visit your localbookstore and sink into their comfychairs with a stack of portrait books.Wander through online galleries tostimulate your brain with provoca-tive ideas that may inspire unusualcostumes, backgrounds or even aunique location for the photo shoot. Ifyou want to inject personality into aportrait, simply schedule an excitingevent with the sitter and take yourcamera along. By catching them doingsomething they love, you’ll get candidreferences that reflect their character.

Photo References: Three Common Mistakes1. Mistake: Limited Value RangeLight and dark values lend depth to art.For example, subtle shadows indicateunderlying anatomical structures suchas bones or muscles. If your photodoesn’t show detail, you can’t draw orpaint it. Subtleties are often what makeor break a likeness. Solution: Shoot with varied light.a. Shoot each picture with and with-out the flash. b. Print several versions of your photo� a dark version to show detail in thelight areas

� a medium exposure photo to showmidtones

� a lightened photo to reveal informa-tion in dark zones

c. Adjust bad photos with Photoshopor another image-manipulation soft-ware program.

2. Mistake: Don’t Try for a Perfect PhotoA fine art photo should have flawlesscomposition, lighting, and color. By con-

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This photo would be mucheasier to draw because the faceis large. This first picture wastaken without the flash.

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This second shot was taken withthe flash.

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This third frame was modified inPhotoshop. It was lightenedsignificantly so that the details inthe dark areas would show up.

This is a greatphoto but it wouldbe hard to drawbecause the facesare so small.


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trast, a good reference simply needs tooffer the artist details about the sitter,his or her environment and costume.Solution: Use the Camera as a Sketching Toola. Shoot close-ups for detail.b. Shoot wide shots for background info.c. Use the same lighting for all shotsso that background pictures match theportrait photos and shadows remainconsistent.

3. Mistake: Working with AlbumPhotos Can Be Tricky A good photo equals a good drawing, butsometimes there is a special, albeit verypoor quality, photo from your past thatreally captures someone’s personality.Perhaps the child has grown or the per-son has passed away so the photo can’t

be restaged. But photos of family andfriends are generally 4"-x-6" at the largest.Thus, their faces might be the size of athumbtack in the photo. It’s impossible todraw a face when you can’t see details,so be realistic--not all memory photosare suitable for drawing. Like mostfolks, even if you discriminate, you’ll likelycome up with more good photos thanyou can draw in your lifetime. Be selec-tive and choose only photos that lendthemselves to creating dynamic portraits.

Solution: Classify personal photosin three categories.1. Photos that trigger memories andhelp tell your story: Leave those in yourscrapbook.2. Photos that are suitable for framing:

You want to keep some memories atthe front of your mind. Frame these anddisplay them at work and home. 3. Photos that make good drawing ref-erences. Photos in this group have thefollowing traits: � The ability to enlarge the photo soyou can see detail.

� A wide range of values that offer criti-cal drawing information.

� A memory that is worth the time andeffort it will take to preserve it as apiece of art.

Once you’ve selected a photo remem-ber you are not a slave to the refer-ence. Eliminate anything that is notnecessary for the story. Before you even begin the portrait,

create thumbnail sketches that explorevarious compositions. Avoid thetemptation to create portraits thatlook like run of the mill mug shots.Ask yourself, how can I intrigue a view-er to linger and get acquainted with thissitter? Remember, portraits tell a smallpiece of someone’s story, like a windowthat opens into a part of their world.

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ZZZZZ by Sandra Angelo,2003, 11x14.I cropped out allextraneous infor -mation and drew onlywhat was needed totell the story.

Choosing & Using Portrait Photo References, CONTINUED

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Mother and Child by Sandra Skillern, 2003,11x14.Sandra Skillern learned totake her camera on inter -national trips, which is whereshe shot this referencefor a portrait of a womanshe met in South America.

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