Creating Portraits that

look like the person you

are drawing or painting

Norman F. Simms – Artist and Teacher

215-267-585-3571 Little E (Mom)– Pastel on Toned Paper

There are 4 things that you need to know in order to create a successful

portraiture and they are:

1. Learn to create an Accurate Contour

Look at the Negative Shapes (Shapes outside of the face) and the Positive

Shapes (Shapes bordering the outer edges of the face). This is your

foundation and if it is incorrect, then all of your other efforts will also

be inaccurate.

2. Define the Shadow Shapes

Amateurs will draw the eyes, lips and other features first – this is a

enormous mistake - this is like placing light fixtures in a room with no

walls, you should define the structure of the head with light and

shadow first before adding details.

3. Learn and Become Aware of the parts of the Face Anatomy

Being Unaware of the parts of the Face Anatomy will cause you to neglect

part of the facial features when rendering the face, causing the face to

appear flat and lacking realism.

4. Practice, Practice and More Practice

2

Successful artist are constantly comparing and

changing things that do not look or feel right.

The ability to revise and correct your artwork is an

essential skill for creating fine works of art.

In this presentation I am only

going to concentrate on the face,

consisting of the:

1. Skull

2. Muscles

3. Flesh and

4. its Features

But, first I am going to tell you the

Secret behind creating a likeness,

which consist of the following two

elements which are:

1. Accurate Contour and

2. Shadow Shapes Reminisce – Oil on Canvas

3

When drawing the head you should

always concentrate on the contours

and blocking in the larger shapes.

The larger shapes are NOT the

individual features, but the darks and

lights that are projected on the face.

The darks (shadow shapes) will

create a likeness. Notice that in the

drawing on the left that there are no

features (eyes, lips, nose, and ear)

rendered.

We identify individuals by their

contour and shadow shapes. Before

adding the details of the eyes nose

and so on, the likeness must already

be evident.

Sketch – Thinned Oil on Canvas

4

The human Skull determines the overall shape and proportion of the head.

The Skull is divided into Two Parts - Cranium & Mandible.

Mandible (lower Jaw & Chin)

Superciliary Arch -bony ridge

below the eyebrows

Calvaria – Round cap of

the skull

Zygomatic bone – known as the

cheekbone

Cranium – The whole skull, except

for the Jaw Bone

5

Physiognomy is the Character and

Facial Expression that are influence

by the Muscles.

Seven facial muscles that a portrait

artist should know are:

1. Frontalis

2. Temporalis

3. Orbicularis oculi

4. Zygomatic

5. Lavators

6. Orbicularis oris

7. Depressors

Frontalis

Temporalis

Zygomatic

Lavators

Orbicularis oris

Depressors

Orbicularis oculi

The Flesh (Skin) covering the

muscle and bone structure also

has a texture depending on the

gender and age of the subject.

Character Study

Charcoal on Charcoal Paper

6

The under-painting should be laid

with thin paint and have a limited

amount of colors. The purpose of this

stage is to be able to see any

incorrect proportions and contours.

Masterful Drawings are done by

being able to correct yourself. Doing

an under-painting is best time to do

corrections.

Once the under-painting is corrected

then the features (ear, eyes, and so

on) can be more defined.

Under-painting

Defining the Ear

Defining the Eye

7

Practice, Practice Pastel Paintings

8

And More Practice Oil Painting

9

Summary

1. Defining the contour and shadow shapes, as well as being aware of a few

anatomy features will give you the ability to create a likeness.

2. Understanding the bones and muscle that are closest to the skin will help

the artist define realism within the face.

3. Practice, for this is a form of visual communication. Learning to look, see

and record the things that you are seeing is an art. This requires many

hours and years of practice.

Purpose of this presentation

As society decides to remove the arts from our schools, I feel obligated to

expose some of my lifetime learning on to the young or anyone who is

interested in experimenting with this craft. It is more intimate and a bit more

challenging than just taking a photo. Still the rewards of creating a portrait

will be priceless for you, and for whomever is the recipient of such a

wonderful collection of art.

I hope this was a help to someone

10