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For this project you will be drawing a portrait of yourself, a friend, or anyone you choose. It will be easiest if you have a quality high resolution photo to work from. Check the tips below for help, and take a look at the examples to see the expectations.
Materials
9"x12" drawing paper
pencils or charcoal
Tip 1 - use a grid
Drawing a grid on your image can help breakdown your image into smaller more manageable pieces. If you want to use this method email your photo to 10088103@k12.hi.us before the next class and I will print your image so you can add the grid.
Use a ruler to measure and draw out a grid from 1 to 2 inches on your printed photo. Draw this same grid on your drawing paper and adjust the size if necessary.
When drawing just focus on each little square and where the details on the photo cross the grid lines.
Tip 2 - use a black and white photo
Either find a B&W photo or edit a photo on your phone or macbook. It can be easier to see the shadows and highlights in a B&W photo.
Look for photos with high contrast, or edit the brightness and contrast to create a noticeable difference between light and dark areas. This can help you see the shapes of the shadows and highlights.
Tip 3 - drawing hair
Approach drawing hair similar to everything else. Start with the overall shape of the hair - sketching lightly until you have the basic shape. Don't focus on the individual hairs!! If you do this you will get lost in all the details.
After you get the basic shape start slowly building up the layers to darken it. Keep your pencil or charcoal strokes moving in the same direction the hair flows.
This drawing would get an A+. Everything is in proportion and in the correct place. There's a good range of dark, medium, and lighter values.
This drawing would get a B or C. The basic details and shapes are there, but there are some small differences in proportion - like one eye is a little bigger. There's a good range of value on the mouth and the hair looks pretty good. However the nose is just drawn with simple lines and most of the face doesn't have a range of values.
This drawing would be around an A- to B+. Everything is in the correct place, and even though the eyes are too big they have good detail and work with everything else. More attention to shading and getting a range of values, especially in the hair, would bring up the grade.
This drawing would get a C or D. While the facial features are mostly in the correct place their proportions are off. The shading is just sort of all over and they haven't tried to define certain areas through differences in light and dark. This person is still drawing 'symbols' for things like the mouth and nose instead of focusing on the shapes of the shadows and highlights.
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