In general, the picture includes four different elements: a string, a value, a texture, and a shape. In the particular case of a portrait with a pencil, we can refine the list of elements up to six: shape, proportion, anatomy, texture, value and plane.
In this article we will give a detailed description of each of these elements of drawing a portrait of a pencil.
(1) Form or form. The illusion of three-dimensionality in drawing and art as a whole has been central in Western art for centuries. Cutting out shapes using lines, structures and values was a vital component of almost all Renaissance art.
On the other hand, Oriental and many modern art emphasize the flatness of the form, although this period in modern art comes to an end.
The entire shape in the drawing can be initially reduced to 4 basic three-dimensional solids: bricks, cones, cylinders and spheres. Proper use of these forms together with perspective and value leads to the illusion of three-dimensional dimension, although the figure is actually located on a two-dimensional sheet of drawing paper.
In portrait drawing, the arabesque of the head, the square structure of the head and all the components in the head (nose, eyes, etc.) are all 2 and 3-dimensional forms that contribute to the overall illusion of three-dimensional dimensions.
(2) Proportion — includes all sizes and locations of the form. Proportion refers to the concept of relative length and angle.
The proportion gives answers to these two questions:
1. Given a certain unit of length, how many units is a certain length?
2. How big is this angle? Answering these two questions, it will be consistent to display a pattern with the correct proportions and the locations of the entire form.
(3) Anatomy - mainly refers to the main structures of the bone and muscles of the head.
It is important to learn more about anatomy. There are many books on anatomy for artists. For a portrait painter it is especially important to understand the anatomy of the head, neck and shoulders.
Unfortunately, there are many Latin terms in anatomy studies, which makes it difficult to understand. The idea is to learn slowly and a little at a time, because it can be quite unpleasant.
(4) Texture - in portrait drawing expresses a range of roughness or smoothness of forms. The rough texture of a concrete path, for example, is very different from the smoothness of a window.
There are several methods and techniques that will help you in creating the right textures. Creating textures is a drawing area that gives you the opportunity to be very creative and use all the possible types of labels you can make with a pencil. In portrait drawings, textures are found in places such as hair, clothing, and skin.
(5) Meaning - see Changes in the light or darkness of pencil marks and strokes. Powerful portrait drawings use a full palette of contrasting lights and dark. Beginning artists often do not achieve this full “stretching” of value, which leads to timid, blurry drawings.
(6) Aircraft - produce sculptural sensitivity of the portrait. The head has many planes, each with a different direction and, therefore, with a different value.
The idea is to think of the surface of the head as a collection of discrete planes with a specific direction relative to the source of light. You should try to identify each of the airplanes and draw the correct shape and meaning.
Proper handling of planes greatly affects the similarity of your object, as well as the illusion of three-dimensionality.
