Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes

Lessons and advice from an artist in the techniques to capturing a person's likeness.

Many beginner artists feel intimidated by drawing portraits—getting faces and anatomy in proportion can seem really difficult. Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes alleviates all those anxieties by training the eye to look for simple forms first, and to use this foundation to free the artist to develop their portrait drawing skills.

Through the meticulously designed exercises and step-by-step tutorials in this book, internet art guru Satyajit Sinari—better known as SinArty—helps artists unlock their portrait drawing potential and create intricate artworks, starting from really simple shapes and building up to more advanced sketching and shading techniques, in graphite and charcoal pencil. Covering everything from how to hold the pencil to intermediate-level shading methods to create contrast and depth in drawings, this eye-opening and generous sharing of SinArty's personal techniques explains that to be a good artist is to be a good critic of art. Understanding proportion and training the eye to spot mistakes is a crucial step in the process. This book teaches you how to critique your own art while drawing, as well as how to perfect your linework, pencil pressure, control and more.

Packed with easy-to-follow guidance, Step-by-Step Portraits from Simple Shapes will help readers to become better artists and create a solid base to take into other genres besides portraits. With a focus on drawing from references rather than life, the tutorials include portraits of living subjects, drawings of sculptures, and human anatomy, touching on composition and drawing from the imagination.

Start from simple shapes and watch your portrait drawing skills flourish with this fool-proof step-by-step guide.