In the Background - What to Put Behind Portrait Drawings
May 26, 2010 Drawing
Once you get a handle on how to draw portraits, it’s time to start thinking about the backgrounds of your drawings.
When you’re just starting to learn how to draw, backgrounds can be overwhelming and just plain annoying. As you start to develop your techniques, you begin to see the importance of considering what is behind your portrait.
Using seven examples of my own portraits, here are some options for portrait backgrounds.
1. White
This is the most obvious and the most easiest, but it isn’t always the most effective. The problem with a white background is that the white of the paper remains on the same “plane” as the white highlights on your figure. This means that the background and the foreground merge, and your subject doesn’t pop forward.
2. Shaded
With this portrait, I opted to shade the entire background in a mid-tone gray. By doing this, I pushed the background back, letting the subject come forward. The dog’s face pops on the darker background and it looks more three-dimensional.
3. Gradient
This is another way to dress-up the shaded background. You can manipulate the background in a way that suggests a light source, that emphasizes your subject, and creates direction and focus. Here, the highlight is behind the subject’s head, drawing the focus there.
4. Simple
In this portrait, I’ve taken the natural background and simplified it. Behind the subject was the beach, ocean and horizon. I’ve simplified it so that it’s easier and quicker to draw, but is still recognizable to the client who knows what it is. It adds a little extra interest to the portrait without taking away from the subject.
5. Blurry
This type of background is similar to the previous one, but it creates more of an atmospheric setting. Here the background refers to nature, trees, and foliage. To create this effect, shade the whole background and then pick up random highlights with a kneaded eraser. Then go back in with your pencil and darken some areas. The key is to make the patterns of light and dark unpredictable.
6. Realistic
Using a realistic background is a good way to communicate something about your subject or their personality. In this portrait, my client asked me to draw a wheat field in the background to relate to her dad’s life as a farmer. When drawing a realistic background, remember that you will have to simplify the details to a certain extent. Here, the wheat gets less distinct as it gets farther away, creating a sense of distance and depth.
7. Montage
This type of background is gives you some freedom to play with the elements of your portrait and create meaning in a more creative way. In this portrait, I’ve used the image of a medal that the subject won at a marathon. Although the medal is much bigger compared to the figure than it would be in real life, it becomes a part of the overall composition and adds context to the portrait.
Each of these techniques serves a purpose and will suit some portraits better than others. Whatever you do, don’t forget to consider your background. Your drawing is your whole page and you need to think about how best to use it!
Don’t be afraid of backgrounds, jump in and experiment!
Tags: backgrounds, better drawings, composition, drawing tips, portraits
The Best Way to Approach Portrait Drawings
Apr 1, 2010 Drawing
You’re sitting at your table with a clean, fresh piece of drawing paper in front of you. You draw your grid (or not) and then you outline the features of your portrait.
Now what?
All that white staring back at you can be intimidating!
There are probably as many ways to start a portrait drawing as there are people who draw them. I’ve narrowed them down to two basic approaches: the all-over approach and the wallpaper approach.
The question is, which approach is best?
The Wallpaper Approach
When papering a wall, you start on one side and work your way methodically across. When you draw this way, it’s much the same; you start on one side of the page and complete the drawing in sections as you move across. Brian Duey demonstrates this in his portrait drawing tutorial.
While this approach almost ensures that you won’t drag your hand through your work, it can be difficult to create smooth transitions between the areas you’re working on. You also have to be spot-on with your values as you work.
The All-Over Approach
This approach takes the entire page into consideration. Each layer of graphite is built up gradually across the whole portrait. My portrait tutorial is a good example of this.
Drawing this way lets you respond to the portrait as a whole piece, rather than just rendering each area as you see it, but you need to be careful where you rest your hand.
My Verdict
You can probably guess where I stand on this, since I used my own tutorial as an example! I am a fan of the all-over approach, and let me tell you why:
By working on one area in isolation, you can lose sight of the drawing as a whole. This approach lets you evaluate shapes and tones and values in relation to each other. It’s not the darkness of a shadow that creates depth, but the comparison of the dark areas to the lighter ones.
It also gives you the chance to exercise your artistic license. It’s up to you to determine how faithful you will be to your reference photo, and it’s easier to make these decisions as you draw. When you use the wallpaper approach, you can end up blindly re-creating the photo without consideration for the final art piece.
Another advantage of this approach is that you are able to correct mistakes easily. If during the first stages of shading, you realize that your eyes don’t line up properly, it’s easy to erase it. With the wallpaper approach, your line drawing needs to be exact, because once everything is fully rendered, it will be very difficult to go back!
Conclusion
All in all, I find that the all-over approach helps to keep the bigger picture in mind. It’s a more fluid and responsive process, more flexible and easier to change.
That being said, you need to discover which approach is best for you. Brian Duey is obviously a very accomplished portrait artist and the wallpaper approach appears to be working for him!
Tags: art tips, better drawings, drawing tips, portraits
Easy Composition Tips: Thumbnail Sketches
Whether you’re drawing or painting, you need to consider the composition of your work. Composition is the arrangement of the visual elements on your picture plane; or, where you put things. You need to take into consideration the relationship of the elements to each other, and the relationship of the elements to the edge of your drawing or painting.
Composition can help communicate feeling and meaning. The arrangement of objects can be balanced and harmonious and convey a sense of calm. Or they can be awkward and convey a sense of tension. You need to use this to your advantage!
Even if you’re working with a single subject, like a portrait, you need to think about composition. Where will the face go on the page? In the centre, off to the side, near the edge? Each arrangement will slightly alter the feel of the finished piece.
But how can you figure out the best composition? That’s where thumbnail sketches come in.
Thumbnails are small-scale drawings that let you play around with composition without investing a huge amount of time and effort into a single artwork.
How to use Thumbnails
First of all, you want to consider all the elements that will be in your piece. Below are some examples of thumbnails I did for an upcoming painting. I knew I was working with a horizon, a tree, two giraffes and the sun. My goal was to find the best arrangement for these elements.
Thumbnail drawings should only be a few inches big, but make sure they are the same scale as your finished piece. I know that my painting will be three feet by two feet, so I made each thumbnail three inches by two inches. This way, I know that the elements of the painting will fit into the thumbnail the same way as the painting.
Once you know what you’re working with, and you draw yourself several to-scale boxes, start playing around. Try as many different arrangements you can think of. This lets you see exactly how things will relate to eachother without just imagining it. This is important because artists are visual and need to see.
Choosing a Thumbnail
Pick a thumbnail that feels like it works. This really depends on the feelings you’re going for in your work. This is the thumbnail I chose for my composition. It is balanced and harmonious, each element is comfortably placed and nothing feels awkward. It also follows the rules of thirds.
We all know how it feels to suddenly get the perfect idea for your next piece. You’re excited and anxious to get going. It can be tempting to jump right in. But you’ll find that your finished piece will be better if you take a few minutes to do a little planning and find the best composition. The effort is well worth the result!
Tags: art tips, better drawings, composition
The Why and How of Spray Fixative
Jan 13, 2010 Drawing
One of the drawbacks of drawing in dry media (pencils, charcoal, pastels) is that it can smudge very easily, leaving your artwork vulnerable to damage from fingers and and other papers. Fortunately, you can use a spray fixative to protect your drawings. A spray fixative comes in an aerosol can and will ‘fix’ your drawings so that they won’t smudge. I use Krylon, but there are many different brands. There are also several different types of fixatives, and it’s important to know which is best for you.
Matte
A matte fixative is what I use for the majority of my drawings. This will fix your drawings and give a nice matte finish. Sometimes you can get areas of your drawing that are shiny from too much graphite. Using a matte fixative can help disguise these areas.
Gloss
I use this fixative more for my paintings than I do my drawings, but I have tried it on some of my mixed media work involving charcoal with great results. Gloss fixative gives your work a glossy, shiny finish.
Workable
A workable fixative is very useful during the drawing process. It allows you to fix the parts that you’ve already drawn, then continue to draw on top without worrying about smudging what is underneath. It’s also useful in providing some additional texture. Sometimes you shade and blend so much that the paper can’t take any more graphite. This will give the paper more tooth and let you shade even more.
If you’re selling or giving away your drawings, I highly recommend that you fix them. If your drawings are just for yourself, it’s up to you, but even when papers are carefully stored away, the graphite or charcoal can rub and transfer onto the next paper. If you’re worried about the images in your sketchbook transfering to adjacent pages, only draw on every other page, or slip a blank sheet of paper in to protect your work. It’s not necessary to fix every page of your sketchbook, but you might want to consider it for drawings with very heavy shading.
Fixing Your Drawings
- Whichever fixative you decide to use, carefully follow the rules on the back of the can. Here are some general guidelines for using a spray fixative.
- Shake the can. I know it’s time consuming and boring and you want to skimp on this part, but shaking the can will help the fixative flow smoothly through the nozzle without drips and blobs.
- Make sure your drawing is free from dust. I once fixed a drawing that had been sitting on my table for a week or so, and when I looked closely I realized I had fixed all kinds of little dust particles to the surface. Gently blow on the piece, or better yet, use a soft brush to get rid of any loose bits.
- Hold the can about a foot away from your drawing.
- Spray steadily back and forth across the drawing, overlapping your strokes and going off the edges to make sure you don’t miss anything.
- Use two or three coats, letting it dry in between.
More Tips
- Hold the can upright to ensure it sprays smoothly.
- Hold your drawing upright if possible. Spraying on the ground can cause dirt and dust to blow onto your work.
- Between coats, rotate your page so that the fixative can settle into the miniscule nooks and crannies of the paper.
- Use several thin coats rather than one thick coat.
- Make sure the fixative is able to dry for an appropriate amount of time before adding more coats.
- Check before every spray that the nozzle is clean and free from either wet or dry fixative. You may need to pick the dry fixative away from the hole to prevent drips.
- If you notice drips on your drawing, don’t panic. While it’s still set, dab very gently with a tissue, then spray another coat of fixative.
- Use outside or in a well ventillated room. Most of these products are very fumey.
- You may need to use even more coats for a heavy charcoal drawing.
Tags: better drawings, drawing tips, fixative
15 Tips for Realistic Shading
Jan 10, 2010 Drawing
Here are 15 tips to improve your shading techniques and help you create more realistic drawings. Don’t forget to check out my posts on how to shade and my tutorial for shading a sphere.
1. Avoid pressing hard, instead create dark areas by layering more and more graphite on the page.
2. As well as fixing your finished drawing, a workable fixative can be used throughout your shading to give the paper more texture (tooth). This will let you add more layers of graphite.
3. Keep pencil marks even and close together.
4. Work from light to dark.
5. Use the edge of your pencil instead of the tip.
6. Think in three dimensions and visualize the way light will hit your subject.
7. Use a blending stick to create a smooth texture.
8. Check your proportions before blending to make sure they are correct. It will be harder to erase after you blend.
9. Use a clean, fresh blending stick, especially for the lightest areas.
10. To lighten too dark areas, or to reclaim highlights, use a kneaded eraser.
11. Work slowly; don’t rush.
12. Use a variety of pencils to create a full range of values.
13. Create smooth transitions between shadows, midtones and highlights.
14. Don’t be afraid to go dark. The only areas that should be pure white are the highlights. Try making the darkest shadows as deep as you can, then adjust the rest of your values accordingly.
15. Use different drawing techniques to create a variety of textures with your shading.
Tags: better drawings, shading
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