About the Artform

Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the artist intends to represent a specific human or animal subject. A portrait can be a drawing, painting, photograph or even a sculpture. Basically, it can be any form of an artistic representation of the subject, in which the face and the subject's expression is predominant.

Portraitists try to capture the mood and personality of the subject in a portrait. Traditionally, the subject sits in front of the artist while the portrait is being made.

About the Masterclass

The Canvas

Overall Details

This 4-day masterclass will take you through the process of drawing some beautiful portraits that will capture the subject's likeness.

Drawing someone's portrait may sound like a difficult job, but through this masterclass, you will learn how to break down this complex genre into small and manageable concepts.

You will start by learning the effective Loomis method and subsequently learn how to draw a simplified head in the front and the side views.

Flow of the Workshop

Day 1 - Introduction

• Introduction to Portrait drawing
• Tools and supplies used
• Practicing of lines and shapes 
• Basic proportions of a human face using the Andrew Loomis method
• Downloadable reference sheets of facial proportions would be made available to the participants before the start of the session

Day 2 - Facial features study

• How to draw the eyes, nose, lips, ears, hair
• Downloadable reference sheets of breakdown of steps would be made available before the start of the session

Day 3 - Shading techniques and understanding values

• Different shading techniques
• How to make a value sphere
• Value study in reference pictures
• Downloadable sheets with value sphere and reference pictures would be made available before the start of the session

Day 4 - Final Portrait Drawing

• The Lay-in - Drawing the face and features
• The rendering - Shading and adding values
• Downloadable reference pictures would be made available before the start of the session

The colours in the palette

Elements you will learn

The participants will learn:

• To draw portraits with accuracy to resemble the subject
• To add facial features to the portrait using a methodical approach that can be applied to any subject.
• To draw the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair in detail.
• To do shading and understand values and rules of lighting to give the portrait a three dimensional appearance.
• A simple step-by-step process for drawing portraits from start to finish.
• And a whole lot more! 

Who is this workshop “just right” for?

• If you're someone who wants to learn how to draw life-like drawings, this workshop is perfect for you!
• It is also a great opportunity for experienced artists to learn tips and tricks related to portrait drawing
• The workshop is beginner friendly (age 12+)

Materials Required

• Graphite Pencil - HB,2B, 4B, 6B
• Copy Paper or sketchbook
• Eraser, ruler and sharpener
• A digital drawing tool ( eg. Procreate on iPad + Apple Pencil)
• Photoshop with a drawing pencil
• Cotton swabs /stumps for blending

Please note

 - Download the practice guide for drawing portraits prior to the masterclass. It will be available from a week before the masterclass.

The scope of creativity

Further prospects and application of what you will be learning

The masterclass will equip the participants with the skills and strategies required to understand the basic proportions of a human face. It will also teach them how to add detailing to the features and the application of light to make the portrait look three-dimensional. This will help the participants to create portraits of any subject of their choice by effectively using professional strategies.

Pre-requisites / Preparation prior to the workshop

Things you can do before the session starts:

• Practice drawing vertical and horizontal lines, circles and ovals. This will build your confidence and also improve hand dexterity
• Keep the reference material handy either as a print out or in a digital format
• Make sure that you have a good internet connection