My Portraiture Development

I Studied Fine Art at both GCSE and A level. Where I was studied in first year of GCSE everyone focused on portraiture. We were given homework such as 10 eye studies in different mediums, 20 portraits with different angles, subjects and mediums. As I was exposed to portraits so much and I enjoyed it, portraiture quickly became what I loved most to do.

Studies

I often take my sketchbook when I travel, this allows me a little escape and to just relax, on a train for example, where it can often be busy and loud. When I sketch I like to do little 'warm up drawings' as I don't often know what to draw. My go to 'warm up' has become sketching eyes, whether this is from my memory or a picture. Figure 1 below is a quick sketch I did in the national portrait gallery, I used one of their pieces as reference and just sketched the eye.

Figure 1

As well as little sketches I think it is important to study different eye shapes, direction of view and angles, I like to do little study pages such as Figures 2 and 3. This allows me to sketch loosely and explore how different eyes look. These are always loose drawings that take a few minutes each. I use references when completing these little study pages. This work allows me to understand how elements move and stretch when they are exaggerated as well as more neutral.

As you can see Figure 2 is a digital drawing and Figure 3 is just in a sketchbook, I think its important to use different mediums when looking at studies as you can use the limitations of mediums to your advantage. For example you can see the traditional Figure 3 is more rough, messy and expressive, this is due to the face that this image was produced with coloured pencil that couldn't be rubbed out. All of these sketches have they imperfections, whereas the digital drawing looks a lot cleaner. This is because digital sketching is a lot more forgiving if I make a little mistake i can CTL + z and it vanishes, with a traditional sketch I need to find a way to incorporate the imperfections into the image, this leaves a completely different interpretation.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Sketches:

As well as specific study drawings I sometimes create quick portrait sketches for example Figure 4 is a quick sketch created from a photo reference. This is very quick and loose and as you can see I have left my construction lines such as my initial circle as well as guide lines. This doesn't give me a completed image but allows me to loosely map out features to hopefully create a recognisable portrait.

Digital sketching is something that is still new to me, I have a lot to learn and I know there are endless possibilities with techniques, brushes and tools that I am yet to explore. When I started using digital techniques in photo shop I discovered the mirror tool, this is something I found really interesting as in traditional art this isn't really achievable. I was able to create really quick portraits, these were not very 'realistic' and were more ethereal or supernatural. I this is because in the real world people are not often symmetrical and 'perfect'. Figures 5 and 6 show some examples of quick studies I did, these were all made up and therefore are not realistic. I think this is a really interesting tool to be able to play with as it allowed me to be more free and expressive without really thinking about proportions. Figure 5 isn't 100% symmetrical, I mapped out the eyes, nose etc... but added some details to make it a bit less jarring such as the hair, flower etc... whereas figure 6 is completely symmetrical, I love how it turned out, it is very different to my more traditional studies.

As an artist I think it is so important to learn new tools and try completely different mediums and techniques as you can apply your own style but with a new tool something you have done the same way 100 times can look completely new.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Detailed Portraits

More detailed portraits take much longer than a sketch and often take planning and tools to make as 'realistic' as possible.

In recent years I have focused mostly on animal portraits which are all created using coloured pencils, I therefore hadn't done a detailed human study in quite a few years. I recently decided I wanted to do a more detailed portrait and to make it even more different I used graphite Figures 7 and 8 show this recent drawing.

As I hadn't done a piece like this one in a really long time I had a lot of guessing and trial and error to get to the final image. I am extremely happy with how this turned out and I believe that my work has improved significantly since my last portrait.

Figure 7

When I Look at Figure 8 compared to Figure 9 it is very clear to me that I have made a significant improvement with my work. I don't think that this is technical ability as the blending etc... in Figure 9 is still smooth. I think the improvement is mainly with attention to detail, time taken on the drawing and depth.

If I compare an element of both pieces directly for example the mouths there is a clear difference and improvement in the more recent drawing. In Figure 8 there is detail, I have noticed texture in the lips, cracks, folds and lighting but it just doesn't look right. Where as for Figure 8 there is a lot of detail, I have multiple different levels of depth and the lips follow a clear shape and do not look flat. There is a gradient with the highlights being completely white allowing the paper beneath to show through and there are paler sections creating the illusion of texture and depth.

With human studies I used to have outlines to things such as the mouth, nose and bigger features. Something I apply to my drawings now is that in portraits there is no 'outline' as such, yes there is a definative section where the mouth ends and the cheek begins but this is more smooth and shows depth rather than an outline. Everything blends where the components meet, yes there is a vague line but this isn't just an outline of a mouth and done. I think that for Figure 9 the mouth has too much of an outline and it doesn't seamlessly meet the rest of the face making it a lot less realistic and therefore jarring.

For figure 9, I did this drawing during lock down I believe so cant remember the reference photo but I can tell who it is, this is a portrait of David Tennent. But there are just things about it that just done look right, its 'good enough' to be recognisable but its not quite there in terms of 'real'. I think something I have improved on is my initial sketching/the base drawing. For more realistic drawings I like to use the grid method, this is the technique where I create a grid over my reference photo then scale this up on my paper. I then sketch in the details that are in each square to match the corresponding square on my reference image. This allows me to get the exact proportions and therefore make a more 'realistic' drawing. For this drawing I assume I used this method but I don't think I took enough care and time to map out the sections of detail rather than just the 'outlines'. I now like to add cross hatching to map out the areas in my recent sketches so I know where exactly is darker or lighter in an image, this makes my shading ore accurate.

I also believe that one thing I have changed in my drawings is the time I am taking to complete them. When I was doing GCSE Fine Art it was almost as though i was a machine and needed to make as much art as possible. As I mentioned earlier we were asked to do 20 portraits in year 10, if I break this down I believe this was across the term which I think is about 12 weeks. Figure 8 took me around a week - I was doing other things in between but at school I would have other classes and homework so this is a fair comparison. Figure 10 shows an example of one of my year 10 portraits. Obviously i was a lot younger and learning a lot about art, techniques and finding 'my style' but there is a lack of detail and I believe a lot of this is because of time. I would work really hard on these pieces but as there was such a big work load I used to spend maybe a day, a few hours or an evening to do an entire portrait. Now I take the time to make sure every element looks good and don't rush.

I believe that time and attitude is therefore my biggest development to portraiture. I have always been a hard worker but now this is less of a 'how much can I do, How many pieces can I create' and more 'I am going to do this to the highest quality and take a lot of time and care in the deatils to make sure my work is as perfect as my ability allows'. If i spend more time on something it will look better, I have the time to spend as this is not for a deadline, it is my personal portfolio.

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

How do I approach my drawings?

Step 1:

I find a good high quality reference image, i often look on pinterest or google images. I like to find a more interesting image for example Figure 8 is a side view with a prop and a hand. This makes it a but more difficult and allows a different element.

Step 2:

I add a grid to the reference image, there are loads of apps and websites that allow you to add a grid to a reference image. I have also created a gird on Photoshop that I use for the dimensions of my paper so I can accurately create a grid.

Step 3:

Drawing the grid onto my paper. There is some math involved in this step as when I do A3 drawings I need to scale up the grid to make the square the same proportions but different dimensions. This also allows me to use a computer or phone as reference. I can zoom in and make my reference image any size as long as I make the marks to the correct scale in my drawing. I use a 24 inch ruler and mark out the squares, i make sure to add the measurement marks at 3 points of the paper to ensure the line is accurate and straight.

Step 4:

Sketch in the image - I add as much detail as possible, like i mentioned earlier I use cross hatching to show the areas of shading, this makes it more accurate later when I start to add depth.

Step 5:

Add the details.

Step 6:

Remove any grid lines that are outside of the drawing.

Step 7:

I like to spray my drawings with a finishing spray, this ensures that i wont smudge the drawing and will keep it safe.

What do I want to continue to develop?

As an artist there is always more to learn, develop and improve with. With my portraits there is a lot I would like to practice and develop, this will come with practice so I intend to do more portraits.

Firstly I would like to improve the hair on my drawings, I would like to be able to make realistic hair textures and strands. Fur is something I can do and have had a lot of practice with for example Figure 11. I can do short hair with coloured pencils quite easily, this may be because I have had a lot more practice with this. Long hair such as in Figure 8 is more of a challenge, although i think this is the best hair I have drawn there is room for improvement.

Secondly I would like to do more life drawing studies. A lot of my work is from photo references as I make very detailed studies but I would like to do portraits from a sitter. I have always been a massive fan of 'Portrait Artist of the Year' and one day hope to complete - once my skills are honed a bit more. I think it would be such an amazing challenge to have someone sit for a painted portrait as light is always changing, they are moving slightly. I really enjoy life drawing, but for the life drawing classes I have attended they have all been focusing on the figure rather than the face, I therefore would like to push myself to try this completely new and slightly scary challenge.

Finally, I would like to add even more detail. for example drawing the pores on the skin, this may have to be an even bigger drawing to get all that detail but I think it would be a really fun challenge.

Figure 11

As an artist I have a lot to learn and develop, that's the amazing thing about art, there is an endless possibility as to what I can make, tools I can use and what my art may look like in the future. I enjoy seeing the progress when I look back at all my previous work. When you draw you don't see the improvements and how different it is from previous pieces. I am so proud of all of my Art work and love to see how far I have come and how much I have improved. I look forward to improving even more and hopefully achieving some of my goals.