Portrait Tutorial

I love drawing. It’s easy to do and apparently people are easily impressed by it. When I show a piece of mine to someone I’m usually asked, “How do you do that?” To be quite honest…I have no idea. I just move the pencil around and when something doesn’t look right I erase it. But for some reason, that answer doesn’t seem satisfy their curiosity.

So, in an effort to be a more helpful to other aspiring artists, I’m posting these “10 Simple Steps to Drawing a Successful Portrait.” Enjoy.

Step 1:
Have a couple cute kids. (That’s the easy part.)

Step 2:
Take a nice picture of the kids. That part tends to be a little harder.

Step 3:
After several hours, tears and bribes one shot will stand out as the best.

Step 4:
Using digital imaging software, adjust the pixel dimensions of the selected image to 1668p X 2085p with a .5” grid overlay with an optional .25” grid to act as a 1:2 proportional reference to match a vertical 1” gridded piece of 18” X 22” textured Blick All-Media paper with a 1” border.

Step 5:
Start drawing.








Step 6:
Take a nap. This is crucial to the creative process.








Step 7:
Get back to drawing.








Step 8:
Watch a movie, play a video game, take another nap, play around on youtube, check out iTunes, or perform any other number of tasks essential to the creative process.

Step 9:
Sooner or later a drawing appears on the paper. I still can’t explain this one.












Step 10:
Display your work.

There you have it. If you follow these 10 simple rules you're sure to be drawing like a pro in no time. Good luck getting started on your own work.

If you get anywhere let me know.