Portrait Drawing Tips: Capturing Likeness Without Tracing
Portrait drawing is about capturing the specific proportions that make a face unique. Here are the tips that improved my likenesses. Portrait drawing intimidated me because likeness seemed like magic. Some artists could capture a person essence in a few lines, while my drawings looked like generic faces that could be anyone. I assumed the difference was talent until I studied portraiture and discovered that likeness comes from measuring specific proportions and capturing the features that deviate from the average. A face looks like a specific person because of how it differs from the generic face, not because of how it conforms. Here are the tips that improved my portrait likenesses. Measure the Major Proportions First The major proportions of a face are the distances between the hairline, brow, nose, and chin, and the width of the head at its widest point. The classic proportions, where these four vertical sections are equal and the head is two-thirds as wide as it is tall, are averages. Real faces deviate from these averages, and the deviations are what make a face recognizable. More guides are on the Draw Perfect Blog.