Lesson on painting a portrait with oil paints. Drawing a simple portrait in watercolor Drawing a portrait with paints step by step for beginners
An interesting alternative to top-class oil canvases is a custom acrylic portrait made by our artists. Acrylic paints are used in different styles visual arts. Thanks to this, it is easy to choose an interesting and unique subject for a painting in accordance with your taste and wishes. We are writing acrylic paints on canvas and paper. Each order - from the pencil sketch to the last strokes - is made entirely by hand!
How much does an acrylic portrait on canvas and paper cost?
Prices for a portrait made with acrylic paints are based on 1-2 people.
Each additional person + 10% of the cost.
Acrylic (canvas)
Acrylic (canvas)
Acrylic
How to order an acrylic portrait from a photo?
Each of our orders begins with a discussion of the composition of your future painting. You can tell us about your idea or send us any image as an example. If you do not have any wishes, our artists will prepare interesting and creative layouts. As a result, you will receive an exclusive acrylic portrait in which all your ideas and wishes will be embodied.
We offer acrylic works in two options:
Portrait on paper:
- preparing a visual layout of the future painting before painting,
- You order a completely handmade portrait,
- the finished work can be corrected if you have any suggestions or additions,
- maximum similarity,
- realism of the image.
Acrylic portrait on canvas:
(in addition to the above)
- more time is spent, thanks to which details are recorded more carefully,
- possibility of using a 3D effect (visible paint structure),
- possibility of covering the sides of the canvas with paint,
- possibility of using canvas on a flat basis.
What to choose: acrylic or oil portrait
In addition to working with acrylics, we also... Classic oil paintings are visually similar to acrylic ones, however, they have some pros and cons that distinguish them appearance and price.
The advantage of works painted in acrylic is less pronounced than those painted in oil using the classical technique. Acrylic paints are diluted with water, which allows them to dry very quickly, almost instantly. Thanks to this, the artist will complete the order in a very short time, which meets the requirements of most customers. After all, it’s often about choosing a gift for an anniversary, New Year or on any other occasion we think about it just before the holiday. In addition, the cost of an acrylic painting is significantly lower than that of an analogue painted in oil.
If your expectations are very high and deadlines are limited, then portraits with acrylic paints on canvas are what you need. We offer speed of painting creation, rich colors, interesting visual effects, durability and guarantee a photographic likeness of the face.
Paint a portrait in oil. Oil paints that take a long time to dry can be slowly layered on top of each other, gradually achieving the required depth of tone.
Oil paints take a long time to dry, so they are easy to layer on top of each other. This property of oil paints makes them a particularly convenient material for the beginning artist. While the paint remains wet, you can change the stroke, add a new layer of paint on top, or wipe off excess paint with a turpentine-soaked rag.
While working on this portrait, our artist continually changed the flesh tone with additional layers of paint, so the finished portrait can be found popping in a wide variety of colors, including shades of green, brown, red, pink, yellow and orange.
Before tackling the portrait itself, professionals recommend covering the canvas with a layer of colored primer to soften the harsh White color basics.
On such a neutral background it is more convenient to build contrasting light and dark tones.
The face in this portrait is painted using mixed techniques of painting and drawing. Our artist started with a free linear sketch and then added a tonal underpainting. He then returned to the drawing to refine the facial features, finishing the work with thick strokes of paint.
PORTRAIT PALETTE
Before you start painting in oils, mix several colors on your palette. After this, you will not need to experiment with paints again each time in order to get desired color. Shown here are the color combinations our artist used while working on the portrait. The bottom of the palette shows grass green and carmine, gradually followed by cadmium yellow to achieve the desired shade of flesh tone.
For drawing lesson oil paints you will need:
Stretched white canvas size 74x61 cm
Rags
Turpentine
11 oil paints: raw sienna, burnt sienna, yellow ocher, pink madder, cobalt blue, burnt umber, titanium white, grass green, cadmium yellow, black paint, carmine
Large palette
Brushes: flat brushes No. 4 and 6, flat 13 mm, “walnut” No. 6
Linseed oil
White spirit and a jar for cleaning brushes
1. Apply a tinted base
Soak a cotton rag in turpentine and rub raw sienna over the canvas. If necessary, add a little more turpentine to make the paint layer light and transparent.
2. Let's start drawing a portrait
Continuing to work with diluted raw sienna, use a #4 flat brush to sketch out the main features of the face and the contours of the shoulders. Pay special attention to how individual facial features relate to each other. In particular, ensure that the tip of the nose is in line with the contour of the left cheek,
3. Making underpainting
Mix burnt sienna, raw sienna and yellow ocher and paint the shadowed side of the face. Add a little more burnt sienna to the mixture and outline the deep shadow lying under the nose. Mix in some pink crappie madder and paint a mid-tone area on the forehead. Add some more pink crappie madder and color the right cheek and lips. Prepare a mixture of cobalt blue, burnt umber and white and use a flat 13mm brush to apply the underpainting to the background of the painting.
4. We begin to color the shadows
Apply a few strokes of the same mixture to the man's shirt, and then return to his face. Using a #6 walnut brush, paint the shadowed areas of the face with your existing mixture of yellow ochre, raw sienna and burnt sienna. Add a few strokes of white and pink crappie madder mixture to the cheek and lower part of the nose, and then apply a thin layer of diluted grass green paint to the neck.
It's time to focus on the play of chiaroscuro, it will help to more accurately describe facial features. Forget about the background for a while - in this picture it will remain only roughly outlined, since the main thing in a portrait is always the face.
5. Paint the illuminated area of the face
Describe the shape of the cheekbone using cobalt blue and grass green paint. Mix yellow ocher, cadmium yellow and a large amount of white and paint the illuminated area of the forehead above the right eye.
6. Add dark tones
Look carefully at your subject's face to highlight areas of dark tone. After that, add a little burnt umber to the black paint and paint the shadow under the chin. Draw the hair on the right side of the head. Then mix a little more burnt umber into the mixture and draw in the man's eyebrows and the outline of his nose and mouth.
Wireframe sketch
Before you start painting a portrait, it is useful to train your hand and eye by sketching it in some other technique. For example, use a ballpoint pen to make a wireframe sketch emphasizing the shape of the face and head. Study the curved lines running along the forehead in this drawing - they do not describe tones or details, but convey the rounded shape of this part of the head.
7. Clarify the tones
Add some black paint to the burnt umber and re-line the chin. After this, cover the unpainted areas of the shirt with white. Paint individual areas of different tones on the man's forehead by mixing carmine and cadmium yellow. To create tone on the shadowed side of the face, add a small amount of raw sienna to the mixture.
8. Returning to the illuminated areas
Mix a little cadmium yellow into the white and paint highlights on the illuminated right side of the face. The lightest areas are located here above and below the eye, along the side of the nose and on the chin.
9. Working on light tones
Cover the ear with a layer of white mixed with a small amount of pink madder. Then mix some yellow ocher and cadmium yellow into the white and paint the illuminated areas on the forehead and neck. Apply pure white to the illuminated areas of the shirt. Add a little cobalt to the white and use a 13mm brush to paint over part of the background.
We use the mashtabel
A mashtable (a long, strong piece of wood) is most often used when working on a large-scale oil painting. Holding the pole with your free hand on one edge, place the other edge of the plank on the edge of the canvas. Leaning on this “bridge”, you can safely continue working without fear of smearing wet paints on the canvas.
10. Working on the shape of the chin
Paint the shaded areas of the shirt with a mixture of cobalt blue and white. Switch to a #6 flat brush and adjust the shape of the chin by painting it with a mixture of grass green paint and white. Add some burnt umber to this mixture and paint areas of gray around the eye sockets.
11. Drawing details
Use burnt umber to define the line of the mouth and the crease above the upper lip. Use a mixture of cadmium yellow and carmine to paint the edge of the collar. Add pink crapp madder to the white to paint the auricle. Use a 13mm flat brush to refine the highlights on the cheek and above the eye.
12. Deepening the cast shadows
Add yellow ocher to the white and paint the backlit area on the neck with warm light. Paint the shadow of the collar lying on the neck with a mixture of carmine, yellow ocher and cadmium yellow. Then mix cobalt with black paint and apply dark shadows on the shirt.
FINAL TOUCHES
Now it’s worth spending another half hour to make the final adjustments regarding color and tone. In addition, you can add expressiveness to the portrait due to new bright highlights.
13. Adding highlights to the hair
The light falling on dark hair creates yellow and light brown highlights of amazing shades. Paint these highlights with a mixture of yellow ochre, grass green paint and raw sienna in varying proportions.
14. Clarify the tones
Mix raw sienna, carmine, cadmium yellow and pink madder. Using a #6 flat brush, add a reddish tint to the shadowed side of the forehead and left cheek. Make sure that the direction of the strokes matches the shape of the forehead. Then specify the tone of the collar shadow lying on the neck. Finally, extend the light yellow section of the neck to the bottom edge of the ear.
A Flesh tones
In certain areas of the portrait, areas of flesh tone with a reddish tint are clearly visible. In this way, the artist recreated the tan color inherent in the skin of the person he depicted.
B “Sculpting the shape” using tone
Convex shapes - for example, the forehead - are described as small individual planes, each of which differs in color and tone.
B Without unnecessary details
The artist did not try to describe the pattern of the shirt and limited himself to depicting the light falling on the shirt. Thanks to this, the viewer’s attention is not scattered and the gaze is drawn to the main part of the portrait - the face.
If you dream of learning how to draw a portrait in watercolor, then put aside all fears and doubts and, using this step-by-step drawing lesson for beginners, feel free to take the first steps towards making this dream come true. Available recommendations with step-by-step photos will help you easily master the basics of drawing a portrait of a girl with watercolors.
Tools and materials
To paint a portrait in watercolor, you will need the following materials:
- watercolor paper;
- pencil;
- eraser;
- watercolor;
- brushes with a thickness of one to four (it is advisable to exclude the use of synthetic materials and give preference to natural ones: squirrel, pony);
- glass of water;
- palette
How to Paint a Portrait in Watercolor: A Step-by-Step Guide
1. First you need to draw a face with a pencil on paper. For convenience, it is best to take a photo from which you will paint a portrait. In order to correctly perform the construction, it is necessary to measure the angle of the head, the height and width of the head, the ratio of the parts of the face in relation to each other.
When constructing, it is necessary to monitor the pressure of the pencil - the lines should be light and non-greasy. After the pencil portrait is completed, you should erase all the auxiliary lines that were used to construct the face, leaving only the main lines - the outline of the eyes, nose, lips, hair, oval of the face.
2. The next stage of work will be to apply in watercolor the initial “framework” of the color component of the portrait. First of all, it is necessary to paint the darkest and most prominent places in the portrait to obtain volume, but you should not get carried away with any particular area of the face; you need to paint the entire portrait with a thin layer of watercolor.
Advice! To apply large-scale shadows, you can use brushes numbered 2 and 3; to draw small details (eyes, lips), it is better to use thin brushes – numbers 1 and 2.
At this stage of developing the drawing, it is good to use the technique of applying spots, to paint the entire portrait with local colors. To better see what shade should be applied to a particular area of the face, you can slightly squint your eyes.
During this process of work, you can avoid blurring the contours of the shadows, but you need to be careful not to darken the light areas of the portrait. The first layer of watercolor should be thin. Watercolor must be well diluted with water.
3. After the first layer has dried, you can start drawing in more detail: apply a light layer of the background (a brush number 4 is suitable for this) and fill in all the white places in the drawing (hair, clothes) with watercolors.
Important! The final detailing is still a long way off, but at this stage of work you should apply watercolors more carefully and skillfully than at the beginning of the work.
When painting dark areas, you need to slightly blur the edges between the color spots with a damp brush, forming them into a single soft shade. This procedure is necessary to achieve a realistic image. For this work, a brush number 2 is suitable.
On a note! It is worth knowing an important rule that you should not paint dark places with pure black.
It may seem that in the darkest place black dominates, but you should not use this color in its pure form without first mixing it with another.
To understand what color you need to mix black with, you need to look at the photo with your eyes squinted. Also, so that this color is not too active, you can paint it in a thin layer and cover it with another color on top.
4. The technique of painting with watercolors is a technique of gradually darkening the picture by overlaying layers on top of each other. But it’s worth remembering that a watercolor portrait should first of all be “airy,” so the main thing is not to get carried away with layering. Final detailing (drawing of eyes, mouth, hair) must be done at the end of the work process.
Before final detailing, for a realism effect, you can slightly blur the edges of the facial contours (eyebrows, lips) with a damp brush. The same technique is good to use for drawing hair, so that it looks more realistic. The background can also be worked out at the final stage of painting the portrait.
Advice! To make the background have a smooth transition (from dark to light), you should make a tonal stretch. To do this, you need to dilute the paint well with water.
Artist Victoria Lemtyugova shared artistic secrets on how to paint a portrait in watercolor with readers of the “Wings of Inspiration” project.
If you want to start with more simple option, then be sure to take a look. Here you will also find many different heroes popular cartoons.
Don't be afraid to draw! It's not that hard to make this dream come true!
At the final stage, the painting is also varnished, which further protects the paint layer from environmental influences.
Creating a portrait in oil on canvas takes much more time than other common techniques. Because, as a rule, a picture is painted in several stages, between which it is necessary to let the paint dry. When creating a portrait in ancient times, before the invention of photography, artists had to ask the subject to sit for many days, and sometimes even stand in one position, if the design required it. We had to arrange numerous sessions with breaks. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the style of painting, size and amount of detail on the canvas. Agree that today, with our busy pace of life and constant employment, few people can afford to find so much time. Moreover, not everyone can sit for so long. Therefore, by ordering a portrait from a photograph, you won’t have to sit with the artist for days.
- Group portrait. Oil Group portrait. Oil
- Oil. Portrait of a man Oil. Portrait of a man
- Male portrait in the interior Male portrait in the interior
- Male portrait in the interior Male portrait in the interior
- Portrait of a man. Oil Portrait of a man. Oil
- Group portrait in oil Group portrait in oil
- Portrait of a woman in oil Portrait of a woman in oil
- Children's portrait in oil Children's portrait in oil
- Portrait from photo in oil Portrait from photo in oil
- Portrait of a man in oil Portrait of a man in oil
- Copy from a reproduction by Van Eyck Copy from a reproduction by Van Eyck
- Seraphim Vyritsky. Oil, canvas
- Portrait of a girl. Canvas, oil
- Double portrait. Oil Double portrait. Oil
- Family portrait. Oil Family portrait. Oil
- Double portrait. Oil Double portrait. Oil
- Family portrait. Oil Family portrait. Oil
- Girl in flowers Girl in flowers
- Captain 2nd rank Captain 2nd rank
- Man with a dog Man with a dog
- Portrait of a man Portrait of a man
- Man at the table Man at the table
- Family portrait Family portrait
- Female portrait Female portrait
- Child portrait Child portrait
- Female portrait Female portrait
- Portrait of a girl Portrait of a girl
- Portrait of a General Portrait of a General
If you want to make your portrait in oil from a photograph, you just need to select several of your photographs and approve the main one with the artist. If you don’t have suitable photos that you like, or the photos are not very good good quality, then you can organize a photo shoot, from which you can later choose the option you like. As a rule, a portrait is painted from one photograph, but to obtain the best likeness, it is better for the artist to provide several photographs in which you can see the person’s facial expressions, his emotions at different moments and points in time. Because it happens that people in some photographs sometimes don’t look very much like themselves.
And if you want to give a gift to your loved ones or friends, then photography can help out here too. It is enough just to find the most expressive photos from your album of the person being portrayed, or those being portrayed, if the portrait is a group one, and select the best, from which then, together with the artist, make a selection of suitable photographs. By consulting with an artist who, based on his experience and professionalism, will be able to suggest the most suitable option for execution, you will receive a truly beautiful and interesting portrait. Also, if you wish, you can order a preliminary compositional sketch made on a computer, according to which the picture will be created in the future.
An oil portrait from a photograph on canvas today is perhaps one of the most original ways to make an interesting and unexpected gift. Especially if you maintain secrecy. After all, the depicted person, who unexpectedly sees his portrait at a holiday, conveying the character, mood and inner world of the hero of the occasion, will almost never remain indifferent. Such a gift will bring a lot of positive emotions to guests, family and friends. A beautiful portrait from a photograph on canvas made by a professional artist, a master of portraiture, will be an excellent gift, original and memorable. And very long years of facial features loved one will give warmth and comfort to the house, decorating the interior with a work of art.
Styles of painting portraits in oil can vary greatly. These can be impasto painting techniques in the style of impressionism, where strokes of paint are clearly visible. Or, using the technique of multiple glazing, painted details in the style of the Dutch masters, sometimes brought to the state of photography or even hyperrealism. Today, modern, popular master painters do not adhere to specific canons and styles, and very often combine various styles and techniques of painting from the past in one picture. So, often only the main details and the center of attention in the painting are carefully painted, and the secondary details are written off with large strokes and spots of light to support the main composition. I am impressed by this approach to creating a portrait because of the more lively, artistic result. However, if you wish, you can order the portrait to be executed in exactly the style that you like best. You can read more detailed coverage of styles in portrait painting in the section -> Types of portraits.
The portrait shows a girl in an autumn coat and beret with a scarf tied around her neck. The head is in a full-face position, the shoulders are in a 3/4 angle. The background is dark. The color palette is based on the ratio of cold and warm tones. The light is soft and diffused.
We determine the proportions of the height and width of the neck, placing the main masses of the portrait in sheet format. Linearly sketch out the front part, beret, scarf, shoulders. We draw the middle axis and determine the vertical ratio of the parts of the face. We outline the section of the mouth, the base of the nose, the lines of the eyes and the armor.
We continue to work with a graphite pencil on the constructive construction of the details of the face, identify the volume of the scarf, and shape the hairstyle.
Refine the pencil drawing. We are working on resemblance to the model. We work out the facial features in detail, the beret, the folds of the scarf, and outline the strands of hair.
Let's move on to the picturesque solution. We fill the front part and the coat with a transparent fill. We make a warm lining on the scarf, hair and beret.
Use a large flat brush to paint the background in a rich tone. And then, when it just starts to dry, use a clean wet brush to create a texture on it
Taking into account the nature of the lighting, we begin to reveal the shape on the front part with light halftones, layer by layer of glaze.
We actively work with color and tone. Let's design the beret, hair, coat and scarf, revealing their texture. We put emphasis on the collar of the sweater. Be sure to let each layer of paint dry.
We work on the face in detail, focusing on the eyes.
We are finishing work on the portrait. Using transparent halftones we generalize the face, with a damp brush we emphasize the structure of the beret and the fold of the scarf protruding into the foreground, we refine the hair, and glaze the background.