Pencil
Portrait
Pencil
Portrait Step 4
Building
the tone of the eyes
Return
to the eyes
to begin the tonal development of the portrait. The
tones used around the eyes should:
1.
Help the eyes sit solidly in their sockets by creating
a shadow beneath each eyelid where it rests on the
eyeball.
2.
Give the eyes a sparkling look by placing the brightest
highlight against the dark pupil.
3.
Create the translucent effect of the iris by capturing
its changing tone.
4.
Create the curved planes of the eyelids and sockets
with softly graduated tones.
Pencil
Portrait Step 5
Discovering
the tone of the nose
The
difficulty with drawing a nose
from the front is that there are so few outlines to
help you define its shape. You have to rely on tone
to mould its three dimensional form.
Begin
by drawing any outlines you can see, namely the edges
of the nostrils, the philtrum (the triangular
dimple below your nose) and the creases that
slope away from the sides of the nose.
Next,
slowly shade in the main areas of tone as cast by
the light.
Finally,
with careful observation, you can fine-tune the intensity
of dark and light tone to create a more realistic
looking nose.
Pencil
Portrait Step 6
The
tone of the mouth
There
is a symmetrical arrangement of muscles in the lips
and around the mouth
which move to form different expressions.
By
using tone to highlight these muscles, you can add greater
realism to the shape of the lips and convey a specific
expression in the portrait. The distinctive cracks on
the surface of the lips will help to suggest their texture.
As
a general rule, the upper lip is smaller and darker
in tone as it is shaded from the light. The lower lip
tends to be fuller and brighter in tone as it catches
the light.
Pencil
Portrait Step 7
The
tone of the neck
The
darker tone of the neck forms a strong contrast with
the light edge of the chin and jaw. This has the visual
effect of lifting and focusing attention on the head.
The
thin line of reflected light on the left side of the
neck highlights a tendon which both physically and visually
strengthens the balance of the head.
The
horizontal bands of tone which create the soft ripples
of flesh on the neck help to emphasise its roundness
and solidity.
