Drawing is one of the most interesting and exciting activities. This can be creativity for yourself or a favorite profession that brings income. Drawing classes are open to every person, because in childhood they draw everything. Unfortunately, growing up, many forget about it.
Pencil drawing is one of the basic techniques. Academic drawing, i.e. drawing with a pencil in compliance with all the rules of construction and anatomy, is the best place to start.
How to draw people in stages with a pencil: outline
Sketches are short sketches of people in different poses in compliance with the proportions of their body parts. The main purpose of the sketches is to study how the human body works, how to draw the lines of the arms, hips, waist, etc. The best advice for those who want to know how to draw people in stages with a pencil is to make sketches. Usually this is done by students of 1-2 courses of art schools, as this helps to quickly learn what you need to know about the human body.
The details do not matter in the sketches: facial features, hundreds of folds in clothes, jewelry on nature - all this will be left for later. If you want, you can emphasize something important: the most pronounced fold or gloomy eyebrows of a person.
Fulcrum in drawing people
The main thing in people's sketches is to make sure that the figures do not “fall”. Answering the question of how to draw people in stages with a pencil, it is impossible not to say about the fulcrum. To determine it, it is necessary to draw a perpendicular from the middle of his head to the floor on which the figure is standing. In a standing position (if a person is leaning on two legs), the fulcrum will be in the middle between the feet. If the support goes only on one foot, the line should go to the middle of the heel.
With sedentary figures, the situation is different: the line goes into the buttocks.
How to start a portrait
Quick sketches of figures of people - the first stage in the study of drawing. Having mastered it, you can proceed to the next - the study of details.
Best details can be conveyed in the portrait. Portrait is a special art that is not accessible to everyone. Unlike the sketch, the mood and atmosphere are important in the portrait. The expression of the eyes, the lines of the mouth, the direction of the hair - all these nuances create a general impression of the picture. A skilled artist always remembers this, as well as the anatomy of the face. Building rules must be followed, otherwise the picture will turn out illiterate.
How to draw people in stages with a pencil:
- Draw an oval (head) and a neck from it.
- Divide your face into two halves. Pay attention to the prospect. According to the rules of perspective, what is closer to us is always more than what is next. If the head is turned, the eye, part of the nose and lips on the far side of the face will be smaller. Do not make the difference in the size of the two halves too large: it should be distinguishable, but not striking.
- Outline the facial features of a person: eyes, nose, mouth. You should do this schematically, trying them on your drawing. Do not immediately seek similarities with nature. Hair can be defined abstractly without drawing the hairline thoroughly.
Correction of errors in the figure
It rarely turns out to convey a person’s face right the first time. Edit those parts that interfere with the resemblance to nature. To draw a portrait of a man in stages with a pencil is not an easy task, before reaching a result, each artist is faced with setbacks. If it is difficult to determine what exactly is wrong - measure the ratio in the face. For example, the distance from the nose to the lips, from the eyes to the nostrils. As well as the distance between the eyes, compare the edges of the nostrils and the edges of the lips, the width of the cheeks and the height of the entire face, etc. An analysis of nature helps to achieve maximum accuracy in the image on paper.
Work on the details
To draw a person’s face with a pencil in stages, you must follow the rules of light and shadow.
Schematically outline the shadow and lighted parts of the face. These areas can be circled in shape so as not to forget about them.
If the light falls on the right, the shadow will be on the left, and vice versa. With the help of light and shadow, it is easy to emphasize facial features and make the drawing more realistic. It is best to make a shadow near the nose, above the lip, on the chin and shade those parts of the forehead on which the hair falls. If the head is turned, then one half will be in partial shade.
Gradually refine each detail of the face. It is not recommended to fully work out the eyes, and then engage in other parts of the face. This will break the harmony: by the finale, every detail should be worked out equally. The gradual filling of shadows, the separation of light from dark areas is the best solution for everyone who undertakes to draw a person’s face with a pencil in stages. Here are some tips for using pencils in portrait painting:
- Soft pencils of marking B or M are best for drawing shadows. If there are especially contrasting places on the face where the shadow is completely black, it’s good to use a pencil from 3B to 5B. With pencils of such softness it is easy to emphasize especially bright lines of the face, but there should be few of them.
- For partial shade, an average HB pencil is suitable.
- The areas where light falls can be shaded with solid pencils H, and the brightest places are left with the colors of the paper.
By working hard in portraying ordinary people, a novice artist can even draw an iron man. You can draw anything with a pencil in stages, this technique is simple if you understand the principle of working with shadow and light. A constant analysis of what the artist portrays will help him better convey the nature, various materials and atmosphere in his paintings.