Mastering Gouache Portraits: A 10-Day Portrait Drawing and Painting Challenge

1. Welcome to the Challenge: Every great portrait artist started with a single sketch, not a perfect one, but a sketch they were willing to learn from. Hi, everyone, and welcome to the class. I'm Anakashda, a self taught portrait artist from India, and I'm very excited to have you all here. Portraits have always fascinated me, but getting started wasn't really easy. Like many self taught artists, I struggle with proportions, perspectives, facial features, and even figuring out where to begin. I spent around two years experimenting with different methods, making mistakes, and finally learning through trial and error. Over time, I realized that improving at portraits wasn't about talent. It was about understanding the fundamentals and practicing consistently. So that approach completely changed my portrait journey, and that's exactly what I want to share with you all in this class today. So this class is a ten base of mastering portraits challenge where we'll break down portrait sketching and painting into simple beginner friendly steps. But this class is also the beginning of something much bigger, which is going to be our hundred heads challenge. So together, we'll be working towards completing 100 portraits and by taking one step at a time. There is no deadline and no pressure. So the goal here is to simply practice consistently, learn from each portrait, and also to enjoy the process. So in this class, we'll be completing the first four heads of the challenge while building a strong foundation in portrait drawing and painting. So during the first half of the class, we'll focus only on sketching. So here we'll study facial proportions, perspectives, construction, the Loomis method, and other essential concepts that make portrait drawing easier to understand, followed by which in the second half, we'll move into the painting part. Where we learn how to make skin tones using limited palette and bring our portraits to life using wash. And this class is perfect for beginners, artists who struggle with portraits or anyone looking for a structured way to improve their portrait skills. And by the end of these ten days, you'll have four completed portraits and more importantly, a much better understanding of how to approach portrait sketching and painting with confidence. So grab your sketchbook, gather your supplies, and let's begin our hundred heads challenge together. 2. All about Projects: Before we begin, here's how we share projects throughout this class. Since this is a challenge based class, I encourage you to complete the exercises and upload your work as you go. Our focus should be mainly on practice and improvement. To upload your work, go to the projects and resources section and click Create Project after completing your first project. Because this is a multi day challenge, you only need one project for the entire class. So simply update the same project as you progress. Example, upload your Davon work, then use Edit project or update project in the same section to add your future works. So this also helps in creating a visual record of your growth throughout the challenge. The challenge is completely self paced, so work at whatever speed it suits you. And mainly focus on learning and practicing rather than rushing to finish, feel free to share not only your finished portraits, but also your practice pages, lumis exercises, perspective studies, and even the random sketches you make along the way. Trust me, the biggest improvements often happen during the practice sessions. And if you have any questions, if you have any doubts, post them in the discussion section, and I'll do my best to reach out to you. And most importantly, enjoy the process and just know that every sketch is a step forward. I hope the project part is now clear. With that, let's move on to the next lesson. 3. Materials Required: Now, before we begin, let's get our gear ready for the next ten days of the challenge. For sketching, you'll need a sketchbook or a few sheets of paper. Since we'll eventually be working with gouache, I would recommend using paper that is at least 245 GSM thick so that it can handle multiple layers of paint. I'll be working in a sketchbook, but feel free to use any paper that you're comfortable with. Next, we'll need a pencil for sketching. You can use any pencil that feels comfortable in your hand. We'll also need an eraser in case you need to make any adjustments. For some of the lessons in this class, we'll be creating a few simple tools to help us understand perspective better. For that, you'll need three different colored sheets of paper, preferably in squis, a pair of scissors, and a pen or a marker. We also need some foam clay, a craft knife, and a piece of thread to create another tool. So while you're working with a craft knife, please make sure you work carefully and also safely. Now moving on to the painting supplies, I'll be using this Hi mia jelly gouache set, but you don't need the exact same set. In fact, we'll be working with a very limited palette throughout this class. The main colors you'll need are white, black, yellow, red, blue, burnt umber, and violet. These colors are more than enough for us to mix a wide range of skin tones and complete all the projects in the class. We'll also need a few brushes. I recommend having a mix of round and flat ones. Addition, you must have water to clean your brushes from time to time, a mixing palette, a waste cloth or paper towel nearby for cleaning your brushes. You can also keep some washy tapes with you if you like working with clean borders, and that's pretty much everything we'll need for this challenge. So gather your supplies, get your workspace ready, and once you're all set, let's move on to the next lesson and begin our portrait journey together. 4. Warm Up : Lines and Circles: So let's start with a few simple lines. Now, this is a warm up exercise where we'll gently warm up our hands before getting into the main portrait sketching process. These exercises will help you get comfortable with your pencil moment and make the sketching process smoother later in the class. We'll begin with some vertical lines, so you can go ahead and make a few vertical strokes of any length. Make sure you feel comfortable with the way you hold your pencil and also don't worry about perfection here. Next, let's move on to some straight horizontal lines. You can actually do this exercise on a rough sheet or anywhere you have empty space. So simply fill the page with lines to loosen up your hand. Next, let's try a few diagonal lines. You don't have to follow any specific technique for this exercise. The main goal here is to get comfortable with your hand movement as you draw. You can quickly skitch a few lines without worrying too much about precision. So this is just to prepare your hand for the main process. Now that the lines are done, let's move on to some circles. Now, this exercise is all about free hand circles, and we'll be filling this entire page with them. So while drawing, make sure you're not using just your wrist. Try to use your entire arm from your shoulders, to your wrist and fingers. So that's how you should be controlling your moment. Also make sure it is not just restricted. Let the flow be a little natural to get that circles right. During this exercise, let's focus on slowly controlling the motion and gradually building the shape. Also, you don't have to stick to one particular size, start with small circles and gradually increase your size as you continue. As you can see, I'm using very light strokes here because I don't want the circles to be dark from the very first, as we'll be slowly building the shape over a few rounds. That is, instead of drawing just one circle outline, I'm going over the shape a few more times until I achieve a cleaner and more balanced circle. So don't worry if your first circle doesn't look perfect, even in my case, as you can see, the first one doesn't nearly look like a perfect circle, but I slowly build the illusion of getting a circle after a few rounds. So the idea here is to correct and refine the initial circle into a more balanced one. So take your time and fill the page with a few circles before we move on to the next lesson. With this warm up session, we are all set to move to the next lesson. 5. Tool 1 : Paper cube: Now, for this, we'll require three different colored papers. First, let me show you how to make a square in case you don't have a square sheet. So I'll start by cutting the paper so that one side is slightly more than the width of the square I'm planning to make. Here, I'm simply dividing it into half. Since I'm not aiming for a very neat cut, I'll just press the paper firmly and then tear it with my hands. Now, to get a square, I'll fold this part diagonally. After folding it diagonally, you can further fold it this way so that you get a square. Once again, before tearing the paper, make sure you press it well so you get a cleaner edge. Well, you can also use a scissor. And with that, if you open it up, you'll get a perfect square. So using these papers, I'll create two squares from each color. So here I'm repeating the same process since I'm using the same paper as before. So in case you didn't understand the previous method, you can take your time and watch this again. O. But if you look here, luckily, the entire length of the sheet is twice its breadth, so I'll simply divide the sheet into half to get a square. Luckily, the half of this paper turns out to be a square, so I'll be repeating the same process for the remaining three colors. So now we have a total of six choirs in three different colors. So the first step is to fold the paper in half. So let's start it vertically. Oh. And Now, open it up and you'll have a crease in the center. So using this as a reference, bring one edge of the square to the center line and press it nicely. Now I'm going to repeat the same on the other side. This way, you have divided the square into four vertical sections. Now, let's do the same horizontally. Rotate the paper, fold it into half first, and then use the center crease as a reference to both the sides inward. Uh and with the final fold, you'll have all the crease lines ready. Next, fold it in one way, and then in the next step, you can fold it in the opposite direction. So I'll show you once again. First, fold it vertically and then fold it horizontally. This way, you'll get a small square at the back. Now I'll repeat the same process for the remaining five square pieces. And with that, we have all the six papers ready. So the same colors represent opposite sides. So consider these two as opposite sides. Now I'll take the next one, which is orange. So orange is going to be the next opposite sides. So let's say this goes in the top and bottom part. I'll start with orange as the base. So place it on the table like this as it'll stay at the bottom. Next on the open sides of this orange, place the side squares facing each other like this. If you look at it now, this becomes one side. This is the base, and this is going to be the other side. Now, similar to how we place the orange one, we'll place the top piece in the same manner, but on the opposite side. And with that, we have four sides of our cube ready. Now for the remaining two sides, you can use the open sides and place the squares facing each other, same way, like how we did earlier. So find the gap, and then you can insert one side of this piece. And mainly in the step, don't apply too much of pressure since it's just a paper. So take your time and hold the other pieces in place while doing this. Now, once this side is inserted, you can slide in the other side as well. Now that this part is done, we'll move on to the remaining one. Place the piece accordingly, identify the opening, and repeat the same process, slightly open the space, and then insert the paper carefully. And once done, press all the edges gently so there are no gaps. And as I mentioned earlier, avoid pressing it too hard as it might damage the paper. So if you prefer, you can also use a bit of glue to secure the sites. And with that, cube is ready. This will be an important tool to understand different perspectives, not just for this class, but also for your future works. Finally, to mark the reference lines, you can use the existing creases. For that I'm using a pen and a scale. Using that you can mark over them and repeat the same on all the sides. Now that our cube is ready, let's move on to the main class and its application. 6. Perspective Study : Using a Cube: H now to study the perspectives using this, I have marked the sides. This is the front. This is the bottom part. We have the top part here, and these two would be the sides. First, let's keep the cube in a straight position. When it is facing directly towards us, only the front part is visible. But once you slowly rotate it in either direction, you can begin to see the side phase coming interview. As you can see, the blue side of the cube slowly starts appearing. The more you tilt the cube, the more visible the side becomes, while the front face gradually starts diminishing in appearance. Oh Notice how when the cube is straight, the front face appears evenly divided vertically. But once you begin tilting it, the visible area of the front face starts reducing as the new side emerges into view. So the more I rotate the cube, the more the front side diminishes while the side face becomes increasingly visible. Also, the side closer to the direction of the rotation appears compressed depending on the direction in which the cube is tilted. Now, if you do the same thing on the other side, that is slowly, if you tilt the cube towards the left, you can see that the side of the front face gradually reduces in size while the blue side starts emerging into view. As I continue rotating it further, there comes a point when the cube is fully turned and now only the blue side is visible to us. So the same concept applies to top and bottom faces as well. As you tilt the cube upward, the front portion slowly reduces while the orange colored bottom face begins to come into view. As I continue tilting it further upward, the orange face eventually becomes fully visible. Similarly, when looking downward, you can see that the front face gradually reduces while the top face increasingly comes into view. And at one point, the top face becomes the dominant visible surface. So basically, the amount by which the front face reduces is the amount by which the other face becomes visible. Now, let's relate this to a human head. Suppose the person is turned to the side, similar to this cube position where only two faces are visible. But what happens if the person is looking upward? If I tilt the cube slightly upward, you can notice that not just two side faces, but also the bottom face becomes visible. In the same way, if the person is looking downward, while also facing sideways, again, all three visible planes begin to appear together. So by experimenting with different tils and directions, we can clearly observe how the visible size changes according to perspectives. This is a very simple and effective way to study perspective using a cube. Now that we understand this concept, let's begin with the exercise. Now let's practice a few perspectives. For that, I'll begin with a front facing view. Now, when the cube is kept straight, only the front face is visible. So that's the reason we are starting off with a square in the middle, which is nothing but the cube itself. But once I till the cube in different directions, we start getting different perspectives. So first, I'll mark all the directions clearly. Now I have tilted the cube towards the right side. The yellow face is now facing towards the right, so let's study this perspective carefully. Instead of appearing as a perfect square, you can see that the front shape now becomes slightly distorted. The line I'm starting with is still straight, but if you observe the side edges carefully, they are no longer perfectly horizontal. As the direction changes, the lines begin to shift and distort according to the perspective. So you can sketch them as such. I'll also add the guidelines on this one. Now, on the other side, instead of completely straight line, you can notice that the line bends slightly inward. You can connect the edges this way to understand the form more easily. Again, the middle line is no longer perfectly straight, either. Instead, it bends slightly downward. I'll shade the sides so that we can differentiate the different planes. Next, when you tilt the cube towards the left side, here, again, the front face shifts while the side face starts emerging into view. As you can see, the vertical lines remain almost straight in most cases, but the horizontal lines change according to the perspective. They are no longer perfectly straight and instead appear at an angle. So carefully observe the cube and you can try sketching it the same way in your sketchbook. Now, I'll shade the side planes so that we can differentiate between the front and the side faces. Slowly, take your time to understand the perspectives by using this model and also try to replicate them in your sketchbook while you practice. Now, in this case, the cube is tilted upward. As you can see, the front face is reduced in size, while the bottom face is more visible. Also, in this perspective, all the horizontal lines appear mostly straight and parallel to each other. So before we start sketching, let's observe the cube carefully. If we take the center line as a reference, you can notice that all the horizontal lines remain parallel. However, the vertical lines begin to bend slightly. So in this perspective, both the vertical lines are slightly bending inward towards the center of the cube. So I'll begin by drawing the horizontal lines first. You can see that the middle section appears larger in comparison. Before connecting the edges, notice that the bottom part has more visible space, so I'll make that area slightly bigger. Next, I'm simply connecting the edges this way to build the form. I'll also add the guidelines for better understanding. Next, you can shade the bottom plane so that the different faces are clearly visible. Now let's take a look at the cube which is tilted downward. Again, all the horizontal lines remain almost straight and parallel. Let's also consider the central line as mostly straight here, although a slight distortion can naturally occur. Unlike the previous one, I haven't tilted the cube to an extreme angle, which is why only a small portion of the top phase is visible. Now, this process is similar to the previous example, but here the front phase is more visible, so I'll make it slightly larger. So this one is basically the opposite of our earlier perspective. And always remember, there would be a slight distortion depending on the perspective. Now, if you look at this case, the cube is tltered downward as well as towards the side. Because of this, you can see multiple planes at the same time. Here, all the vertical lines appear mostly straight and parallel to each other. So I'll begin with the intersection line first. So I'll start with the straight line as the base reference. Since the cube is tilted downward, both the front and top faces are visible. At the same time because it is also turned sideways, the side face becomes visible as well. To draw this, I'll first catch the front facing plane this way. Now, if you observe the side face carefully, you can see that the edge is not perfectly straight. It is slightly tilting upward. Most of the lines in the same direction remain almost parallel to each other. So the vertical lines are nearly parallel and the horizontal lines are also mostly parallel within the plane. Now for the top face, only a very small portion is visible. So I'll skitch that shape lightly. I'll darken the visible top face slightly darker than the previous one. Next with a new perspective, if you observe carefully, the side plane is the most visible part here, while only a very tiny part of the front face can be seen along with the top face. And if you use the bottom edge as a reference, you can clearly notice the angle at which the cube is tilted. The cube is almost completely facing this direction, so I'll use these reference lines to construct the cube. Here, the horizontal lines are tilting downward, while the vertical lines are slightly tilting towards the left. And using those directions, I can easily build the side. The front part is barely visible, but a small portion can still be seen, so you can continue following the same directional lines while sketching. The opposite edges will remain almost parallel to each other, so you can simply sketch it out. Now for the top part, I'll simply connect these lines to complete the shape. Imagine the cube is facing upward while also turning towards the right side. So let's begin with the intersection line. I'll start with the straight line as the main reference. If you observe the horizontal lines carefully, you can see that they are not perfectly straight. Instead, they are slightly angled downward. So using that direction, sketch the front face. Now for the side plane, the lines again bend downward, but this time it is in the opposite direction, so I'll make them accordingly. Also, since the visible side plane is smaller in size, I'll make it slightly narrower. Next, we have the bottom plane. To complete the bottom phase, notice that these lines are mostly parallel to the lines already present in the structure, so I'll not complicate it more. So directly go ahead and draw parallel lines to finish that portion. And to differentiate this side, you can darken it a little more. Now, in this case, the angle is positioned this way. So basically, the cube is not directly facing us. It is turned towards the side while also tilted upward. I hope this makes the angle a little clearer. Here, I'll begin by drawing the side plane first. I'll use the directional lines as reference for the side. The lines follow a particular pattern, so I'll sketch them accordingly and then connect the edges. You can also notice that the lines are slightly angled here as well. Once the side plane is ready, I'll shade it lightly to separate it visually. Next, let's look at the front face. You can see that it is also slightly angled and distorted according to the perspective. So I'll skitch the front face this way and connect all the edges carefully. Now for the bottom plane, you can simply draw lines parallel to the ones already present in the structure like we did earlier. Once the shape is complete, I'll darken it slightly to indicate the bottom face clearly. So this is how you can study perspective using a simple cube. So using just this one cube, we explored multiple perspectives and understood how angles and visible planes change depending on direction. This is a very easy and effective tool, especially for beginners who struggle with perspectives. So by using this cube, you can practice many different angles and viewpoints, apart from what we did in the class just now. Feel free to rotate it in different directions, sketch those perspectives, and use it as a study tool to improve your understanding of forms and angles. Now that this concept is clear, it'll become much more easier to understand the next topic where we'll introduce the Loomis method. So now let's move on to the Loomis method. 7. Introduction to Loomis Method: Oh now for the Loomis method, the very first step is to begin with a circle. Basically, this circle represents a sphere in three D form. So go ahead and start drawing a free hand circle. And most importantly, take your time with this step because this is going to be the foundation of the entire construction. And you slide strokes while sketching the circle and don't try to finalize it in a single stroke. Instead, go around the shape multiple times, slowly refining it until you achieve a balanced circle. It usually takes a little more time when you are drawing larger circles, so don't rush the process, take your time and slowly refine the shape. Once the circle is ready, the next step is to draw the central guideline. Here, I'm dividing the circle vertically through the center, and I'll extend this line slightly downward. Next, we divide the circle horizontally. Instead of drawing this line completely straight, I'm curving it slightly to match the form of the sphere. So this basically gives you the eyebrow line. The next step is to slice the sides of the sphere. We usually cut the sides at around two thirds of the height of the circle, so that's normally the proportion we'll look for while making the slice. So I'll roughly shade the sliced area so it becomes much easier to understand. Now, if I connect both the tips of the sliced part, I'll be getting the hairline, as well as the nose line at the bottom. Now, if you observe carefully, these divisions almost form equal sections, creating a structured framework for the face. So now we have the hair line a line and the noseline clearly marked. Next, at an equal distance below the noseline, we can mark another line to place the chin. I'm using the pencil here to roughly measure the length and maintain the proportion. Now, you can connect the chin to the sides near the nose line to form the jaw line. To define the overall shape of the face, I'll slightly curve the outer edge of the hair line down towards the eyebrow line. This actually helps in shaping the side structure of the head. Now at this stage, major guidelines are now ready. Now, to locate the eyeline, divide the space between the ebrline and the nose line into three equal parts. The upper division will roughly indicate the eye placement. For the mouth, divide the space between the nose line and the chin line into half. This gives us approximate position of where the mouth would end, and the ears are usually placed between the br line and the nose line, so you can sketch them within that region. Next to locate the eyes, the eyes do not extend all the way to where the ears are placed. Generally, the width of an eye is approximately equal to the width of the nose. Because of this, we usually divide the ebrline into five equal sections. So roughly measure the space and divide it into five equal parts. These divisions actually help us understand the placement and width of the eye as well as the nose. Simplify the eye placement, I usually begin with simple oval shapes. So for now, I'll go ahead and roughly sketch the eyes this way. Next, if you drop a straight vertical line downward from the inner corners of the eyes, it has defined the width and the placement of the nose. So this is where I'll roughly mark the nose. Now we have the eyebrows placed along the eyebrow line. I'll shape them this way and connect them naturally towards the nose area. At this point, you can slowly see the face beginning to take form. Next comes the mouth. Earlier, we mark the line where the mouth ends. Now, if I divide the space just above that line into roughly three equal parts, it helps me place the mouth properly. So using the center point above the mouth guideline, I'll extend the lines outward to shape the lips. After that, I lightly shade the upper and lower portions to define the lips more clearly. So basically, I'm not getting into the details now. Next, we can add the neck. Finally, the hairstyle will completely depend on your reference image or the look you want to create. Usually, because of the volume of the hair, it extends beyond the original circle that we drew at the beginning. So I'm simply sketching a hairstyle this way for now. So this is the basic idea. Now let me define the details a little more. I'm softly smudging the areas that I want to refine further, and I'll also add some shading just below the chin and around the neck area. As I mentioned earlier, I normally begin with oval shapes for the eyes and even for the nose and also for the mouth. So oval shapes are my to go forms for placing and defining the facial features. You can also give it a try because it's pretty easy to then define it into a proper feature. So once the placement feels right, I'll slowly start developing the details from there. So here I'm simply shaping the eyes first. Once that is done, I'll move on to the nose. For the nose. The lower portion is usually darker because of the shadows. I'll also define the nostrils and corners of the nose with a little bit of shading. Later in our projects, we'll study these details much more deeply. So here, you can simply try to understand the concept. Next, moving on to the lips, I'll begin with the center line first. I'll darken it slightly, especially towards the corners. You can notice that the initial oval saves already help me establish the structure and placements of the lips. Next, I'll slightly darken the chin area as well. So in this way, we have created the basic facial features. Now, this gives us the fundamental understanding of Loomis method, but let's go a little further. A face is not just made up of one flat surface. Instead, it consists of multiple planes that change direction according to the structure of the face. So let's understand a few important planes that will help us understand this facial structure better. The face one is the side plane of the face. This plane generally extends from the eyeline towards the end of the chin. Similarly, just below the lips, we have another plane. Next, let's look at the eye area. The eyes are actually placed inside the eye sockit, meaning they sit directly inward rather than directly on the surface of the face. If you observe yourself in a mirror, you can notice how the area from the eyebrow moves inward down to the eyes. So these are some of the most important planes that we need to keep in mind while understanding the structure of the face. The planes present in the nose is quite complicated, but let's simplify it. So this is basically the general form that you can follow. And these are the side planes. Overall, this is the structure you'd get. Similarly for the lips, these are basically two different planes. And for the forehead here we are considering with just one single plane. So this is basically a simplified version of ARO method. The original ASRO method is much more detailed, but here we have simplified it for the better understanding and to make it more beginner friendly. As we discussed earlier, we have broken down the face into simple planes around the eyes we define the inward plane of the eye socket. For the nose, we kept the structure simple by focusing only on the major planes. Similarly, for the mouth, you can notice the upper and lower lips act as two separate planes facing different directions. When light falls on the face, these planes react differently depending on their direction. That is why some areas appear darker and fall into shadow in the reference. These are actually the main ideas you need to keep in mind while studying facial structure. So, based on your reference, you can always refine and add more details later. For example, if you observe carefully, the forehead can actually be divided into several smaller planes. But for now, let's not get into too much of details. Let's keep it simple. So this is the basic understanding of Loomis method, combined with a simplified introduction to facial planes. I hope the method is now clear. Just keep these major points in mind, and now let's move on to the perspective study. 8. Tool 2 : Loomis Study Tool: And so just like the cube, let's make another simple tool that will help us understand perspectives even better using the Loomis method. For that, I'm taking two to three sets of foam clay. First, you'll have to condition it and then shape it into a ball. Since foam clay can dry quickly, make sure you shape it as fast as possible and then let it dry. Once the ball is ready, let's divide it vertically and horizontally to establish our basic guidelines. For that, I'm using a thread and wrapping it around the ball so that it divides the sphere equally into two halves. Now using this reference, I'll mark the line with a pen. Similarly, to divide it horizontally, I'll adjust the thread so that it sits perpendicular to the previous line. Now the next step is to slice the sides. Before doing that, I need to identify the center of the side planes properly. So let's make one more guideline. I'll once again wrap the thread around the sphere so that we get a perpendicular to the line that's already existing. At this point, now we have both the vertical and horizontal lines on the front. Similarly, on the sides where we are going to slice, we already had the horizontal guideline. Now we have added the vertical guideline at the center. With that, all our reference lines are ready. Now let's slice the sides. Carefully cut the side portions on both ends. I'm using a craft blade that I normally use for clay projects. So while you're doing it, please be careful while working with it. So repeat the same process on the other side as well. As you can see, this side is slightly soft, so I'll leave it aside for a while to dry properly. Initially, for the entire ball to dry, I did leave it for like 24 hours. Now that the sides are all dry, let's mark the guidelines and marking these lines just by connecting the ends. Now, for the final step, I'm taking a thin strip of thick paper and placing it vertically through the center. So this will act as our central axis. If you look at the strip separately, it is just a straight line, but by attaching it to the sphere, it becomes much easier to understand the head direction and perspective in three D form. So I'll stick it in place, and with that, our tool is ready. Now using this model, let's study perspective through Loomis method. 9. Loomis Perspective Study: So, based on how we studied perspectives using the cube, we'll now repeat the same exercise using our new tool. So we'll be covering all the same perspectives and angles that we practiced earlier. The only difference is that now we'll be applying them directly to the Loomis head method. So let's begin with a straight facing view. Here, we can clearly see the front of the head along with all the main guidelines and also the sliced part. So just like before, we'll begin with a circle. For a straight facing head, we can simply draw the central vertical axis like this. Following that, we can mark the horizontal line which is the eyebrow line. You can then slice the sides. You can compare it with the Loomis tool so that you can understand it better. Next, you can connect the other guidelines. So in the end, you can connect the jaw line this way to the chin. So this much of details would do, and that's our front facing head. So in the straight facing position, this was a structure we had, but once the head starts turning slightly towards the side, you can compare these two halves of the face. So this part slowly starts reducing in size. So notice that the side to its width, the head is turning gradually reduces invisible width. At the same time, the sliced part becomes more visible. So the more the head turns, the more the front portion diminishes, while the sliced part becomes increasingly exposed. This is basically how we did previously with a cube, but now it's just the sphere with a sliced side. You can take your time, observe the Lumi stool, and using that, you can start sketching. So again, I'll begin with the circle. As you can see, the central axis is towards the sides. So first, I'll mark the exposed side plane, then add the central axis, following which I'll go ahead with the horizontal guideline, which is our eyebrow line. Next, I'll add the remaining guidelines, like how we studied the Loomis method. You can use a curved line to mark the jaw line. So simply you can connect the corner of the circle towards the chin, and I'll do the same on the other side as well. Now let's look at the opposite direction. So as the person turns towards the other side, the front portion on that side begins to reduce while the sliced plane becomes visible instead. Now, let's assume that the person is turning completely towards the left. Here, the sliced side plane is fully visible without any distortion, so I'll place it almost in the center like this. At this stage, it almost looks like two overlapping circles. Next, I'll add all the guidelines. So for the central axis, notice that it touches the outermost left edge of the circle. And since the head is completely turned towards the side, the far side of the jain is no longer visible, so we only need to connect the visible sideline. In the next case, let's see what happens when the head is looking upward. If you recall the Loomis method, this is where the nose line and chin line are normally placed. So as the head tilts upward, the lower portion of the head becomes more visible in this case. In other words, the underside of the chin starts getting exposed while the forehead area appears reduced from our viewpoint. So I'll start with a circle. The central axis remains the same in this case, as well. Now we can slice the sides as we did earlier. However, the horizontal guideline now changes. So instead of curving it horizontally across the vertical axis, you can curve it upward in this way. So you can also see that there is a shift in the proportions. So the upper portion appears smaller. That is the forehead area, while the lower portion now becomes more prominent. So I'll mark the distance between the nose and chin a little bigger now. Following that, you can simply connect the jaw line to complete the structure. In the next case, the person is looking up but also turning towards the side. As you can see from the tool, this is the perspective we get. So you can start with a circle as usual. Then just as shown in the tool, mark the sliced side plane first. Next, you can go ahead and draw the central axis. Since the head is turned, the axis is slightly slanted, so I'll draw it as a gentle curve following the direction of the head. Now, if you observe the horizontal guideline, it is no longer a straight line. Instead, it bends downward, just like we observed earlier while studying the cube. So here we are applying the same perspective principle. Also, notice that the vertical guideline on the sliced part is generally parallel to our central axis. Keeping this parallel relationship in mind, it makes it much easier to construct the head correctly. Finally, you can complete it by connecting the jaw line. Now let's look at the opposite side. In this case as well, the person is looking upward but turning towards the other side. Again, start with a circle and carefully observe the Loomis stool. Now mark the slice side first. Then identify the angle of the central axis and you can draw it accordingly. I'll repeat the same angle on the sliced part as well. Just like we mentioned, you can make these lines parallel. Again, the horizontal guideline is not a perfect curve. Instead, it bends slightly towards the sliced part. After that, I'll add all the remaining guidelines and connect the jaw line to complete the structure. At this stage, we are only focusing on understanding the angles in construction, so there is no need to add any further facial details. Now let's move on to the downward tilt. So when the head is looking downward, the chin begins to disappear from the view. Earlier in the case of upward tilt, the forehead disappeared, while in this case, the chin starts disappearing. So we'll follow the same construction process, start with a circle. But this time, notice that the horizontal guideline, which represents the eyebrow line sits lower than the center of the circle. Now, as a result, the lower portion of the head appears compressed while the distance between the ebrline and the hairline appears larger. So this shift intraportion helps create the illusion of the head tilting downward. Once the guidelines are in place, we can roughly connect the jaw line to complete the structure. Next, let's see what happens when the person is looking downward while also turning towards one side. Again, we'll begin with a circle and use the Loomis tool as our reference to constrict the head from this angle. You can first observe the angle at which the head is tilted downward. Once you understand the direction, you can mark the central axis accordingly and then slice the sides based on the angle. So in the upward tilt, the horizontal guidelines were curved upward. So in this case, it would be curving downward, so you can use that knowledge to mark the guidelines and finally complete the overall shape by connecting the jaw line. Similarly, let's look at another case. Suppose the head is turned completely towards the side and is also looking downward. In that case, this is the position we would get. As usual, we'll begin with the circle. Then I'll identify the angle of the tint and mark it using the central axis. However, in this case, the entire side plane is visible. Because of that, I'll place the slice section almost in the center of the circle. Now to make the eybrline, I'll make it perpendicular to our existing central axis, and following that, I'll mark the remaining guidelines and connect the jaw line to complete the structure. So now using the omis tool, along with the perspective concepts we learned earlier from the cube exercise, we were able to construct and understand all these different head angles much more easily. These studies help us visualize how the lumis head changes in perspective and provide a strong foundation before we move on to drawing actual portraits from different angles. So with the help of these two tools, we were able to study a wide range of perspectives. We spent a good amount of time understanding perspectives using cubes, and then applied the same concept using the Loomis method. I would highly encourage you to give these tools a try. They are not very complicated to me, but they are incredibly useful when it comes to understanding proportions, perspectives, and portrait construction from the very basics. So don't feel restricted to only the angles we studied in this lesson. Try exploring different angles on your own. The more you experiment, the better you understand the perspectives, and it will help you improve much faster. As you can see, with the help of this tool, I was able to do a few quick studies of my own. Let me show you one that I worked on recently. So this is a very simple exercise where I focused only on the central axis and the eyebrow line. So by changing the angle of the head, I was able to get different results and was able to better understand how perspective affects the structure. Next study, I followed the same process that we just did, but I took it one step further by roughly placing all the facial features along with the structure. So this gave me a much clearer understanding of how the head would eventually look as a complete portrait. As you can see, this tool was the primary reference I used while studying these perspectives on my own. All you need to do is draw a few circles, set a particular angle using the tool, and then try to replicate the same angle in your sketchbook. The more you repeal this exercise, the more naturally perspective will start making sense to you. So with that I hope this lesson was informative understanding perspective and construction is one of the most important foundations of portrait sketching and everything we learn from here onward will build upon these concepts. So based on everything we have studied so far, let's move on to our Day one project and start applying these ideas in practice. 10. Day 1 : Practicing Loomis Method on References: So based on everything we have learned so far about perspective and using these tools, let's practice a few heads together. And in this project, we won't focus on the facial details. Instead, we'll concentrate on the basic head, structure, shape, and perspective. And I'll be guiding you through all these six references. So if you find it confusing, you can first watch the lesson and then try it on your own. So now let's get started with our very first reference. For this, the face is positioned in this manner. If you observe carefully, the eyeline is not exactly at the center. Since the head is slightly tilted upward, the eyeline also appears a little higher. Keeping that in mind, let's begin with a circle. The central vertical axis remains almost the same. Next, you can go ahead and slice the sides. Now, since the head is tilted upward, the horizontal guideline will curve upward, as I mentioned earlier, whenever the head tilts upward, the horizontal guidelines tend to curve upward as well. Next, I'll add all the remaining guidelines. Once those are placed, we can then connect the jaw line. If you look at the reference, the jaw is not very sharp. Instead, it has a softer curve, so I'll shape it accordingly. Now I'll roughly indicate the hairline. I'll also mark the neck. As the ears are slightly visible, I'll mark them as well. Now, without spending too much time on details, I'll quickly block in the hairstyle based on the reference. For this lesson, especially, I would like you all to fix a time and try to finish the painting within that particular time. So try to quickly analyze and focus only on the major guidelines. Since this is the very basic, let's try to focus on that and improve that concept first. Now I'll use some simple diagonal strokes to suggest the hair. Without adding any further details, let's stop here, and that completes our first head study. Now moving on to the second head, here, the person is turning towards the left, but not completely to the side, since a small portion of the far eye is still visible to us. So I have positioned the Loomis stool in a similar way. As usual, I'll start with a circle and establish the basic structure. Once the circle is ready, I'll add the central axis. You can see that it is slightly curved, so I'll replicate the same curve. Next, I'll slice the side plane, making sure that it begins roughly from the end of the eyebrow area. The eyeline is again slightly above the center, so I'll curve it gently upward. Remember, this guideline passes through the eyebrows, bends across the side plane, and generally aligns about the top of the ear. So that's actually what makes the bend incline downward. I'll also mark the vertical guideline on the side plane, which remains roughly parallel to the central axis. Next, I'll add the remaining guidelines. Now because of the small upward tilt, you'll notice a small change in the proportions, that is the lower part is more visible now. Once the construction is ready, I'll connect the jaw line, paying close attention to how much it curs in the reference. After adding the neck, I'll roughly sketch these flowers from the reference. Again, we're not focusing on details. As you can see, these are very loose flower sketches. The goal here is to simply capture the overall shape and structure, and that's what we're doing here. Finally, I'll block in the hair. Now, if you're a beginner, don't worry about the speed. Take your time, observe the reference carefully, and then proceed. And with that, our second head study is complete. Now for the next head, the person is looking slightly downward and also towards the side. You can see that both eyes are visible, but the far eye appears slightly reduced because the head is turning towards the right. If you observe carefully, this would be our central axis. Using that idea, let's begin the sketch. You can start with a circle and then mark the central axis. Next, I'll mark the side plane. As the head is slightly tilted downward, the horizontal guidelines will now curve downward, just as we discussed earlier. You can also notice a slight compression in the lower portion of the face because of this downward tilt. Now, let's connect the sides. First, mark the chin properly and then connect it to the jaw line. On the side plane, we have the vertical guideline which remains parallel to the central axis. You can extend it slightly down to connect the jaw. M Next, we have the scarf in the reference, so I'll quickly outline it first to understand the overall shape of the head and the neck area. Remember, even if you are not able to replicate the reference exactly, that's completely fine. Our main goal here is not perfection, so keep that in mind. We are simply practicing multiple head angles so that we can better understand proportions and perspective. Now that the basic structure is complete, I'll quickly indicate the hair by using some simple shading. And with that, the head steady is finished. Now let's move on to the next one. Here, the person is looking upward while also turning to the side. Observe the angle of the line passing through the center of the face through the nose. So that will help us identify the direction of the head. And here, precisely, it'll help us define the direction of the central axis. You can also see part to the side plane because the ear is visible. So once again, begin with a circle and then add the central axis accordingly. Because of the turn, the far side of the face is slightly compressed, so keep that in mind while placing the central axis, I'll position it slightly towards the side so that the left side is slightly diminished. Now, while marking the side plane, leave enough space for the front portion of the face before placing it as this half of the face is slightly bigger than the other one. Then we can add the eyebrow line. Using the position of the ear as a guide, which we used earlier, I'll curve the eyebrow line according to the reference. After that, I'll add the remaining guidelines. Because the head is tilted upward, the lower portion of the face becomes more visible while the upper portion appears slightly reduced. Now around the eye area, there is the soft subtle curve, so I'll indicate that as well. Now we can mark the chin and connect the jaw line. Once that's done, I'll also add the neck. Finally, I'll block in the hair using simple shapes and shading. At this stage, there is no need to focus on details. Just try to capture the overall shape and direction. So And with that, this head study is complete. Now for the next head, the person is looking upward while also turning in this direction. You can see that the side plane is visible and the far side of the face appears slightly reduced because of that turn. So this would be our central axis. With that in mind, let's begin the sketch. So start with a circle and then mark the central axis. I'll make it slightly curved to match the angle of the head. As you can see, the ibline is not exactly in the center. It is positioned a little higher because of the upward tilt. Accordingly, I'll mark the side planes as well. I normally align the oval of the side plane with the direction of the central axis. So after a few practice, I hope this would get easier for you all. I'll also add the vertical guidelines on the side plane now. So if the central axis is tilted, the side plane will generally follow the same direction. Next, using the placement of the ear and the eyebrows as reference, I'll mark the horizontal guidelines, starting from the eyebrow line. Then I'll add the hairline. Because the head is tilted upward, the lower portion of the face becomes longer and more visible. So I'll extend the proportions downward and mark the chin a little down. Now, let's shape the head. You can take your time here and observe the reference carefully. Notice which areas are straight, which are curved and where the face changes direction. Understanding these subtle changes will help you constrict the head more accurately. So give some time, observe the reference, and then start your work. For the jaw line, I'll extend this side a little further down before connecting it to the chin. I'll mark the year as well. Next, I'll add the neck. Once the basic structure is ready, I'll move on to the hairstyle. Again, take a moment to observe the overall shape of the hair and then simply outline it using simple lines and shapes. M. And with that, our fifth hit study is complete. For the last one, the person is again turning towards the side, but is also looking upward. Now, observe the angle created by the central axis and the eyebrow line. That will help you understand the direction of the head, so I'll arrange the Lums tool accordingly. You can see that the side plane is clearly visible here while only a small portion of the far side of the face is visible. So keeping that in mind, I'll begin with the circle. Here, the central axis is positioned close to the edge of the circle, but not at the extreme end. So you can leave a small gap and then place the central axis. Next, estimate how much space is needed for the front portion of the face and then mark the side plane. Now, observe the eyebrow line because of the upward tilt, it curves like this and bends as it moves towards the side plane. And you can see it would roughly connect the ear, even though it's not visible in the reference. Next, I'll add all the remaining guidelines. As we have discussed earlier, the upward tilt slightly changes the proportions, making the lower portion of the phase appear longer. You can also notice a slight in and out curve around the eye area, so I'll indicate that as well. For the reference, the jaw line is relatively straight, so I'll keep it slightly slanted and then connect it to the chin. Always, pay attention to the angle of the head and the direction in which it is tilting before you start drawing the jaw line. Next, I'll add the neck and then quickly sketch the hairstyle. Again, you can first sketch the overall shape and then go ahead and do the shading. And with that, our Day one project is all complete. So take your time, carefully observe the reference and give these studies a try. I have attached all the references we have used in this lesson in the resources section below. Once you have completed the exercise, don't forget to upload your work in the project section. I'd love to see your progress throughout this challenge. So make sure you upload your Day one project. And if you have any questions or doubts, feel free to post them in the discussion section below. So thank you for joining me today, and I'll see you tomorrow for our next project. Oh 11. Day 2 : Sketching Session Overview: Welcome you all today too of our ten days challenge. Before we begin today's project, I'd like to quickly explain what the next four days of this challenge will look like. So over the next four days, we'll be completing four portrait sketches with one portrait each day. For this challenge, I'm using an AFI sketchbook, and I have divided each page into two halves so that I can fit two portraits on a single page. I would highly recommend working on smaller portraits rather than filling an entire page for this entire challenge, because when you're learning portrait sketching, it's better to focus on understanding the structure. Proportions and placement of features rather than spending too much time on details. Smaller studies are also less time consuming and allow you to practice more efficiently. Later on, in our hundred heads challenge, we'll gradually move on to larger portraits as well. To make the learning process easier, each day's portrait will be divided into two lessons. In the first lesson, we'll focus on understanding the reference and constructing the portrait using the major guidelines and proportions. Since this class is beginner friendly, I've already marked the important guidelines directly on the reference image. So this will help you understand the placement of the features and follow along more easily. Next, in the second lesson, we'll refine the sketch by adding the facial features, details, and also the final touches. So this is the format we'll be following for the next four days before we move on to the painting section. Also, once you complete each day's portrait, don't forget to update your class project. Simply edit your existing project, add the new portrait, and say the changes. By the end of the challenge, you'll have all your portraits documented in a single project, making it easier to track your progress and also improvement. With that set, let's begin with our first portrait. 12. Day 2 : Portrait #1 (Building the Guidelines): Now, let's start with our first head of the series. So this is the reference that we'll be sketching today. Before I begin, I have divided my AFI sheet into two equal halves so that we have enough space for our studies. So let's start with a circle. Once the circle is ready, we can mark the central axis, take a closer look at the reference, and then try to identify the direction of the phase. Then you can replicate a similar central axis on your circle as well. Next, let's slice the sides. Notice that the side plane begins roughly from the end of the eyebrow. Once that's done, I'll add the vertical guideline on the side plane, keeping it parallel to the central axis. Now using the top part of the ear as a reference, I'll draw the curved horizontal guideline that passes through the eyebrows, so that suffers horizontal guideline. Next, I'll add the hairline and also the nose line. As you can see, because the head is slightly tilted upward, the proportions are not equal. The lower portion of the face appears slightly longer than usual. You can even measure and compare these distances if you'd like. So I'll be using the pencil for measuring the gap. So I'm making the distance between the nose line and the chin line, slightly larger than the previous. Once done, I'll mark the eyeline around this area. It's not exactly at the halfway point, but very close. Once all the guidelines are in place, take a moment to study the overall shape of the head, observe where the face curves, where it straightens, and how the jaw line is structured, then you can slowly start outlining the shape of the face. Here I'm noticing how much each line is angled and in which direction it is leaning. So based on that, I'll make the changes in my sketch as well. These small changes in angles are what help create the correct perspective and likeness of the head. So pay attention to all these minute details. So slowly, we have completed the shape. So here, the mouth lies just below the center of this section. So based on that, I'll divide this area further and mark its placement. You can check the reference on the left so that he can get a better idea. Then we have the ear placed over here. Now, this will be the plane for placing our eyes. The next plane is the side cheek plane, which would be located around here. Also notice that this plane does not touch the lips, so make sure you leave enough space for the mouth while placing. This would be the side plane, and on the opposite side, only a small portion of it is visible. Similarly, for the chin, I'll mark an oval shape to indicate its plane. Now the overall structure is ready. We can now start placing the features. For the eyes, I'll use small oval shapes on the eyeline to indicate their placement. Notice that the eye is not positioned directly on the central axis, but slightly to the side of it. Likewise, the other eye is placed further away from the central axis. Observe it carefully and then mark it in your sketch. Next, let's move on to the nose. I usually begin with the bottom plane, which contains the nostrils and lies on the nose line. Once that is established, I'll create the bridge of the nose extending towards the eybrline. So this becomes the front plane of the nose. Finally, I'll add the side plane of the nose to complete its structure. After that, I'll connect the eyebrows. Once that is done, let's move on to the lips. Start with the central line and carefully observe the overall shape and its placement. You don't need to define the lips precisely at this stage. Instead, you can roughly indicate them using simple oval shapes for both the upper and lower part. Now that the features are all in place, we can move on to the hair. First, I'll block in the overall shape of the hair and then use simple shading to indicate its mass and volume. And with that, the basic structure of our first head reference is complete. Now let's move on to define the features. 13. Day 2 : Portrait #1 (Adding the Details): Now, in order to define the features, let's first lighten some of the pencil strokes. I'm not touching the lip area because I feel it is already fine as it is. So let's start with the eyebrows, observe the reference carefully and begin shaping them according to what you see. For the eyes, we already have the oval placements marked earlier, so I'll simply refine those shapes now. As you can see, I haven't completely erased the initial sketch. Instead, I'm using those guidelines to build the final shape. Here I'll begin with the upper eyelid and then slowly add the remaining details of the eye. Here, I want you all to take your time and compare your sketch with the reference as you proceed. Not just the eyes, so I'm also marking the lines that are surrounding it. Now let's move on to the nose. I'll start with the top plane and connect it to the bottom plane to define the overall structure. As you can see, the nostrils are located within the bottom plane that we had marked earlier. Using those guidelines makes it much easier to place the features correctly. So now on the side, we can further refine the side plane of the nose and define its shape more clearly. Now, you can start marking the darker areas that you see in the reference around the nose. For example, the dark shape beside the nose is actually a shadow cast by the nose itself. So you can replicate that same shape in your sketch. At this stage, I'm simply observing the reference and lightly shading wherever I notice the dark shadow areas. Don't worry about making it perfect. Just focus on identifying the major shadow shapes and place them correctly. While doing so, you're already halfway through the portrait. So focus only on what is required. You can also add a little shading just below the lips as this area often falls into shadow and helps define the form of the mouth and the chin. Next, I'll continue defining the phase using the shadow shapes that I observe in the reference. In the area where we had marked the side cheek plane earlier, you can lightly add some shading as well, since you can clearly see shadows falling there in the reference. Now I'll define the neck and roughly sketch the clothing. After that, you can add the earring as shown in the reference. For the hair, I have already blocked in the main shape with shading, but you can further enhance it by adding a few loose strands here and there to make it feel more natural. As you can see, the neck area is quite dark in the reference because of the shadow, so I'll deepen the shading here to create the same effect and improve the sense of depth. Finally, I'll go over the sketch once more and strengthen any areas that appear darker in the reference. So this helps improve the contrast and makes the portrait feel more complete. And with that, we have completed our day two project. Once you have finished your Day two portrait, don't forget to update your class project. As shown in the image, you can edit your existing project and add today's work so that both your day one and Day two projects stay together in the same project submission. This way, you'll be able to track your progress throughout the challenge, and I'll also be able to see your portraits improve from day one to the next. So take your time, complete the portrait at your own pace, and once you're happy with the result, go ahead and update your project. So thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you enjoy the lesson and learn something new. I'll see you tomorrow with our next portrait study until then happy sketching. 14. Day 3 : Portrait #2 (Building the Guidelines): I welcome you all today three of the challenge. This is going to be the reference for today's project. As you can see, this is the space that I have reserved for the portrait. Now, let's begin with a circle. I won't occupy the entire space. Instead, I'll use roughly three fourths of the available area to construct the circle. Next, let's mark the central axis. Just like in the reference, I'll make it slightly curved rather than completely straight. Also, try to make your circle as accurate and symmetrical as possible. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the closer it is to a proper circle, the easier it will be to transfer the measurements and proportions from the reference onto your sketch. Next, you can see that one half of the face is much larger than the other because of the angle of the head. Based on that, I'll mark the sliced side plane using an oval shape. Once that is done, I'll divide the side plane vertically. Next, let's mark the horizontal guideline. Following that, I'll add the remaining guidelines as shown in the reference. If you observe the proportions carefully, the forehead section is the smallest. The middle section between the eyebrow and the nose is slightly larger. The bottom section from the nose line to the chin is almost equal in size to the middle section. So take a moment to compare these distances in the reference and mark them accordingly. Now, let's shape the eye plane. Once that's done, you can start defining the overall shape of the face. So just below the lips, you can see a small curve that helps define the chin area, so I'll add that as well. Then on this side, I'll connect the jaw line accordingly. Around here, we have the ear. Next, I'll mark the neck and roughly sketch the clothing. After that, you can lightly outline the hairstyle. Now, this would be the side plane and because of the angle, only a smaller portion of the opposite side plane is visible. Then we'll also add the plane for the chin. Now on the eyeline, I'll use a leaf like shape to place the eyes. Notice that one eye is positioned closer to the central axis, while the other one appears further away because of the angle of the head. So make sure you place them accordingly. Next, I'll mark the eyebrows. Once that is done, we can move on to the nose, slowly break the nose down into its basic planes and construct it step by step. You can also use the shadow beneath the nose as a guide for its placement and structure. Next, let's move on to the lips. As always, I'll start with the central line and then roughly shape the upper and lower lips based on the reference. Take your time to observe these details carefully. At this stage, accuracy is more important than speed. Finally, I'll darken the upper eyelid slightly to give the eye a bit more definition. And with that, all the major guidelines and feature placements are complete. Now let's move on to the detailing stage. 15. Day 3 : Portrait #2 (Adding the Details): Now, to define the facial features, I'll first lighten all the construction lines using an eraser. So this will help us sketch more clearly while still keeping the guidelines visible. Now I'll begin by refining the shape of the face. At this stage, I'll also correct any mistakes from the initial construction. If any proportions feel slightly off or if a line doesn't match the reference, now is the good time to make those adjustments. So take your time and compare your sketch with the reference as you proceed. Now, I'll start refining the portrait by defining the most prominent features of the face. I'll begin with the eyes. First, I'll darken the upper eyelid and then add the pupil. Small details like these can immediately bring more life to the portrait. So carefully observe the reference and then proceed. Next, let's move on to the nose. Since we already have the basic structure in place, I'll simply define the nostrils, refine the shape of the nose, and then strengthen the shadow areas wherever needed. For the lips, we already have the overall form established, so I'll only darken the areas that need more definition. So I'm not fully shading the lips because the initial tone is already present, and that helps maintain a softer look. Next, we can refine the ear. After that, I'll shade the neck as it appears quite dark in the reference due to the shadow. Just as we did in the previous portrait, I'll now identify the darker areas of the face and gently build them using subtle sheading. So this helps define the planes of the face and also adds more depth to the sketch. Finally, let's move on to the hair. You don't have to draw every single strand. Instead, focus on the overall shape and add a few loose strands around the neck and the collar area to make it look more natural. Here, I'll darken some sections where I feel the values appear darker in the reference. We have almost completed the portrait. Now at this stage, you can step back and compare your sketch with the reference. For example, I feel the far side of the face looks slightly wider than it should, so I'll make a small correction there. You can also do the same wherever you notice something that feels off. And with that, our day three project is complete. I hope you enjoyed this portrait study and found it easy to follow. So thank you for joining me today, and I'll see you tomorrow with our next portrait. 16. Day 4 : Portrait #3 (Building the Guidelines): H I welcome you all today four of our ten day challenge. So this is going to be a reference. I'll now divide the page into half and around here, I'll start with a circle. I'm not using the entire half page, only about three fourths of it. Once you have roughly sketched a circle, I'll begin with a side plane instead of following the usual order because I find it easier to understand the structure this way. Next, I'll place the central axis. Once you understand the concepts, it doesn't really matter in which order you follow the steps. So don't feel intimidated because we skip the original order that we followed in the previous class. Understanding the concept and being able to apply those concepts in your portrait is what matters the most. So don't worry. Anyway, the final result is what matters to us. After dividing the side plane vertically, I have now started the eyebrow line. After that, you can add the remaining guidelines. As you can see, the middle portion and the bottom portion are almost equal in size, so you can measure and see and then add them accordingly. The more you practice with portraits, the easier it would get to understand these measurements visually. Next we have the eyeline. For the mouth, I'll mark the bottom of the lips slightly below the halfway point of the lower section. You can see the reference and mark the remaining guidelines. Now that all the major guidelines are in place, let's start shaping the face. I'll begin with the nose. So the nose extends beyond the phase outline. So this is how you can sketch it using simple shapes in a side profile. Next, I'll add the small visible portion of the eye. For the mouth, I'm not fully shaping it at this point, so I'll simply block it with basic shapes to help outline the face. On the other side, we can now mark the jaw line according to the reference. Once that's done, you can go ahead and add the ear. Notice that the bottom of the ear roughly aligns with the bottom of the nose, so this is a useful proportion to keep in mind for most of the portraits. Next, we'll add the neck and all the remaining details. Now, observe the reference carefully and take your time outlining the hair. So this area here will be our side cheek plane. And here goes the plane for the chin. For the eye, I'll once again use a leaf like shape to place. Then we have the eyebrow. Also, don't forget to add the eyebrow here as well. Now, to place the mouth, I'll start with the central line and then slightly shade the shape of the lips. And with that, all our basic guidelines are ready. Now let's move on to the final details. 17. Day 4 : Portrait #3 (Adding the Details): Next, to define the features, I'll first light in all the dark lines using an eraser. I'll begin with the eyebrows and then I'll move down to refine the nose. Following the angle, you can notice that the tip of the inner corner of the eye falls directly to the corner of the nose. Now observe the reference carefully and add the details for the eye. Also, don't forget to add those subtle lines around the eye that actually help define its shape. Since a very small portion of the other eye is visible, we'll make sure to include that as well. Now let's move on to the lips. I'll start by darkening the central line and then shape the lips based on what I observe in the reference. Again, you don't have to fully shade the lips at this stage, simply define their shape, and that would be enough. Initially, we had just blocked the shape of the lips. Now you can refine it a little more. Just below the lips, you can see a shadow that helps define the chin. So I'll lightly mark that area and then continue with shaping the jaw line. Now, as you work, pay attention to the shadow areas in the reference. So wherever you see darker values, make sure to reflect them in your sketch. These subtle shadows play a huge role in defining the overall value of the face. Oh if you feel certain areas need a little shading to better define the features, go ahead and experiment. Unless you try, you won't know what works best. So trust your observations and do what feels right. Let these small experiments teach you how to approach portraits in your own way. Finally, I'll finish the hair by shading it and refining its overall shape. Once that's done, go over the portrait one last time and strengthen any areas that appear darker in the reference. This final pass helps bring the entire sketch better together. And with that, we have completed today's project. Tomorrow will be the last day of our portrait sketching session before we step into the world of colorful portraits and begin painting. So stay tuned and I'll see you tomorrow with our final portrait study. 18. Day 5 : Portrait #4 (Building the Guidelines): I welcome you all to our final day of our portrait sketching session before we step into the painting phase of the challenge. So this is going to be our reference for today. As usual, I'll begin with a circle. Here again, we are not necessarily following the same order of construction, so I'll start by slicing the sides first and then add the central axis. Oh following that, I'll place the horizontal eyebrow line slightly above the center and in the same way, I'll add the remaining guidelines. As you can see in the reference, the middle section and the bottom section are almost equal in size, so I'll mark them accordingly. Next, by dividing this section into three equals, I'll get the eyeline. Now using the guidelines on the reference, I'll also mark the placement of the lips. Once the guidelines are already, you can begin shaping the overall pace. So take your time to carefully observe where the contours are curd and where the angles are leaning. So adjust your lines accordingly and slowly build up the outline of the face. Now for the hand, it may look a little complicated at first, but it's actually quite simple. So this part is optional. If you want to give it a try, go ahead, and if not, you can leave it as such. So start by using straight lines to establish the direction and placement of the fingers. Once those guidelines are in place, you can connect them and then add the remaining shade to complete the hand structure. You can watch this clip again in case you didn't understand. Next, let's outline the hair. So take your time to observe the reference and lightly sketch the overall shape before getting into any details. After that, we'll proceed with the planes. So I'll start with the one around the eye. Then we'll add the side planes of the face. Well, these planes actually play a huge role while painting because that's where the shadows and highlights fall most often. Now, to place the facial features, I'll use small oval shapes for the eyes and also for the nose. Like I had mentioned, these simple shaves help us establish the correct placement before we refine the features more precisely. After that, I'll move on to constructing the planes of the nose. As you can see, the tip of the nose roughly aligns with the inner corner of the eye. So to check the placement, I'll simply drop a perpendicular line and see if everything is positioned correctly. Next, let's move on to the lips. As always, we'll begin with the central line and then slightly shade the overall shape. And with that, all our major guidelines and feature placements are complete. 19. Day 5 : Portrait #4 (Adding the Details): Now that the guidelines are in place, let's move on to the final detailing stage. To begin, I'll lightly erase the lines and remove any harsh pencil strokes. We'll be refining the eyebrows first. Whenever you're detailing a portrait, make sure to observe the reference carefully before making any marks. Next, I'll move on to the eyes. I'll start with the upper eyelid and then add the pupil. As a general rule, the space between the eyes is roughly equal to the width of one I, so I'll quickly check whether the placement is correct. If not, like in this case, the eyes appear a little too far apart, so I'll make a slight correction by bringing one I closer. I, in fact, know the one that's far, so I'll correct that I. Also, just as we did in the previous portraits, don't forget to add the subtle details and lines surrounding the eye as they help define the form even better. Now, to place the side of the nose, I'll simply drop a perpendicular line from the inner corner of the eye and I'll use it as a guide. Then on the lower plane of the nose, I'll mark the nostrils. Focus on overall shape of the nose and try to replicate what you see in the reference. Here, the shadow around the nose is quite prominent in this portrait, so I'll mark those areas as well. You can lightly shade the sides of the nose while leaving the top plane lighter, since that's where the highlights would typically fall. Next, let's move on to the lips. Since our initial construction is still faintly visible, we can use it as a guide. So I'll start by defining the central line and then refine the shape of the lips. Unlike some of our earlier studies, we're not fully shading the lips here. Instead, we'll focus mainly on the outer line and structure. Now take a moment to study the overall shape of the face. If something doesn't quite resemble the reference yet, don't worry. This is a stage where we carefully observe, compare, and make corrections where needed. So even small adjustments can make a significant difference. So take your time and proceed with this step. Once the face is properly shaped, I'll move on to the hair by blocking it with darker values. As I continue observing the reference, I might notice additional areas that need corrections, so I'll refine those as well. Around this area, we can see a small portion of the ear. So I lightly erase that area and then add the ear. And the same goes for the earring. Now, to bring the portrait to life, I'll add a few finishing touches such as loose strands of hair. So these tiny little details help make the sketch feel more natural and complete. Before moving on, take one final look at your reference and compare it with your sketch. Try to identify any areas that could be improved and make those adjustments now. Finally, I'll strengthen the shadows. The most prominent shadow areas in this portrait are beneath the eyebrows, under the nose and below the chin, so I'll mark those first. We also have softer shadows along the side cheek plane, which are lighter than the main shadows, but still important for defining the structure of the face. And with that, we are wrapping up the sketching session of our challenge. Tomorrow, we'll begin a brand new phase as we step into the world of gauche. So take your time and finish all these sketches, and tomorrow I'll see you in the next class.