Tips On Pencil Portrait Sketching - Sketching A Chin Supporting Hand Including Shoulders Article

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Tips on Pencil Portrait Sketching - Sketching a Chin Supporting Hand Including Shoulders

In this expose we discuss the considerations you need to think off when rendering a model whose hand supports the head and whose shoulder is visible.

Author: Robert Thomson

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Including a hand in your portraits adds a significant measure of drama but can quickly destroy an otherwise fine portrait if done incorrectly.

The goal is to incorporate the hand so that it is not only proportionally and gestural right, but is in agreement in personality with the expression of the face.

For example, a pleasant facial expression juxtaposed with a clenched fist may not yield the effect you want unless you intend to add an ironic twist to your portrait. On the other hand, a hand supporting the head fits very well with a stern scowling expression.

First, absolute novices should not be trying to render both the hand and portrait together. Things will quickly get muddled. The lesson for the absolute novice here is to get a grasp of the significance of acquiring a solid foundation of your craft.

In a pose where a hand supports the head there is a subtle forward tilt because the subject is slightly hunched and leaning forward. For the artist, this situation translates into the presence of a delicately foreshortened and reclined portrait. In the hand/head case this means that the chin is somewhat receding relative to the forehead.

As always, you should start with the all encompassing arabesque, which in this situation, includes the hand and the shoulder. If you first render the head and then attach the hand to it you are definitely asking for trouble. The hand and the head will lack harmony and will give the awkward impression that they are two distinct objects that are coincidentally next to each other.

When drawing the construct be aware of the negative as well as the positive spaces. Also, do not pre-measure any aspects of the construct. It should be sketched with as much flair as possible without losing your sense of size. Sketch first then verify.

Further build upon the construct by locating the face, hand, and shoulder marker
s and sizes. The internal architecture of the construct is initiated by blocking-in the keydarks and painting out the lights with a kneaded eraser.

What you are doing is to set the stage for rendering the facial features, the hand, and the shoulder. The hand must be positioned and sized in accordance with the head and the facial features. The compression of the jaw into the palm must also be taken into account.

Making use of a sharp pencil you can now further develop the tone and shape with blending, stumping down, and erasing. In this, you will be going back and forth hoping that you know when to quit. Sketching is about making decisions, i.e., knowing what to build up and, just as relevant, knowing what to leave out.

In the hand/head situation you have to be extra careful how far you develop the hand. The hand should be seen as a prop, that is, a supporting element that should not be part of the focus. Do not feel compelled to refine every element in your drawing. Everything in sketching is about balance and communicating your meaning directly to the viewer's eye.

In closing, it is critical to see the hand and the shoulder as parts of one whole. Starting your drawing with rendering the construct will help you greatly with maintaining this harmony. Treat the hand and shoulder as supporting elements that surround the face. This means that you should render them in a subordinate role.

About Author

Download my brand new Complementary Pencil Portrait Sketching Tutorial here: Pencil Portrait Sketching Tutorial. Remi Engels is a practicing pencil portrait draftsman and oil painter and practiced drawing teacher. See his work at Pencil Portraits by Remi: http://www.remipencilportraits.com Visit Procedures for Pencil Portrait Rendering - Rendering a Chin Supporting Hand Including S

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Tips on Pencil Portrait Sketching - Sketching a Chin Supporting Hand Including Shoulders