How Drawing Strangers' Faces Can Help You Embrace Your Own 'Flaws'
“We’re so much better at looking at other people and recognizing their beauty, and we’re so hard on ourselves.”
“We’re so much better at looking at other people and recognizing their beauty, and we’re so hard on ourselves.”
Certified medical illustrator Tiffany S. DaVanzo creates illustrations for medical studies and anatomical textbooks. Tiffany is also a portrait artist who uses her deep knowledge of human anatomy to create expressive portraits that capture the essence of her subject's personality. In this lesson (42 mins), Tiffany shares her
"When I was younger in my career, I was very mechanical about copying [my subject's likeness]," says illustrator and art instructor David Tenorio. David would fuss to get the shapes and lines just right, and in the end he'd achieve a respectable likeness. But
When crosshatching a portrait, you may be tempted to cover every inch of your subject's face. But in this lesson (88 mins), drawing virtuoso France Van Stone advises taking a sculptor's approach, that is, knowing what to leave untouched. "I really like when there are
Psssst. Want to know a secret? The hardest part about making art...
If you struggle to loosen up artistically, Liz Chaderton will get you into the flow. A UK-based painter who has published five books on watercolor, Liz helps her students break through their self-serious tendencies and rediscover the joy of painting. In this lesson (57 mins), Liz shares her process of
In our previous lesson, we learned how to create intricate, realistic graphite portraits. Now we're headed in a radically different direction in pursuance of the same goals: artistic growth and improved drawing skills. In this lesson (39 mins), illustrator and comic artist Patrick Hochstenbach teaches us how to
"When drawing," says Patrick Hochstenbach, "story is everything." Patrick is an illustrator and comic artist from Brugge, Belgium. He loves to work with brush and ink and draws influence from many Franco-Belgian artists such as Hergé, Franquin, Tardi and Giraud. In this tour, Patrick shares four
Kate Higgins often creates intricate, realistic graphite portraits that take many hours to complete. For example: But in this lesson... Kate shows how to create a striking, precise portrait in a much shorter period of time (76 mins). Her lesson covers everything from head construction to... ...blending and rendering hair�
Artist Kate Higgins creates captivating, lifelike portraits with just a pencil and piece of paper. In this tour, Kate shares six stunning portrait drawings and discusses her artistic thinking and process for each. Kate's full-length pencil-portrait tutorial comes out this Friday, August 9. Subscribe now to get full
Meet new teacher Claudio Saes! Claudio is a South American, self-taught artist in Dallas, Texas, who has held exhibitions in the US, Mexico, and Brazil. In this lesson (80 mins), Claudio demonstrates his process of drawing a dramatic charcoal portrait from start to finish. Claudio guides us from the very
If you've been wanting to get into charcoal drawing but daunted by the learning curve, artist Claudio Saes is here to help. In this video, Claudio shares his favorite charcoal pencils, erasers, and highlighting tools. He also demonstrates his technique for sharpening a charcoal pencil with a razor
Richard Banks
In his previous lesson, designer and self-taught artist Richard Banks demonstrated his bold process of drawing a portrait in ink. View that lesson here. Ink an Imperfect Portrait with Richard Banks“You really need to go into inking ready to embrace error,” says Richard Banks, a designer and self-taught artist
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Recently Mike Creighton taught paying subscribers how to "sculpt" their drawing subjects using a technique called contour hatching, which he describes as "almost like stretching a mesh around the form you're drawing." In this sketchbook tour, Mike shows how he uses this one technique
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"You really need to go into inking ready to embrace error," says Richard Banks, a designer and self-taught artist in London. "In portraiture, we’re not after perfection - we’re after impression.” In this lesson (69 mins), Richard demonstrates his bold style of direct inking and
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Artist Margriet Aasman's inspiring sketchbook tour gives new meaning to the phrase "mark my words". During the tour, Margriet shares one of her strategies for staying motivated to draw regularly: adding a word or phrase to the page. "The word doesn't have to
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When drawing, says artist Margriet Aasman, "take your time not to rush." This advice may sound counterintuitive – until you realize how often we subconsciously put effort and time into making ourselves unnecessarily frenzied. In this lesson (71 mins), Margriet takes the opposite approach, settling into a relaxed mood
Mike Creighton
There are many ways to render form and value in a drawing including well-known techniques like shading and crosshatching. In this lesson (92 mins), artist Mike Creighton demonstrates a less-practiced method called contour hatching, which he describes as "almost like stretching a mesh around the form you're
Paint
"Wild, unpredictable, chaotic, and messy." This is how Milena Guberinic describes watercolor painting and her own biography, which includes growing up amid civil war, losing her father at a young age, and currently managing chronic illness. "Drawing and painting have always been my ways of processing my
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"I simply have to draw," says Robin Hilthouse, an art lecturer in The Netherlands who teaches traditional and digital drawing techniques. "It’s second nature. On the bus, on the phone, in a meeting, during my holidays…I couldn’t imagine myself without this amazing way of
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Self-taught artist Kimberly Ann Petersen creates dramatic ink portraits that appear etched into paper - an ode to the Western etching art she fell in love with growing up in rural Idaho. Based in Augusta, Ga., Kimberly has five children and considers herself "living proof that anyone, no matter
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Juan Perednik is an Argentinian graphite artist who uses his grasp of classical drawing techniques to bend artistic “rules” and bring his imagination to life on the page. “Drawing,” he says, “is the most sincere form of art and the foundation for working in any other medium.” Juan's
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Dritan Duro is a self-taught watercolor artist based in London. "What I love most is watercolor's vibrant and translucent nature," he says. "No other medium can match the transparency and glow that you can achieve with it. "After years of practice and lots of
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Joan Martin is an experimental artist who explores illustrative line quality and expressive mark-making in her art. "Too many people see art as a product instead of an experience," says Joan. "Experimentation and play are vital parts of learning. If you are not prepared to make mistakes,