Portraiture as Cartography: Map the Human Face (Plus a Feline Friend) with Cecile Yadro

To French artist Cecile Yadro, drawing the human face is much like mapping a terrain as a cartographer: an exhilarating discovery of features, proportions, spatial relationships and, above all, unique character. 

In this lesson, Cecile walks us through her process of mapping out a subject, rethinking how features are placed and what a specific face expresses with every new sketch. 

Today’s inspiration is a heartwarming photo of a woman with a large smile holding her cat, a study in joy and character.

Using only simple tools like HB, 2B, and 4B pencils, Cecile demonstrates how to build a portrait from the ground up while maintaining perfect proportions.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to:

• Set Boundaries: Establish "paper boundaries" to ensure your subject fits perfectly on the page before you begin detailed work.
• Map the "Smiling" Face: Understand how features shift, such as the nose moving higher and cheeks becoming tense, when a subject has a wide smile.
• Measure with Accuracy: Use your pencil as a measurement tool and leverage "negative shapes"—the spaces between objects—to draw limbs and clothing correctly.
• Audit Your Progress: Utilize digital tools like Procreate or Snapseed to overlay your drawing onto the reference photo to catch and fix mistakes early.
• Master Texture and Value: Use a blending stump or Q-tip to smudge skin tones for a soft effect, and apply varied pencil weights to render the texture of fabric and fur.

Ready to do some mapping with Cecile? Let's get started!