Portrait Drawing The Smart Way: Basic Facial Proportions

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This course features:
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Lesson Description

A look at the approximate proportions of the features of the face and head. Basic facial proportions.

Lesson Materials

"HB" graphite pencil, "4B" graphite pencil, white charcoal pencil, toned gray drawing paper, blending stump, kneaded eraser.

Lesson Resources

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Course Curriculum

Lesson 1: Introduction and Materials (4:35)Lesson 2: The Skull - Frontal View (20:31)Lesson 3: The Skull - Profile View (13:40)Lesson 4: Basic Facial Proportions (14:31)Lesson 5: The Planes of the Face (30:08)Lesson 6: The Eye - Frontal View (31:45)Lesson 7: The Eye - Profile View (20:35)Lesson 8: The Nose - Frontal View (15:00)Lesson 9: The Nose - Profile View (13:12)Lesson 10: The Mouth and Teeth (19:56)Lesson 11: The Ear (15:12)Lesson 12: Hair (14:50)Lesson 13: Grid Drawing - Part 1 (10:39)Lesson 14: Grid Drawing - Part 2 (15:56)Lesson 15: Grid Drawing - Part 3 (14:34)Lesson 16: Triangular Grid - Part 1 (8:38)Lesson 17: Triangular Grid - Part 2 (15:36)Lesson 18: Triangular Grid - Part 3 (13:19)Lesson 19: Conclusion (3:42)

Lesson Discussion

    • Hi Margaret,

      For small children, the big difference lies in the location of the eyes. For children, the eyes are found below the “half-way” mark between the top of the head and the bottom of the chin. The relationships between the other features of the face stay about the same, but because the eyes are so much lower, it means that the distance is much shorter between them (eyes to nose, nose to mouth).

  2. Hi Matt, looking forward to progressing with this great course, my goal over the next 12 months is to focus on portraits and figures in various mediums, I will let you know how I get on. I have just completed in oil Edgar Degas two dancers entering the stage and the most challenging aspect was getting the faces to resemble the original, but the satisfaction on completing the the painting was enormous, I have gained so much confidence through your courses.

    Many thanks Anne

    • Hi Phillip,

      The video appears to be working normally. You may try scrolling over the video and selecting the “HD” icon to turn high definition streaming off. It will make the video load much faster.

    • Hi Debbie,

      This depends on the overall value of the subject. If the subject is very light, then a dark background is best. If the the subject is dark, then a lighter background makes more sense.

  8. Matt. You are beautiful. Your english is very easy to understand. Your classes are really good. You let us listen for 1 dólar. You are very very generous. I really am enjoying. Lot og hugs from Brazil. Dina

  9. When we draw that circle and the inside square, do we need to use different faces as different referance? or just draw the same circle for different face ?

    • Hi Jianyu,

      This module covers the basic proportions. These may vary slightly depending on your subject. It is a good place to start, but you may find that you need to make adjustments as the drawing develops.

  12. Hi Matt, I am slowly getting through your lessons… Wish I had more time! You should call yourself The Ultimate Art Teacher instead 😁👍 you truly are the best I’ve found 🙏 one question about this lesson… Do you prefer Loomis over the Reilly method and why? Big THANKS 🙏🤗

    • Wow, thanks Mary! I think the Loomis method is a little easier to grasp. I personally like the simplified version that I present in this course 😉

  13. Hey Matt, I wanted to ask, where do you buy your white charcoal pencils from? I was looking for one yesterday but all I found was a white pastel pencil. I noticed that it didn’t have the same feel as the actual charcoal pencils that I had also found and wasn’t sure if it was close to the same thing that use.

  17. Hi Matt!! I noticed that you are using a small blending stump.. Is there a reason behind that? Or is it just that you like to use a small blending stump..
    – Sreejita

  18. Hi Matt
    Great explanations for drawing faces in frontal and profile view. Thank you so much. Is there anywhere a quideline how I can use your way to draw the face (with the circle and the square, the lines) if it’s a 3/4 view? I tried it out, but I was not able to manage it on my own.
    Looking forward to your response. Martina

  19. wow this lesson is amazing, after looking at both 25 days to better drawing &the secret to drawing i found i was not ready to start drawing yet, but this course is brilliant and a great starting point for a guy like me who never drew before {68 years old}.as a beginner i am using cheap white paper with just a cheap pencil until i feel i can draw better.time is on my side so maybe in a month or two i hope to be using the right gear and better results.

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