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Creating Portraits that
look like the person you
are drawing or painting
Norman F. Simms – Artist and Teacher
215-267-585-3571Little E (Mom)– Pastel on Toned Paper

There are 4 things that you need to know in order to create a successful
portraiture and they are:
1. Learn to create an Accurate Contour
Look at the Negative Shapes (Shapes outside of the face) and the Positive
Shapes (Shapes bordering the outer edges of the face).This is your
foundation and if it is incorrect, then all of your other efforts will also
be inaccurate.
2. Define the Shadow Shapes
Amateurs will draw the eyes, lips and other features first – this is a
enormous mistake - this is like placing light fixtures in a room with no
walls, you should define the structure of the head with light and
shadow first before adding details.
3. Learn and Become Aware of the parts of the Face Anatomy
Being Unaware of the parts of the Face Anatomy will cause you to neglect
part of the facial features when rendering the face, causing the face to
appear flat and lacking realism.
4. Practice,Practice and More Practice
2

Successful artist are constantly comparing and
changing things that do not look or feel right.
The ability to revise and correct your artwork is an
essential skill for creating fine works of art.
In this presentation I am only
going to concentrate on the face,
consisting of the:
1. Skull
2. Muscles
3. Flesh and
4. its Features
But, first I am going to tell you the
Secret behind creating a likeness,
which consist of the following two
elements which are:
1. Accurate Contour and
2. Shadow Shapes
Reminisce – Oil on Canvas
3

When drawing the head you should
always concentrate on the contours
and blocking in the larger shapes.
The larger shapes are NOT the
individual features, but the darks and
lights that are projected on the face.
The darks (shadow shapes) will
create a likeness. Notice that in the
drawing on the left that there are no
features (eyes, lips, nose, and ear)
rendered.
We identify individuals by their
contour and shadow shapes. Before
adding the details of the eyes nose
and so on, the likeness must already
be evident.
Sketch – Thinned Oil on Canvas
4

The human Skull determines the overall shape and proportion of the head.
The Skull is divided into Two Parts - Cranium & Mandible.
Mandible (lower Jaw & Chin)
Superciliary Arch -bony ridge
below the eyebrows
Calvaria – Round cap of
the skull
Zygomatic bone – known as the
cheekbone
Cranium – The whole skull, except
for the Jaw Bone
5

Physiognomy is the Character and
Facial Expression that are influence
by the Muscles.
Seven facial muscles that a portrait
artist should know are:
1. Frontalis
2. Temporalis
3. Orbicularis oculi
4. Zygomatic
5. Lavators
6. Orbicularis oris
7. Depressors
Frontalis
Temporalis
Zygomatic
Lavators
Orbicularis oris
Depressors
Orbicularis oculi
The Flesh (Skin) covering the
muscle and bone structure also
has a texture depending on the
gender and age of the subject.
Character Study
Charcoal on Charcoal Paper
6

The under-painting should be laid
with thin paint and have a limited
amount of colors.The purpose of this
stage is to be able to see any
incorrect proportions and contours.
Masterful Drawings are done by
being able to correct yourself. Doing
an under-painting is best time to do
corrections.
Once the under-painting is corrected
then the features (ear, eyes, and so
on) can be more defined.
Under-painting
Defining the Ear
Defining the Eye
7

Practice,PracticePastel Paintings
8

And More PracticeOil Painting
9

Summary
1. Defining the contour and shadow shapes, as well as being aware of a few
anatomy features will give you the ability to create a likeness.
2. Understanding the bones and muscle that are closest to the skin will help
the artist define realism within the face.
3. Practice,for this is a form of visual communication. Learning to look, see
and record the things that you are seeing is an art.This requires many
hours and years of practice.
Purpose of this presentation
As society decides to remove the arts from our schools, I feel obligated to
expose some of my lifetime learning on to the young or anyone who is
interested in experimenting with this craft. It is more intimate and a bit more
challenging than just taking a photo. Still the rewards of creating a portrait
will be priceless for you, and for whomever is the recipient of such a
wonderful collection of art.
I hope this was a help to someone
10

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