Month: July 2019

This lesson will show you a simple to follow process for drawing ears – something that a lot of students have trouble with!

• Begin with two oval forms (they can overlap slightly).
• These describe the upper and lower parts of the ear.

• Then you can start to articulate the outside edge of the ear.
• You can slo start to find the shadow shapes within the ear – these can be pretty abstract so just try to focus on what you see.

• Then you can shade in the shadows.
• You should find that this really helps the ear to feel more realistic.
• In some looser drawings, this level of detail may be just right for the ears (as they tend not to be the centre of focus).

• Finally, you can find darker tones and reflected lights in the shadows shapes.
• You can also use half tones to render the interlaced ‘barrel-like’ forms of the ear.

• This lesson will introduce some basic concepts to help you tackle eyes in portrait drawings and paintings.

• I find it helpful to begin with the line of the upper lid as it meets the eyeball.
• This shape can vary a lot from person to person but it always tends to be a bit asymmetrical – so keep an eye out for this!

• You can now lightly add the shape of the bottom lid.
• Then you need to figure out the thickness of the eyelids – this is really important for making the eyes have enough dimensionality.

• Now you can shade in the darker tones and shadows.
• In normal circumstances, the eyes are lit from above which means the bottom of the top lid is dark and the top of the bottom lid is light. (Hopefully that makes sense!)
• This is a good time to find the iris and pupil, before also shading in the pupil( leaving a highlight if it’s present).

• Finally, you now have enough information to start rendering the smaller forms of the eyes and adding details like lashes.
• I also recommend looking for light reflecting up into the iris (usually from below) as this always creates a more lively impression in a portrait.