Portrait of a Classmate

For this project, you will produce a graphite portrait of a classmate. After a time, you will switch places and the model will become the artist and the artist will become the model. You should have at least one completed portrait by the end of the class period.

Specifications:

Produce this drawing in class. Use your sketchbook.

Instructions:

Since portraits of human beings are perceived as being among the most difficult forms of art to produce for younger students, we will tackle this right away so that you will see that there is no mystery to correct drawing, and hence, illustratration. Remember how to “look” at your subject. Remember what you have learned in terms of seeing your subject as aseries of spatial relationships, instead of symbol forms. Look at the genuine shapes of the facial features, draw them as you see them to be, not as your left brain “knows” they are.

Remember the facial proportions mentioned in the textbook. The eye level should be roughly halfway between the top of the head and the bottom of the chin. The bottom of the nose should be roughly halfway between the eye level and the bottom of the chin. The mouth will be roughly in the center of that space, maybe slightly higher. The tops of the ears should align roughly with the eye level and the bottom of the ears should align with the bottom of the nose. Check these proportions on your subject. They are a guide and you will need to make SLIGHT adjustments to accommodate the unique features of the face of your sitter.

Examples: