Lesson 5: Painting Portraits

with Anita Hampton

Painting people is just like painting anything else; a human face has basic shapes and contours just like a landscape or an apple. Facial features catch light and create shadow patterns just as features of other objects do. The key to portraiture is noticing the subtle differences in the features of each individual, such as a wider nose, thinner lips, or a higher or lower forehead. Draw what you really see and your portrait will look like your model. For this portrait, Anita Hampton paid careful attention to the relationship between her model’s eyes, nose, and mouth, as children’s facial features are usually closer together than those of adults.

Color Palette

burnt sienna, cadmium orange, cadmium ...

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