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Affordable Pencil Portraits... Celebrating Individuality in every Portrait...

Adorable pencil portraits by artist Sally Holland, at affordable prices! Pencil portraits make unique & affordable gifts. Pencil portraits can celebrate landmarks in life: Christenings, Birthdays, Weddings.

I tell the child that I do not need them to smile all the time; it would soon become painful. I only ask for a smile when I need it. I try and draw quickly, for the sake of the child. My drawings are basically linear and shape-conscious. I introduce areas of tone only to suggest form quickly and to represent dark hair or eyes etc, and texture in certain sections of the drawing.

I look at the general shape of the hair/head. Some children typically have their head  tipped & this could be key to their character, so it is important to establish the middle line down the center of the face. I try not to understate the angle which is the temptation.  The angle is determined by comparing it with the vertical sides of the paper. The subject’s eyes must of course be at distinct right angles to this centre line of the face. It’s obvious, of course, but it needs to be  indicated clearly before progressing. As a note of interest, the shoulders often counterbalance the tipping of the head.

Lightly indicate the general shape of the head. The drawing has to have some flexibility in it at this stage so do not make marks that cannot be erased easily. They might have to be repositioned if the child moves. Make some comparisons between width and height. Establish the depth of the fringe, perhaps using this as a unit of measure to determine other proportions.

It is always surprising how large a child’s skull is, and, surprisingly, the eyes will appear lower than halfway down the total length of the head. (Drawing adults is a different matter.)
This is the case when viewing the child at their own level. See photos below:-

 

While still at the roughing out stage, try and position the ears thinking in terms of the angle they are set at. Not only is the angle of the ears key to achieving something of the character of the child it also helps describe the widening part of the head. This is satisfying to get right as the head starts to appear solid.

Having established some general proportions I change my approach, sharpen my pencil and home in tightly on the eye area. The eye area is the focus of the portrait and warrants the closest treatment. Locate the eyebrows precisely by relating them to the eye line and the hair shape. Look at the shape of the eyebrows and ask:  ‘where, exactly, is the high-point of the curve?’ This is always a good question to ask when drawing any curved line. The temptation is to locate the high-point of the curve about halfway along the line which is poor practice and weak drawing. Some eyebrows are dark and individual tiny hairs can be seen. With a sharp pencil follow the rhythm and flow of these tiny hairs. Many children have very fair eyebrows, often so feint that only the merest indication is needed. Be true to what you see and consider how the two brows relate to each other.

Now, the eyes themselves. I often ask the child to look at me, or at a fixed point for a few minutes. Again, it is all about seeing shape precisely. Each persons’ eyes have their own distinct shape, so it is crucial to see and draw these shapes precisely. Drawing the eyes is all about seeing the character of the shape. Use a good, sharp pencil for precision, and also to describe the fine creases that flow round the eyes and define the shape of the eyelids.

          

                                          

Locate and draw the iris. Make sure it is a distinct circle, albeit the upper and lower parts are hidden under the lids. A circle is a good strong shape and will make the drawing look strong. (‘If it’s round, draw it round’ said someone greater than I). Some pale eyed children have a dark ring around the outer edge of the iris. This is particularly satisfying to draw as it allows the artist to reinforce the circle of the iris.

Draw the second eye relating it to the first in every respect, obviously. Consider how the two eyes relate to each other in terms of shape. We all know the rule that the eyes are one eye’s width apart – but beyond this we must ask: ‘is it a big gap or is it a small gap?’ This is a question I frequently ask myself throughout the course of a drawing.

                                          

 

The catch-light is a chip of pure white light, or paper, left showing in the eye. I locate it close to the black of the pupil so that the contrast is intensified. Draw the catch-light in the same position in both irises. When shading the iris use marks appropriate to the eye as it appears. Sometimes radiating lines are appropriate; sometimes the merest smudge is enough for particularly pale eyes; or heavy shading for liquid brown eyes, but I would never shade in solidly, because some light and life needs to come from the eye. I rarely shade anything in flatly.

There is a muscle under the eye that tightens when the child smiles, so I will always ask the child for a brief smile. To indicate this muscle I place a brief curve, a soft shadow, just below the eye. Be careful, because if drawn too clumsily it can simply make the child look tired. Locate it carefully and make sure it is always the product of observation, because, of course, every child is different even in the the seemingly insignificant details.

Now, working downwards... I have, in my experience, noticed that noses are actually longer than one imagines. Even little button noses. Assess the length by comparison with a known unit of measure and plot the position of the end of the nose. Make a mark that can, once you are happy with its positioning, be developed into a carefully observed nose-shape. Think in terms of its shape as you observe it, and its three dimensional form. Draw round the shapes.

                                          

Freckles can be a wonderful opportunity. When drawn sensitively they help describe the form of the face. They might be very feint or they might be distinct. A problem can arise when the child has a face full of freckles and trying to reproduce them exactly can end up looking like measles. Therefore I concentrate the freckles in the familiar freckle passage; the ‘mask’ across the nose and cheeks and only suggest them very sparsely on the rest of the face.

Working downwards... between the nose and the top lip is the shallow furrow of the filtrim, a seemingly unimportant part of the face. Sometimes long, sometimes short, it is, I believe, often key in establishing the character of the child. Many caricaturists have taken it to extremes, exploiting its expressive properties for comical effect. The length of the filtrim also influences the overall length of the face, so it is important to judge it precisely.

The parents will of course want the child to be smiling. Most children smile with their top teeth showing. Others will smile keeping their mouth tightly shut. I request they smile only for the time I need it and then work quickly. I draw the curve of the smile based upon observation naturally and then establish the overall shape of the teeth. I use only the lightest indication where the teeth divide - getting the overall shape of the teeth is far more important than drawing every tooth. Usually only the softest line is needed to outline the lips.

                  

It is preferable to understate the smile lines. So often they are overstated. Not only does this age the child - more importantly - it breaks down the form if there are trenches running down from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth. Similarly, dimples need to be positioned carefully and should definitely not be overstated.



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