Classical portrait drawings by Carlos, Drawing Academy student

Drawings in 2H pencil

Here are my drawings in pencil of Roman and Greek busts. I drew these portraits using what I’ve learned from the Drawing Academy lessons.

Here’s a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing. I almost cried when i finished…

I never thought I could achieve such progress in my lifetime; much less being capable of copying a master in a month and a half.

I know it has a lot of defects, but it feels good!

Thank you!!!

Hi Carlos,

I like your classical portraits. It is a great result in such short time, very impressive!

It’s very good that you use constructive drawing principles and apply proportions of the head and face in your portraits. I can see traces of symmetry lines and virtual lines of facial features levels. You have learned what is important in drawing and draw thoughtfully what you know, rather than copying what you see. This makes your drawing skills more advanced than many other professional artists who copy for years yet still don’t know how to use proportions and anatomy in their portraiture.

Here are some things you can consider next time you draw portraits:

1. Use a bit softer grade of graphite pencil.

HB or 2B will give deeper tonal values. In most cases, one HB pencil is enough to start and complete a drawing. When even deeper tones are required, you can move to 2B. I would not advise using a range of five pencil grades in one artwork. Learn how to get the most from one or two pencils if you want to become a professional who relies on skills rather than tools.

2. Pay more attention to such details as eyes, nose, and mouth.

People notice even small mistakes in these features. For example, the Goddess’ right eye is a bit closer to the central line than the left one.

Also, this eye has the top point of the upper eyelid 1/3 from the outer corner of the eye, while it should be 1/3 from the inner corner.

3. Note the anatomy of the ear.

The female portrait in profile has a dubious ear anatomy. There is a simple rule of one-thirds that will help you to depict it more realistically next time. This rule is explained in this video lesson: //drawingacademy.com/drawing-lessons/how-to-draw-an-ear

“The ear can be divided into three equal parts. The top part is bordered by the antihelix, which is attached to the side of the head.

The middle part is taken by the ear’s bowl, which is called the concha.

And the lower third part is the earlobe.”

4. Develop your pencil-hatching style.

Use a well-sharpened pencil and practice a bit more hatching and cross-hatching as demonstrated in this video:
//drawingacademy.com/help-i-cant-draw

(Chapter 11 – Rendering tonal values) Apply strokes along the contours of objects (do not confuse with outlines) and constantly compare tonal values to each other.

Keep drawing – you are on the right path, and with practice your skills will improve.

To your creative success,
Vladimir London

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