Tag: portrait
Paint a Portrait You Can Be Proud Of
Closeup of Portrait - ©2009 Jacobson
Painting from Photos
Today you are painting a portrait from photos.
The project is to use the photos supplied and create an exciting portrait from photos. You’ll be using today’s electronic and digital tools. The Wacom® Cintique touch/pressure sensitive monitor. Paint with digital paints using Corel Painter 11
You are doing a portrait painting in the ultimate digital art studio.
Start each portrait in a similar way, but you’ll never use the same process twice.
Portrait painting or any painting from photos is always an event, a challenge and an exploration. It is very different than having the person or subject right there with you. The challenge is for you to feel like the person(s) is right there!
When you begin to talk to the photos, you know they are there.
Step 1 – Composition & Color Correction
Original Photo
The original photo was taken from a very high perspective. Here comes the challenge.
Create a better composition.
You can chose to crop in much closer in order to capture the personality of the two adorable sisters.
Spend your time exploring different compositions.
Do color correcting and use colors that will inspire you to paint.
As the artist you must be inspired. You’ll get there if you keep exploring.
Step 2 – The Cropped Image
- Cropped Image
How do you decide where to crop?
You love their little feet in the photo, but that just won’t work.Why won’t it work? …Because it’s their hair and eyes that should be the focus.
Sometimes you have to give up what you love, to be able to create a focus. After all…this is a portrait painting.
At this stage you have a color corrected and cropped image.
Save the composition.
You are now ready to paint using Corel Painter11.
Step 3 – The Block-in
- The block-in
The composition is cropped one more time. It is now Square.
You’re at the block-in stage.
Using Corel Paintier 11 play around with oil paint, acrylic paint and pastels.
Begin painting background colors that inspire you.
Now that you’ve changed that white canvas to a color-filled piece, roughly block-in the two little figures.
4 – Details
- The block-in
From the block in stage, you work a little at a time, and refine shapes.
No details yet, just keep refining shapes and values of tone (light, dark, midtone)
- Keep painting
- Move around the canvas
- Refine the edges
- When every shape (eyes are a shape, mouth is a shape, nose is a shape) is there (painted in)…
- refine the details.
Just as you did with the shapes, keep moving around. You are painting details, all around the canvas.
Step 5- Portrait Painting from Photos – Completed
About 14 hours after the block-in stage, the final decision… It’s completed … it’s done!
And now you have, the perfect portrait painting.
Live with your painting for a few days, then look again. Refine any small details that appear.
When you know you are proud of it, you are ready to print.
The painting is printed on a 20″ x 20″ canvas.
If you don’t want to paint your own portrait, check-out having one painted for you.
J&J Portrait 20"x20" ©2008 Jackie Jacobson
- Closeup
Drawing From the Model -Quick Sketches
Weekly Life Figure Drawing Series
Meet Model S
Model S Pose#06
Quick Sketching – Short Poses
I have chosen Pose #6 for todays drawings. They are all short poses, from 1 to 10 minutes. Quick sketching is the warm up process. Usually done on newsprint paper, the model does a series of one minute poses for a 20 minute session. Then we move on to do 5 to 20 minute sketches.
Art Materials Used
The Paper : I love colored paper. My favorite paper is, Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Papers and Pads. My favorite color is Moonstone. Most art supply stores carry this paper, and I buy it online at Dick Blick Art Materials.
The Media: 6B Soft Pencil, Sketching Pencil 5, Soft Charcoal Pencil, Blunt Soft Pastel, Pointed Stump. Note: I DO NOT USE AN ERASER in quick sketching. The history of my marks are recorded and stay where I made them. For blending purposes, I sometimes use a kneaded eraser.
One minute warm-up drawing is from the first 20 minute session.
1 Minute Warm Up
15 Minute Drawing
Reminder: I am using Painter 11 and doing all of this drawing digitally. There is no difference for me between doing this directly on paper, or directly on my Wacom Cintique. It’s my hand that is drawing.
Set a timer and join in. Meet you here same time next week.
I’d love to see your drawings. Email me for critiques and conversation at jackiejart@aol.com
RELATED POSTS
No Model Showed – Self Portrait
The Window Series – Models with Hats
Drawing from the Model – Self Portrait
Weekly Live Model Series
Self Portrait ©2009 Jacobson.
The model didn’t show today
This is a frequent occurrence at figure drawing sessions. You’re all setup and ready to draw. The model is a no show. What to do. Grab a hand, wall, or any other mirror. Go for it. You always have a model available.
Today I’ll show you the process I used in this situation.
I spent about an hour doing an abstract ground to draw on.
- Each stage is saved (the advantage of digital painting)
- Check out the changes as I moved along on the ground
My line drawing self-portrait was done with a medium sized brush and gouache paint.
- My final step was to lighten the painting.
Click the BACK AND NEXT arrows to see the version changes.
Underpaintings
I now have a group of underpaintings ready for workshops and drawing sessions. This is a wonderful exercise in ” drawing from the model.” Any model will do. Grab a pet, a pear or a mirror. Life figure drawing becomes more fun than work.
For your reference Library
The Art of Portrait Drawing by Joy Thomas. I think that the visuals and how to’s are excellent.
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. – Edgar Degas.
RELATED POSTS
The Window Series – Models with Hats
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Drawing from the Model – Session 1
Drawing CI_#3
Have you ever attended a Life Drawing Workshop?
Drawing from the model is a weekly ritual for most figure and portrait artist. I invite you to be part of this journey. Come into my studio, meet the model and look over my shoulder. A new model or new pose each week, and a look into the process. Enjoy
Meet the model.
Model Reference Photo
DRAWING 1
Watercolor and charcoal pencil.
Drawing CI _#1
DRAWING 2
Working over Drawing 1. Heavy Charcoal
Drawing CI _#2
DRAWING 3
Working over Drawing 2. watercolor, acryllic, markers, charcoal pencil
Drawing CI_#3
Questions Answered
OK, I hear your questions. How did she do these?
- They were drawn digitally.
- I work from photos I have taken from live sessions with models.
- The model’s photo was on a monitor to my left.
- I drew and painted on the Cintique monitor in front of me, using Corel Painter 11. (See studio tour to view this arrangement)
- Drawing 1 – was a 20 minute drawing.
- Drawing 2 – was a 15 minute drawing.
- Drawing 3 – was a 30 minutes drawing.
The real advantage in drawing digitally, is being able to work on a prior version, without ruining what you did previously. As this series progresses you will see many different mediums used, different drawing surfaces, and many different models.
You can draw along with me, grab a sketchpad, some materials and join me in this virtual studio. If you need a little drawing help, try this book Drawing on the Right side of the Brain.
Thanks for coming. See more next week…
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Portrait Painting Demo
Using Photos for Reference
TAKE A SEAT AND ENJOY
Today I am working in my ultimate digital art studio.
This is an oil painting demo using the Wacom® Cintique touch/pressure sensitive monitor and Corel® Painter 11.
I will be demonstrating a portrait using photos supplied by the client.
I start each portrait in a similar way, but I honestly think that I never use the same process twice.
For me, this is an event, a challenge and an exploration.
Join me in the journey.
Original Photo
Step 1
The original photo was taken from a very high perspective.
I chose to come in much closer in order to capture the personality of
the two adorable sisters.
I spent quite a bit of time exploring different compositions.
Cropped Image
Step 2
This is the cropped image that I will use for the painting.
I love their little feet in the original photo, but that just won’t work.
And it’s their hair and eyes that become the focus.
The block-in
Step 3
I decided to do a square composition, so I cropped again.
This is the block-in stage.
I play around with paint and color in the background,
and then roughly block-in the two little ones.
The block-in
Step 4
About 14 hours after the block-in stage, my final decision… It’s done!
And now we have, what I think is the perfect portrait of the sisters.
The painting is printed on a 20″ x 20″ canvas.
So…what do you think?
Closeup
Closeup
The above painting demonstration shows how I paint traditional portraits. It is how I was trained and what I know best.
But then…there is always time to learn something new. I have a wonderful client who wanted me to do a portrait of her grandson “Oliver.”
Of course, she wanted Oliver painted in the Andy Warhol style. I told her I can’t do Andy Warhol, but she insisted I could and so I give you…
Original Photo
Oliver
painted in the Andy Warhol style
by Jackie Jacobson,
who said she couldn’t do it!
The print is on a 40″ x 40″ canvas and looks incredible in the grandmother’s home.
Original Photo
- Oliver 4-Panel Primary
Well there it is. How I paint portraits.
It’s really a brief summary of a long process, but I hope you get the idea.
I love doing portraits. And I’d love doing a portrait for you.
You can find some of the details in the portrait painting section,
on the right hand side of this page.
But you can find out much more by giving me a call,
and discussing your needs.
I just finished a wedding portrait for a couple
that were married 40 years ago in a backyard wedding.
They are thrilled to finally have a memory
from that special day, so very long ago.
Summer is my time off from the street fair and the perfect time for me to spend painting portraits.
I hope I can do a special piece just for you.
Thanks for taking your time to watch this demo with me.
I’d love to hear your comments.
Please leave one.
Thanks
©2009 Jacobson. All rights reserved.
All artwork & material on this site is copyrighted by the artist.
No image, either in whole or in part may be used without the express written permission of the artist.