plate no. 9388
Auto-retrato
Henrique Pousao, 1876
some experience helpful
Recreating this drawing will help students develop skills in cross-hatching, tonal values, and capturing likeness in portraiture. It also provides practice in rendering textures and details with a limited palette.
technical profile
palette complexity
1
brushwork visibility
3
value contrast
4
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 8 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head, shoulders, and clothing.
- step 02
Establish the main light and shadow areas with light pencil strokes.
- step 03
Begin building up darker values using cross-hatching, paying attention to the direction of the lines.
- step 04
Focus on the facial features, refining the shapes of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 05
Add details to the hair, creating texture and volume with short, directional strokes.
- step 06
Develop the clothing, using hatching and cross-hatching to create folds and shadows.
- step 07
Refine the overall tonal values, adding darker areas and highlights as needed.
- step 08
Add final details and adjust the contrast to create a finished drawing.
color palette
primary · graphite · white (paper)
secondary ·
The drawing relies on varying the density and layering of graphite to achieve different shades of gray.
techniques
- ·hatching
- ·cross-hatching
- ·tonal shading
- ·portrait drawing
- ·rendering textures
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the drawing and losing the lightness of the initial sketch.
- →Failing to accurately capture the proportions of the face.
- →Creating muddy or undefined shadows.
- →Neglecting the details in the hair and clothing.
- →Not varying the pressure of the pencil to create different tonal values.
materials
surface · Drawing paper
required
- ·Graphite pencils (HB, 2B, 4B)
- ·Eraser
- ·Drawing paper
- ·Pencil sharpener
- ·Blending stump
optional
- ·Kneaded eraser
- ·Ruler
- ·Fixative spray
Use a smooth drawing paper for best results. Experiment with different grades of graphite pencils to achieve a range of tonal values.
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