Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Nicholson.

I'm so glad that you've chosen to join me today for your Art and Design lesson.

In this lesson, we're going to be learning how to draw profile portraits.

I'm really looking forward to learning together and I hope that you are too.

Let's get started.

In this lesson, we're going to be learning how to draw profile portraits.

Let's take a look at some of our keywords.

Repeat after me: proportion, sketching, shading.

Great job.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

Proportion: proportion is how big or small parts of something is compared to each other.

In the example, you can see a big eye and a small eye.

Sketching: sketching is making quick and simple drawings to show ideas of the things that we see.

Shading: shading is drawn marks to show areas of light and dark; and in the apple example that you can see on the screen, we have lots of dark areas and light areas using shading.

This lesson has three cycles.

We're first of all going to look at the proportions of the face.

We're then going to move on to sketching basic shapes of the face, and then finally, we're going to shade the light and dark areas of the face.

First of all, let's look at the proportions of the face.

Proportions of the face.

When drawing a realistic portrait, it's important to make sure we think about the proportions of the face.

Proportion is where the facial features such as the eyes, nose, and also the mouth fit on the face and how big or small they are compared to each other.

Here is an example of the relative proportions of a face.

Remember that everybody has a slightly different face.

Eyes might be slightly lower or further apart.

Lips might be thinner or thicker.

The proportions of the face that we are using today are based on the average Western-style features, but we know that in real life, everybody has a slightly different face and that's what really makes us unique and different.

We have the central line right in the middle and both eyes, the nose and the mouth sit either side of that central line.

We then have the halfway line and the eyes are usually halfway between the top of the head and also the chin.

From this halfway point, the nose is halfway again between the eyes and the chin, as shown here.

Now we have the lips.

The lips are halfway between the nose and also the chin, as shown here.

Now it's time to check for your understanding.

Which portrait drawing has the correct relative proportions.

Is it A or is it B? Pause the video here, have a think and then rejoin once you're ready.

How did you get on? The correct answer was B.

B shows the relative proportions of the face.

Well done.

Thinking about why A was the incorrect answer, Aisha noticed that the eyes were drawn too high up and did not sit on the halfway line.

Let's move on.

When drawing a profile portrait, it's important to also consider the proportions.

Take a look at these two images.

What do you notice? You may have noticed, like Lucas, that the proportions are the same when drawing a profile portrait as a front-facing portrait, and you can see in the example here, the proportions match whether the face is facing the side or the front.

Whether drawing a profile portrait or a front-facing portrait, the proportions are still the same.

Now it's time for Task A.

Match the facial features to the correct positions on the face template.

We have A, which is the lips, B, which is the nose, C, which is the eyebrows, and D, which is the eyes.

Take a look at the face template and think about where they might sit.

Pause the video here, have a go and return once you're done.

Good luck.

How did you get on? Let's have a look and see the correct answers.

You may have matched the facial features to look like this.

We have C: the eyebrows on the top line, D: the eyes on the middle line.

Then we have B: the nose, and A: the lips.

Great job.

Let's move on.

Now it's time for the second part of Task A.

Using a pencil, draw two of the features below into the profile template.

We have the ear, the mouth, the eye, the eyebrow, and also the nose.

It's important to remember here that when drawing a profile portrait, you can't see all of the facial features.

That's why there is only one eye and one ear.

Pause the video here, have a go and I look forward to seeing you when you get back.

Good luck.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? You may have drawn two features like this.

In this example, you can see the eyes on that middle line and then also the nose.

Well done.

We're now going to move on to the second cycle, which is sketching the basic shapes of the face.

Let's find out more about sketching.

Sketching is when you draw quick, light lines which build up and represent what you see.

Here we have a sketch of a circle and Lucas said, "I can see lots of light lines in this sketch of a circle." It's important to remember that when sketching, we don't use continuous lines.

We use lots of light lines to build up the shape.

I do: Here I have sketched out the shape of a circle.

I have held my pencil halfway down so that my grip is not too tight.

This is different to how you hold your pencil for handwriting.

Now it's your turn.

With a pencil, sketch out a circle on your page using quick, light lines like the example below.

Give it a go and keep practising.

Pause the video here and once you're done, return.

Good luck.

How did you get on? Did you manage to sketch a basic circle shape? Using light, quick lines with your pencil lets you easily change your drawing if you want to.

And just remember, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Let's continue practising sketching.

Using a pencil, sketch the following lines and shapes on your page.

Remember to hold pencil halfway down and use light, quick lines.

Pause the video here and once you're done, return.

Good luck.

You can see lots of light, quick lines drawn on the page.

Holding your pencil halfway down does make it easier to draw light, quick lines, and it also helps you to stay in control and make soft marks that are easy to change if you want to.

Remember not to press down too hard and that will make it easier.

Now it's time for Task B.

With a partner, take a photograph of each other's side profile on a device as shown in the image below.

Remember to ask your partner to turn to the side and not face the camera as this is a profile portrait.

Also remember to hold your device portrait and not landscape and hold the device still so that you don't get a blurry image.

Pause the video here and return once you're done.

Now you are going to sketch out the basic shapes of your profile portrait.

You're going to begin with basic shapes like circles and ovals.

You're going to draw it lightly at first so that you can change things if needed.

Remember to hold your pencil halfway down.

It's important to remember to draw the big shapes first, and then after that you can add some of the smaller details.

Also, try taking your time.

Pause the video here and return once you're done.

Good luck.

I hope you have fun.

How did you get on? You may have created a sketch that looks something like this.

You can see the basic shapes of the side profile.

Well done.

Now it's time for the third part of Task B.

You're going to look closely at your facial features and lightly sketch each one using lines and shapes.

You should sketch: the eye and eyebrow, the nose, the mouth, the ear, and also have a go at sketching the hair too.

You can see an example here of how the lines and the shapes have built up to create the facial features.

Try breaking down each individual's feature into basic shapes.

For example, when drawing the eye from the side, it looks a little bit like a triangle.

Remember that you won't see the whole of the eye.

When we are sketching, we use lots of light lines that overlap until you find the shape that you want.

Imagine you are holding a feather and tickling the page.

Look really closely at the details in your photograph.

What kind of lines might you use for the hair? Is the hair curly? If so, then you might choose to use squiggly lines.

If the hair is wavy, you might use wavy lines.

Pause the video here, have a go.

Remember to take your time.

I look forward to seeing you when you return.

How did you get on? Was that fun? You may have created a sketch like this.

Aisha said, "The artist has used a rubber to erase the proportion lines after sketching." And this is a really good idea to finalise your drawing.

Well done.

Great job.

We've now reached the third and final cycle in our lesson, and in this cycle we're going to be shading the light and the dark areas of the face.

Let's find out a little bit more about shading.

When light shines on something, parts of it look lighter and other parts of it look darker because they're in a shadow.

When we talk about light and dark in artwork, we call it "tone," and tone is one of the elements of art.

These are like building blocks that make up a piece of artwork.

There are other elements of art too, but we are going to focus on tone in this cycle, which is the light and dark areas in an artwork.

Take a look at the apple.

Can you see the lightest and darkest areas? Here we have the light areas of the apple.

Here is the lightest area and here is the darkest area.

Lucas is sketching an apple.

How has Lucas made his drawing more realistic and three dimensional? Let's take a look.

Step one is to draw out the basic shapes.

Let's look at step two.

How is this more realistic and three dimensional compared to step number one? Lucas said, "I used shading to make my drawing look more realistic.

For the dark areas I pressed harder on my pencil and for the lighter areas I pressed lightly." And that's how Lucas made his drawing look more three dimensional.

Let's have a go.

I do: Use a pencil to shade a value scale from dark to light.

Here is an example.

Pressing down firmly with your pencil, still holding it halfway down, you're going to start off creating the darker part of your value scale.

As you move along the value scale, take your pencil off gradually, so that then you have the lighter shading at the end.

Now it's your turn to have a go.

Remember to start off pressing down with lots of pressure and then gradually release the pressure until you've got the lighter shading at the end of the value scale.

You can practise doing this more than once.

Pause the video here and have a go.

Now it's time for Task C, and to put everything that we've learnt today into practise.

We're going to shade the light and the dark areas of your profile portrait.

We've looked at all of the different features and now it's time to bring them all together.

Take a look at your profile portrait photograph that you took earlier.

Look for the light and the dark areas.

Here you can see on my example, the light areas, and you can also see the dark areas such as the eyebrows.

Let's take a look at some other light and dark areas.

Underneath the chin is darker because the light is covered by the chin.

Pause the video here and have a go.

Remember, for the darker areas, press down firmly on your pencil with lots of pressure, and for the lighter areas, you don't need much pressure.

Have fun.

You may have shaded your profile portrait like this.

You can see using the value scale, the darker areas and the lighter areas that have been pointed out.

When shading the hair, you might have experimented with lots of different types of lines, pressing down harder in some areas and lighter in other areas.

How did your profile portrait turn out? Are you happy? Is there something you would like to improve next time? Remember to keep practising.

Drawing portraits can be tricky, so lots and lots of practise will help.

Well done.

Let's look back at what we've learned today.

There are certain proportions to follow when drawing a face.

Today we looked at the relative proportions.

We talked about how everybody's face is different, which makes us special and unique.

We can use different lines and shapes when drawing a profile portrait.

We looked at different types of lines like wiggly lines and straight lines and wavy lines.

We also looked at the basic shapes that come together to create the face, like circles and triangles.

When sketching, use light lines in case you need to correct your mistakes.

Sketching also helps us to draw the shapes more accurately.

This is different to handwriting and using continuous lines.

You can also use shading to make your drawings look more realistic and three dimensional.

I hope that you've enjoyed learning with me today and I look forward to seeing you again next time.

Great job.

Bye.