Drawing in general involves four distinct elements: line, value, texture, and form. In the special case of pencil portrait drawing, we can refine the list of elements to six: form, proportion, anatomy, texture, value, and planes.
In this article we will give a detailed description of each of those pencil portrait drawing elements.
(1) Shape or Form: The illusion of three-dimensionality in drawing and art in general has been central to Western art for centuries. The carving of form using line, structure, and value was a vital component of nearly all Renaissance art.
On the other hand, Eastern art and much of contemporary art emphasize flatness of form, although this period in contemporary art is coming to an end.
All the shapes in the drawing can be initially reduced to 4 basic three-dimensional solids: bricks, cones, cylinders, and spheres. The proper use of these shapes along with perspective and value leads to the illusion of three-dimensionality even though the drawing is actually on a two-dimensional sheet of drawing paper.
In portrait drawing, the arabesque of the head, the square structure of the head, and all the components within the head (nose, eyes, etc.) are two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes that contribute to the overall illusion of three-dimensionality.
(2) Proportion: includes all sizes and locations of the shape. Proportion refers to the concept of relative length and angle size.
The ratio answers these two questions:
1. Given a definite unit of length, how many units is a particular length?
2. How wide is this particular angle? Answering these two questions consistently and correctly will produce a drawing with the correct proportions and placement of all shapes.
(3) Anatomy: essentially refers to the underlying structures of the bones and muscles of the head.
It is important to learn as much as you can about anatomy. There are many books available on anatomy for artists. For a portrait artist it is particularly important to understand the anatomy of the head, neck and shoulders.
Unfortunately, anatomy studies include a lot of Latin terms, which makes it a bit difficult to understand. The idea is to study slowly and little by little because it can be quite frustrating.
(4) Texture: in portrait drawing it expresses the range of roughness or smoothness of the shapes. The rough texture of a concrete sidewalk, for example, is quite different from the smoothness of a window.
There are various techniques and tricks to help you with creating the right textures. Texturing is an area of drawing that gives you the opportunity to be very creative and use all the possible types of marks you can make with a pencil. In portrait drawing, textures occur in places like hair, clothing, and skin.
(5) Value: refers to the light or dark variations of the pencil marks and shadings. Powerful portrait drawings employ the full palette of contrasting light and shadow. Beginning artists often fail to achieve this full “stretch” of value, resulting in timid, washed-out drawings.
(6) Planes: Produces the sculptural sensibility of a portrait. The head has numerous planes each with a different direction and therefore a different value.
The idea is to think of the surface of the head as a collection of discrete planes with a certain direction relative to the light source. You should try to identify each of the planes and draw its correct shape and value.
Correct handling of shots contributes greatly to the likeness of your subject, as well as the illusion of three-dimensionality.