Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, is the subject of this portrait. (pardon the funny photos- they were taken at an odd angle in low light
because I was more concered about the drawing itself than recording the progression of it. :) )
The reference picture that I used was not the best for drawing from.
It was a typical low contrast promo type shot that flatters the subject but doesn't give an artist to much in the way of obvious shading or texture to work with. When using photos for reference it pays to find ones that have some contrast- 'pretty' shots don't leave you a lot interpret if all the shadows are gone!
Fortunately Patrick has quite distinct features and is quite a familar face from television so it's relatively easy to see if the resemblence is coming along in the early stages. I usually draw the eyes first then follow with the features and lately I find it helpful to shade around the established lines of the head itself rather than leaving it blank.
I hate to say it because it sounds so...artsy...but it's quite true that you have to be in a 'good' mood to achieve a successful portrait. 'Good' meaning being in a positive frame of mind that allows an artist to focus their skills and creativity to the task at hand with pleasure and a lack of distraction. And 'successful' meaning simply that I feel I have achieved my goal with the portrait. I'm sure I've drawn a few pictures that are technically better than this but I feel that a certain success was achieved with this one that I felt willing to share. :)
Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, is the subject of this portrait.
The reference picture that I used was not the best for drawing from.
Fortunately Patrick has quite distinct features and is quite a familar face from television so it's relatively easy to see if the resemblence is coming along in the early stages. I usually draw the eyes first then follow with the features and lately I find it helpful to shade around the established lines of the head itself rather than leaving it blank.
I hate to say it because it sounds so...artsy...but it's quite true that you have to be in a 'good' mood to achieve a successful portrait. 'Good' meaning being in a positive frame of mind that allows an artist to focus their skills and creativity to the task at hand with pleasure and a lack of distraction. And 'successful' meaning simply that I feel I have achieved my goal with the portrait. I'm sure I've drawn a few pictures that are technically better than this but I feel that a certain success was achieved with this one that I felt willing to share. :)
