There are many modes of drawing: linear, value-wise, gestural, etc. In this expose we will focus on carving out shape with a painterly feeling.

This manner of drawing is very much like working with putty except that we are drawing on paper, of course, and using our fingers, a stump, tissue, and the putty eraser as our painting tools.

As always, begin with striking the construct and situating the basic sizes of the facial area.

Before blocking-in the key light/dark patterns you should squint and look at the model or the photograph. Squinting distills the lights and darks into uncomplicated patterns of one given value because it obscures the minutia.

At this time, just concern yourself with the large masses, maybe even just two, a light one and a dark one. Do not yet attempt to break down the darks at this time.

Working in this way is also good training for painting because this is how you build up a painting especially when using the One Stroke method of painting.

Sketching, painting, and sculpture are subtractive/additive activities. You first add something and then you take something away, all the while progressing towards the resolved sketch.

You also will use your putty eraser to take out the lights. When doing this pay careful consideration to the anatomical features; every shape indicates a muscle landmark.

We all have our personal preferences about how we work. At this time, you may prefer to refine the construct and hone in on the facial features. Other draftspersons will go on working tonally without any line work. As you add experience and grow as an artist you will make your own choices. That is what art making is: choices – bad and good.

Now that we have the essentials down including the overall sizes, we can begin resolving the darks and the lights. The purpose is to go for the “full stretch” of tones, i.e., from the darkest darks to the lightest light.

Starting and intermediate draftspersons often fail to go for the full value stretch. Quite often the reason for this is the apprehension of ruining their drawing and also because they have read, or been told, not to overwork the drawing.

As a student you should take a drawing as far as you possibly can, even to the point of collapse. That way you will learn exactly how far you can go. If you always stop short you will never know what lies ahead.

Use your fingers, a tissue, and a stump to blend the tones. The best thing is to start dividing each tonal mass into two separate smaller forms of different tones wherever your observations tell you there is a distinction in tone to be made. Keep in mind the varying planes and the anatomy of the model’s features.

The hair is kept dark and simple with only a few strokes of the putty eraser to suggest the disheveled locks of hair. Do not overdo these strokes or they will look blanched.

In conclusion, when utilizing the painterly manner of drawing a pencil portrait always treat your tools as if they were brushes. Imagine as much as possible that you are painting instead of drawing. Constantly keep in mind the anatomy and the varying plane directions that you note in your model. Always work from the general to the specific or from the large to the small. As you get more skill, try to remember the things that work for you and incorporate them in your style of drawing.

Do you want to learn the secrets of pencil portrait drawing? Download my brand new free pencil portrait drawing course here: pencil portrait tutorial.

Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and expert drawing teacher. See his work at graphite pencil portraits by Remi.

Info about working with children – visit this parenting blog.