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Alene — Tutorial: Portraits with Punch
Published: 2009-03-03 12:52:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 4028; Favourites: 58; Downloads: 102
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Description
A tutorial on adding contrast to pencil portraits, as so many people have asked me about it. Not the easiest subject to explain in a tutorial, but I've done my best. I hope it's helpful!You can find the final version of the portrait in this tutorial here: [link]
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Comments: 38
I loved this tutorial, and I don't even draw!
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Thanks for the 
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Do you have an easier way of drawing the grid than just drawing lines wth a ruler? Do the lines just disappear as you draw the picture? Thanks Bill
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No, I think that's about all you can do, unless all your pictures are going to be the same size - I suppose then you could make grids out of clear plastic or something. But since the sizes of my pictures vary, so do my grid sizes, so I just rule them up. It doesn't take very long. I do use a 40cm ruler, though, so I don't have to fiddle around if my grid is larger than 30cm.
And no, the lines don't disappear magically (although it would be nice if they did). I rub them out with an eraser as I work, otherwise I get lines showing up through the shading.
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thanks for the info. I think I will try it sometime. Bill
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Awesome! Thank you for posting this! I've been trying to really focus on drawing portraits lately and this will help me immensely!
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Thankyou! I hope it does come in handy (that is, after all, the point of it! 
Thanks for the
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did you ever, or will you ever, draw hoawrd keel and jane powell again? seven brides for seven brothers is one of my favorite movies.
very nice and clear tutorial
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I haven't yet, but I do want to redo that picture one day. It's one of my very favourite movies too! (plus, that ancient picture is awful, and just does not do them justice, does it?
Thanks for the
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It would be so awesome if you would redraw it. I would fav it instantly!
The old picture isn't bad, it just shows how much you've grown as an artist.
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I think I need about twice as many hours in the day!
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Thank you for this, because I've been trying to do exactly this on some drawings.
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Thank you for the
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(Sorry i wanted to say... a very good ideia!)
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Well done! Show us your drawings before applying the method was a Very good! Congratulations!
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Thankyou! I hope it's useful!
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Whoo hoo, what a God-send this is! I've been really trying to watch my contrast, making sure I don't let things get too washed out, and this will only help me with that goal. 
Oh, and btw, that frame you did with the split of your drawing and the reference photo? You're so good I'm almost jealous! 
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I'm glad! And thankyou for the
hehe. I've always wanted to see how one of my drawings stood up to a split like that. I see a lot of them around here, as art class projects, but I'd never done one. But I thought it would definitely be a good example, just because I see so many, and they always seem to have low contrast, even though the drawing itself is really good.
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You're welcome! Thank you for the tutorial! 
I did try something similar for my GwaPE drawing, by overlaying the original on top of mine to see how well I did, but I don't know why I never thought of the half-and-half idea.
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I often overlay with portraits, if there's something wrong and I just can't figure out what it is. It's very helpful, isn't it? Graphics programs are wonderful things!
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Yup, yup, that they most certainly are!
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Thank you very much for putting this tutorial up! I'm favoriting it.
I think I've finally got the concept of contrast down. I'm drawing House and I noticed that even though the ref photo doesn't show black, his features are much more 3-D if some parts of his face are darker in contrast to the other parts. Like, say, the shadows on his nose and the shadow to his jaw.
I'll post up the WIP soon, I promise!
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Thankyou for the
And your wip is looking great!
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Thank you! Now, as soon as I finish my various papers and other assignments... On to drawing!
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A wonderful tutorial! What's so funny is that I just commented on your contrast on that same drawing! XD
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Well, that can only be a good thing!
Thankyou for the
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you're so kind to give away some secrets
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My pleasure! I hope it's helpful!
Thanks for the
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Thank you for including some of your older work in the tutorial. It gives me hope ^^()
Very thorough and helpful; definitely something I'll be applying to my own work.
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I'm glad you think it's helpful! It's quite a hard topic to cover in a tutorial format. Good luck!
Oh, and thanks for the
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This is a great reference! Thanks for taking the time to give a wonderful tutorial!
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My pleasure! And thank you for the
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Thankyou! And thanks for the
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