Contemporary Portraits with Graphite

What’s the key to a good portrait? It must convey emotion. And when you look at it, you feel what the artist wanted to express. That is precisely what defines the work of Antonella Montes, better known as Lantomo. Her portraits are charged with emotion; she creates them using a sophisticated blend of digital and analog techniques, focusing on graphite as the primary tool.

In this Domestika course, learn to create both realistic and conceptual portraits based on a photograph by combining graphite with splashes of watercolors. Hone your skills and transform a drawing into raw emotion.

Begin the course by getting to know Antonella Montes, aka Lantomo. Follow her artistic career up to this point and find out what her main influences are.

Then, choose a photo for your portrait. Import it into Photoshop and create a digital outline with all the elements of your composition so you can transpose them onto paper.

Lantomo explains which tools are essential, which are optional, and how to use them. Learn how to transfer your drawing to paper using a grid and add some splashes of color before grabbing your graphite to work on the chiaroscuro aspects of your portrait.

Time to get to work! Draw the entire portrait with pencils, graphite, and a lot of patience. Lantomo highlights some of the most difficult aspects of the portrait process that, if done well, transform your drawing into a captivating work of art.

Finish your portrait by adding a black background to make it stand out and learn how to mount your drawing so that it lasts a long time. Finally, Lantomo shares some tips on digitalizing your portrait for sharing on social media.

Create your very own realistic graphite portrait (size A3) and add your unique, personal touch using details that evoke inspiring emotions.

Illustrators and anyone interested in drawing, portraits, and graphite techniques.

Some prior knowledge of drawing is helpful, but is not necessary to take this course.

The materials for this course include A3 or similar size flat (not textured) drawing or watercolor paper, pencils of varying hardness (6-8 of your choice ranging from 6H to 8B), erasers, a pencil sharpener, a stick of soft graphite, a stick of black pastel, several charcoal pencils, watercolors, and a brush.