Sketchbook portraits

Sketchbook portraits: Profile view, 3/4 view and front view. Enjoyed this project but definitely need more practice in capturing likeness, drawing hair and shading.

STAEDTLER 1 Mars Lumograph Graphite Pencils (2H, HB and 2B), mechanical pencil with 2b lead for finer details and Faber-castell 2b clutch pencil for blocking in the main shadows areas. Used putty rubber to correct errors and tone down lines. The Tomboy mono erasure was used for highlights.

Sketchbook brand: Daler-Rowney A4 Spiral bound mixed media Sketchbook

Used HB pencil to lightly block in shapes and key features.

I made some amendments to try to capture the likeness of the model in the reference picture. Then used Steatdler 2b pencils to block in the main shadows, HB for the midtones and 2H for the lightest areas. I also used a mechanical pencil with 2B lead for the finer details and to sharpen edges around the face.

As with profile view, used HB pencil to sketch in main shape of the head, guidelines and key features.

Before shading, made some amendments. The left eye seemed a little low, some moved it up slightly. Used the same shading process as profile image.

I usually struggle with front views, so used the Loomis method and initially sketched in shape of head and placement of features such as eyes, ears, nose and mouth, paying particular attention to relationships between the features.

For shading, I used a the Faber-Castell clutch pencil with blunt 2B lead to block in the main shadow shapes and the the Steatdler 2b pencil to further refine and darken the shadows. I used the 5B pencil for the darker shadows, HB for midtones and 2H for the lighter areas. I then used a mechanical pencil to sharpen edges around the face and eyes. I thenused the mono erasure for the highlights.