Composition for Portraiture
Draw portraits that work as pictures.
Accurate drawing is only half of it. Learn how to place, crop and design a portrait so the whole picture works, through three full drawings: a skull, a man and a woman.
Enrol for $125All levels
skill level
3
lessons
1 h 14 min
of lessons
+ 7 h
silent draw-along
Why composition
A good drawing and a good picture are different things.
The fundamentals take discipline and many hours, and they matter. But drawing accurately does not by itself give you a strong piece of art.
Composition is what turns a careful study into a picture: what you keep, what you change, and where you lead the eye.
The course
Three drawings, start to finish
01 · Lesson 1
The skull
A three-quarter skull built around strong silhouettes and contrast. You learn artistic selection: leaving out or adjusting details on purpose so the drawing makes a clear statement.
02 · Lesson 2
The male portrait
How to organise a drawing so it tells a story, lead the eye to a focal point, and use shape language so every shape and line supports what you want to say.
03 · Lesson 3
The female portrait and thumbnailing
Explore crops, arrangements and focal points in quick thumbnail sketches before you commit, then carry the strongest idea through to a finished drawing.
What you will learn
Make the whole picture work.
- How to compose a portrait drawing like an artist
- Artistic selection: what you can change about what you see, and how
- The focal point: how to choose and emphasise the key feature
- Silhouettes and framing: what makes shapes stand out or fade away
- Realistic rendering in graphite and white chalk
FAQs
Do I need experience?
The course suits all levels. Knowing the fundamentals of portrait drawing helps, because the focus here is on the artistic side of making a drawing.
What do I get?
Introduction (2 min)
Lesson 1: drawing the skull (23 min), plus a silent draw-along version (2 h 14 min)
Lesson 2: portrait of a man (24 min), plus a silent draw-along version (2 h 18 min)
Lesson 3: portrait of a woman and thumbnailing (24 min), plus a silent draw-along version (2 h 22 min)
What materials do I need?
Graphite pencils, a sketchbook or drawing paper, a paper stump, and white chalk if you want extra contrast.
Make your next portrait a picture.
Three lessons, plus about seven hours of silent draw-along footage.
Taught by Stephen Bauman. Trained at the Florence Academy of Art, teaching for 20 years, tens of thousands of students taught online.
Enrol for $125