Portrait drawing is one of the most challenging and rewarding forms of artistic expression. There's something magical about successfully capturing a person's likeness on paper—not just their physical features, but something of their essence and personality. Many beginning artists find portraits intimidating, but with the right approach and understanding of fundamental principles, anyone can improve their portrait drawing skills. In this guide, we'll explore the essential techniques for capturing likeness in portrait drawing.

Understanding What Creates Likeness

Before diving into specific techniques, it's important to understand what actually makes a portrait recognizable as a specific person. Contrary to what many beginners believe, likeness isn't just about perfectly rendering every detail. Rather, it's about:

  • Proportions - The relationships between facial features
  • Unique features - The distinguishing characteristics specific to the individual
  • Value relationships - The pattern of lights and darks
  • Expression - The subtle tensions in facial muscles that convey emotion and personality

With these factors in mind, let's explore the techniques that will help you capture a convincing likeness.

Essential Tools for Portrait Drawing

While you can create portraits with almost any drawing medium, here are some recommended tools for beginners:

  • Graphite pencils (HB, 2B, 4B, 6B) - Providing a range from light to dark
  • Charcoal pencils - For deeper blacks and expressive lines
  • Kneaded eraser - For lifting graphite to create highlights
  • Blending stumps - For smooth transitions between values
  • Quality drawing paper - Medium texture works well for most portrait techniques

Starting with Structure: The Foundation of Likeness

The Envelope Method

Begin by establishing the overall shape of the head using the "envelope method"—drawing a simplified shape that encompasses the entire head. This helps establish proper proportions from the start.

Basic Proportions of the Human Head

While every face is unique, understanding standard proportions provides a helpful starting point:

  • The head can be divided into roughly three equal sections:
    • Hairline to eyebrows
    • Eyebrows to bottom of nose
    • Bottom of nose to bottom of chin
  • Eyes are positioned approximately halfway down the head
  • The distance between the eyes is roughly equal to the width of one eye
  • The corners of the mouth typically align with the pupils when viewed from the front
  • Ears usually extend from eyebrow level to nose level

Remember, these are guidelines, not rigid rules. Individual faces deviate from these proportions, and recognizing these deviations is key to capturing likeness.

The Loomis Method

Andrew Loomis developed a popular method for constructing the head that helps artists understand its three-dimensional form:

  1. Start with a sphere representing the cranium
  2. Add a plane for the face
  3. Divide the face with centerlines to place features
  4. Add the jaw and other structural elements

This approach is particularly helpful for drawing heads from different angles and understanding how facial features relate to the underlying structure.

Feature Placement and Relationships

The Grid Method

For beginners, the grid method can be helpful for accurate feature placement:

  1. Place a grid over a reference photo
  2. Draw a corresponding grid on your paper
  3. Transfer the content of each square, focusing on relationships between features rather than drawing each feature in isolation

While some artists consider this a "crutch," it's an excellent learning tool that trains your eye to see proportional relationships.

Negative Space

Instead of focusing solely on the features themselves, pay attention to the spaces between features. For example, notice the specific shape of the space between the eye and eyebrow, or between the nose and mouth. These negative spaces often hold the key to accurate proportions.

Rendering Individual Features

Eyes

Eyes are often considered the most expressive feature and the focal point of most portraits.

  • Begin with the shape of the eye socket, not just the visible eye
  • Remember that the eyeball is spherical—the iris and pupil curve around this sphere
  • Pay attention to the unique shape of the eyelids and how they wrap around the eyeball
  • Note that the upper lid casts a shadow on the iris
  • Include the tear duct and observe how the lower lid turns inward
  • Capture the highlights in the eye, which create the sense of life and dimension

A common mistake is drawing eyes as flat symbols rather than three-dimensional forms set into the face.

Nose

The nose can be challenging due to its subtle planes and lack of definitive outlines.

  • Focus on the shadow patterns rather than drawing hard outlines
  • Pay attention to the bridge, nostrils, and the ball of the nose
  • Notice how light hits the planes of the nose differently
  • Observe the unique characteristics—width, length, shape of the tip, and nostril size

Mouth

The mouth is highly expressive and can dramatically affect likeness.

  • Observe the specific curve of the upper lip, which often forms an "M" shape
  • Notice the fullness and relative sizes of the upper and lower lips
  • Pay attention to the corners of the mouth and how they affect expression
  • Remember that lips have volume and wrap around the teeth and gums

Ears

While ears might seem less important for likeness from a frontal view, they have distinct characteristics worth capturing.

  • Notice the overall shape and size
  • Pay attention to the unique cartilage patterns
  • Observe how the ear connects to the head

Hair

Hair contributes significantly to likeness but shouldn't be rendered strand by strand.

  • Begin by establishing the overall shape and volume of the hair
  • Focus on light and shadow patterns rather than individual strands
  • Pay attention to how hair frames the face
  • Add some detailed strands only in key areas to suggest texture

The Importance of Value and Shadow Patterns

While proportions provide the foundation for likeness, the pattern of lights and shadows across the face is equally important. These value relationships create the three-dimensional form and often hold the key to recognizable likeness.

Understanding Basic Light Logic

  • Highlight - Where light directly hits the form
  • Midtone - Areas receiving moderate light
  • Core shadow - The dark area where the form turns away from the light
  • Reflected light - Subtle light bouncing into shadow areas
  • Cast shadow - Shadows created when one form blocks light from reaching another

The Squint Test

A helpful technique is to squint at both your reference and your drawing. Squinting simplifies the values and helps you see the major light and shadow pattern without being distracted by details. If the overall value pattern matches when squinting, you're on the right track to capturing likeness.

Capturing Expression and Character

Beyond accurate proportions and values, subtle aspects of expression contribute significantly to likeness. These include:

  • The specific tension around the eyes
  • The natural resting position of the mouth
  • Characteristic wrinkles and folds
  • How the head is typically held (tilt, forward/back)

These subtleties often communicate personality and are crucial for a portrait that feels alive rather than mechanical.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Symmetry - Human faces are naturally asymmetrical. Perfectly symmetrical drawings look unnatural.
  • Generic features - Avoid using symbolic representations instead of drawing what you actually see.
  • Focusing on details too early - Establish big relationships before refining details.
  • Hard outlines - Most face contours are better suggested through value changes rather than hard lines.
  • Ignoring the planes of the face - Understanding how the face is constructed from planes helps create three-dimensionality.

Exercises to Improve Your Portrait Skills

1. Timed Gesture Portraits (1-5 minutes)

Quick studies force you to identify and capture the most essential elements of likeness without getting lost in details.

2. Upside-Down Drawing

Drawing a portrait from a reference that's turned upside-down helps you see shapes and relationships more objectively, without your brain's preconceptions about how features "should" look.

3. Single-Line Contour Drawing

Create a portrait without lifting your pencil from the paper. This develops hand-eye coordination and careful observation.

4. Value Studies

Create portraits focusing solely on light and shadow patterns, using only 3-5 values.

5. Memory Drawing

Study a face for several minutes, then try to draw it from memory. This strengthens your understanding of facial structure and relationships.

Conclusion: Practice and Patience

Capturing likeness in portrait drawing is a skill developed through consistent practice and careful observation. Remember that even the most accomplished portrait artists continue to refine their approach. Each portrait is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the fascinating structure of the human face.

As you practice, try to balance technical accuracy with expressive quality. A portrait might be technically perfect in its proportions but still feel lifeless if it doesn't capture something of the subject's character. Similarly, an expressive portrait with small proportional inaccuracies can still powerfully convey likeness.

Above all, approach portrait drawing with patience and curiosity. The human face is infinitely varied and complex—that's what makes portrait drawing such an endlessly fascinating pursuit for artists at all levels.