DEPICTING AGE

DEPICTING AGE As people age, their skin loses elasticity, causing loose, wrinkled skin; drooping noses; and sagging ears. In addition, lips often become thinner, hair turns gray, and eyesight becomes poor (which is why many elderly subjects wear glasses). Accurately rendering these characteristics is essential to creating successful portraits of mature subjects.

Step One I block in the face with an HB pencil. Then I add guidelines, which I use to place the eyes, nose, ears, eye­ brows, and mouth. The lips thin out and move inward as a person ages, so I draw them accordingly. I also sketch the wavy outline of the hair

Step Two I draw the basic shape of the eyeglasses, then begin to suggest my subject's age by adding delicate lines around her eyes and across her forehead. I also round out the jaw and chin to show where the skin has begun to sag. I draw loose skin on the neck and deep lines on either side of the nose.

Step Three Switching to a 2B pencil, I begin shading the hair and developing the eyes, adding light, curved lines around and under the eyes to create "bags." I magnify the wrinkles slightly where they can be seen through the glasses. (See "Rendering Wrinkles" below.) 

Step Four Still using a 2B, I shade the face and neck, adding strokes to the side of the neck for wrinkles. I finish shading the irises and the eyelids. I shade the area between the right side of the cheek and the jawbone to show the prominent cheekbone, and I add shading around the nose and mouth to make the skin appear puffy. Then I add darker values to the hair and earrings.

Step Five As I continue shading the face, I add more definition to the wrinkles around the eyes so they don't disappear into the shaded areas. I am careful to keep them subtle, smoothing out the transitions with a tortilla. (See "Rendering Wrinkles" at right for more on blending.) Finally I add a button to her collar and create the plaid pattern of her shirt. I stand back from the drawing, making sure that I'm pleased with the effect the angular bones, loose skin, and wrinkles have on the subject's face and that they suggest her age.

RENDERING WRINKLES 

The key to drawing realistic-looking wrinkles is to keep them subtle. Indicate wrinkles with soft shading, not with hard or angular lines. You can best achieve this effect by using a dull pencil point. You also can use a cloth or a tortilla to softly blend the transitions between the light and dark values in the wrinkles. Or use a kneaded eraser to soften wrinkles that appear too deep. 

When drawing a subject with glasses, as in the example below, try to magnify the wrinkle lines that are seen through the lenses. You can do this by drawing the lines of shading a little larger and spacing them farther from one another

PORTRAYING CHILDREN'S FEATURES

PORTRAYING CHILDREN'S FEATURES

Children are fascinating drawing subjects, but they can be a challenge to draw accurately. It's important to get the right proportions for the particular age and to correctly render their features: Their eyes tend to be bigger and more rounded than those of adults, their nostrils are barely visible, and their hair is usually fine and wispy.

Step One With a sharpened 2B pencil, , sketch the basic shape of the face. Using my knowledge of children's proportions as a guide, ' lightly draw the guidelines, which curve slightly because of the viewpoint. , place the features below the horizontal center line, where the eyebrows begin. , block in the round eyes, placing them a little more than one eye-width apart. Then ' sketch the round nose and small mouth and add some wispy hair to frame the face. 

Step Two ' add details to the eyes and indicate highlights. (Prominent highlights give children's eyes that curious, youthful spark.) Then ' develop the ear and fill out the lips. , draw a curved line from the tip of the girl's left nostril up to her left eye to build up the nose and draw another line connecting the nose to the mouth, giving her right cheek form. , sketch a few quick lines to indicate the slightly chubby area underneath her eyes, extending the cheek a bit to round it out. , add the bangs with light, soft strokes. 

Step Three With a 3B pencil, , fill in the area between the lips, then shade the pupil and outline the iris. , add a few thin lines for hair between the scalp and the ear, darkening the hair where it is in shadow behind the ear. , keep the hair soft by sketching with light, short lines-this keeps my subject looking youthful. Switching back to the 2B pencil, , shade the inside of the ear and the underside of the shirt collar, helping to show the direction of the light source. Then ' define the lines around the eyes and the mouth. 

Step Four ' shade the lips with a 2B pencil, leaving a light area on the bottom lip to give it shine. Then ' shade the neck using light strokes that follow the shape of the neck. With a few short lines, , draw the eyebrows; , also add light shading to the lower half of the face, filling out the cheeks and making them look rosy.

Step Five Over each eyelid, I sketch a series of small lines curving up to the eyebrows to show the youthful chubbiness. Then I add eyelashes using curved pencil strokes. To keep the subject looking young, I draw very light, almost nonexistent eyebrows. I shade the fore· head in an up·and·down motion, and then I give her right cheek more form by darkening the areas around it. I use sweeping strokes to build up the bangs, leaving the paper white in areas for a shiny look

Step Six Still using the 2B pencil, I further build up the ear. I shade a small area between the bottom of the nose and the top of the lips to suggest the indentation, and I add shading to the creases around the mouth. I create more dark strokes in the back of the hair to show where the hair is layered. Then I draw a flower pattern on the shirt collar. Adding youthful patterns to your subject's clothing helps define their age; overalls, jumpers, ribbons, base ball caps, and bows also can imply youth. 

Step Seven Putting my pencil aside for a moment, I carefully drag the edge of a kneaded eraser across the top of the bangs to create the appearance of blond hair. Using the 3B pencil, I create texture on the jumper and shirt by spacing the lines of the corduroy slightly apart from one another. Then I develop the floral pattern on the sleeves of her shirt. Finally I draw a small button, then stand back from my portrait and make sure the transitions from light to dark values are smooth and that there are no harsh or angular lines that might make the subject appear older than she is. 

DRAWING FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE 

Because of the way this young girl's head is tilted back, you see more of her chin and neck than you do the top of her head. The ears appear a bit lower on the head, and you see more of the bottom parts of her eyes. You can even see the underside of the upper eyelid beneath the eyelashes. Even when drawing children from a different angle, the features remain rounded and childlike; for example, you can still get a sense of this girl's wide eyed, curious expression, although you see less of the eyes than you would in a forward facing view. And although the nostrils are a little more prominent in this view, they still retain their soft, smooth shape . 

THE BODY

THE BODY 
The human body is challenging to render; therefore, it's important to start with a quick drawing of the basic skeletal structure. The human skeleton can be compared to the wood frame of a house; it supports and affects the figure's entire form.

The frontal view illustrates the planes of the body which are created from the skeletons form. In men's bodies especially, the torso forms a triangle shape between the shoulder blades and the waist. In women's torsos, the triangle shape genera ally is less pronounced, and their bodies can even resemble an inverted triangle. 

Michelangelo dissected human cadavers to learn about sheletal and muscle structure!

The muscles also affect the body's form. To gain further insight into shading the contours of the body, study the human muscular structure.

DEVELOPING HAIR

DEVELOPING HAIR
There are many different types and styles of hair-thick and thin; long and short; curly, straight, and wavy; and even braided! And because hair is often one of an individual's most distinguishing features, knowing how to render different types and textures is essential. When drawing hair, don't try to draw every strand; just create the overall impression and allow the viewer's eye and imagination to fill in the rest.

Step One I use an HB pencil to sketch the shape of the head and place the features. Then I use loose strokes to block in the general outline of the hair. Starting at the part on the left side of the head, I lightly draw the hair in the direction of growth on either side of the part. At this stage, I merely indicate the shape of the hair; I don't worry about the individual ringlets yet. 

Step Two Switching to a 2B pencil, I start refining the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth. Then I define the neckline of her shirt with curved lines that follow the shape of her body. Returning to the hair, I lightly sketch in sections of ringlets, working from top to bottom. I start adding dark values underneath and behind certain sections of hair, creating contrast and depth. (See "Creating Ringlets" below.

CREATING RINGLETS 

Step One First I sketch the shapes oft he ringlets using curved, S·shaped lines. I make sure that the ringlets are not too similar in shape; some are thick and some are thin. 

Step Two To give the ringlets form, I squint my eyes to find the dark and light values. I leave the top of the ringlets (the hair closest to the head) lighter and add a bit more shading as I move down the strands, indicating that the light is coming from above.

Step Three To create the darkest values under neath the hair, I place the strokes closer together. 

Step Four I add even darker values, making sure that my transitions in value are smooth and that there are no abrupt changes in direction. 

Step Three I shade the face, neck, and chest using linear strokes that reach across the width of the body. Then I define the eyes, lips, and teeth, and I add her shoulder and the sleeve of her shirt. Next I continue working in darker values within the ringlets, leaving some areas of hair white to suggest blond highlights. Although the hair is much more detailed at this final stage, I am still simply indicating the general mass, allowing the viewer's eye to complete the scene. Finally I draw some loose strands along the edges of the hair, leaving the lightest values at the top of the subject's head. 

RENDERING BRAIDS 

Step One First I sketch the outline of each braid. I taper the ends a bit, adding a line across the bottom of each to indicate the ties that hold the braids together.

Step Two Now I start shading each section, indicating the overlapping hair in each braid. I add some wispy hair "escaping" from the braids to add realism. 

Step Three I continue shading the braids using heavier strokes. I add even more "escaped" strands of hair. Then I use a kneaded eraser to pull out highlights at the bottom of each braid, emphasizing the ties. I also pull out some highlights in the braids themselves.