How to Draw Children's Portraits
The most challenging aspect of drawing a child's portrait comes from trying to draw from a live subject. Unless the child is exceptionally well mannered and composed, it is best to draw from a photograph or another drawing. Keep in mind that children are proportioned differently from adults. The forehead of a child is higher than the forehead of an adult. The eyes are pushed closer to the center of the face, condensing the facial features mostly into the lower half.
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Instructions
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1
Draw a few quick studies of your subject before beginning your final design. These drawings should serve to loosen you up and familiarize you with the shape of the features of the individual you're drawing.
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2
Choose the paper that you'll be using to draw the portrait. Sharpen your pencil.
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Draw an outline of the features of the face lightly on the paper. These features will serve as a map to guide you in the drawing process. Draw a straight line connecting the two eyes, to ensure the eyes are lined up properly. Draw a vertical line straight down the middle of the line connecting the two eyes. This is where you will place the nose.
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Start darkening the outlines of the features. Outline the eyes first. Study the subject and note that the eyes are likely not an exact almond shape. Replicate the actual shape of the eyes as best you can. Train yourself to see what is actually there, not what you expect to see. Next, add details to the eyes, such as the circles of the irises and pupils. Draw a few eyelashes at the corners of the eyes, but do not trouble yourself to draw every single eyelash. Draw a few hairs in the arched area above the eyes for the eyebrows.
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Draw the shape of the nose. Be careful not to draw an outline around the entire nose -- draw only the most necessary lines to make it clear that you're drawing a nose. For example, draw the C-like shapes around the nostrils, and connect the shapes of the nostrils on the bottom with an inverted hump. Refer back to the photograph of your subject frequently. Be careful to draw the nose along the vertical axis you placed between the two eyes, so that the nose is centered and aligned appropriately.
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Draw the mouth. Begin with the middle line of the mouth -- the line formed by the top and bottom lip pressing together. Later on you will shade the lips, so do not outline the lips at this time.
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Draw the outline of the face and neck, and quickly sketch in a little bit of hair. Most of the hair will be saved until later.
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Begin to shade areas of the face. Shade the pupils in the eyes, the sides of the nose wherever you see shadows, and the shape of the lips. Use a smudge tool to smooth out the graphite on the paper. Build the shadows slowly, and by degrees -- start out light and darken as needed.
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Step back from the drawing at this time. Compare it to the photograph you are drawing from. Turn the drawing upside down, if necessary. Turning the drawing upside down will give you a fresh perspective and allow you to see mistakes that were otherwise invisible to you. Make changes as necessary.
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Sharpen your pencil and begin to draw the hair. This should be handled patiently and slowly. The hairs don't all need to be drawn individually, but if you will be shading the hair, you must do so evenly, building up tones slowly. Use the smudge tool to smooth out the body of the hair, then draw a few clumps of individual hairs here and there. The ears may be hidden in the hair. The ears of children will be proportionally smaller than the ears of adults. Make the ears as subtle as possible -- draw the outline and shade the inside of the ears a little. Try to cover what you can with hair.
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11
Erase the light guidelines you made to line up the eyes and the nose.
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