How to Paint Realistic Figures

Good artists are aware of proportions and shadows.

The term "figure" can refer to just about anything: a ball, a building or a flower. Painting one that looks real has been the challenge of artists for centuries. A complex figure, such as a human face is an object of fascination. The features themselves are "figures". As with any figure painted realistically, the trick is in the shapes, the sizes, the colors and the shadows. The features must be in correct proportion to the head and properly placed on the face. The shadows of the skin must show the depth, dimension and expression.

Things You'll Need

• Paints
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Paper or canvas
• #1 round tip paintbrush
• #8 round tip paintbrush
• ¼-in. flat paintbrush

Instructions

Draw the Face

1. Shape the face by sketching a vertical oval. Sketch the two eyes as horizontal ovals at the center of the large oval, at its widest point. Leave a space between the eyes that is nearly as large as an eye. Draw a horizontal line that dissects the eye ovals to indicate the top lid.

2. Section the lower half of the oval in thirds, both horizontally and vertically. The vertical lines reach the pupils of the eyes. Sketch the nose. The tip of the nose should come to the lower part of the upper section, and the nostrils should go just below that line. Sketch the lips. They should meet at the upper line of the lowest section and should extend to the vertical lines of the center third section.

3. Sketch the eyebrows and then the ears. The highest part of the ears should go as high as the top of the eyes on the side of the oval, and the lowest align with the line that the tip of the nose is on.

4. Sketch the neck beginning just below the ears, and extending down past the oval and then sketch the hairline.

5. Erase any dark lines.

Paint the Face

1. Mix a flesh-tone paint color. Paint a wash of color over the face with your flat paintbrush, leaving the eyes and mouth blank. It's all right if the color is not consistent. Blend a slightly darker shade and then paint that on the neck.

2. Study shadows to use as feature contour guidelines either in a mirror or on a picture of where light and dark hit a face. Mix a darker flesh color. Define the shadows on your painting by using your small paintbrush to place them. The darkest ones will be in the crease at the top of the eye sockets, the upper eye lid at the lash line, at the sides of the nose, the nostrils and the two lines that drop from the nose to the top of the upper lip.

3. Use your larger round brush to paint larger shadows below the cheekbones, lower lip and chin. The lightest areas of the face will be at the eyebrows, the tip of the nose and the cheekbones.

Finish the Painting

1. Dab your small brush in a color to paint the cornea of the eye. Keep a dot of space left uncolored for the twinkle in the eye.

2. Paint the lips. Paint where they meet at the lip line with a shade darker.

3. Paint the hair by painting an overall color but leaving areas of light in between brush strokes or groups of strokes.

References

• DragoArt: How to Draw a Person
• The Art History Archive - Art Lessons: How to Draw or Paint People
• Youn Chen Learning Center: Shaping the Face