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BUILDING A PORTRAIT – Gareth Reid
Over the years we have been blown away by the beautiful portraits Gareth Reid has created using charcoal. We hope that by the end of this session, you will have produced a portrait full of as much character and charm as Gareth’s body of work.
Reference Image
Materials
Paper (Medium tooth)
Charcoal (Fine, semi-soft)
Putty Rubber
Blade (For sharpening)
Find these items at cassart.co.uk
Preparing to draw
In preparation for your drawing, affix your paper to a drawing board or other hard surface.
It may be easier to print the reference image and place it side by side to your paper as this will allow you to make a direct comparison.
Use vine charcoal for this sketch, sharpened to a fine point. Vine charcoal is semi-soft and works well on medium tooth paper.
Charcoal is easy to remove, use a putty rubber which you can mould into a point to remove tiny marks or even a retractable rubber for easy removal.
Top tip- Do not hold your charcoal as if you are about to write with it. Instead, use a drawing grip (see image below). This grip will help keep your marks light.
Starting to sketch
Begin by sketching the main structural features of the model’s head, Eg- the side of the face, cheekbone, and hairline.
You don’t need to focus on one facial feature, you are working on the drawing as a whole and trying to draw a loose foundation sketch of the face.
At this stage, you should not be committing solid lines to paper. Instead, you should focus on broad, loose lines.
You should be drawing multiple lines to note each feature, as the drawing progresses you will refine and settle on one definitive line per feature.
Top Tip – Keep stepping back throughout the process to get perspective. Ensure your structural sketch matches the positioning of the model in the reference image.
Committing to your structure
When you are happy with your foundation sketch start examining each part of the face. Decide which light marks look correct for each feature and draw on top of it with a heavier, more purposeful line.
Work around the whole face.
Remember, ABC- Always Be Checking. You may have committed to a line and then when you step back you realise that it is not right. That is ok. Simply rub it out and commit to the correct line.
Use your reference image to check the proportions.
Shading and detail
At this stage, you should be confident with your drawing and can begin shading.
Look for the shadows and darkness in the reference image and apply them to your drawing.
You can use harder vine charcoal for shading lighter areas and softer vine charcoal for shading darker areas.
If you want an area of your drawing to be darker, press your charcoal onto the page with more pressure.
If you want an area of your drawing to be light grey, use a softer charcoal and apply it with quick hand movements.
Keep sharpening your charcoal throughout.
Top tip – Keep checking that your lines make sense. Shading can reveal inaccuracies. If it does, correct them as you go.
Coherent shadows
When you have finished shading take some time to step back and look at your drawing. Is there coherency to the tone of the shadows? If not, correct this before finishing.
