Portraits are paintings of people.
Painting a portrait is the challenging task of capturing the image of a person in paint. From the Mona Lisa to Van Gogh's self portraits, painted portraits make conversation pieces as well as beautiful art. While painting a portrait can be an intimidating project for new artists, there are different types of paints to choose from, and a variety of helpful tips that can help you paint gorgeous (or at least interesting) portraits of yourself or other people.
Instructions
paint portraits in watercolors and oil paint
1. Study famous portraits by well known artists to see how it is done. Whether it's through a visit to a museum, leafing through a book or an online search, looking at art created by others can be inspirational and open your mind to different techniques and styles. After all, there are a lot of different types of portraits; for example, compare the abstract portraits of the Cubist artist Picasso with the detailed, realistic style of Rembrandt.
2. Research and understand the limitations of the media in which you are working. Watercolors produce a soft, fluid image. However, due to their watery, translucent nature, watercolors are not a forgiving medium: a mistake cannot be erased or painted over. With watercolors, you must also beware of water hitting the paper as it can cause the paint to bleed and ruin your work.
When painting with oils, you can easily paint over a mistake and add several layers to a painting. Turpentine or paint remover can also help eliminate mistakes. Still, its appearance may be more bold than watercolors. Oil paint also requires more supplies such as turpentine, canvases and palettes, which can be costly.
3. Use a reference when you are working on a portrait. A live model is ideal, as portraits of live models can capture more than just a face and hold a more realistic, personal quality. Photographs can be useful, too, and tend to be easier to use than a model. By looking at a model or a picture, you have something visual to represent, rather than just a thought in your head.
4. Establish the basics of the face you will be painting. Focus on the shape, size, placement and proportion of the features within the face. If using watercolors, sketch first with a pencil. For oil painting, many artists begin by underpainting, or putting down a base coat of light green, which can help create lively flesh tones.
5. Focus on the highlights and shadows. After you've finished getting a general idea of where the features should be and what they will look like, pay attention to where highlights and shadows fall on the model's face. For watercolors, begin with the highlights, then carefully tackle the shadows since they cannot be undone. Shadows can be painted first with oil painting, followed by lightening the highlighted areas.
6. Mix colors for the skin tone, then paint the skin. Often, browns, browns mixed with white, or yellows with reds and whites produce good skin tones. Begin by making the darkest tone; modify this color with white to create more shades. For the lips, add a touch of red to the skin tone. The eyes need white, color for the iris, and black for the pupil. Don't forget to add a touch of pure white for a highlight on the eyes.
7. Finish the portrait by adding the clothes and background. These details can be used to flatter the appearance of the person in your portrait. For instance, people with darker complexions look best in bold colors such as deep reds. The clothes and the background can also add somewhat of a story to your painting. Consider where you're putting the person and what you want your portrait to convey before adding these finishing touches.
