How to draw a portrait in watercolor

If you dream of learning how to draw a portrait with watercolor, but you are afraid that you will not succeed, start by dropping your fears and start reading this article. Here are given simple and understandable recommendations that will help you pick up brushes and colors and start creating.

What materials will be needed?

Before you begin to paint a portrait with watercolor, you will need to prepare the materials necessary for this:

• Good watercolor paints.
• Soft brushes of different sizes (squirrel and core are best suited).
• Watercolor paper.
• A wooden tablet (it will be necessary to stretch the paper on it).
• A hard pencil and an eraser.
• Paper for sketches.

Preliminary work

How to draw a portrait with watercolor if the head does not have a clear idea of the composition of the future picture? It will be very difficult. Therefore, first you need to make a series of preliminary sketches and decide how the person will be depicted: on the chest or on the waist.

If you draw a portrait with watercolor from nature, then you can consult your model as to how it would like to be painted. Look for a comfortable position together, and also find a position in which the light and texture of the face and figure are beautifully and accurately.

Still it is possible, before to start to work above a portrait, to be defined with color scale of the future product. To do this, you need to make an easy sketch directly by the paints themselves.

Portrait of a watercolor step by step

Well, let's say, all the preparatory work is finished, you can start creating a picture. The whole process is recommended to be divided into several consecutive stages:

1. Drawing with a pencil is a very important stage. The lines should be slightly noticeable, it is unacceptable to frequently use the eraser, this will cause the paper to become clogged, because of which the transparent paints will lie unevenly. You can draw a drawing on a separate sheet, and then accurately translate it to stretched watercolor paper.

2. Now we begin to paint the portrait with watercolor. And the first thing that will need to be done is to apply light, transparent pallets to the paper. For the face we dilute water with cadmium orange or ocher (the paint should be very watery, pale). We paint over the face with wide strokes, the paper should remain untouched in place of the glare. Then we select other colors and brush through the hair and clothes, also leaving the brightest places untouched.

3. Now you need to do your eyes and lips. What is the color of your model's eyes? Pick up the desired paint, dilute it with water to a pale condition and paint over the iris of the eyes in the portrait. So do with the drawing of the lips.

4. Apply to the face of the shadow. For this, to our divorced pale cadmium or ocher mix a little bit of sienna burnt. Shadows at this stage should be applied too easily, not at full strength. In fact, they should in tone only slightly differ from the first paint layer. Pay attention to the fact that this painting, so you need to monitor the shades that are reflected on the skin of the face of the model. Let's say that on one side a warm light from the red curtains can fall on your face, reflections of cold colors on the chin, etc. should be reflected on the chin, and this should be taken into account and try to display in the portrait using additional colors.

5. Next, we begin to understand the shadows more carefully. We are looking for the darkest places on the cheekbones, on the lips, on the sides and on the wings of the nose, near the hair, etc. It is with the help of the shadows that the face is modeled and the volume is given to it. The main principle in watercolor work: always move from a lighter tone to a darker one.

6. Looking for the easiest intermediate tones between the shadow and the light. On the face, where there is light on it, there are also places darker and lighter. We follow the play of light and try to repeat this on paper.

7. We work with hair and clothes on the same principle as with the face.

8. At the final stage of the work on the portrait you need to take the thinnest brush and with it help finish fine details and lines: individual strands of hair, eyelashes, lip line. Always remember that when working with watercolors, even in the darkest places, the paint should remain transparent.

9. It's best to work on the background in parallel with the whole portrait, but you can leave it for later. The main thing is that the background should not be worked out more than the face, but negligence is also inappropriate here.

Conclusion

We hope you have generally learned how to paint a portrait with watercolor. Well, now it's up to practice, because only direct work with watercolors will give you self-confidence, as well as the necessary experience and skill. Creative successes to you!