If you want to paint someone’s portrait, you will find it to be a very specific project as you are trying to capture the essence of someone specific. The way in which you craft your subject makes a big difference, as it cannot be ill-shapen or the finished product will be ruined. Discovering how you would create a portraiture requires that you learn different things than if your interest were in other styles of art, therefore it is of the utmost importance that your are familiar with specific ways of painting in order to produce the best piece possible. A lot can be accomplished with just a handful of cheap modern art supplies and a vision of what you want.
Looking at the Person…
Being a portrait artist begins with a close inspection of the person you are painting so that you can bring out the qualities that differentiate him from everyone else. A vital component of this process is your own talent to observe, as you are charged with figuring out how to structure everything in order to really breathe life into the work. Some particulars about a person’s appearance are really unnecessary to include. There is no point in trying to dot every freckle into the work. Certain aspects of the way people look tend to strike us immediately. This is what you want to capture in your painting.
Depicting People…
A lot of art students who learn to do portraits, whether with an oil or acrylic based paint set, have a problem with the skin of the subject. Another hurdle they have to get past is the delicate balance of light and shadow required to coax out the real beauty of the person. With regard to mixing paints for skin tone, there is really no specific formula that you can use since people come in different skin tones and textures. The answer to this is simple trial and error until you come across just the right mix to match your subject’s pigmentation. Other aspects of a person that can take time to get right are areas such as the ears or the upper part of the nose. Like I said, experiment and try out different ways on how to paint the body and the face to be able to come up with your own formula for paint mixtures and your own style in painting features.
A Simple Backdrop May be Best…
The person you are painting could have too much going on behind her. In the event that you want to include this backdrop in the painting, make certain that you don’t overdo it with the details, as it may draw the eye away from the intended target. Something else to keep in mind is that you can play with the levels of light and dark around the person you are painting in order to make sure that the spotlight is on her. Just like in photography, if you know how to use light and shadow, your portraits will definitely have a much stronger effect on people than a portrait that is plainly the way it is with no touch of light whatsoever. Making this real impact on a viewer is what every artist strives to achieve, no matter what the chosen subject may be. It’s what makes creative endeavors so rewarding. Where else can you achieve such a response using nothing more than a quality cheap stretched canvas and a handful of other low-cost supplies.