The course will begin with the basics of proportion and placement of the features of the face, and will progress beyond replicating a photograph. We will cover four different approaches to creating an expressive and unique portrait. The first 2 weeks will cover the foundations of portraiture using pencil. We will progress from here to include understanding different mediums through a variety of approaches, including:

Optical blending
Subtraction
Gesture
Chiaroscuro
Mixed-Media/Collage
Arbitrary color

Timeline

Week 1

Introduction, materials, structure of the course
Understanding placement of the facial features and proportions

Week 2

Proportions continued
Profiles

Week 3

Mark-making
Gesture

Week 4

Lighting the portrait and references
Understanding value
Building value with watercolor

Week 5

Optical Blending

Week 6

Mixed Media and the portrait

Materials (not included in course)

Watercolors
Brushes
Pens
Pencils
Eraser/kneaded eraser
Watercolor pad
Sketchbook
Water
Tape
Mixed-Media Supplies: modge podge, markers, tissue paper, found objects