Portrait Painting Tutorial - The 5 Essential Shadows of a Portrait
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- Learn my MOST Effective Oil Painting Techniques in Only 4 Minutes:
alex-tzavaras....
In this portrait painting tutorial, realist painter Alex Tzavaras shows you how to place the 5 essential shadows of a portrait.
Connect with Alex:
/ alex_tzavaras
alextzavaras.com
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Here are the summary for
5 essentials shadow :
1. Establish the main areas of light and dark by mapping it with simple straight line.
2. Unifying the shadow with the background in order to pull out the main areas of light.
3. Paint the shadow shape with raw umber; start from eye, under nose, upper lip, bottom lip.
4. Massing the light, main areas of light, placing highlight
5. Clarify the shadow
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Write this down makes me remember this 5 essentials of shadow, this video really helpful for me. Thank you..
You're good up until 5. 5 should read, mix an opaque shadow value (dark grey) and paint in the shadows. Then 6, mix a mid tone in between the shadow and the main light, in order to round the form and soften the edges in between the shadows and the lights.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting thank you for the revision :)
6. make sure you eat lots of Bananas so your path to regressing back to primate is complete
@@donovanfisher6945 what
RETURN TO MONKEY 🐒🧎♂️🚶♂️@@donovanfisher6945
I was in a portrait workshop yesterday morning that I used this tutorial. I want to thank you. It helped me organize my thoughts in the beginning of the portrait process.❤🙏👍
You are such an unbelievable skilled artist my friend. I’m truly learning with your videos. Thank you!
Awesomeness of this video will always be under appreciated thank you for posting it
Thank you for watching!
You have generously given away your secrets,now all I need is your skills
Well done and thank you
Frostie
You are amazing, Alex. Thank you for sharing. 🙏
You are an amazing teacher! I am learning from you things that nobody else ever thought to teach. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity!
Thank you very much! Glad you find my videos helpful.
I'm shocked and grateful these videos are free 🙏 I'm learning so much
Thank you Drake! Glad you find my videos helpful.
Beautiful work. Thank you for these master classes.
Thank you so much for another brilliant demo. Utterly absorbing and inspiring to watch you work.
So excellent as always. My favorite channel.
Thank you! Very glad you think so.
Fantastic tutorial, great advice, love your channel
Thank you! You're an amazing teacher and so clear and simple.
Thanks Mel!
This is absolutely genius. Wow.
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
I can't thank you enough for all the videos and knowledge you offer us. Really, thank you!
My pleasure!
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting keep being awesome!
Fantastic. Please, continue these tutorials 🙌🏻👏🏻
Although being a practicing artist for years, I have learned immensely from your videos. Your videos are much more helpful than some other video lessons for which one has to pay. A big thank you.
Thank you very much! Glad you find my videos helpful.
Amazing and informative as always☺️♥️Thank you so much for your teaching!!
Thanks again for sharing knowledge!
Fantastic video and commentary. Thanks
it could not be more usefull. thank you for all this videos
This is so amazing, clear and wonderfully helpful,
MSG Leum
Thank you very much! Glad you liked it.
Bravo again,wonderful!❤️❤️❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you Cathy!
the flat brush does a fantastic job on structures, the stiff bristles are good for expressive finishes
A excellent explanation easy to follow ,easy to watch
Well done
Frostie
Thank you Kenneth. Glad you liked it.
Always get useful info on accurate portrait painting. Thanks.
Thank you Ruth! Glad it was helpful.
That is brilliant using the picture-frame as a pallet. Nice study!
Thanks Shannon
Excellent video, extremely helpful, thank you so much for sharing your technique
This is the best explanation for painting faces I've ever seen, so far. I have always been terrible with faces, and this has helped so much. I've improved literally in about an hour of practice because of this.
Oh yeah, and you're incredibly talented and inspirational, or whatever.
Thank you very much! Glad it was helpful
Super video! Great instructions. Very clear. Namasthe
Thank you! Glad it was helpful.
I LOVE U ALEX TAVARES OR HOW EVER U SPELL IT. UR VIDEOS ARE THE BEST THANK U !!!!
Thank you! Glad you like my videos.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting of course mate, please keep uploading. You have a really professional understanding of communicating the process. These short demos are very digestable also. cheers.
brilliant video. very clear and helpful. thank you!.
great lesson, thx for sharing
such impressive work.
Fantastic tutorial. Thank you for uploading it. This channel is amazing. The center lines, also known as guidelines or cross-contour lines, are absolutely essential when working on a portrait because the head is a symmetrical form. For any form that is symmetrical the center lines must be kept in mind constantly to maintain the sense of symmetrical structure of that form. When something seems "off" about a drawing, 90% of the time it is because of it not appearing to be a symmetrical form.
When the head is seen from a full front position the symmetry is obvious to see and the two dimensional image of it shows the symmetry clearly, and it is easy to draw it symmetrically. But if the head is turned at all the head no longer appears symmetrical in the two dimensional image seen by the eye, but the structure of that form is still perceived and felt to be symmetrical but seen from an angle. If the guidelines are not carefully kept in mind and only two dimensional visual observations are relied on, like vertical and horizontal alignments, the two dimensional shadow masses in the picture can subtly slip out of place and no longer show the symmetrical structure of the three dimensional form being depicted.
Sketching in these center lines and constantly keeping them in mind, help make sure that the finished portrait will show the head with the feeling of being a symmetrical structure, as it truly is. All symmetrical objects require this carefulness when they are drawn or painted from anything besides a full front or side profile position. A car for example is precisely symmetrical, so the center lines should be carefully observed and maintained to show it as a symmetrical form.
When drawing and painting from life you need to pay attention to the two dimensional visual information, like the vertical and horizontal alignments, comparative measurements of proportions, the degrees of angles, etc., but at the same time you need to incorporate your knowledge of three dimensional forms in space. This knowledge includes linear perspective, anatomy, proportions, circles and ellipses in perspective, and the effects of light and shade on three dimensional form. But perhaps the most important aspect of this is the knowledge of symmetrical forms, and the use of center lines to keep them in symmetry when seen at an angle. Just copying what you see is oftentimes not enough. You need to combine it with this knowledge to be able to draw and paint precisely yet at the same time easily and efficiently.
Excellent tutorial - thanks.
Thank you Keith! Glad it was helpful.
Great video, very useful. Alex it would be nice to give a few tips on how you solved the lighting in your studio or make a video on the subject. Thanks!
That's a really good idea. My next few videos are all going to be on materials, and light is the most important material of all!
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Great! It will be of great help to me personally and to others of course. Greetings!
Very informative. Thank you
Thank you! Glad it was helpful.
That amazing artwork
Thank you!
I believe you brother , and I believe your art. Thanks
Thank you very much Yamato San!
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting no, Thank you sir.
thnks alex ..u r such a nice trainor ..
Learned a lot from this, thank you!
Thank you Finn!
It legit looks like you are sculpting with the paints; i like how this turned out
Thank you!
Great video thank you for sharing 😊🙏
Thank you!
Nice work 👍
Thanks!
Always look forward to your videos
truly eye opening... thank you so so much for the insight
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful.
Estoy sorprendida de que al comprender se puede alcanzar este trabajo tan bien hecho Tenía tiempo tratando de a partir de una escultura pop oder representarla con óleo. Estoy más que feliz
Remarkable. You are a great tutor. Thank you.
Thank you! Glad it was helpful.
Brilliant! Thank you
love your videos must have a go on this you are o true master alex looking forward to the next video
thank you! Found it very useful
Thank You so much for this guide.
Thank you 😍 fabulous !!
Thank you for watching Yael! Glad you liked it.
..so beautifully done..thank you
I appreciate your videos! They help me a lot^^
Thanks Paul!
Brilliant!
Thank you very much! I have learned a lot from this video! ❤
Always find your explanations very clear and concise 👍 thank you 🙂
You are really great artist!
Thank you very much Nika!
Wow. Very useful. Thank you
Beautiful!👌
Subscribed!💐
Great video! Keep em comming
Thanks for another great video. I would love to see one tackling the issue of glare, that comes from your brushstrokes reflecting light so you can't see what you are doing. This is the biggest obstacle I have found in painting with oil paint. No matter how I set up my lighting the glare is a constant problem that always seems to become the main focus of the painting session, rather than all he things I should be focusing on.
One way of reducing glare is to tilt the top of your canvas slightly forward towards you. If you have an easel that will allow you to do so? If your easel tilts away from you, then you are much more likely to have glare. The thing that produces glare is the direction of the brushstrokes. As paintings are usually lit from above its the strands in the sideways brushstrokes that catch the light and produce glare. So you will have less glare if you use downward brushstrokes. You can reduce the glare of any sideways brushstrokes by gently brushing over them to change the strands from a sideways to a downwards direction. The best brush to use for this, is a large flat soft haired brush. And you must make the brush is clean, wipe it after each brushstroke.
Brilliant
Thank you for sharing this
Excelente . Maestro....
Awesome! I learned lots from this I'm gonna work more, but please Alex make a video on how to add details too, Thank you!
have you seen my Velázquez master copy videos? filmed from start to finish in real time, in 3 parts. Part 2 is where I add the details to th eyes nose and mouth:
ruclips.net/video/MgYIDQyvAWU/видео.html
Oh, Thank you I had not, i'll watch it.... THANKS!
So much trickier than you make this look....great work Alex.
loved it thx !!
Amazing artist! Thank you for all the explanations. Can I ask you what you use as pallete to mix your paints on
Thank you Yve! I like to use a glass palette because it's easy to clean. I have several, but the one for most of my demos (because it fits nicely into the camera shot) is just a cheap ready made picture frame from Ikea. I think it cost around £10?
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Thank you ;)
Great as aways.
very good
Thankyou ✨
Thankyou. These are a big help :D
OH SENSEI !!!
Wonderful guide! Obviously this is with oil, but I will keep all this in mind while I work with gouache :)
Amazing thank you
Thank you Sir
Thank you!
I'm new to paint but I love it! I love your videos there very helpful but I was wondering what you are painting on thanks!!
Thanks Chandler! Glad you like my channel. The surface I'm using here is oil primed linen, so it's quite a non absorbent surface. My next video is actually going to be about supports and painting surfaces.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting awesome I can't wait to see it!!
Great thank you. Did you say your Patreon channel only has PART 1 of this painting? Or the entire painting of Joan?
The full demo is available to watch over on my Patreon in 3 Parts.
Thank you.
You're welcome Valentyn. Thank you for watching.
What's really cool is how I'm realizing that even though I've never taken any lessons...my techniques and approaches to painting are very similar. I've always done similar things when sketching and painting. The layering of shadows and paint is what's essential in making the overall process easier in the end.
Expertly done my friend
انت معلم رائع 👏🏻 شكرا لك
yes, very helpful, thank you very much
Dear Alex, thank you for this helpful video and the excellent content of your channel. Can you please tell us which solvent you use ? Maybe, a video on solvents and their application could be interesting? Regards
Thank you Louis. For this video I used a prodect called Zest-it. Which is a prodact made of citrus and much safer than other solvents. I only use it more the wash at the start that I did in order to tone the canvas. After that I just paint with pigment out of the tube. I made a video about how and why to tone your canvas, where I talk about solvents:
ruclips.net/video/6CvZo-t43vQ/видео.html
I also mention solvents in a video I made on cleaning brushes:
ruclips.net/video/TvnHa4lGAFc/видео.html
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting Thanks! Regards
I would love to see a video on tackling portrait painting from references with no shadows. There are several portraits that I want to paint from reference photos where the lighting is directly from the camera or phone. Thanks
I'm thinking of doing a video on working from photos. Or more precisely, how I use photos. I only ever work from references that I shoot myself and I usually take quite a few with different exposure settings. I also do colour studies from life.
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting thank you!
Hi Alex, wishing that for some reason you'll read this, can you tell something about the kind of light you use to paint at night? The tipe, the power you use.... Thanks for your usefull advices.
Hi Alberto, when I can't work in daylight, I use have one of these:
www.essentialphoto.co.uk/product/pixapro-vnix-led1000b-bi-colour-led-panel-with-dmx/
You can adjust the temperature, so that it is ever so slightly Warner than normal daylight bulbs, 5000K rather 5500K. Nowadays with LED technology there are quite a few lights like this available and quite cheaply compared to how much photographic lighting used to cost:
neewer.com/collections/led-panel-lights
Hey great video. What is the surface, and did you prepare it at all before starting?
Thanks. I did this on a piece of ready made, oil primed linen taped to a board. Which I cut to size to fit the camera angle. I like working on quite a slick surface so I usually oil primed linen. But I normally make my own supports with raw linen, wich I prime myself with oil primer by a company called Robersons. Its cheaper that buying ready made oil primed linen. My next video is going to be on making supports.
If you don't mind me asking: you show us your palette and your mixing, but do you use any mediums or thinners? Or is that paint straight from the tube and straight onto the canvas?
I generally don't use very much medium, I use paint straight from the tube. Particularly for most of these demos as they completed in a single session. However, I do sometimes use medium if I have to come to painting after it has dried. I made a video on all things medium related, when why and what mediums I use here:
ruclips.net/video/22zHMjpdK2Y/видео.html
@@SIMPLIFYDrawingandPainting great! Thank you. I just watched the linked video. All very good :)
Amizing
Which is the best side to do a portrait from?Is it with the shadow side away from you , rather than facing you?
That depends. The shadow side facing towards you is usually easier to paint because you have definite shadow shapes you can lock into. When you're facing the light side the modelling is much more subtle as there are no shadows, making it harder to paint. But really it's a matter of taste, the shadows tend to make a more dramatic moody portrait, where as flatter lighting IMO tends to be more natural as it's how we normally see people in everyday settings. Shadows tend show off more bone structure, so they make men appear more rugged and handsome, but they also show off folds of skin etc. so they will make your sitters look older. For this reason I usually prefer to paint women and children with the light side facing me.
Impressive, what medium do you use to add flow to the oil?
Thanks Dante! I used very little medium in this painting. I mixed in a few drops of thinners into the raw umber when I masses in all the shadows and the background at the start. Then for rest of the painting I just used the paint as comes out of the tube. To get more flow I mix more paint. It helps that I'm working on oil primed linen, which because it is a less absorbent surface will allow the paint to move more. So some of the flow comes form the surface rather than adding medium. However, I did use a little medium for the really dark background I used to silhouette the outline of the Joan's head right at the end. The medium allows the these larger brushstrokes to go down a little more evenly. The medium I used was a mixture of stand oil mixed with turpentine 50/50. But as I said I use medium very sparingly and mainly paint with the paint as it comes out of the tube. In fact, my next video is going to be on mediums, as this is a question I get asked a lot.
Hi Alex/ I was curious what surface you work on for these exercises?/
Usually oil primed linen, I've made a couple of videos on the supports:
ruclips.net/video/2bgKUTmnvG4/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/RVU7GKa33a4/видео.html
I have bad experience with solvents. Will my painting gets too fat early if I use blocking in technique with paints straight out of the tube?
The fatness refers to the amount of oil that's mixed into the in the paint. So if you paint with just paint out of the tube without using any oil based medium you should be ok.
Thanks
wow
Hi Alex, I've been painting portraits and i get the shape of the head wrong everytime, can you please give me some tips?
Thanks!
You might find this video helpful on mapping out the features in a portrait:
ruclips.net/video/7CtFkjpzVjQ/видео.html
I struggle so hard w this. I can draw the individual features fine like love drawing eyes, sometimes love noses, fine w lips but and getting lost in the little details, but putting the whole face together??? proportionally and capturing the likeness is such a struggle. Idk why I can't seem to piece it together into a face. Even when I just try to make a blob head w shadows I struggle w getting the shape right. I wonder if I have a bit of facial blindness or just tend to tunnel vision instead of being able to see the big picture