Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture

Learn how to use structural forms with multiple planes to create experimental pencil portraits from observation of the human figure

• Introduction
• What You Will Need for the Course
• Warming Up
• Portraits of the Head: Naturalistic versus Schematic
• Experimentation
• Final project

Drawing people and portraits is an opportunity to tap into a centuries-old tradition and continue the legacy of the talented creatives before us. Artist and teacher Dan Thompson aims to uncover the mysteries of the human form through his portraiture. His work can be found in both public and private collections around the world, and he teaches at the New York Academy of Art, among others.

In this online course, Dan shows you how to use structural forms and planar modules to interpret an experimental portrait drawing from life. Learn how to use graphite to draw the body as an aesthetic blend of construction, plane, and morphology. Are you ready to create perceptual portraits from scratch?

• About Me
• Influences
• Materials and Tools
• What Is a Planar Portrait?
• Drawing a Simple Block: A Lesson in Structure
• Drawing the Head Block
• Drawing the Trapezoid: A Lesson in Taper
• Optical Information 1
• Optical Information 2
• Optical Information 3
• Optical Information 4
• Tonal Information 1
• Tonal Information 2
• Tonal Information 3
• Tonal Information 4
• The Schematic Drawing 1
• The Schematic Drawing 2
• The Schematic Drawing 3
• Interpretive Values 1
• Interpretive Values 2
• Experimenting within the Head 1
• Experimenting within the Head 2
• Experimenting within the Head 3
• Experimenting within the Head 4
• Experimenting within the Head 5
• Experimenting within the Head 6
• Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture