Posing your subject surrounded by a few props can add much attention, dimension, and appeal to a portrait and goes a long way to describing your subject. A prop can add considerably to the composition of the portrait.
Sketching a portrait with a prop, such as a table or even ear muffs, obliges you to particularly pay heed to the complete arabesque.
Quite often the beginning artist will be tempted to approach a prop as a separate entity or an afterthought so that rather than complimenting and blending in a supporting function with the subject’s face, it looks contrived and overwhelms the subject or is incorrectly proportioned or rendered.
In this expose you will learn the expert approach to rendering a supporting entity that frames the center of interest even with a supporting entity that is bigger than the face.
First, the presence of a prop does not alter the approach to drawing the pencil portrait. As with rendering any other portrait, you should utilize all your usual basic skills and apply them throughout the normal processes of your rendering effort.
So as always, you begin with the arabesque which in the case where the skull and the supporting entity overlap will be a “construct” which is a complete arabesque that encompasses not only the shape and proportions of the skull but also of the outline of the supporting entity where it overlaps with the skull.
In the context of the presence of a supporting entity that overlaps with the skull, the construct becomes of crucial significance. It helps a lot with the maintenance of cohesion. If you do not draw from the reference of a construct, the skull and the prop will appear as separate structures.
While you work through the subsequent stages of your portrait rendering (proportions, landmarks, blocking-in, stumping, etc.) you should constantly be aware of the fact that your supporting entity should not overwhelm the face of your subject.
The face of your subject should remain the primary focus. Your drawing should not turn into a still life of your supporting entity that also happens to show a person’s face in the background.
One trick that can help you with understating of the supporting entity is to only draw the merest of details inside the supporting entity. Another one is to soften the values of the supporting entity but only if it this appropriate in the context of the overall intent of your drawing.
Again, we cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining the cohesion between your subject and the supporting entity. That is why it is significant that you draw from the construct which already links the subject and your supporting entity as one overall object. Of course, this also implies that you do the toning in a similar spirit and not overdo the lines and values that separate the subject and the supporting entity.
So, in closing, the prime considerations when including props elements in your drawing are to make sure that the arabesque covers the entire outline of the skull and the props elements.
In addition, be sure that at all times you keep in mind that the props elements should never become the focus of your drawing. If you stick to these guidelines, the utilize of props elements should never become a problem for you.
Do you want to learn the secrets of pencil portrait drawing? Download my brand new free pencil portrait drawing tutorial here: portrait drawing tutorial.
Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and practiced drawing teacher. See his work at graphite pencil portraits.
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