3 Techniques for Incredibly Realistic Portraits

Summary

In this engaging portrait painting demonstration, the artist shares three key techniques to enhance realism in portraits. First, they use an abstract approach to painting hair, avoiding cartoonish details. Second, they emphasize the importance of color variation within tonal values to achieve lifelike colors. Lastly, they focus on softening edges to mimic natural transitions, drawing inspiration from the work of Diego Velasquez. The demo showcases how to create texture, manage light and shadow, and capture the essence of the subject's likeness, all while maintaining a realistic and vibrant portrayal.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The importance of choosing the right subject and capturing their unique features for a realistic portrait.
• 🖌️ Using abstract mark-making techniques for painting hair to avoid a cartoonish look.
• 🌟 Ensuring accuracy in light and dark tonal values for maintaining the three-dimensional appearance of the portrait.
• 🎨 Adding color variation within each tonal value to achieve lifelike colors and avoid a monochromatic look.
• 👀 Focusing on the main center of interest, such as the eyes and nose, to capture the likeness effectively.
• 🌈 Identifying and softening edges to mimic the natural gradations found in reality, as hard edges are rare in nature.
• 🖋️ The influence of historical artists like Diego Velasquez on the understanding of realism in portrait painting.
• 🎨 The technique of using a variety of grays and violets for painting beards while keeping edges soft.
• 🌟 The strategic placement of highlights in the beard to avoid making gray or white hair too light.
• 🖼️ Simplifying complex details by replicating texture rather than copying every strand, for a more realistic appearance.
• 🎨 The use of midtones to recreate the effect of the background showing through thinner hair, as a more efficient technique.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the portrait demo in the script?

The main focus of the demo is to showcase three techniques that can make portraits more realistic, using Andrew as the subject with a distinctive beard.

How does the artist achieve a greater degree of realism in the portrait?

The artist achieves realism by focusing on half a portrait, allowing more time for detail, and using techniques such as abstract mark making for hair texture, accurate tonal values for three-dimensional appearance, and adding color variations within each value.

What is the first technique demonstrated for painting hair?

The first technique involves scrubbing in a thin layer of raw umber with a large bristle brush to create the appearance of hair strands, leaving some brush strokes visible for texture.

Why is it important to have accurate light and dark tonal values in a portrait?

Accurate tonal values are essential for maintaining the three-dimensional appearance of the portrait, as incorrect values can cause the image to lose its realistic quality.

How does the artist add lifelike colors to the portrait?

The artist adds lifelike colors by introducing variations within each value, using warmer or cooler notes, and ensuring that the colors are of the correct value to avoid a monochromatic look.

What is the significance of softening edges in a portrait to achieve realism?

Softening edges is crucial because there are very few hard edges in nature. Leaving too many hard edges can make the artwork look cartoonish and graphical, so the artist uses gradations in value to create soft transitions between shapes.

How does the artist handle the details around the eyes to make them appear realistic?

The artist avoids painting both eyes with the same level of detail, as this is a common mistake. Instead, they identify one or two hard edges by squinting and then soften the edges of the other iris to mimic how we naturally focus on one eye at a time.

What is the third technique for adding realism to portraits, as mentioned in the script?

The third technique is softening edges, which involves creating gradations in value between two adjoining shapes to mimic the natural transitions found in reality.

How does the artist approach painting the background to maintain the lifelike appearance of the hair?

The artist uses a midtone to recreate the effect of the background showing through the thinner hair around the edges, avoiding the need to paint individual strands and focusing on the overall texture and value gradations.

What advice does the artist give about adding details to a portrait?

The artist advises against adding small details all over the portrait, as they can be distracting and detract from the lifelike appearance. Instead, they suggest focusing on replicating the texture and color variations.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Mastering Realism in Portrait Painting

The first paragraph discusses the artist's excitement about the portrait subject, Andrew, and his unique beard that allows for a half-portrait focus. The artist outlines three techniques for enhancing realism in portraits: abstract mark-making for hair, adding value variation for lifelike colors, and softening edges to mimic nature. The demo is part of an Alo Prima portrait painting course on Patreon, and the artist demonstrates these techniques step by step, emphasizing the importance of accurate tonal values and the avoidance of cartoonish details.

05:00

🖌️ Painting Hair and Edges with Realism

In the second paragraph, the artist delves into the specifics of painting hair and edges for a realistic effect. They explain the use of cool and warm midtones to create soft transitions and the importance of observing variations in color between different edges. The artist also discusses the common mistakes made by beginners, such as over-lightening gray or white hair and adding too many highlights. The paragraph concludes with the artist's approach to painting the background, using midtones and avoiding detailed strand-by-strand rendering for a more natural appearance.

10:02

👀 Capturing the Essence of the Subject

The final paragraph wraps up the demo by summarizing the key points and techniques discussed. The artist emphasizes the importance of not copying every detail, but rather replicating the texture and color variations. They also remind viewers to minimize hard edges and accents for a more realistic portrayal. The artist invites viewers to watch the full-length version on Patreon or the next video for more in-depth instruction on painting edges, concluding with a thank you and well wishes for the viewers' painting endeavors.

Keywords

💡Portrait Demo

A portrait demo refers to a demonstration or tutorial showcasing the techniques and steps involved in creating a portrait. In the video, the artist is conducting a portrait demo, focusing on achieving realism in the painting of a subject named Andrew.

💡Realism

Realism in art refers to the accurate and true-to-life representation of the subject matter. The artist in the video aims to achieve a high degree of realism by focusing on details, color variations, and edge treatment.

💡Abstract Mark Making

Abstract mark making is a technique where the artist uses broad, expressive strokes to capture the essence of the subject rather than focusing on minute details. This approach helps avoid a cartoonish or overly detailed look.

💡Tonal Values

Tonal values refer to the lightness or darkness of colors in a painting, which contribute to the perception of depth and three-dimensionality. Accurate tonal values are crucial for a lifelike portrait.

💡Color Variation

Color variation involves using a range of colors within the same tonal value to create visual interest and mimic the complexity of real-world colors. This adds to the realism of a painting.

💡Center of Interest

The center of interest is the focal point in a composition that draws the viewer's attention. In portrait painting, this is often the eyes or other facial features that convey the subject's likeness.

💡Softening Edges

Softening edges in painting involves creating gradual transitions between colors and shapes, which is more reflective of how objects appear in reality as opposed to having hard, sharp lines.

💡Hairline Texture

The texture of the hairline refers to the appearance and treatment of the edges where the hair meets the skin. This is crucial in portrait painting for achieving a realistic depiction of hair.

💡Highlights

Highlights in a painting are the areas that receive the most light and appear brightest. They are essential for creating a sense of depth and realism.

💡Background Gradation

Background gradation refers to the gradual change in color or tone in the background of a painting, which helps to create a sense of depth and context for the subject.

Highlights

The speaker is conducting a portrait demo, emphasizing the importance of realism.

The subject, Andrew, has a distinctive beard that covers his mouth and jaw, allowing for a half-portrait focus.

Three techniques are introduced to enhance the realism of portraits.

The first technique involves using a large bristle brush to paint hair, creating a texture by leaving brush strokes visible.

The second technique is about achieving lifelike colors by adding variation within each tonal value.

The third technique is softening edges to mimic the natural world's lack of hard edges.

The speaker uses a fan brush and paper towel to create interesting textures in the hair.

Blocking in main areas of light and shadow is crucial for maintaining a three-dimensional appearance.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of the eyes and nose as the main center of interest for likeness.

The speaker discusses the common mistake of painting both irises with too much detail, which can make the eyes appear unrealistic.

The speaker demonstrates how to soften the edges around the hairline and beard for a more natural look.

The speaker advises against adding small details everywhere, as it can be distracting and reduce the lifelike appearance of the work.

The speaker shares a technique for painting the background to create a lifelike appearance of hair through midtone and gradation.

The speaker mentions the influence of 16th-century Spanish painter Diego Velasquez on the use of soft edges for realism.

The speaker concludes by summarizing the key points for achieving realism in portraits: texture, color variation, and minimal hard edges.

Transcripts

I reckon this just might be one of the

best portrait demos I've ever done I

have a fantastic subject Andrew with

this rather tesque looking beard because

it covers his mouth and jaw this is

essentially only half a portrait this

means I'll be able to achieve a much

greater degree of realism in the time I

have available so keep watching because

I'm about to show you three techniques

that will make your portraits much more

realistic stick this is also the latest

demo on my Alo Prima portrait painting

course which you'll find over on my

patreon channel the first technique is

really great for painting hair here I'm

scrubbing in a thin layer of raw umber

with a large bristle brush and do you

see how the strands in the brush Strokes

resemble strands of hair later on I'll

be adding more colors to the hair but

I'm going to leave some of these brush

Strokes showing through in the plate

places where the strands are more

visible if I tried to paint individual

hairs they'd end up looking cartoonish

and graphical so instead I'm using an

abstract Mark making technique to

recreate the texture of the hair here

I'm placing a few more strands with a

large fan brush then here I'm wiping

back the hair with some paper towel

which also creates an interesting

texture next I'm blocking in the main

areas of life and Shadow I'm then

placing two more tonal values the

highlights and a midtone to round the

form in between the shadows and the

lights it's absolutely essential that

you get the light and dark tonal values

accurate or else your image will lose

its three-dimensional appearance however

just getting the values right isn't

enough to make a portrait lifelike so

here I'm mixing a warmer version of the

flesh color that I used for the main

areas of Light which I'm going to place

on Andrew's nose and cheeks this brings

me to the second really important

technique that will add realism to your

portraits to achieve lifelike colors you

need to add some variation within each

value the world presents us with a

myriad of different colors so if you

only use just one color for each value

your work will look monochromatic all it

needs is a few warmer or cooler notes

but you can also add more intense colors

to make your work even more colorful and

vibrant as long as they're the correct

value they will still appear lifelike

once you understand this principle

mixing color becomes a lot easier

because it's actually the variation

itself that makes colors appear

realistic rather than trying to match

any particular color exactly here I'm

taking some of the raw Umber and I'm

using it to place the iris in the right

eye I'm starting to add the smaller

shapes and details to the area around

the eyes and nose this is my main Center

of Interest as it holds the key to the

likeness but if I paint both eyes with

the same level of detail they aren't

going to appear realistic this is

because when we look at someone's eyes

we never focus on both eyes at the same

time it's a really common mistake to

leave the edges around both irises hard

and cut out but if you want to paint

eyes that are truly lifelike you need to

identify just one or two hard edges you

do this by squinting then as you

gradually open your eyes look for the

edge that appears first when I squint

the hardest Edge that I see is on the

right Iris so here I'm softening the

edges of the left Iris this is the third

and probably the most important

technique for adding realism to your

portraits softening edges there are very

few hard edges in nature so if you leave

too many it's a Surefire way of making

your work look cartoonish and graphical

one of the first artists to really make

use of this principle was the 16th

century Spanish painter Diego Velasquez

in this early painting of three

musicians painted in 1618 we still see

lots of Hard edges but in his later

portrait of juanda perea painted in 1650

we see a massive breakthrough in realism

there's literally only a couple of hard

accents on the right side of the face

and the edge of the left Iris soft edges

are essentially gradations in value

between two adjoining shapes so the best

way to create them is to actually paint

the transitions here I'm taking some

cool midtone which I'm placing along the

edge at the top of the mustache this

creates a soft transition where the

darker hairs Fade Into the lighter flesh

just above it then I'm taking some of

the warmer Shadow color and I'm placing

this along the edges of the hair just in

front of the ear and below the mustache

the reason these edges appear warm is

because the hair is casting a shadow

onto the flesh whereas The Edge at the

top of the mustache appears cool because

the light is shining through the hair

I'm now softening the edge of the

hairline even more by placing a middle

value in between the Shadow and the LI

of Flesh the secret to painting

realistic hair lies in recreating the

quality of the edges around the hairline

and it's it's really important that you

look for the variations in color between

all the different warm and cool edges

here I'm mixing a much cooler gray color

which I'm placing along the edge of the

beard on the left side of the face I'm

using a variety of Grays and violets for

the beard and I'm keeping the edges

really soft and do you see how this

variation between warm and cool already

makes the hair appear lifelike even

before I add any details here I'm

scratching out some of the hairs with

the back of my brush but I reckon that's

too much information if you want your

work to appear lifelike you must avoid

adding small details all over the place

as they'll be distracting so now I'm

mixing a much lighter cool gray color

which I'm using to place a few

highlights in the beard and I'm painting

over some of the hairs a mistake I often

see when beginners paint someone with

gray or white hair is they always make

it way too light you need to remember

that it's actually only the highlights

that are light the rest of the hair will

be much darker you also want to avoid

adding too many highlights or once again

they'll be distracting and you'll lose

the lifelike appearance with the beard

complete I'm now taking some raw Umber

and I'm starting to refine the edges

around the the outside of the face here

I'm using a soft head brush to place a

warm midtone along the hairline at the

top of the forehead the edge here is

really soft where the hair sweeps back

from the lighter flesh next I'm placing

some shadows in the hair and I'm

defining the left side of the face this

appears much firmer where it's

silhouetted against the darker hair

behind it but I still mustn't leave the

whole of this Edge equally hard so so

here I'm mixing a middle value with one

of my smaller brushes even when we see a

hard outline if we want it to appear

realistic we still need to add some

variety this is because we can never

Focus all the way along an edge at the

same time so once again I'm squinting

down and I'm looking for the places

where the edge appears firmest which is

at the top of the forehead and just

above the cheekbone I'm then sof it a

little everywhere else now I'm mixing a

cool gray color made with just raw Umber

and white which I'm going to use to

start massing in the background I see

that there's a gradiation in the

background so I'm making it lighter as

it moves towards the right then here I'm

mixing a gray violet color instead of

trying to paint all the strands of hair

sticking out on either side of the head

I'm using a midtone to re recreate the

effect of the background showing through

the thinner hair around the edges this

is another really useful technique for

creating the lifelike appearance of hair

here I'm mixing a lighter version of The

Violet midtone the edges are really soft

so I'm placing an additional gradiation

in value between the hair and the

background this is a lot easier than

trying to paint individual strands and

it appears much more realistic there are

some strands of hair visible but these

are from the brush Strokes that I placed

at the start which was the first

technique that I showed you for making

your work more realistic so remember

whenever you have an area with a lot of

complicated detail don't try to copy

them all instead look for ways of

replicating their texture then make sure

you add variations of color within each

of your values and finally try to keep

hard edges and accents to an absolute

minimum so what do you reckon was this

one of my best demos if so you can check

out the full length version over on my

patreon Channel or watch this video next

for a more in-depth view on how to paint

edges until next time thanks for

watching and good luck with your

painting