1. Portraiture
Drawing the Human Face, Step-by-Step!
Beginner’s Tutorial
by Emily Valenza

2. Check out 500 Years of Portraiture in Western Art

3. 1. Draw an Egg Shape.
The narrow end will be
the chin.
The wide end will be the
top of the head.

4. 2. Draw a dotted line vertically
and horizontally through the
center of the face.
These lines should be drawn
very lightly with a 2H pencil.
They will be erased when you
finish your drawing.

5. 3. Lightly draw an imaginary
eye where your dotted lines
intersect.
Your eyes are an eye-width
apart. This “imaginary eye”
helps to measure the distance
between your eyes.

6. 4. Draw an eye on both sides
of the imaginary center eye.
The eyelids curve around
your eyeballs to create an
almond, oval, or football
shaped opening!
Don’t forget to add irises and
pupils.

7. 5. Make a mark on the center
vertical line that is an eye-length
from the middle of the face,
and draw three small circles.
These circles will be the tip of
your nose and your two
nostrils.

8. 6. Darken the bottom edge
of the circles and add a
bridge to your nose.
You can make this shape
rounder, pointier, wider, or
more elongated depending on
the type of nose you’re
drawing.

9. 7. Draw vertical dotted lines
from the pupil of each eye.
This will help you draw your
mouth in the correct place.

10. 8. Draw a line that traces the
shape your lips make when they
meet in the middle between the
dotted vertical lines.
Each set of lips makes a unique
line, look here:

11. 9. Draw the shape of your
bottom lip.
Is it thin, thick, wide, or
narrow?

12. 10. Draw the shape of your top
lip.
Is it angular, smooth, full or
thin?

13. 11. Draw an eyebrow over each
eye. Observe your eyebrows
carefully to see what shape
they are!
Pay attention to the direction
the hairs grow.

14. 12. Draw horizontal lines that
extend from the eyebrows
to the bottom of the nose.
These lines will help you
place the ears.

15. 13. Draw the ears in the
spaces made by the
dotted lines.
Look closely at the ears
to add the inner folds
and details.

16. 14. Draw two swooping lines,
beginning wider than the mouth,
for the neck and shoulders.
(There should be enough space
on each shoulder to fit one
head-width!)

17. 15. Add a shape for the outline
of your hair.
Pay close attention to the shape
your hair makes on your
forehead!
Use wavy or curvy outlines to
show hair texture!

18. 16. Erase all the lines you don’t
want, and add details like:
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shading & textures
clothing
hair accessories
hats
jewelry
birthmarks
freckles
scars

19. These rules are helpful, but the most
important skill you can practice is
observation:
● Look carefully in the mirror or at your model. Note the
exact shape of the face, eyes, nose, lips and ears.
● What is unique about the person that you see? Glasses?
Braces? An awesome hairstyle?
● Make sure to add these details to achieve a likeness.

20. Find the unique details in the face
you’re drawing!

21. There are infinite ways to draw each
part of the face!
Examine the next few slides to see a
few ways to draw each facial
feature.