Drawing hard?

Question

Im not really talented in drawing but theres a t shirt with this beautiful girls face on the back... Do you do the outline first and then shade... Any tips anything helpful please tell me

Answer 1

In order to draw a successful portrait it's important to understand the proportions of the face. You should be able to find a detailed description of that online.
Everyone's face though, for the most part, as the features set in the same place...same distance from each other, same point on the face.
I usually like to start by drawing in the lines very lightly where the features will go, and then softly drawing the outlines of the features before I shade. When outlining, you always want to draw softly...the shapes from the facial features come from highlights and shadows, not from lines, and you want to make sure you are able to remove them as much as possible.
After I have all the lines in I begin shading. Generally, it isnt the best idea to focus completely on one area at at time. You can do that if you'd like. Generally though, it's good to work on the whole image at the same time...do a little bit in one part, move to the next part, etc. If you DO want to work at one part at a time, make sure when you're doing the eyes that you do go back and forth with those. There have been PLENTY of times that I've worked super hard on one eye, I've been happy with how it looked, and I went to do the second eye and it wasn't as good. This creates an imbalance to the face. That's also why you want to work around the entire image...it helps create a better balance.
There are many books avaliable on portrait drawing if you are interested in checking them out...also it's important to check out shading techniques. They're not very easy at first, and it takes some time to have them down well.
Good luck!

Answer 2

It depends on what feels comfortable for you. Although most people I know would draw the outline first. When shading, remember its easier to erase light marks...so start light and then go dark if necessary. Also, when drawing the hair, find a "clump" of hair and concentrate on it, then move on to another "clump" (rather than try to draw all the hair at the same time).

Answer 3

if you want realistic portraits i would start with the eyes as every detail evolves around the eyes like eyes are one eye apart from each other and the mouth starts in the middle of the pupil and so on try a site for portraits they are good teachers