Exercises that TRANSFORMED my Portrait Drawing

Binge Drawing
Binge Drawing
17,517
0
Published 2024-07-03
When I got back to drawing two years ago, my portrait drawings lacked structure, depth, and art style, and getting them to look somewhat believable was a long and often frustrating process.

Recently, I have been practicing a lot and just exploring different exercises to improve my portrait drawing skills, and in this video, I share 6 of my favorite exercises that have improved my ability to draw consistently better faces as a beginner over the last couple of years.

🕗 Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:59 Exercise 1: Drawing sculptures
02:59 Exercise 2: The Bargue method
05:00 Exercise 3: Skull practice
05:49 Exercise 4: The Loomis head
07:03 Exercise 5: The Bridgman head cube
08:10 Exercise 6: Master studies

📂 Free resources that can help you learn and practice these portrait drawing exercises:

• My favorite sculpture references on Pinterest www.pinterest.com/Ammardraws/sculpture-drawing-ref…
• Digital scans of the Bargue plates that are in public domain www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=charles%20bargue%…
• Proko’s tutorial on the Loomis Method    • Quickly Draw Heads with the Loomis Me...  
• Loish’s stylization exercise that shows how you can be more intentional with your drawing style    • Stylization Exercise with Loish (LIVE...  
• Stuff I have learned so far in my journey to get better at drawing faces shared on my tiny art blog bingedrawing.com/

✎📖 Books and art supplies I own (Affiliate Links):

• Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis amzn.to/3XOC8Ef
• Charles Bargue and Jean-Leon Gerome: Drawing Course amzn.to/4eRycbY
• Constructive Anatomy by George Bridgman amzn.to/3Lb0ald
• Miniature skull amzn.to/3RNXPAb
• Faber Castell Series 9000 Pencils amzn.to/3RVnKGh
• Blackwing Pencils amzn.to/3LaHcLq



Guys, this happens to be my second video on Youtube and I would love to hear your feedback so I can improve my next video! And please do consider liking this video and subscribing to my channel so the algorithm gods are kind to me!

Thanks so much for your interest and support
All Comments (21)
  • @laschizo
    Amazing video, very useful for beginners! I own the Loomis method book, but I had never heard about the other books you´ve mentionned, I´m definitely going to give it a go! As for studying sculptures and the masters, it is something that all the most skilled contemporary artists I know of speak about! I´ve personally never tried, it´s the beginner´s temptation to just skip the steps and draw whatever you want believing yours skills will magically improve. I guess it works for some people, but I it is most likely the way to go if you want to up your game!
  • @gwdavidson065
    It's nice to see videos where the artist shows how they started and the progress they have made, thank you.
  • @sketchbookhero
    Awesome Videos!!! Links in your description- AWESOME Exercise 1: Drawing sculptures Exercise 2: The Bargue method (COPY) Exercise 3: Skull practice Exercise 4: The Loomis head Exercise 5: The Bridgman head cube Exercise 6: Master studies
  • @rabplaysguitar
    You should absolutely keep up the work on YT. I really love the light touch you have with your pencil. This video greatly summarises the mindset required when drawing portraits, or anything volumetric for that matters. Big shapes, proportion and structure ❤. Subscribed
  • @DudeWhoDraws
    This is good stuff! Well done, good vid 👏
  • @Wisef1sh
    0:34 bulls!sht your literally at the peak. Stop gaslighting your self. Your art is dangerously amazing
  • @coldhj5443
    Coming from fellow graphic/artist, you are amazing! Do not doubt your skills and keep going!
  • @uptoourpass
    A lovely, unassuming intro to portrait drawing. I've been avoiding the practice, but recently took photos of sculptures that will now prove useful. Thank you for sharing your extraordinary talent.
  • @fCLEF007
    I have found Bridgeman's very useful. I like your video :)
  • @hanahimetyo
    ParabÊns por seu trabalho! Deu-me ânimo para voltar a estudar os grandes mestres. Obrigada pelo vídeo!
  • @El_gazar
    You are amazing Keep going ❤
  • @bettywildflower106
    Thank you so much for sharing these art tips! I’m glad I came across your channel in the right time(the start), I’ll be able to watch every video you post and improve in my art journey ❤️ Could you please enlighten us on achieving likeness in portraits, I struggle with this aspect and I’d love to watch your take on it
  • @iHyRisk
    I love your videos so far but please push your site a bit more. That’s where we can find the real gold! Thank you for everything.