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By Brenda Miller


There is beauty in art and there is art in a portrait that was originally from a photo itself. But it is not easy to engage in this nor will it be easy to learn it. But everything can be perfected with practice. As such, we shall discuss how to do it first. We are going to teach you Hand Painted Portraits from Photos.

Choose one photo with a lot of good highlights. Also shadows. Try picking one that has a good range from light and then to dark. Pose your model so there will be a few shadowy areas on its face because this adds dimension to your painting. Once you have that image, cut this photo to the right size of a canvas or maybe even a panel.

Trace the simple lines of the photo. Do the same for the highlights that come with it as a neat little trick. And do not forget your shadows since those add a realistic sense. After that, lay down your colors for this portrait.

Next is starting with its eyes. Fill the whites inside the eyes before everything else since it is very dire to discern that those are not really white all of the time. There are shadows or variations on is white parts. Also, block your shadows. Blocking in all the darks help get a sort of feel for its shapes on the face.

Put in the midtone colors. Start from the darks then to the lighter ones. As you do this, you will be able to see the planes of its face starting to take its shape. Lips are of skin tone colors so remember that they are not always red. Paint light colors afterward.

Paint its lightest colors on the top of it. Light areas ought to be pretty warm so mix a peachy color with it mostly white, umber, crimson and yellow. When lights are blocked in you should see a three-dimensional face take shape. Then the fun part comes by adding the definition and its details.

Hair is prioritized next. Brunette hair is tricky sometimes so do not just addburnt umber to white to get some light brown because it will only turn gray. Lessen the use of white and black to make your colors more realistic and vibrant. Try using ultramarineand a bit of umber for its darkest parts and yellow plus crimson for the light strands.

Finish up all the highlights of the portrait and tiny details. Those eyes need a sparkle to have a reflection so busy yourself with that. Adjusting the details? Master that too. You will only little highlights so avoid getting carried away.

Assuming you have not painted its background already, use colors that are not of the same tone as your subject. Do minimal for the most part and crop in very tight on your subject so it will stay simple. When deciding to tackle art head on, be creative and open minded as well as simple. As a practice, try painting a portrait of your own face as a nice start. Happy Painting.




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