Portraits: Master the basic theories and techniques of painting portraits in acrylic

by Susan Miller Bradbury

Overview

Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits is a fitting addition to Walter Foster's new dynamic technique and project-driven series devoted to introducing aspiring artists to the fun and engaging world of acrylic painting. Painting portraits is a fundamental subject for any beginning-to-intermediate artist. With a fresh and simple approach, Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits teaches fine artists everything they need to know about setting up and rendering beautiful, dynamic portraits in acrylic. Beginning with an introduction to a variety of tools and materials, artists will learn how to select the right brushes, palettes, paints, paper, and surfaces for their work. Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits also provides valuable information about color theory and mixing for skin tones, planning a composition, and achieving proper perspective. Additionally, artists will learn a range of basic painting techniques, including glazing, scumbling, and stippling, as well as how to paint from photographs, create ambient lighting, arrange a composition, work with multiple subjects, and more. Through simple step-by-step projects, artists will discover how to approach a portrait, beginning with a sketch and progressing to a beautiful finished piece of acrylic artwork. With a diverse range of subjects, artists will find guidance, tips, and stunning artwork to inspire on virtually every page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600583933
Publisher:	Walter Foster Publishing
Publication date:	06/13/2014
Series:	Acrylic Made Easy Series
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	446,286
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

More than 85 years ago, Walter Foster—a well-known artist, instructor, and collector—began producing art instruction books from his home in Laguna Beach, CA. He originally wrote, illustrated, printed, bound, packaged, shipped, and distributed them himself. Although Walter passed away in 1981 at the age of 90, his legacy continues in a growing product line. Walter Foster Publishing now provides how-to books and kits to millions of enthusiastic artists worldwide who enjoy the rewards of learning how to draw and paint. People who have never before picked up a paintbrush or drawing pencil have discovered their artistic talents through his easy-to-follow instruction books.

Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Tools & Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Acrylic Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Color Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Mixing Skin Tones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Planes of the Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

General Proportions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Approaching Facial Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Painting Wet-into-Wet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Capturing Personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Developing Rich Skin Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Telling a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Making a Modern Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using Opaque Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Working with Mixed Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Closing Thoughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64