Draw with Aisling!

How to draw a self-portrait

Here are the Vincent Van Gogh portraits that we looked at for some inspiration...

Now you can draw your own self-portrait!

What you will need: A pencil, a rubber, a ruler and a sheet of paper.

Think about what you want to tell the viewer about yourself. How can you show this in your portrait?

What (if anything) do you want to include in the background of your self-portrait?

Are you using colour or will it be in black and white? Will it be a pencil sketch, or will you colour or paint it afterwards?

Look at the shape of your face in a mirror or in a photograph. Is your face …

Oval

Square

Round

Heart - shaped

Oblong ???

Now follow these steps to work out the proportions (measurements) of the face.…

Step 1 : Once you have decided the shape of your face, leaning lightly on the page with your pencil sketch out that shape. I chose the heart shape.

Step 2: With your pencil very lightly draw a line half way vertically and half way horizontally through your shape. Round out the edges of your shape to form the outline of the face.

Step 3: Lightly with your pencil, divide the horizontal line in to 5 equal parts. You can use a ruler to help you do this or you can do it by eye. Number the parts from left to right (1-5)

Step 4: Divide the bottom half of your shape in half again by drawing another horizontal line (lightly again with your pencil as these line will be rubbed out at the end).

Step 5: In the bottom section of the shape below the line you have just drawn, make a mark half way between your last line and the bottom of the shape. This is where the mouth will go.

Step 6: Draw the eyes between the sections you have marked as 2 and 4. These will be an ellipse or sideways oval shape.

Step 7: Now you can draw the nose which will go just above the horizontal line through the bottom quarter of the shape. The width of the nose will be no bigger than the gap between the eyes.

Step 8: You can now draw the outline of the mouth on the mark we made for this.

Step 9: More detail can be added to the mouth and the nose. You can add in the bridge of the nose and the top and bottom lip.

Step 10: The ears are drawn between the same lines that mark the middle of the eyes and the end of the nose.

Step 11: Add in some eyebrows. They are usually thicker towards the centre of the face and get thinner as they go out to the edge of the face. Use the inside point of the eyes as a guide where to start them.

Step 12: Now it’s time to start rubbing out some of those marks and lines and adding in more detail to the face such as the creases above the eye lids and the pupils in the eyes.

Step 13: Add in the hair paying attention to the shape of your hairline when you look in the mirror or at your photograph.

If you want to add in any objects in the background or foreground of your portrait to give the viewer some clues about your personality, now is the time to do it. You can use your pencil to add in shadows and tone with shading or you can add colours that represent your mood or personality with whatever you have at home.