Shading on the face

In this Tutorial I will discuss how to pick out the different areas of shadows from your photograph. And I will show how that information translates to your pencil portrait.

Start with the basic layout of the head and face. You should have something like this.

Shadows on the face  

Identifying the different parts of the shadows on the face. There are highlights, cast shadows, reflective light, core shadows, and mid tones. There are several of each.

Lets start with the highlights. this is where the light hits the face directly, these areas will look white if the photo is overexposed. Keep in mind, not many spots on the face are white there is tone that lives there.

Look at the photo and see where the light source is coming from. In this photo there's a harsh light from the sun to his left. Notice where all of the highlights are on the face, these are the brightest areas where the sun hits the subject directly. 

The cast shadows are mostly on one side of the nose, under the brow, at the top of the eyelid, the center of the lips, around the neck, and where the hair meets the face. This photo has a cast under the hat as well.


Reflective light is coming from the jacket back onto the cheek. There is also reflective light off the nose onto the forehead, under the eyes, and in the eyes themselves.


Core shadows are going to define the shape of the face. Shadow around the upper lip the cheek, under the eyes, and around the mouth,


Midtones are all the values in between. These are mostly on the cheeks, the shadows coming from the side of the nose, and out from the mouth.


As you can see from the image below just taking simple shapes of the highlight, cast shadow, reflective light, core shadows and the midtones you can get a good idea of the depth and characteristics of the subject you are drawing.

If you would like to see a Photoshop tutorial on how I make the digital image leave a comment and let me know.
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