3 Tips to Drawing Better Pencil Portraits

Better drawing=better painting. So today, I’m going to show you some tips on how to improve your drawing.

I’ll be basing today’s demo on an 8″ x 24″ commissioned pet portrait I’m working on. I’ll talk about and demonstrate shading, texture and how to smooth things out. 

Watch the video below and find out how to do it!

Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to teaching you more!

—Matt

Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts? Let me know, below in the comments. Please share this post with your friends!

Adding Early Highlights to Your Acrylic Portrait

Sometimes an acrylic painting doesn’t always go the way you want it to go. Then you need to make adjustments. And that’s OK!

In this video, I take a slightly different approach and add highlights to my painting early on in the process. Because my toning layer got a bit dark, I wanted to go back and strengthen the highlights, using titanium white and Indian yellow, diluted with matte medium to make it the application fluid. This allows those areas ultimately to have more luminosity and vibrance.

Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to teaching you more!

—Matt

Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts? Let me know, below in the comments. Please share this post with your friends!

Blocking-in on a 30″ x 40″ Acrylic Battle Scene Painting

The way we begin an acrylic painting is super important and determines, in many ways, how it will end up. In this lesson, I show you how to block in the value structure, using the classical glazing technique adapted for acrylics.

In this demonstration, I am using a 30″ x 40″ acrylic painting I was commissioned to create, a battle scene between ancient Israel and the Amalekites. I asked my friends to come over to my home early in the morning, at sunrise, and model for the painting.

Original reference photo for Moses, Aaron and Hur painting, ©2021 Matt Philleo

Yes, that’s me in the middle!

In this battle, when the Israelite leader Moses held up his staff, the power of God would flow. It caused the Israelite army to defeat their battlefield enemies. But, as the battle lasted for hours, Moses grew tired and couldn’t hold up his staff. Then the Amalekites got the advantage over the Israelites!

His assistants, Aaron and Hur came up with an idea. They had Moses sit on a rock. Then they held up his arms on either side, so once again, the Israelites could prevail.

This painting is meant to depict the struggle in praying, and how when others come alongside of us, they can ease the burden. Their faith strengthens ours, and we can get the victory!

Here is my layout for the painting that I edited on Photoshop…

Reference image for acrylic painting of Moses, Aaron and Hur, Battle with the Amalekites, ©2021 Matt Philleo

Now for the blocking-in video…

We start with an accurate sketch. Then, my goal is to quickly identify the major areas of contrast within the reference photo.

30 x 40 Acrylic on Canvas painting of Moses, Aaron and Hur in the Amalekite battle. Shown in the sketch stage. ©2021 Matt Philleo

Then we apply a layer of raw umber dark, ultramarine blue and matte medium to the shadow areas designated on the sketch…

Watch the video here to see how to do it…

Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to teaching you more!

—Matt

Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts? Let me know, below in the comments. Please share this post with your friends!