How to Block in Colors and Values in Your Acrylic Portrait

/ Shading Uncategorized Video Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo

Unlock the secrets of color and value: a step-by-step guide to acrylic portrait painting

Creating a beautiful acrylic portrait involves several steps, and one of the most crucial is blocking in colors and values. This stage establishes the foundation for your painting, allowing you to build layers of detail and depth. In this blog post, we will delve into the process of blocking in colors and values, drawing insights from me.

What is the best way to start an acrylic portrait?

Do you just begin with a white canvas, and fully paint everything from left to right, as you would in a drawing?

That’s how I used to paint, until I learned the glazing technique. I would painstakingly render every detail, and move across the surface of the canvas. But I always had a lot of white canvas staring me in the face.

After learning the glazing technique, instead, I could begin to slowly develop the portrait, like an Polaroid photograph.

Psychologically, it felt less intimidating. And it was fun to watch the process of the painting methodically taking shape.

In this video tutorial today, I’m going to show you how I begin my painting–what colors I use, where I put them and why, using this 16″ x 20″ commissioned portrait of three children…

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What if You Lose the Likeness From Your Sketch?

/ Tips and Techniques Video Tutorial Written Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo
/ 4 COMMENTS

You have some time to paint over the weekend. You set up your reference photo, knock out a nice looking sketch, and then excitedly start to paint…

But something happens.

After a few layers, things start to unravel. Suddenly, it just doesn’t look like the person you’re trying to do a portrait of anymore. You paint some more in an attempt to restore what you lost in the sketch, and now you’ve only made it worse!

Frustration sets in.

Can I fix this painting? Or do I have to start over? How much time did I spend on this already?

I had exactly this question asked of me by a student…

I can get a good likeness with the sketch but I seem to lose lots of the likeness after a few layers of paint. What do you think happens? –Ron

My answer back to him will be the basis for this article today. I think it will benefit you as well, if you have lost your likeness after sketching. I know I have!

Here’s some tips to prevent the likeness in your sketch from being lost in your painting and also, how to get it back on track if you do.

1. Seal in Your Sketch

I know this sounds simple, but if you just start painting over pencil the thick paint on your brush will lift off some of the pigment on your canvas and it will smear. The end result is a muddy mix of paint and pigment and lost detail.

First of all, use colored pencil instead of graphite pencil to do your sketch. Burnt ochre or a similar color works best. Then carefully seal in the sketch with a wide synthetic bristle brush and matte medium.

Once it’s dry you will have a barrier between your sketch and your paint.

2. Paint Lightly at First

When you start your actual painting process, I recommend to use thin glazes of paint (tiny bits of paint mixed with generous portions of matte medium) and gently block in the color and value. You want to just barely see the change between the white canvas and the color you’re putting down at first.

Then, as you add more layers and depth, you can get aggressive with your paint. (At least compared to how you start out!) In the beginning, you’ll use a ratio of 90% medium to 10% paint and then later, closer to 50-50.

By going light, you will preserve the detail of your sketch beneath. Only toward the middle to the end of the painting process will the sketch get completely covered up.

3. Convert Pencil Lines to Paint

Paint over the details of your sketch intermittently with round brushes as you paint the large areas with your flat brush. It will be a constant push-and pull between blocking in large areas of value and color, and fussy detail work. Toward the end of the painting you will be favoring more of the detail aspect of your painting.

As you darken in some of these pencil lines, you’ll ensure you don’t lose that valuable detail that you laid out in the sketching stage while applying large layers.

If you’d like to learn more, sign up to receive my portrait painting tips via email. I’ll send you video lessons to show you how to paint a realistic portrait in acrylic step-by-step!

Get My Latest Acrylic Portrait Painting Tips!

4. Emphasize Value Over Line

Remember that it is shading and value–those differences between light and dark with all the subtle variations–that describe a three dimensional illusion on a two-dimensional surface.

Lines can’t do that.

Only shading can.

The lines in our sketch are there to tell us where to put the shading in during the painting process. And if you do some shading during the sketching process, even better. Then you’ll be able to just enhance those areas with paint.

It is the shading (the use of value) that tells us how large someone’s chin is, or the roundness of their nose, or fullness of their cheek, or boniness of their forehead.

So, my point is this: do some shading on your sketch, and that will help your painting process along.

5. You Will Lose the Likeness to Some Degree

That’s normal. Happens to me all the time when I paint. Knowing this ahead of time will clear your mind of unrealistic expectations so that your frustration level can go down…and you can paint to the best of your ability.

The reason that the likeness inevitably does get lost is that as you’re adding these various values in different places, there will be some spots on your painting that are just less finished than others. You may have painted the eyes about as dark as they are in the reference photo, but the eyebrows haven’t “caught up” yet.

Or maybe you added some deep shadows under the chin, but you haven’t quite dialed in the shading for the cheeks. If the person’s chubby cheeks are a main part of their features, then missing this aspect can really throw off the likeness.

And this can go for parts all over the face.

I am working on a painting right now of three children as I write this blog post, and the likenesses aren’t quite there yet. In fact, they look “off” to me. But I know that if I stick with it, it will work out. I prayed that God would help me to do it well, and I believe He will.

However, as in all of life, there’s a struggle we have to go through to get to the other side. You can’t have the mountains without the valleys. So, I’ll stick with this, keep looking at my reference photo, keep praying and putting paint on the canvas.

And the end result, by God’s grace, will be a fantastic painting that the client will love.

So for you, this means that as you bring all the unfinished areas of your portrait to completion, eventually, the likeness will not only get restored to how it was during your sketch, but it will be even better.

6. Get Critiques of Your Work

When you’ve tried the other tips and you feel like your painting is way off track you may want to consider getting a critique. If you have an artist group where you meet in person, that may be a good way to go. I have a Facebook group as well if you need some quick feedback. If you haven’t already, I invite you to join the group. The folks there are very helpful.

Also, I do personal, one-to-one video critiques that you will show you precisely what you need to do to fix problem areas of your painting. Learn more here.

7. Start Over…If You Must

I don’t recommend starting over a painting, except as a last resort. I think it’s much better to stick with a painting and resolve problem areas to build confidence in your skills as an artist and to save time and money.

But if you find yourself sinking way too much time into the painting, reworking the same area over and over, and the texture is built up so much that you want to sand it off, it may be time to start over.

If the painting is in the beginning stages, and the composition or likeness was wrong from the start, then re-doing it may be the best choice. It may take less time to just start over than try to rectify your mistakes. You’ll have to look at your painting and ask yourself “how far off is it?” Sometimes we get hard on ourselves as artists (we’re perfectionists by nature) and it might be just a tiny thing that can make all the difference.

I had a painting like that. It just didn’t look like the guy. Then I added a reflection on his eye that took all of one minute to paint–and that did it. It was him!

So, get a second opinion with a good critique, and then you’ll know if it’s worth it to start over. The person critiquing your may be able to give you an idea of how far off the rails you are. You may be closer that you think!

And there you have it: 7 tips to help you how to not lose your likeness, or if you do, how to get it back. Let me know how this helps!

Blessings to you and your painting,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

5 Steps How to Sketch an Acrylic Portrait Freehand

/ Shading Sketching Step-by-Step Tutorial Video Tutorial Written Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo
/ 5 COMMENTS

Using a grid or tracing can be a great way for artists just starting out in portrait painting to create a lifelike, accurate sketch. It also can help experienced painters either save time or get their proportions a bit more accurate so they can concentrate more on their painting process.

But sometimes, it’s fun to just “throw off the training wheels” and do your sketch freehand. In fact, drawing freehand will enhance your ability to see intricate spacial relationships, shapes and contours that are vital at any stage in your painting.

You’ll learn to capture those small nuances that will make a person look like them.

What is the best way to draw freehand?

I’m not going to say I have the best method, but it has served me well in over 20 years of doing portrait art. I’d like to share that with you today, using this 8″ x 10″ commissioned portrait as an example…

Tools needed:

Canvas
Burnt Ochre Prismacolor colored pencil
Electric pencil sharpener
White smooth eraser

Here is the 15-minute video tutorial. The drawing took almost an hour.

The rest of this tutorial–showing the entire process, from sketch to finished acrylic portrait painting (about 7 hours of video instruction)–will soon be available as an online class. You can get access to it, and several other pre-recorded painting courses by becoming a member of Realistic Acrylic Portrait School.

Join Realistic Acrylic Portrait School Today

And now, here are the steps, based on my video, broken down…

Step 1: Locking in the Composition

In this step, you want to plot out where your drawing is going. Here’s a few rules of thumb for a good composition and accurate initial proportions…

-Fill the image area as much as possible
-If you were to draw an imaginary line 1/3 of the way down from the top of the canvas edge, that line should go right through the middle of the face.
-Don’t let any major lines touch the edge of the “picture plane” (edges of the canvas)
-Look for the overall shape of the head: Is it oval? Long? Short and wide?
-Use light, short, choppy strokes to capture everything at first. It will be much easier to adjust and erase.

Step 2: Suggesting the Facial Features

After plotting out your composition, you want to start filling in the facial features. It’s good to draw lightly at first. We just want to get the basic location on the face and the overall impression of what they look like.

Start with the eyes. The eyes (and eyebrows) are THE most important feature to capture correctly on a face.

Ask yourself…

-Where are they located in relationship to the top and bottom of the head? Usually eyes are right in the middle, but that can vary from person to person.
-Are they large or small?
-Are they close together or far apart? Usually eyes are about one-eye-width apart from each other.
-Are the eyebrows straight or curved? Angled up or down? Thin or thick?
-How much of a distance is there between the eyebrows and eyes?
-What’s the shape of the eyes? Narrow? Rounded? Angled?
-How much of the top eyelid is showing? Some people have prominent upper eyelids. With others you can hardly see it.
-Are the eyelashes thick or thin?

Now, these questions will come more into play later on as you refine the sketch, but for now at this stage, just get the general idea captured.

Next, you’ll move down to the nose. It’s important to see the distance between the eyes and the nose and draw that. The shape between the nose and eyes forms a triangle. If you can get a sense for that shape, it will really help you out. Is the triangle wide or long?

I am not saying to draw a triangle on your sketch. Just use the concept to see that spacial relationship between the eyes and the nose and draw it accurately.

Notice the particular shape of the nose and nostrils and draw it in. Are the nostrils prominent or obscured? Is the nose wide or skinny?

Then, move down to the mouth. You’ll want to just get the overall shape. Here’s some rules of thumb for drawing the mouth…

-The top lip is usually thinner than the bottom lip
-When smiling, the edges of the mouth usually line up with the middle of the eyes

-Don’t draw the teeth in too prominently. Just suggest them. Remember that the two front teeth are larger than the rest. -The bottom teeth, if showing, are slightly more than 1/2 the width of the top.

Step 3: Redefining the Facial Features

In this step, you will want to go over everything–the eyes, nose, and mouth: making sure your shapes are accurate. The overall size and proportions should be mostly locked in by this point. So what you’ll want to do is make sure the shapes on all the features match what you see in your reference photo.

Continue to ask yourself some of the questions in the previous step as you refine. And look at your reference photo 50% of the time to make sure you’re drawing what you see, instead of what you think you see!

Step 4: Shading in

Maybe it seems redundant to shade in during a sketch, but I find it very helpful. We don’t see any resting objects in this three dimensional world as separated by line.

No.

It’s the contrast between value and color that tells us where an object begins or ends.

So, line is great for plotting composition and initial shape of features, but it is not useful for actually conveying a three-dimensional form on a two dimensional surface.

Which is why I like to shade in my sketches.

Shading will tell you how puffy a cheek is for example. Or how much a nose protrudes outward. Or how small a chin may be. And if you can capture that in the sketch stage (without too much fuss) it will really help you in the painting stage.

The heavy lifting will be done for you. All you’ll have to do in the painting stage is darken those shadows and add more nuances to tie them together. And of course, add color information!

I use the side of my pencil to block in the shadows in large areas. For smaller areas, I’ll use the tip of the pencil.

Step 5: Final Touches

The portrait sketch should be looking almost done at this point. Basically, you just want to go over everything, and make sure all minute proportions and shapes are accurate. The BIG proportions should be dialed in by now.

This step should take just a few minutes.

Keep in mind, you won’t get the sketch perfect. There may be a few areas that are getting hard to erase because you’ve drawn over the area so many times.

That’s OK.

Many small mistakes can be corrected in the painting stage. As long as you have everything close, you’ll be fine.

Once the drawing is done, you can step back and look at it from a distance just to make sure you have the likeness captured close enough. If so, you will have a good foundation to begin your portrait.

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How to Paint Realistic Wrinkles in Acrylic: My New Course

Everyone has at least a few wrinkles.

And so as portrait artists, we need to learn how to paint realistic wrinkles–whether we’re painting someone old or young. Painting wrinkles well can really help to capture a person’s likeness in a portrait. They can add so much to the personality.

But it’s not easy. There’s so much to it: the shape, the coloring of the shadows, the highlights, and the blending. How do you do it, without it looking fake?

Do You Struggle To…

paint wrinkles that look like they are actually wrinkles?
paint the creases from nose to mouth convincingly, to make it look the person is really smiling?
show the expression and personality of the person by painting the wrinkles in the forehead correctly?
paint the different nuances in light and shade, the shadows on the wrinkles and how to make them look natural?
choose, mix and blend the colors to create realistic shadows and skin tone?
accentuate the wrinkles without making them too prominent?
create smooth gradients on your wrinkles, with correct shadows and highlights blending together, cohesively?
see the correct shape of the wrinkles from your reference photo and accurately represent that on your canvas?
capture the likeness of the person you’re painting by painting wrinkles realistically?

If you’re an an acrylic portrait painter who struggles with painting wrinkles, then I’d love to help you get better at it.

Enroll Today!

Paint Realistic Wrinkles

Introducing My New Course…

“Paint Realistic Wrinkles in Acrylic”

Why did I decide to do a course on painting wrinkles?

I’ve been painting portraits in acrylic for nearly 25 years and teaching classes for the last two. During that time, I’ve taught over 100 students how to paint an acrylic portrait, step-by-step. That course covers a lot of material and it’s been wonderful to see students take it and get noticeably better at their portrait painting.

But one of my students was really struggling with how to paint wrinkles. So I thought, “Why not teach an online class on it?” After getting feedback from my other students, I realized there are other artists who struggle with this as well.

And so, now I’m excited to teach you, too, how to paint wrinkles realistically!

What will we cover in the course?

Why painting wrinkles well is important and how it can make your paintings better
The 5 different kinds of wrinkles in the face and how to see them accurately, so you can paint them accurately
How to sketch wrinkles accurately, and do the “heavy lifting” here so the painting part is way easier.
Choosing the right colors, mixing and blending so they don’t get muddy.
Achieving accurate values for both the colors and highlights so the wrinkles actually have depth to them
Finishing up with a gentle touch, painting smooth gradients, resulting in a portrait that just begs to be looked at
And more!

Here’s How We’ll Do it

> This is a brand new course, so I will teach a lesson every week, recorded in my studio on Tuesday and released Wednesday morning for the next four weeks. I will upload them to this site, and you will get instant access as soon as they are up. The lessons will start June 6th.

> Each lesson will be about an hour long, and broken up into smaller segments so you can easily watch them and come back to them when you like.

> I’ll respond to your feedback and questions, making sure I’m teaching exactly what you need to succeed.

> You will have lifetime access to these videos on this site (as long as technology holds out) and can watch them at your own pace 24/7.

Enroll Today!

Personal Critiques to Help You When You Feel Stuck

If you need extra help, I’d be happy to record a personal video just for you and critique your work. I’ll point out any areas that could be corrected or refined. I’ll show you exactly with my Crystal Clear Critique method of drawing on top of your reference photo and your portrait in progress, while explaining how to improve an area you’re struggling with. You’ll know exactly what to do to get your sketch or painting back on track.

Paint Realistic Wrinkles

Getting a Critique is Easy & Effective:

Step 1: In the critique, you email me ([email protected]) a photo of your work in progress, and the reference photo(s) you’re working with, along with your comments on what you’d like addressed or any frustrations you have.

Step 2: I’ll set your portrait up on my video screen and set up the recording.

Step 3: Then I compare and contrast your painting with the reference photo, literally showing you gently (but clearly) what’s working and what could use improvement. This is all on a private, personalized video, not in a group setting. So you never have to feel awkward as if anyone else is judging your work!

Step 4: I send the recorded video back to you (usually within 24 hours or less), where you can access it online via a personalized link, just for you. The critique will typically be about 15 minutes long.

Step 5: You take whatever suggestions you like from my critique, and incorporate them into the painting. Your painting looks great. You feel great about it. You finish the sign the painting and hang it up, send it to the client, or give it to that loved one!

There’s no need to be frustrated or confused! Just ask for a critique. (Critiques are available for the Academy and Master level only.)

Will it Work?

You might be thinking, “Matt, I know you can teach this stuff, but will this course work for me?” I want to ensure you that it will: if you watch the lessons, put them into practice, and ask me any questions if you aren’t sure about something.

I can’t promise you’ll paint a portrait like Rembrandt. That’s just not a realistic goal starting out. But I can guarantee that your portraits, and more specifically, your ability to paint wrinkles WILL improve as a result of taking this course.

Here’s just a small sampling of comments I receive from my students. It makes my day!

“Wow! This class is one of the most amazing classes I have ever attended. I really felt like I was present in the classroom. You have taught each and every important part of gridding so well. And your lively talks kept us all smiling all the time. Thanks a lot for the excellent advices.”

–Aastha Thakur

“Just a quick thank you for your help. I had written down the colors that you used for your glazing technique on portraits and I can’t believe how much easier it is for me now. I have been dreading this portrait that I volunteered for since last year… I was using too opaque of colors and it caused me to be nervous to lay down any paint in fear that I would make a mistake. The glazing technique is more forgiving and it was like it flowed off my paintbrush. I’ve had blending gel but never really used it so now I’m going to buy stock in it. LOL. I can say that this portrait I’ve done is my best and I have an emotional bond with it because of the circumstances.”

–Keri Sparenga

“I enjoy your videos & courses very much indeed. My paintings have improved like I never thought possible, thanks to your teaching .i am doing another commissioned painting now, I will send a pic when it’s completed. Thanks again for all your help…… ps I clicked YES!! Have a good weekend ttyl.”

–Keith Foss

Hi Matt,

Thank you so much for the prompt critique! I always appreciate your insights and those little changes do make a big difference. …I questioned my sanity when I started the chequered shirt so I’m glad it paid off… maybe that’s good encouragement for the other patterned shirt!…. today I have 1600+ and have had 7.6 thousand comments!!! The response is overwhelming and I feel so blessed. Many people have contacted me to commission me to do larger pieces for them! So your realism skills have been extremely handy so far, my ability to pick shapes accurately and distinguish the areas for sharing make these fun little paintings just charming!

–Kelly Dywer

Enroll Today!

I feel so blessed that I can paint and teach portrait painting for a living, and to hear back from my students is extra special to me. These are the kinds of results that most of my students are experiencing, not just a select few. Now, just in case you’re still wanting a little extra assurance, I get you. I want to take away all your risk by promising you a bold satisfaction guarantee…

My Win-Win 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

Try the course for 30 days. Get some quick wins by trying out a few of the techniques. And if for some reason, you don’t see either the value of what I’m teaching or don’t feel like you’re getting the results you wanted, just email me and let me know. I will gladly refund your entire enrollment fee back, no questions asked.

However…

I only ask one thing: that you watch the lessons. Why? Because I know if you do, and utilize the techniques I teach you, they will work. If you are patient with yourself and consistently practice what you learn, you will see improvement.

Here’s how it will be a win for both of us: If you go through the course, and put the techniques to use, you’ll be able to paint a realistic portrait you can be proud of. And it will be a win for me, because I’ll be happy to see the amazing paintings you create. I’ll let other potential students know they can do it too–which will most likely increase enrollments in the class.

I will do everything I can to help you learn how to paint realistic wrinkles in acrylic. That’s my promise to you.

Paint Realistic Wrinkles

Imagine what it would feel like to finally paint a portrait that looks real…

…and looks like the person.

**A portrait you can be proud to hang on your wall or give as a high quality, unique gift.**

Enroll Today!

Let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to teaching you within the course!

All the best,

Matt Philleo, artist

Portraits to Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire

Blog: MattPhilleo.com

Web: Traditionstudio.com

Learn: RealisticAcrylic.com

Fine Art by Matt Philleo | 1404 Oxford Ave. Eau Claire, WI 54703 | Studio: 715-839-1126

P.S. Because of different time zones and schedules of potential students all over the world, we will not be doing live classes. But you will get immediate access to the lessons, after I upload them weekly on Wednesdays, starting June 6.

Enroll today. See you inside the course!

Enroll Today!

5 Steps on How to Paint Wrinkles in Acrylic

/ Facial Features Painting Wrinkles Written Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo
/ 39 COMMENTS

There’s nothing quite as difficult as painting wrinkles. There’s so many details and shapes to get right, and how do you shade them in? That’s what I want to answer in today’s post.

Learning how to paint wrinkles is a crucial skill for adding realism and depth to your acrylic portraits. Capturing the fine lines and textures of wrinkles can make a painting truly lifelike, conveying the story and character of your subject. With techniques like layering, shading, and glazing. This topic of wrinkles has come up a few times since I started teaching portrait painting two years ago, and most recently when a student asked me how to do it. I shared briefly the steps how in my previous article, “7 Questions About Portrait Painting, Answered.”

Now I want to dive a little deeper.

For an example, I’m going to use one of my favorite paintings–a portrait I did for my pastor, Philip Palser, of Bethel Church in Eau Claire, Wis., to commemorate his 80th birthday. As I write, he is turning 93 this month!

Acrylic Portrait Painting of Elderly Couple

Portrait of Pastor & Mrs. Philip Palser of Bethel Church, Eau Claire, Wis., 16″ x 20″ acrylic on canvas, by artist Matt Philleo to commemorate Pastor’s 80th birthday.

He actually doesn’t have to many more wrinkles than what he had 13 years ago. But they may have deepened a bit with age, signifying his experience. 🙂 Both he and his wife are in amazing health for their age.

Now back to the topic of painting wrinkles…

I’m going to show you just the portion of when they are older–mostly concentrating just on my pastor’s face, because his wrinkles are more apparent.

Step 1: the Sketch

I started with a sketch outlining the major details–such as the the creases around the mouth and the major wrinkles in the forehead.

Paint wrinkles in acrylic portrait

Step 2: Blocking in the Values

Next, I filled in the major values, without a lot of fuss. It is important to accurately define the shapes of the predominant shadows, and put them in their place. They need to stay within their pre-defined boundaries, which ideally would be outlined in the sketch. Now, of course strong lighting–in this case, from the sun–makes this a lot easier.

You may not always have control over this in your portraits, especially if you’re doing a commissioned portrait painting from a photo. But if you can, choose a photo that has strong lighting with a lot of contrast. It really helps model the face, emphasizing its three dimensional form.

Paint wrinkles in acrylic portrait

Step 3: Strengthening the Shadows

In this step, I am taking what I did in the previous step and darkening everything. I use burnt sienna and raw umber dark to strengthen the contrast. The vertical wrinkles especially in the man’s forehead and the horizontal crows-feet wrinkles by his eyes are more apparent now. But they are still pretty basic. I did paint in just a slight gradation on the wrinkles that run from the nose to the mouth. But it’s still pretty simple.

Paint wrinkles in your acrylic portrait

To explain, I broke down the shadows into three categories: the main shadow value, the secondary shadow value, and then the transitional value. These are terms I’ve made up just to differentiate between everything. If you keep things simple to begin with and build on a firm foundation, you will find it a lot easier to achieve the realism you’re shooting for.

It makes me think of a verse where Jesus says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

If you can teach yourself to see these abstract shapes within your reference photo, and then replicate them on your canvas, you will experience amazing growth in your skills as a portrait painter.

After getting these values locked in, the trick is to bridge them together with some shading and gradation. Notice the highlighted part of his face is flat.

That is OK.

Later, I’ll paint more depth in that area, but for now, it’s not necessary.

Would you like to learn more about how to paint wrinkles? If so, let me know by clicking the button below, and I’ll create a video tutorial/ course for you!

Yes, I’d like to learn more!

Step 4: Bridging the Gaps

Although I try to give these stages precise beginnings and endings, I don’t want you to think that I am only “bridging the gaps”–transitioning between values only in this stage. But it is at this time, that I’m concentrating on that the most. You can see I added more detail to the transitional value on his forehead.

Paint wrinkles in your acrylic portrait

And then, in the image below, you can see how I added more of the secondary value (the same value that’s within the wrinkles on the shadow side) to the vertical wrinkles between his eyebrow ridge and the crease alongside his mouth. Now what that does is add another layer of depth to the wrinkles.

And now also, the underside of the wrinkles look like they’re catching some light from the highlighted part of the face. And that increases the realism.

Step 5: Smoothing out and Finishing With Detail

In this step, I take what I built in the previous foundation, and embellish it. When you have a good foundation and you bring it far enough along, the structure of the wrinkles can just about stand up on their own. But by adding some more shading, we can really make it look nice–like putting on the trim. 🙂

Paint wrinkles in your acrylic portrait

What I did here was add highlights on top of the main highlighted area. This give us one more layer of depth to the face. I put the detail in for the horizontal wrinkles in the forehead as well as some highlights that heightened the creases running alongside the mouth. Some of the thin areas of the forehead wrinkles that you would think would be painted with small round brush were actually created by painting the lighter value and “closing them in.”

However, I would use a small brush to refine them if necessary.

Here is a detail image of the final painting…

How to Paint wrinkles in your acrylic portrait well

How to Paint Wrinkles in an Acrylic Portrait, with step-by-step tutorial, based off 16″ x 20″ acrylic on canvas portrait by Matt Philleo, final

That’s it for now. Hope you found this tutorial helpful. Let me know if you’re interested in learning more on how to paint realistic wrinkles in acrylic. As I write this, I’m considering doing an online course on the topic. But I need to hear from you first, to see if it’s something you would find interesting and benefit from. Let me know!

Have a blessed day, enjoy painting, enjoy life,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

Top 7 Powerful Techniques for Starting Out in Acrylic Portraits

Begin your portrait painting journey with confidence using these essential acrylic techniques

Are you just starting your journey into acrylic portrait painting? With so many techniques to learn, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why I am covering the essential techniques for starting out in acrylic portraits, from choosing the right colors and brushes to creating smooth blends and more. In this post, you’ll find answers to common beginner questions, giving you the tools to bring your portraits to life with ease and confidence! Let’s dive in and explore these foundational techniques together.

Today, I’m going to answer seven fantastic questions from a follower of mine named Andrea. The questions deal with everything from what colors and brushes to use, to blending, to some advanced techniques.

Read below to find out if one of your questions gets answered…

Q #1: What should be my basic color palette for portraits, and mixes for shading?

A: This is my basic palette for painting portraits. I would also have titanium white on it in the upper corner, by the indian yellow. Typically, I start out with raw umber dark and ultramarine blue thinned down with clear matte medium to block in the darker values. I make them into a very translucent glaze of 90% or more medium to 10% or less pigment. Eventually, I work my way into the warmer tones with burnt sienna, raw sienna, and alizarine crimson. The raw umber dark is used to counter-balance those glazes so they don’t get too warm/ orangish.

Q #2: What sort of brushes should I be using?

A: I don’t use anything fancy. Just brushes you can buy at your local art store in a multi-pack, ranging from 1″ flat/ 1/2″ flat, 3/8, flat, and a varied assortment of rounds from size 4 to 3/0. I go through a lot of brushes, so I don’t get anything expensive. But I do have a few nice ones for surface shading and the final varnish coat.

Q #3: How do I keep my paints from drying up, or drying immediately they are applied before I have chance to blend them? I do have retarder but should I be adding this to every color on my palette before I start?

A: No, I don’t recommend a retarder. Some artists like it, but for the classical glazing technique that I use, the faster the paint dries, the better (within reason). Basically, I love the quick drying glazes. It means I can be ready for another coat in about 10-15 minutes. I work various parts of the painting, cycling from the background to the foreground, from the hair to the face, from the clothing, the eyes–whatever. That way, when I move to another part of the portrait, it’s already dry and ready to work on.

Q #4: How do I shade?

A: I have five different ways to blend. Check out my latest blog post here for more info on these techniques…

How I Painted the Portrait of My Pastor and His Wife

Pastor & Mrs. Palser Portrait_new_pic2_sm.jpg

How I Painted the Portrait of My Pastor and His Wife

If you’d like to delve further into how to shade, I created a course on it: “Shade With Acrylic Like a Master.”

Q #5: In what order should I paint? I started with the background.

A: I sometimes start with the background, but not always. I want to establish contrast as soon as possible. So I try to fill in the darkest values first. It may be the background, but not necessarily. You can see the progression of how I work below on this example painting, “Smoldering Wick” (30″ x 40″ acrylic on canvas).

Notice, I filled in the darkest values first, and then moved to the lighter areas last…

Q #6: How do I tackle difficult aspects, such as deep creases from the nose to the mouth, the sides of the mouth and wrinkles?

A: I need to do a course on this. Others have chimed in as well, saying they really would like to see how it’s done. I’ll probably start out with a couple videos on the topic and then move into a longer course. But to answer your question, I’ll say this: look for the shadow first. Notice where the light source is at, and then the crease will be shaded on the opposite side. On the side facing the light, there will be a highlight.

Here’s how you do it:

You paint the shadow of the crease in first, with a thin that’s fairly faint, and that’s one layer.
Next, you go over that with another layer, that darkens just a few spots within that crease. In any crease or wrinkle, there will always be some areas that are deeper than others, and those need to be darker.
You paint a thicker line on top of the first line. This line should be even more faint than the existing line, and the color should be slightly warmer.
You paint a highlight on the opposite side. It should be about the same color as the flesh tone surrounding the crease, but a couple shades lighter and warmer too.
You may need to add a couple more layers to both the shadow and the highlight to blend it in appropriately.

One quick tip: start out faint and go progressively darker. This is the number one mistake I see in portraits. Artists notice creases and wrinkles, but they paint way too prominently.

Would you like to learn more about how to paint wrinkles? If so, let me know by clicking the button below, and I’ll create a video tutorial/ course for you!

Yes, I’d like to learn more!

Q #7: What colors should I use for each area, especially the top eyelid, the mouth and the shadows under the eye?

A: This depends on the person. You need to really pay attention to the colors in the picture you’re working from. Generally under the eye, the colors are a bit cooler, because the skin is thinner there and you see the blood vessels on the surface. So, use some ultramarine blue, alizarine crimson, and raw umber dark mixed together and thinned out into a very light glaze. Then go over the area under the eyes with that.

For the mouth, you’ll need alizarine crimson, and napthol red, but it depends on the person. Obviously, a woman with lipstick will need more red on her lips. But even some men have lips that are more red than others.

Let me know how this post helps in your portrait painting. (If you’re not an artist, but you found this interesting, I’d love to hear about it. )

May God bless your painting,

P.S. Is there a question YOU have that wasn’t covered in this post? Just ask! I’d love to help.

If you found this post helpful or encouraging, would you send it on ahead? Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much!

3 Common Portrait Painting Mistakes & How to Avoid

Do you struggle sometimes with getting your acrylic portraits to look lifelike? Many artists do. It may be possible that you are making one or more of the three common mistakes I’ll mention in this article.

I’ve been painting portraits for nearly 25 years, and teaching for the last two. While teaching and critiquing students’ work, I’ve noticed similar mistakes crop up again and again.

The purpose of this article is not to put anyone down.

My goal is to simply show you a few of these mistakes–identify and take the mystery out of them–so that you can be intentional as an artist and avoid making them in your portrait painting.

So, to demonstrate, we’ll use a photograph of an attractive young woman. I’ll post it here in it’s unedited form. Obviously, this is not a painting, but rather a photo. But since we strive for realism that would be on par with a photograph (or better if painting from life) this picture will be an example of a fantastic, realistic portrait.

Portrait painting mistakes

Notice the pose: the woman is smiling gently, the lighting is smooth and even over her face. If I painted a portrait like this, I would be very happy with the results, and I think you would too. The form of her face is accurate, the values, shading, tints and colors, are all in the right place.

That is why it looks realistic.

Now, using Photoshop, I edited this image, and I’ll do a side-by-side comparison between the original photo (we’ll call it the reference) and then the versions with the mistakes. I’ll show you three of the most common. But not many artists are aware of them. Here they are…

Mistake #1: Over-emphasizing certain details

Portrait painting mistakes

An artist may see a wrinkle under the eye for example, or running from the nose to the mouth, but the tendency is to make it way darker than it really is–in real life–or as shown by the reference photo. It’s great to be able to see the detail, but too much detail can detract from realism, rather than create it.

You’ll notice angle of the eyebrows are exaggerated. Even the freckles are too large and too dark. That happens often. We observe a feature, a characteristic on someone’s face. But then we overdo it. Like a caricature, we unintentionally make it too prominent. And that detracts from realism.

Mistake #2: Over-simplifying complex shapes or angles

Artists may see the wrinkle stretching from the nose to mouth that shows when the subject is smiling. But they paint the shape as one straight line when, in reality, there are a couple different angles merging together to create what looks like one straight line.

In other words, they take a jagged kind of line and smooth it out.

The angle of the woman’s cheek and jaw on the left side (her right) is another example of this. Notice how in the reference photo, it has three distinct curves (you could call them hills) running from the eye down to her chin. But when this over-simplification mistake is made, those curves are merged together into one line–dull, lifeless, and inaccurate.

One final example would be the woman’s eyebrows. Whereas in the original reference photo they have a slight peak to them, here they are completely smooth and curved.

The result looks as if they are painted on.

In realism though, even though everything is painted on, we are always trying to defeat that fact, and create the illusion of three dimensional reality on a two-dimensional surface. Nevertheless, the mistake of over-simplifying details often persists.

Why?

Because, as human beings we want to order our world–make things look more even, more refined. But in nature, there is randomness; that’s the way God created it.

There is beauty in that irregularity. So we need to learn to see what’s really there, and paint that, rather than what we think is there. That is always the challenge. Every artist, no matter how experienced, has to fight that tendency, myself included!

Mistake #3: Painting (and drawing) symbolically rather than representationally

We are taught from childhood that eyes are white, blond hair is colored yellow, lips are red, and so on.

That’s just how we learned to color our coloring books. And so we take that into creating realistic paintings. And we end up with eyes that are way too white, and all the other things.

In reality, eyes actually appear grey, and they can be darker than the skin around them.

Why?

Because the eyebrow ridge, eyelids, and eyelashes cast their shadows over the eye, but once you get below the eye into the cheek, the shadow dissipates. And the skin is actually lighter in value that the eye. That is just one example. But we make that mistake more often than we realize.

You can see from the image how odd it looks to have eyes that are that white. Especially when you compare it side-by-side with the reference photo. The reason is that the values are just completely incorrect with reality.

A tool to help you paint better values and realism

A great tool to overcome this is the Value Checker tool. You can print this out, and what you do is hold up the square that has the closest color and value next to the area in question on your painting. Then set that same square above the corresponding area on your reference photo–and see what the difference is.

Get your values accurate with the Value Checker Tool

Get the downloadable, printable Value Checker Tool from Realistic Acrylic Portrait School to double check the values in your portraits and make sure they are accurate.

Do you need to go darker or lighter?

Or, do they match? That’s obviously what we’re shooting for. If they don’t, now you know exactly how far off you are, and you can adjust as needed.

It’s not cheating.

It’s a tool to double-check yourself and help you do your best work possible.

You can download a full resolution version, below, for free and then print it out and keep it as a handy tool in your studio. Let me know how it helps.

Get the Value Checker Tool

I’ll sum up with this: it’s a never ending struggle to paint realism, because we have to fight inherent human tendencies. But it’s a worthy struggle. If you continue in the battle, you’ll amaze yourself at the beauty you can add to the world with your well-crafted fine art portraits.

Here’s my advice on how to improve…

Be aware of these three mistakes. That’s the first step. Then you can catch yourself making them.

When you do, make the necessary adjustments by carefully observing your reference photo. Print it out smaller and tape it with low-tack tape onto your canvas so it’s right next to what you’re painting. Study it and compare the difference.

If you can’t see what to do next, ask an artist friend to critique your work–or ask me. I’d love to help.

However, just the fact that you read this article to the end shows that you have what it takes to improve and create a realistic portrait that you can be proud to show. May God bless you in your portrait painting adventures!

All the best,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

How to Paint an Acrylic Portrait You Can Be Proud Of

/ Encouraging Thoughts Online Painting Class
/ By Matt Philleo
/ 6 COMMENTS

What would it feel like for you to truly be able to paint a portrait in acrylic you could be proud of?

…to give as a high quality gift, display in a show, or to get a “thumbs up” and a good price for your artwork when you do a commission? How would it feel to not struggle with finding the right skin tone, or get the blending in the colors right? Or to be able to paint a person’s face and not have it look flat?

Imagine how it would feel to know how to mix the paint and control the brush..and get a realistic result…predictably.

Paint realistic acrylic portraits with artist Matt Philleo.

I’ve been painting portraits in acrylic for over 20 years, and started teaching out of my studio two years ago.

The next year I started teaching online when one of my email subscribers, in her mid-80’s, urged me to put a course together. We chatted on the phone and she asked me how much I would charge for an online painting class.

“How about $97?” I replied.

“I’ll mail you a check right away.”

Just like that, I had a paying student…I had to teach the class now!

I asked some other folks on my email list if they wanted in, and about 10 more students instantly enrolled. Since then, I’ve taught almost 100 students literally all over the world, and it’s been so enjoyable to see the progress they’ve made.

If you want to learn how to paint a portrait in acrylic that you’ll be proud of, then learning directly in a step-by-step video course is best way to cut through the fog, and achieve results fast.

That’s why I created an online course called “Paint Your First Amazing Acrylic Portrait.”

It’s a complete step by step video course, showing you exactly how to paint a portrait in acrylic, from the sketch to the finished, signed painting. All the lessons are online, available for you to watch at your own pace, 24/7.

Click here to learn more/ enroll

Judy, one of my students in this course, just started acrylic portrait painting a couple months ago. She was having some difficulty and felt stuck in her painting progress, so she emailed me asking for a critique. (You can request a personal critique, too, as a student of my course!)

Here’s what she emailed me after I sent her the interactive video critique…

“Hi Matt,

Thank you so much, that is so helpful. You said it so well when you talked about “being intimidated by the painting” that was exactly how I felt – a kind of stage fright, haha maybe “easel anxiety” anyway as I listened to your critique I just felt it unlock.

I feel excited about making those changes. I laughed when I saw that despite staring at the photo for hours and hours I never noticed a piece of his ear was missing in my painting.

Again thank you so much.

Cheers,

Judy

PS I will send you a photo of it when its finished.”

Then Judy finished that painting, utilizing the techniques in my course and some tips in my critique, and wrote me again:

“Hi Matt,

Here is my painting that I’ve been working on. I’m really thrilled with it and it will work with Maurice’s portrait.

I’ve been learning so much – how to fix a mistake, and how to wait patiently for paint to dry.

I made a mistake straight off by using a lead pencil instead of the one you recommended I use ( which was right there next to it). Bet I will never do that again! I’m really getting a feel for mixing glazes and I’m having so much fun.

Thank you so much you inspiring teacher!”

Cheers,

Judy

I love the beautiful husband/ wife portraits Judy did side by side. Not only has she enjoyed the painting process, but she has two paintings she’s proud to show. And she has only started painting.

You can do this too. You can save time, paint, and frustration. You can learn how to paint a lifelike portrait that you can confidently show others, by taking my course.

I’d love to have you as a student!

All the best,

P.S. It is the one-year anniversary since I created this course in April of ’17. If you are wanting to take the next step in painting, here’s your best opportunity. I truly believe if you take the course, your portraits will dramatically improve. Why? Because the techniques work, and that is what I have seen happen for several of my students. Hope you’ll be one of them!

Click here to learn more/ enroll

How to Draw a Lifelike Sketch for an Acrylic Portrait

Lifelike Sketch + Accurate Acrylic Layers + Patience= Realistic Acrylic Portrait. The equation works every time.

Even when you make mistakes. 🙂

Don’t worry, this won’t be a math lesson. That was not one of my better subjects in school!

But there is something to be said laying down a good foundation for your acrylic portrait with a lifelike sketch. When I mean lifelike, I don’t mean that it looks photographic, but rather that you capture the likeness of the subject–the person (or pet) you’re going to paint.

When you do that, you exponentially increase your chances for success in painting a realistic acrylic portrait.

Notice I didn’t say perfect. You don’t have to have a perfect sketch, just one that is as accurate as you can make it.

Today, I’m going to show you how I drew the sketch for a commissioned 16″ x 20″ acrylic portrait I’m working on of three children…

…based off a candid photo of them just hanging out on a bed. I tilted the image because I thought it was at an awkward angle. You can obviously see the original angle in shown in the edges.

Tools Needed:

You’ll want to use a sepia-toned colored pencil, like burnt ochre, dark brown, or terra cotta.
And then a white eraser.

I started with a canvas that I drew a grid on–with 1″ squares, using a light colored pencil (light grey, tan or peach is fine). It is important to seal the grid in with a mixture of matte medium and gesso. This provides a barrier on the canvas so that when you need to erase anything on your sketch, you will not disturb the grid lines beneath. Also, it makes it amazingly easy to erase a sketch on your canvas–much easier than graphite pencil. This is a technique I discovered just by being frustrated with pencil and experimenting.

The photo reference is also gridded correspondingly to match the squares on the canvas. I used a grid drawing tool at ArtTutor.com and then printed out the image.

Alright, now let’s begin…

Step 1: Get Started in the Right Place

When using the grid technique, it’s so important to make sure you start sketching in the right place. Otherwise, you may end up sketching for a while, only to realize your composition will be off.

Yes, I made this mistake.

So, count off your squares, and double-check that you’re matching up on your canvas, what is on your reference photo.

Watch this video to see the beginning portion of the sketching process…

Step 2: Start Your Outlining the Forms of the Subjects

Here, we only want to get just the outside edges of the subjects and then fill them in. I start usually in the lower left corner and then work my way up and across. You don’t need to achieve perfection in this. But it is good to see where the major lines representing the shapes are intersecting the squares. Break it up into fractions.

(Uggh, math again. It’s OK. If I can do it, so can you, believe me!)

You note, “Okay, this line crosses through the vertical line of this square at about 1/2 of the way up.”

Or, “this line intersects the horizontal line of the other square about 2/3 of the way to the edge.”

You may see fractions like 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/5, etc. You’ll begin to see them naturally and not even think about it with some practice. When you learn to do this, your gridded sketching will become very accurate.

Here is the sketch, with all the outlines filled in.

You’ll notice that I made a pretty large mistake, but thank God for erasers! I considered editing it out of the video, but then I figured, “Why not keep it in there, to show an accurate recording of my process?” We all make mistakes, but it’s what we do after we notice them that counts.

Step 3: Fill in the Features

After getting the proportions of the subjects in correctly–the outside edges of the hair, the shoulders, the faces, etc., then you’re ready to move on to drawing the features. The reason we get the main forms defined first, is because we want to make sure we have an accurate foundation to drop the features on. In addition, you’ll be able to tell if you like the overall composition.

Now, when I start drawing in the facial features, I work from left to right, and then top, down. (Of course, if you’re left handed, you may naturally work in the other direction.)

I start by noting the angle of the eyebrows and sketch them first. Doing this will really establish the alignment of the face and your other features will need to be in conformity with it.

Then I draw the eyes loosely, and not too dark, so I can refine them later. The eyes are the most important feature on the face, so I really pay attention to them.

What is the overall shape? Are they skinny, angled, rounded? Are there prominent eyelids or are they barely perceptible? How far away are they from the eyebrows? How close are they together? Ask yourself these questions as you draw.

If you can get the eyes about 85% or more accurate, you’ll have a good portrait.

If you can get them 95% or more accurate, you’ll have an outstanding portrait, provided the other features are drawn fairly well.

Next, draw in the nose. Observe your reference photo to see how far down the bottom of the nose is from an imaginary line that intersects the eyes. What is the shape of the nose and nostrils? Is it wide, narrow, rounded, sharp? Observe carefully and draw what you see.

After you get the proportions and shape of the nose accurately defined, it’s time to move on to the mouth.

I start with the top of the mouth, drawing in the bottom edge of the top lip and then the top edge of the bottom lip. I sometimes will draw the top edge of the top lip, if it’s very prominent–like, for example, when a woman is wearing lipstick. Of course, that is not the case for this drawing of three children.

I finish with the bottom edge of the bottom lip. Of course, I also draw in the teeth, but only lightly suggesting their form by showing the gumline, and the shadows on the sides where the teeth are foreshortened in perspective, and the lips cast shadows on them. The space between the visible teeth and the edges of the mouth is very important, and you’ll want to indicate it as a dark value, because it is in shadow.

One of the main mistakes I see artists making in their sketch is when they over-define the teeth. It makes the person you’re drawing look like they have braces. Pencil lines are just too dark of a value for the teeth, and it’s hard to overcome in the painting. Draw them lightly, and you’ll get better results.

Watch Part 2 of my video lesson below to see exactly how to do it…

After I get the features sketched in loosely and lightly, then I go back over everything. I darken and refine.