Just like a contractor would never dream of building a home without a sure foundation, we shouldn’t try to paint an acrylic portrait without the same.

A sketch serves as an excellent foundation to build upon. I will show you in this series of Master Class Lessons how to sketch your portrait accurately.

With an accurate sketch, you are already halfway there to a beautiful painting.

I’ll show you how to do it, step-by-step, using the grid method.

With the grid method, even a beginner can create a realistic sketch. With that in place, I can help you build on top, layer by layer using the glazing technique to create smooth transitions of value and lifelike skin tones. You can do this. I’ll be here to help.

Ready? Let’s get started!

I’ll show you exactly how to do it in the lessons below. But first, make sure you’re registered for the challenge!

REGISTER TODAY. The challenge is ongoing, something you can do at your own pace. It’s not too late to enter! After you join, I’ll send you the supplies list and reference photos to paint from.

WATCH NOW…

Sketching Your Portrait With Accuracy, Part 1

Let’s begin the sketch! Get out your colored pencil and start making some simple marks. Look at the squares and see where the lines fall. All we need to do at this stage is loosely capture the outline of the subject—the girl—and later on, we will fill in the details. “What if I make a mistake?” No problem. That’s what erasers are for!

Learn how to sketch a portrait accurately with Realistic Acrylic Portrait School’s FREE Challenge Master Class Lessons!

Sketching Your Portrait With Accuracy, Part 2

Learn how to paint a realistic acrylic portrait by creating a solid sketch. In this in-depth video lesson, I’ll show you how to refine the facial features on your portrait drawing. After watching, you’ll be able to capture a better likeness and also plot out where your shadows and highlights will be.

Learn how to sketch a portrait accurately with Realistic Acrylic Portrait School’s FREE Challenge Master Class Lessons!

Sketching Your Portrait With Accuracy, Part 3

We’re going further in this sketch for the Acrylic Portrait Painting Challenge! I show you how to add detail to the girl’s hair. It’s important to break down the complex shapes into something simple, and then add the complexity back in again, to make it realistic. I’ll show you how to do it.

Learn how to sketch a portrait accurately with Realistic Acrylic Portrait School’s FREE Challenge Master Class Lessons!

Sketching Your Portrait With Accuracy, Part 4

In this Master Class Lesson, I will be teaching you how to sketch the lace for the girl’s dress top. It is an extremely detailed portion of the photo, but again, we will follow the method of breaking the complex into simple. That way, we don’t spend all day sketching this portrait and it will be easier to block in during the painting process.

Learn to paint a realistic acrylic portrait successfully by first doing an accurate sketch, as taught by professional artist and instructor, Matt Philleo of Realistic Acrylic Portrait School

Sketching Your Portrait With Accuracy, Part 5

Let’s finish this sketch up! In this lesson, I’ll show you how to add the final touches to the lace, the girl’s face, and some additional details to make this drawing as realistic as possible. Then, we can dive into the painting process with confidence!

Learn to paint a realistic acrylic portrait successfully by first doing an accurate sketch, as taught by professional artist and instructor, Matt Philleo of Realistic Acrylic Portrait School

Would like to paint this portrait with me and hundreds of other artists?

Take the 2021 Spring Portrait Painting Challenge!

You can register below and get started. It is completely FREE to join the challenge and participate. When you join, I’ll send you the “Welcome Kit” which includes:

• The Supplies List (so you know what you need to paint with us, your shopping list. 🙂 )
• The Reference Photo with and without the grid, high resolution, that you can download ready to print out or display on your tablet. You’ll be able to create an accurate portrait this way.
• The Palette Layout Guide showing you how to arrange your colors so they don’t get muddy on your palette
• The Master Class Lesson Schedule
• the Lessons emailed to you
• A private Facebook group to cheer you and help answer your questions
• And a few “bonuses” like opportunities to win my paid online classes

REGISTER TODAY. The challenge is ongoing, something you can do at your own pace. It’s not too late to enter!

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 your sketches in our Facebook group and share this post with your friends!