Best seller

Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture

A course by Dan Thompson , Artist and Teacher

Artist and Teacher. New York, United States.
Joined November 2020

Learn how to use structural forms with multiple planes to create experimental pencil portraits from observation of the human figure

Best seller
99% positive reviews (280)
10,047 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn how to use structural forms with multiple planes to create experimental pencil portraits from observation of the human figure

Drawing people and portraits is an opportunity to tap into a centuries-old tradition and continue the legacy of the talented creatives before us. Artist and teacher Dan Thompson aims to uncover the mysteries of the human form through his portraiture. His work can be found in both public and private collections around the world, and he teaches at the New York Academy of Art, among others.

In this online course, Dan shows you how to use structural forms and planar modules to interpret an experimental portrait drawing from life. Learn how to use graphite to draw the body as an aesthetic blend of construction, plane, and morphology. Are you ready to create perceptual portraits from scratch?

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What will you learn in this online course?

26 lessons & 17 downloads

Materials and Tools
12 minutes, 38 seconds
Drawing the Head Block
11 minutes, 2 seconds
Optical Information 1
18 minutes, 28 seconds
Tonal Information 1
19 minutes, 55 seconds
The Schematic Drawing 1
20 minutes, 17 seconds
Experimenting within the Head 1
13 minutes, 19 seconds
  • 99% positive reviews (280)
  • 10,047 students
  • 26 lessons (5h 53m)
  • 17 additional resources (8 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create two drawings: an abstract portrait from direct observation, and another which is a structural, linear study of the original.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone with an interest in improving their portrait drawing with graphite pencils and who wants to explore experimental portraiture.

Requirements and materials

Previous drawing experience would be beneficial but is not essential.

In terms of materials, you will need paper with a medium texture, graphite pencils of varying hardness, a razor or penknife, sandpaper, and a kneaded eraser.


Reviews

10,047 Students
280 Reviews
99% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Dan Thompson

A course by Dan Thompson

Teacher Plus
Artist and Teacher

Dan Thompson is an artist and educator from Virginia, U.S. with over 20 years of experience in his field. He first discovered a love of art through making band posters and later studied for an MFA at the Graduate School of Figurative Art. Passionate about human anatomy and perspective, as well as educating others, he went on to found two art schools of his own in New York.

Dan currently serves as dean of fine arts at Studio Incamminati, as well as the faculty chair of the one-year certificate of fine arts program at the New York Academy of Art. He has been awarded two grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and received the Ethel Lorraine Bernstein Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting on multiple occasions. In 2001, he also won Best of Show in the American Society of Portrait Artist’s International Portrait Competition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His work can be found in both public and private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    What You Will Need for the Course

    • Materials and Tools
    • What Is a Planar Portrait?
  • U3

    Warming Up

    • Drawing a Simple Block: A Lesson in Structure
    • Drawing the Head Block
    • Drawing the Trapezoid: A Lesson in Taper
  • U4

    Portraits of the Head: Naturalistic versus Schematic

    • Optical Information 1
    • Optical Information 2
    • Optical Information 3
    • Optical Information 4
    • Tonal Information 1
    • Tonal Information 2
    • Tonal Information 3
    • Tonal Information 4
    • The Schematic Drawing 1
    • The Schematic Drawing 2
    • The Schematic Drawing 3
    • Interpretive Values 1
    • Interpretive Values 2
  • U5

    Experimentation

    • Experimenting within the Head 1
    • Experimenting within the Head 2
    • Experimenting within the Head 3
    • Experimenting within the Head 4
    • Experimenting within the Head 5
    • Experimenting within the Head 6
  • FP

    Final project

    • Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture. Illustration course by Dan Thompson Best seller

Graphite Drawing Techniques for Planar Portraiture

A course by Dan Thompson
Artist and Teacher. New York, United States.
Joined November 2020
  • 99% positive reviews (280)
  • 10,047 students