Draw a Skull Inside a Portrait

• Start your portrait with the largest shapes.
• Add the skull in very early in your portrait drawing.
• Be willing to make changes to your drawing; don’t let fundamental problems persist as you draw.
• This exercise is not about accuracy, rather it’s about approximating the location of the skull.
• Eye sockets are not circles, observe carefully to see the shape.
• The human skull is an imperfect form, it has bumps and flaws.
• Look for the spaces in between the teeth.
• When drawing hair, look for “chunks” of hair rather than individual hairs.

• Hair can really establish a person’s identity, don’t leave it out!
• Cut back on shading, otherwise it will be hard to see the skull.
• Every single tooth is different, don’t go on automatic pilot when drawing them and assume they are all the same.
• Don’t outline the teeth, rather suggest their shapes.
• Search for the smaller shadows in the skull, above and below the teeth.
• The lower eye lid is more important than you think!
• Search for how the light falls on the portrait.

Art Supplies

• Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Artist Watercolor Pencils
• Legion Lenox Paper Pad