Portrait graphite study

One head-and-shoulders portrait of an adult in three-quarter view, short hair, neutral expression and plain shirt. Practice form, overlap and selective shading in graphite.

A way into the drawing

1. Establish the main shapes

   Place the skull oval, jaw and neck.

2. Connect the structure

   Set the eye line, nose, mouth and hair mass on the same turned head.

3. Develop the drawing

   Use selective interior marks and local shadow groups to explain the overlaps. Keep the lighter planes open rather than shading every surface.

A small thing to tryCheck the facial center line before refining features.