Expressive Portrait Drawing Course with Sophie McKay Knight
Duration: 1 hour
Price: £75.00
6 week course
Explore the different techniques of expressive portrait drawing!
In this expressive portrait drawing course Sophie will take you through all aspects of drawing the human head, neck and face and show you how to create a convincing portrait. Each week will focus on a different element of portraiture and build on the previous week’s skills. Sophie will take you through each facial feature in detail and help you understand facial proportion through expressive and fun exercises and different techniques. Participants will be given the option of sketching in between classes and receiving feedback from the tutor. No experience of portrait drawing is necessary for this course as everyone will be encouraged to work at their own level within a relaxed, supportive and friendly environment.
Course Outline
Week 1 – 07th March: Facial Proportion
We will look at how drawing the face can be broken into simple measurements and shapes; focussing mainly on a frontal view. We will also explore gesture, mark making and using materials in an expressive way.
Week 2 – 14th March: Turning the Head
This week to focus will be on drawing the face in profile and in three quarter view and practice drawing both.
Week 3 – 21st March: Focus on Features
We will take a detailed look at the facial features. Sophie will guide you through how to draw the eye, nose, mouth and ears through a series of exercises.
Week 4 – 28th March: Expressions
No face is without expression, and this session will consider the ways in which the face changes when we feel emotion.
Week 5 – 04th March: Putting it all Together
For this week we will practice putting all of the components from previous weeks together in some expressive and fun ways.
Week 6 – 11th March: Creating a Likeness
In our final session we will consider what it means to create a likeness and consolidate any final issues.
Sophie will provide reference photos to work from during class, but participants are welcome to bring their own photos practice on. A mirror would be helpful but not essential.
What you’ll learn:
- The basic skills, techniques and methods of sketching and drawing the head.
- The confidence to develop your drawing skills at a pace that suits you.
- Tips on how to approach different facial features you want to capture.
What you’ll need:
To join this 6 week course, our tutor suggest that you have the following materials.
- Any white paper
- Any coloured paper
- Scissors
- Marker pen or felt tip pen
- Any soft pencil (eg 6b)
- Willow charcoal
- Hard rubber
For expressive exercises (optional):
- Water soluble black pen
- 1 x thin paintbrush
- 1 x thicker paintbrush
- Willow charcoal
- Compressed charcoal
- Chalk pastels or conte crayons
- kitchen roll
- Water
Your Tutor
Sophie McKay Knight is an artist who works in St Fife, Scotland. Having studied Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art & University between 1992-1997, Sophie has been a practicing professional artist ever since and has worked professionally with St Andrews University, Art in Healthcare, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Fife Cultural Trust, Perth & Kinross Council and Tate Gallery, Liverpool. Sophie has also been a committee member with Visual Arts Scotland, and given workshops across a variety of venues for adults and children.
Joining our live classes
Our ‘live’ classes will take place via Zoom. We’d recommend using a laptop or desktop if possible to make it easier for you to take part. Upon booking your class, you will receive an email confirmation with full details of how to join and your link to the zoom class.
Book a date…
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