Having the ability to capture the likeness of a human on canvas, using paint, is a requested achievement for many new painters. By practicing, you’ll soon be painting portraits like the experts.
If at all possible I highly counsel you paint your portraits employing a live model versus a picture. There’s simply no substitution for painting from life.
Painting a successful portrait is all about how you study the subject. Observe the bone structure and try and see shapes and planes. Don’t try and paint each small detail precisely as you see it. For a newbie, it is best to begin with a lighting effect where light and shadow are in high contrast. This can make for a much simpler painting.
Finish each section before heading off to the next. Keep the darks of your portrait at a thin consistency while your lights should be painted on thickly. I know I did when I initially began painting. Remember that skin comes in a selection of colors & textures, so there’s no precise formula for mixing flesh tones in portrait painting. You’ll have to experiment and practice, till you find the right color mixtures for any special subject. When mixing your colors watch out not to over mix, which can deaden a color. Try and repeat the colors and values in your painting to form balance.
When painting hair, don’t try and paint each individual strand of hair.
Glance at the hair as one object and then paint the lights and darks. Paint the hair in the direction of the form of the head. The muzzle area of the face (the space between the nose and mouth) is normally a similar color as the flesh but cooler. When painting for the backgrounds, don’t make them too detailed or busy. If you do, you’ll draw focus away from your portrait. Add bits of color where the shade meets the light in your portraits. Fleshier parts of the face are sometimes warm and bonier parts of the face, like the jaw as an example, are usually cool in color. To get a correct color for the white in the eye you can take the subject’s basic flesh color.