Portraiture is an ancient genre of art with origins tracing back almost 5,000 years ago. The likenesses of people of interest have been captured in painting, sculptures, and drawings to record their appearance, but also to tell the story of the sitter. After all, it is the face that people look at in order to understand the person they are speaking with! Today, people do not need a highly skilled artist to capture their face in paint and demonstrate their good taste- we've got phones for that. But still the art of portraiture flourishes, as dynamic faces and expressions invigorate the sensibilities of artists. But, heads are complex parts of the body, it takes artists a long time to master this craft. In this ten-week online course, I aim to make portrait drawing easier and more practical through learning anatomy, building observational skills, and lots of practice.

Lesson 1 | Some Fundamentals 
In our first lesson, we will begin with introductions to the course and ourselves so that everyone has clear expectations for the class, and we can get to know each other. After, we will be spending our first lesson introducing fundamental concepts that will help us draw heads, hands, and feet through a series of drawing exercises

Lesson 2 | Skull from Front, Side, and Back: 
Young artists will start with an introduction to the course, class procedures, and themselves. Once everyone knows what to expect and has met their fellow learners, we will proceed into a step-by-step guided drawing of the skull from three angles: the front, side, and back. 

Lesson 3 | Skull in Perspective 
Learn how to draw the skull from any angle using boxes in one-point perspective. This lesson will start with an introduction to one-point perspective and the important vocabulary associated with drawing in perspective, like “horizon line” and “vanishing point.” Young artists will be asked to draw nine boxes in one-point perspective use each box as a block from which to carve the skull. 

Lesson 4 | Gestures of Skulls in Perspective 
Building from the previous weeks’ lessons, we will practice drawing skulls simply and quickly through various intervals of gesture drawing. Gesture drawing is an essential exercise to improving observational skills, practicing simplification, and honing our understanding of the landmarks of the skull and how to draw it from many different perspectives. 

Lesson 5 | Dressing the Skull 
Now that the skull has been conquered, the next step is to dress the skull with all the muscles and features we expect the human face to have. We will draw a skull from the front angle together, which will act as a helpful review and practice, then dress that skull with important muscle groups and then the rest of the facial features. Before we add each facial feature to the skull, we will practice drawing that feature to the side of the skull drawing or on a new sheet of paper first. The drawing of muscles atop the skull will be another guided, step-by-step tutorial, but young artists will be encouraged to experiment with adding on various forms and shapes of eyes, noses, mouths, and ears. 

Lesson 6 | Expression Gestures 
We will begin the lesson with two ten-minute faces as a warm-up then proceed to draw faces starting at 30 seconds and steadily increasing back up to ten minutes. While it may seem impossible to draw a face in 30 seconds, through extreme simplification it can be done! By practicing gestures at various intervals, young artists will increase their observational skills, build their visual libraries, and practice simplifying faces. Any time remaining will be spent drawing gestures at learner requested intervals. While we work on these gestures, I will point out distinct landmarks of expressions. For example, a face that is angry will tend to have knit brows that slope downwards toward the nose, the corners of the mouth pointed down, and narrow eyes.

Lesson 7 | Guided Portrait 
For our first of several portraits, I will be guiding young artists through the process of drawing a portrait. As learners have discovered, drawing a head or face can be difficult. At this point in the course, they have all the knowledge and practice they need to create a beautiful drawing, but they may still lack confidence in the process. Together, we will all draw a portrait using the same reference and I will guide young artists through every step in the process.

Lesson 8 | Masters' Study 
A masters’ study is an exercise in understanding how the great, inspired artists’ across time were able to create such wonderful artworks. Completing a masters’ study allows young artists to work toward a particular vision, learn what skills they need to practice becoming more like their inspiration, and investigate what elements of art they include in their own developing process and style. Masters’ studies also challenge young artists to create at a higher level, making them difficult but worthwhile exercises. Throughout time, portraiture has been an essential genre of art for documenting important people and self-expression. In this class, young artists will choose a master to study from a curated list and create an artwork inspired by the piece. 

Lesson 9 | Self- Portrait in Mirror 
Our 9th lesson tasks young artists with putting everything they have learned together into a project that will challenge their observational skills and give them ample time to practice building detail into their artwork. The face and head are one of the most important parts of the human figure, as it is the part that we tend to recognize our friends and family by, the part that allows for complex expressions, and helps us represent ourselves. Throughout this course, learners have learned everything they need to draw a beautiful self- portrait. 

Lesson 10 | Final Portrait 
Our final lesson tasks young artists with putting everything they have learned together into one final project that will challenge their observational skills and give them ample time to practice building detail into their artwork. The face and head are one of the most important parts of the human figure, as it is the part that we tend to recognize our friends and family by, the part that allows for complex expressions, and helps us represent ourselves. Throughout this course, learners have learned everything they need to draw a beautiful final portrait.