Welcome to portrait painting

Portrait painting has produced some of the most famous paintings in history, forever immortalizing its subjects. 

This video is an introduction to portrait painting. Ben Sowards will take you through some simple processes that will help give you direction and get you started with portrait painting, and make the whole experience a lot less overwhelming and more enjoyable. 

If you have never done portrait painting before or already have experience this course is sure to provide you with some useful advice and techniques.

In this class you will learn:

  • About a useful color palette

  • 3 different methods for starting an oil painting during the initial "sketch" phase

  • How to add color

  • How to bend color to create volume

  • and much more!

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About the Instructor

Ben Sowards

Illustrator/ Portrait Painter

Ben Sowards

Ben Sowards dropped out of preschool so he could have more time for art. He is a prolific illustrator and painter; he has worked in children's books, for the U.S. Mint doing coin design, in the video game industry, and has been a college professor for the past 17 years. He continues to do work for a variety of clients and has a huge passion for teaching.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Portrait Painting

    • Introduction
    • Part 1: Basic Measuring or Sighting Techniques
    • Part 2: Method 2
    • Part 3: Method 3
    • Part 4: Evaluating the 3 Methods
    • Part 5: Color
    • Part 6: Bending Color to Create Volume
    • Conclusion

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Our videos are custom made to show you how to get the skills necessary to break into the dynamic field of illustration.

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