Realistic Portraits

INSTRUCTOR
Jason Seiler
EXPERTISE LEVEL
Beginner
Intermediate
LESSONS
6 Lessons (10h 39m)
COURSE LENGTH
6 Week(s)

Two Ways to Learn


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Course Description


Over six lectures, master illustrator, Jason Seiler, will dissect and share with you the philosophy and techniques behind his award-winning portraits, which have graced the covers of countless magazines and publications. Through streaming lectures and one-on-one correspondence you will learn his analytical process for portraiture including how to achieve accurate anatomy, color, and value in order to capture your subject’s uncanny likeness. Be prepared to draw a LOT in this class! Your assignments will involve drawing lots of facial features and doing color portraits in multiple styles. In addition to the individual class assignments, you are encouraged to also do studies in traditional media as skill in traditional painting will help you paint digitally. This course is a must for aspiring and professional illustrators alike.


➡︎ For the ‘Critiqued Sessions’, students will meet up with Jason Seiler LIVE on Zoom once per week on Fridays at 12pm PT / 3pm ET.

MATERIALS LIST
  • Adobe Photoshop

Lesson Plan

In my first lecture, we will examine the anatomy of the head, skull, and neck. I will then share with you a couple of good sketching techniques that I like to use for portraits for their accuracy and speed.

I love painting eyes because they truly are the windows to the soul. This lecture will be an in-depth study of the anatomy of eyes and the different types of eyes that your subjects will commonly have. I will also discuss how makeup distorts what we see and how to reconcile this in your portraits.

In this lecture, I will talk about the anatomies of the ears, nose, and mouth. My goal will be to break these features down in such a way that, using my techniques, you will be able to see proper shapes and anatomy when drawing a portrait, which will enhance the level of likeness that you will achieve in your own work.

When painting in color, an excellent understanding of values is vitally important. This lecture will be dedicated to values and color. I will share my favorite palettes with you and provide you with my tips and techniques for creating lifelike portraits.

In this lecture, we will unravel the complexities and mysteries of hair! You will learn my methods as I share all my techniques for painting both suggestive and photorealistic hair.

In my final lecture, I will talk about different styles and approaches to portraiture. We will explore different aesthetic ideas and philosophies, examine brushwork and texture, and have more fun with color. I will share with you my tips for maintaining a traditional look while painting digitally. (The digital painting portion of this lecture will be carried out in Photoshop.)

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Jason Seiler


Jason Seiler began his professional career in a rather unorthodox way. After getting in trouble for drawing parodies of his history teacher in high school, Jason's quick-thinking principal hired him to draw caricatures of different faculty members.

A professional artist was born. Jason went on to study fine art illustration at the American Academy of Art in Chicago for two years before beginning his professional work in earnest. Jason's humorous illustrations have been featured as covers and interior pieces for TIME, Business Week, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, MAD magazine, GOLF magazine, KING magazine, Revolver, Guitar Player, The Village Voice, Penguin Group, Disney, The New York Observer, D Magazine, The Bloomberg Market,

New Line Cinema, Universal Pictures, Aardman Animation, and Sony Image, among others. Jason also worked with Imaginism Studios as a character designer on Tim Burton's, Alice In Wonderland, helping to create such characters as the Red Queen, the Tweedles, the Bandersnatch and more.

Jason's work has been exhibited several times at the Society of Illustrators in New York as well as at the Society of Illustrators West, where Jason was awarded the silver medal for his portrait of Elvis Costello. His work has also been exhibited in Communication Arts Magazine, American Illustration 29 annual, Taschen Illustration Now! 3, and the book, Digital Art Masters Volume 5.