Hi everyone! Once again, we've got a new tutorial. This should be fun. Start out with a simple oval, the top slanting a little to the left. Sketch it out. You don't have to make it perfect or worry about extra lines. You are beginning your masterpiece of Miranda Cosgroves!

STEP 2.

The strange crescent shape on the side of the oval is just a reminder that her hair will be there. Also the red bisecting line is to help with eyebrows, eye, nose and mouth placement, since our lovely star's face is symmetrical.

STEP 3.

Seriously, this next picture looks like a telephone pole or satellite antennae. Those lines are representing the reference pic. The top one is hairline. The next group of 4 lines (from top to bottom)are: Eyebrow arch, bottom of eyebrow, tear ducts, bottom of eyes. The next 4 lines (from top to bottom) are: Bottom of nose, top of mouth, middle of mouth, bottom of mouth. This really helps those features from appearing crooked.

STEP 4.

If you are doing a professional picture and need accuracy, this has helped me tremendously. This is MY TIP of the day and it is LONG! Skip it if you want to. Those crazy lines help with placement too. Don't get me wrong, I mess up majorly most times. What? I can hear you say, "Your pictures are near perfect!" Not when I'm working on them. If you feel something strange in your gut about your picture, put it up to the mirror. That'll tell you. And take your reference pic and put it in the mirror... what a whopper difference! Take an envelope, piece of paper, ruler (straight edge)... anything to vertically represent your line placement. For one example: Take your reference pic, put the straight edge against the edge of the smile line and see where it lands near the eye. Then do the same on your drawing, if it doesn't land in the same place, adjust. Friends & artists, I'm not ashamed to say I had to erase this woman's mouth twice. So don't give up. Take a deep breath and work slowly. It's like molding clay.

STEP 5.

You've shaped, erased, sketched, and more. Your picture won't have neat lines like this, only because my pic is a guide... that's it. But look at the guide lines and see how important they are... how they help with the line up. Erase most other distracting lines, even your guidelines. We are going to start with shading. In my next steps, I'm giving out some TRICKS, TIPS, 'n TOYS! You can skip STEPS 6-10 and continue with the regular sketching of Miranda in STEP 11 if you want.

STEP 6.

TRICKS, TIPS 'n TOYS! I'm in love with graphite pencil sticks. I used a 9B! It's nice, black, smooth on the surface and makes such great dark lines. And a No.2 pencil isn't bad either--great for details and light shading. Kneaded erasers are charms. You can mold them like Silly Putty (oops, I'm dating myself! It's like I'm saying, "Ohhh, did you see Slinky! I want that new toy!") ;) *giggle* Okay, kneaded erasers can make great highlights like the pupil's catch lights, or shine in hair. But you need patience with it because sometimes you have stroke a few times before getting your results.

STEP 7.

TIPS! Drawing a circle then an almond shape with a horizontal line dissecting the eye helps with placement--well, our eyes are in a socket. Focus on tear duct, the lip of the lower eye that holds the bottom eyelashes. Notice how the top lashes curve up. Stroke that pencil up. Yeah! The pupil is always black and most all the time (only if the eyes are dark, dark brown), the outer rim of the iris is darker. TRICK! Make a small circle(s) near the edge of the pupil so you won't color it in. Sometimes, you can dab with your kneaded eraser to get rid of the gray. And those circle of "lights" are in the same position or direction in each eye. First lightly draw in the shape of the eyebrow. Use small strokes to get the eyebrow hairs and leave some space between the hairs. Looking at your reference picture will help with how dark and how much space apart.

STEP 8.

TIPS! The sides of the nose are shaded or blended in. Drawing it with hard outlines make the picture a cartoon or caricature.

STEP 9.

TIPS! You ever heard someone say, "Those luscious lips!" *giggle* Well, in honor of Miranda's luscious lips, I've got a tip for you. You'll notice that the upper lip is normally shaded darker than the lower lip. And there are highlights and groves on the lower lip. Here's a cool note. Most times the male's lower lip is smaller than the women... unless the man has full lips! And you don't have to define teeth. Just a hint of their existence near the lips.

STEP 10.

Best thing you can do when drawing hair is to establish the general shape then work in the main strands of hair by holding your pencil at a 45 degree angle for stroking and coverage. Then, as in the third picture, you can work in more details. But here's a TIP! Don't draw a straight line for the hairline. Do tiny strokes to represent beginning of hair at its root. Look at real people and see their hairline isn't a straight line. Practice and your picture will look more realistic.

STEP 11.

This guide let's you know where shading is needed and the stroking direction of the hair strands. Don't worry, your picture can be sketchy looking. This is like molding so you'll see different things you need to do. Shade in small circles on the facial area. Detail the eyes, eyebrows. Work on whatever area that is comfortable. Hey, she is shaping up! Start patting yourself on the shoulder. Your pic is looking good!

STEP 12.

Look at that! She's almost finished. You're almost done. If you need to. Let the picture lay and come back in the morning to see how the features line up. Sometimes giving your brain a rest helps tremendously. It's like a reset. Put that picture in the mirror (if you can with the reference) and see the difference. Don't panic if things look off line or messy. Snatch, focus, and erase! ;)

STEP 13.

Here she is! I wanted to show you this one that I didn't darken, blur, clean, and edit. It's raw, splotches, dusty looking. so never fear, perfection takes time, focus, and patience. Be proud because you are okay and on your way! Let me know if my tutorial has benefited you at all, even to take the fear of drawing away. I'd love to hear what you've got to say! Luv 'n Peace!

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· Dec 16 2010

@LinkFan

wow this is an impresive portrait great job! (sorry if I spelt portrait wrong it just slipped outta my mind lol XD)

LinkFan

wow this is an impresive portrait great job! (sorry if I spelt portrait wrong it just slipped outta my mind lol XD)

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· Dec 14 2010

catlucker

WOW!

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· Dec 7 2010

@marky306

AMAZING

catlucker

I can say just: jawdrop

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· Dec 7 2010

@guyguyxtreme

Damn this is awesome mate. Really good stuff. The Sketchbook/Journal is that for college/school. Or is it something you do in your free time. Anyways dude, I think this style of work is Epic. Keep it up watermelon