Susan Miller Bradbury
Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits is a fitting addition to Walter Foster's new dynamic technique and project-driven series devoted to introducing aspiring artists to the fun and engaging world of acrylic painting. Painting portraits is a fundamental subject for any beginning-to-intermediate artist. With a fresh and simple approach, Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits teaches fine artists everything they need to know about setting up and rendering beautiful, dynamic portraits in acrylic. Beginning with an introduction to a variety of tools and materials, artists will learn how to select the right brushes, palettes, paints, paper, and surfaces for their work. Acrylic Made Easy: Portraits also provides valuable information about color theory and mixing for skin tones, planning a composition, and achieving proper perspective. Additionally, artists will learn a range of basic painting techniques, including glazing, scumbling, and stippling, as well as how to paint from photographs, create ambient lighting, arrange a composition, work with multiple subjects, and more. Through simple step-by-step projects, artists will discover how to approach a portrait, beginning with a sketch and progressing to a beautiful finished piece of acrylic artwork. With a diverse range of subjects, artists will find guidance, tips, and stunning artwork to inspire on virtually every page.
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Tools & Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Acrylic Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Color Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Mixing Skin Tones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Planes of the Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
General Proportions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Approaching Facial Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Painting Wet-into-Wet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Capturing Personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Developing Rich Skin Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Telling a Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Making a Modern Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Using Opaque Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Working with Mixed Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Closing Thoughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
