TUTORIAL // my guide to stylizing faces
Added 2024-12-06 18:02:40 +0000 UTCThe December tutorial is here! This one features my process for drawing a stylized face, and runs you some of the challenges I run into when drawing stylized faces - and the helpful tips and solutions I've discovered along the way. I talk about how to construct a head, place the features, add details that don't weigh the drawing down, and take a trial-and-error approach to getting the end result that I want. I hope you enjoy it!
The main brushes I use in this tutorial are:
The MaCaLabs HB pencil brush for sketching (there's also a Procreate version)
The hard round brush from my own brush set for blending and painting.
Here's the artwork made in the demo, from the initial trace of the reference image to the various stages of detailing the face!
There are a bunch of tutorials I've made which are helpful to watch alongside this one and will deepen your understanding of how to draw faces!
Constructing faces & expressions: this one goes in depth on the topic of how you can construct a head in a way that allows you to draw it from different angles and with different expressions in the face.
Drawing faces: common mistakes: this one runs you through common issues that artists run into when drawing faces, and gives solutions for each common problem.
Balancing consistency and variety in faces: this video talks about how you can draw different types of faces in a style that still feels consistent and coherent.
Drawing a stylized portrait in Procreate: this is helpful for Procreate users, because it runs you through which tools and workflow I use to paint a portrait specifically in Procreate. I also recommend checking out my free Procreate tutorial on sketching!
As always, here is the cheat sheet with essential information from the tutorial, which you can also find attached to this post as a PDF file with clickable links:
I hope you enjoy this video and that it helps you out with your stylization struggles! Feel free to share any future tutorial suggestions in the #tutorial-suggestions channel in the discord server (If you don't know how to join, just follow the steps outlined here) or leave them in a comment below โค
Comments
It was very useful hope I can do it
Yozhi
2025-02-22 12:58:11 +0000 UTChey! I installed it as a brush preset rather than a brush on its own, i think that helps get the settings just right. did you get an installation instruction with the download? that should explain the proper way to install it!
Loish
2025-01-14 12:29:43 +0000 UTCHey Loish :)โฆI got the Macalabs brush but seems to work different from how I can see yours on the tutorials. Do you have a special setup for it?โฆThank you for all the work, you do. Everything is really helpful and I actually consider you my mentor. ๐ค
Sebastian Garcia Muรฑoz
2025-01-14 07:46:06 +0000 UTCThis is precisely what I needed when I needed it. I canโt thank you enough for continuing to make these
Hope McKenney
2024-12-16 17:35:15 +0000 UTCthanks so much Kat, I'm glad you liked it :)
Loish
2024-12-11 12:53:08 +0000 UTCthanks so much Alison - I'm so glad you liked it!
Loish
2024-12-11 12:52:27 +0000 UTCSo helpful, thank you!!
K B
2024-12-10 07:08:01 +0000 UTCAs always, I'm learning so much from one single video. Really grateful for the format too as it's not too long and very easy to find the time to do it. Thank you <3
Alison Wolfe
2024-12-09 15:29:08 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your kind words Eric! I'm so glad you enjoy it :)
Loish
2024-12-09 13:01:41 +0000 UTCI'm glad you find it helpful Michael! I definitely like pushing the expression, that always holds my interest more than capturing accuracy!
Loish
2024-12-09 12:57:48 +0000 UTCI'm so happy that you like it! I think I will make a future tutorial about painting the face and how to emphasize the planes / shapes - it will be a good companion to this one!
Loish
2024-12-09 12:57:10 +0000 UTCI definitely recommend studying established styles in order to learn and grow your own style! it can give a lot of inspiration and direction :)
Loish
2024-12-09 12:56:36 +0000 UTCThank you for breaking this down! I always loved how your style straddled the line between realistic and cartoony <3
Kat Craig
2024-12-08 16:30:34 +0000 UTCAnother great tutorial and I totally agree on The Tangled Art book...it is so good! So many great Glen Keane and Jin Kim sketches and notes. I like how you you use the round brush to keep your iris' round when you're laying in the construction. (Something i somehow hadn't considered or noticed before). There have been many times when I can't figure out what's off and it's miss matched iris sizes or shapes. (I'm going to start using that and perhaps on a different layer as you suggested). Always so much inspiration and information in your tutorials. Thanks again Lois.
JASON WILLIAMS
2024-12-08 03:23:06 +0000 UTCVERY helpful! Your very expressive line-weight always adds so much to your sketches! as well as your brush choicesโฆ.your โfavoritesโ. This tutorial is important to me in terms of why I prefer making changes to traditional/realistic figures. A knowledge of drawing traditional/realistic figures is a good foundation but changing proportions/placing emphasis on some areas of the figure over others makes the readability much more interesting and appealing to me. You seem to enjoy emphasizing the expressive potential inherent in sketching & drawing the human figure.๐๐ป Once again, thank you for sharing so many interesting & informative videos!๐๐ป๐
Michael H
2024-12-07 12:40:57 +0000 UTCExcellent tutorial. I would absolutely love to see a tutorial on the paintwork you mentioned about 27:10. The way that you do it is so unique and interesting.
Christina May
2024-12-07 11:13:47 +0000 UTCI canโt wait to watch this ๐๐ฝ
Edoz07
2024-12-07 04:35:28 +0000 UTCThank you for this!! I feel like I am having a style crisis so I feel like itโs good to have these reminders so I can get back to basics a little bit!! I really need to study the Arcane art style more because itโs so appealing to me
Ana F.
2024-12-07 00:12:58 +0000 UTCGreat resource, thank you!
Tala
2024-12-06 21:03:23 +0000 UTCIt's perfect! Thank you!
Cristian Iancu
2024-12-06 19:11:42 +0000 UTCOh heck yessss I can't wait to dive into this one!
brice butler
2024-12-06 18:46:39 +0000 UTCWow I'm really impressed with your content! Linking other related materials. Brushes. And including cheet sheets. As someone who is busy with a full time job the effort is really appreciated! I never feel like I need to work for important information. I can just focus on learning ๐ช
Eric Monachello
2024-12-06 18:46:18 +0000 UTCYes! Iโm excited to learn from this one. Certainly a topic you have mastered.
JASON WILLIAMS
2024-12-06 18:24:43 +0000 UTCso excited for this ๐
joa joa joa
2024-12-06 18:19:43 +0000 UTC
