How to Paint a Watercolor Face Using Crayon Resist
Study a face to see the structure of the head, imagining it without hair., Make guide line by running light lines in pencil from top to bottom of the oval and side to side in the middle., For the eyes, divide the center line into five equal parts...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Study a face to see the structure of the head
 It resembles an egg on end with the rounded end up and the tapered end as the chin.
Using pencil, sketch a large egg shape onto a piece of 11 x 14" watercolor paper.
Place it in the center and make it smaller than life, but not larger. -
Step 2: imagining it without hair.
 This divides the egg into quarters. , Just plot them as ovals or almond shapes for now. , Divide the space from the center or eye line to the chin in half and make a light line.
The nose comes off the center vertical line and is symmetrical.
For the nose, less is more.
It is a triangular shape, but keep it vague and light.
The bottom of the nose is a curvy line and will fall approximately at the halfway point between the eye line and chin's bottom.
Do the nostrils as light crescents. , The top lip goes above and the bottom lip below this line.
The top lip is slightly longer than the bottom one, but the bottom one is plumper.
Don't forget the cupid's bow in the center of the top lip.
Better a small mouth than one too large, so have the lips stop no further out than the center of the eyes. , They should lie flat on the sides of the head, slightly fuller at the top. , Shoulders drop slightly.
Avoid squared-off or boxy shoulders. , It can have the quality of actual hair, straight lines for straight hair, wavy lines for curly hair.
Short lines for short hair, lines coming forward for hair over the forehead. , When you are satisfied with them, go back and refine the eyes.
Adjust the shape and size of the eyes until they look right.
The iris of the eyes are circles, filling almost the entire center of the eye with something like Roman numerals radiating out from the pupil A circle in the center of the iris is the dark pupil.
Draw the top eyelid slightly over the top of the iris to cover the white of the eye and partly cover the iris. , Stop when you reach the outside of the eye Draw them with short, feathery strokes, thicker near the nose and tapering off at the ends.
Stop where the eye ends. ,, Remember that the neck is a cylinder, so have collars or necklaces curve around the neck to suggest roundness. , Separate the lighter colored crayons from the pack; white yellow, other very pale shades.
Begin to put lines in crayon on the face, clothing and background.
You will draw with a lot of pressure to get a build up of wax on the page.
If you have trouble seeing what you are doing, all the better, as lots of lines going in many directions in the background and on the clothing will add energy to the finished piece.
If this bothers you, switch to yellow until you get your bearings, but go back to white and press hard, getting a lot of wax on the drawing.
Scribble, use pressure and let the crayon really play over the paper.
Do keep in mind the pencil drawing you've already made of the face and use it as your guide. , This light will make one side of the face glow and the other side will be in semi-shadow. , Select a 3/4" flat brush, load it well and begin to paint.
There is no correct place to start.
It can be the face, clothing or background. , Remember your light source, especially on the face.
The colors will be repelled by the crayon lines and the results will surprise you, in a delightful way. , -
Step 3: Make guide line by running light lines in pencil from top to bottom of the oval and side to side in the middle.
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Step 4: For the eyes
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Step 5: divide the center line into five equal parts and draw elongated ovals
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Step 6: allowing equal spaces on either side and between them.
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Step 7: Do the nose.
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Step 8: Indicate the mouth with a slightly curved line below the bottom of the nose.
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Step 9: Add the ears between the eye line and the mouth line.
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Step 10: Start the neck below the ears and tapers inward
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Step 11: curving out again for the shoulders.
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Step 12: Draw the hair as it grows from the top and sides of the head.
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Step 13: Check the proportions of the face.
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Step 14: Go up slightly from the eyes for the eyebrows and have them start at the inside of the eye
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Step 15: angled slightly downward to start
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Step 16: but then arching upward and to the side of the face.
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Step 17: Erase the horizontal and vertical guidelines.
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Step 18: Draw the clothing
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Step 19: starting with the neck.
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Step 20: Add crayon wax.
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Step 21: Imagine dramatic side light illuminating the face.
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Step 22: Activate your watercolors by putting a few drops of water on each pad
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Step 23: or set up a palette of an array of hues along the edge of a white plastic dinner plate.
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Step 24: Cover the entire page
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Step 25: changing colors often
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Step 26: rinsing your brush thoroughly.
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Step 27: Finished!
Detailed Guide
 It resembles an egg on end with the rounded end up and the tapered end as the chin.
Using pencil, sketch a large egg shape onto a piece of 11 x 14" watercolor paper.
Place it in the center and make it smaller than life, but not larger.
 This divides the egg into quarters. , Just plot them as ovals or almond shapes for now. , Divide the space from the center or eye line to the chin in half and make a light line.
The nose comes off the center vertical line and is symmetrical.
For the nose, less is more.
It is a triangular shape, but keep it vague and light.
The bottom of the nose is a curvy line and will fall approximately at the halfway point between the eye line and chin's bottom.
Do the nostrils as light crescents. , The top lip goes above and the bottom lip below this line.
The top lip is slightly longer than the bottom one, but the bottom one is plumper.
Don't forget the cupid's bow in the center of the top lip.
Better a small mouth than one too large, so have the lips stop no further out than the center of the eyes. , They should lie flat on the sides of the head, slightly fuller at the top. , Shoulders drop slightly.
Avoid squared-off or boxy shoulders. , It can have the quality of actual hair, straight lines for straight hair, wavy lines for curly hair.
Short lines for short hair, lines coming forward for hair over the forehead. , When you are satisfied with them, go back and refine the eyes.
Adjust the shape and size of the eyes until they look right.
The iris of the eyes are circles, filling almost the entire center of the eye with something like Roman numerals radiating out from the pupil A circle in the center of the iris is the dark pupil.
Draw the top eyelid slightly over the top of the iris to cover the white of the eye and partly cover the iris. , Stop when you reach the outside of the eye Draw them with short, feathery strokes, thicker near the nose and tapering off at the ends.
Stop where the eye ends. ,, Remember that the neck is a cylinder, so have collars or necklaces curve around the neck to suggest roundness. , Separate the lighter colored crayons from the pack; white yellow, other very pale shades.
Begin to put lines in crayon on the face, clothing and background.
You will draw with a lot of pressure to get a build up of wax on the page.
If you have trouble seeing what you are doing, all the better, as lots of lines going in many directions in the background and on the clothing will add energy to the finished piece.
If this bothers you, switch to yellow until you get your bearings, but go back to white and press hard, getting a lot of wax on the drawing.
Scribble, use pressure and let the crayon really play over the paper.
Do keep in mind the pencil drawing you've already made of the face and use it as your guide. , This light will make one side of the face glow and the other side will be in semi-shadow. , Select a 3/4" flat brush, load it well and begin to paint.
There is no correct place to start.
It can be the face, clothing or background. , Remember your light source, especially on the face.
The colors will be repelled by the crayon lines and the results will surprise you, in a delightful way. ,
About the Author
Anna Allen
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow pet care tutorials.
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