Subjects / Portrait painting

Best books to learn Portrait painting, in order

The portrait is the hardest subject to fake, so the order is unforgiving. Start with the structure underneath — the anatomy and proportions of the head and features — then the handling of light, form, and edges that turn drawing into painting, then flesh tones and the elusive skill of capturing a likeness. Skip the anatomy and every portrait looks slightly wrong. Bones first, then light, then color, then the person.

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