Proko - Project - Portraits in Perspective

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Project - Portraits in Perspective

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

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Drawing BasicsFull course (182 lessons)

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Stan Prokopenko

Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.

assignments 415 submissions

A 15 min warm-up page of two-point boxes in Bic, a 20 min warm-up page of boxes, heads #1,#2, #3, and a Proko skull, and then moved on to a longer 45-60 min lay-in for heads #4, and #6.

LESSON NOTES

This is a great exercise to improve your perspective skills, especially with organic forms like human heads. You're going to figure out the orientation of the head in space by considering a simple box, then using that box as a map for a portrait. Watch this video for tips on how to do this properly.

Practice this from the photos I've provided in the downloads tab and don't forget to submit your drawing to the community!

DOWNLOADS

zip

head-boxes.zip

8 MB

mp4

project-portraits-in-perspective.mp4

213 MB

txt

project-portraits-in-perspective-transcript-english.txt

5 kB

txt

project-portraits-in-perspective-transcript-spanish.txt

6 kB

file

project-portraits-in-perspective-captions-english.srt

8 kB

file

project-portraits-in-perspective-captions-spanish.srt

9 kB

ASSIGNMENTS

In this project we'll practice applying perspective to organic forms. Heads, while organic, adhere to the rules of perspective similar to boxy objects, so we'll start by constructing 3D heads. Look for clues of the angle of each axis such as angles from brow to ear, the vertical center line of the face, and the horizontal side to side angles of the features.

I've prepared a range of portrait photos for you to work with, that you could find in the downloads tab under the video. You'll notice each photo is numbered. Please label your drawings with the corresponding photo you're drawing to help me and the community give you a critique. Otherwise it would be very difficult to know which box matches each photo.

Level 1: Basic Box Construction

Draw a box representing a simplified version of each head.

Try to match the orientation and dimensions of the head in the photo
Rely on your intuition to imagine each head's rotation and dimensions
Iterative process: Redo and refine as needed

Level 2: Head Construction

Start with a small box representation of the head, same as Level 1. Then add linear head construction with accurate perspective.

Use primarily straight lines to draw, emphasizing plane changes
Find angles in the organic shape that correlate with the simple box (ex: top and back of the head)
Observe, analyze, then draw
Avoid drawing tiny heads; aim for at least 4 inches in height

Deadline: Submit by 1/15/2024 for a chance to be in the critique video!

Tim

•

So, I think I get drawing random boxes in two-point perspective, but I found going from that warmup exercise to trying to put a box around a head in two-point perspective a real challenge. When you see people who can actually draw do it, it looks so simple. Of course, people who've mastered their craft always make things that aren't simple look easy, but I really floundered on this one. Off to watch the critique video to see if I can figure this out. Failing that, I might need to take a cognitive test, I hear they're all the rage.

@appa93

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11d

This was exhausting, I hope it’s decent lol

Bubbles

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12d

LEVEL 1. Honestly this one was hard because I can do a cube in 2 point perspective but applied to heads is way more difficult all of a sudden. I really struggle knowing if it's the top or bottom of the head the one visible.

Janou Baarda

•

18d

I hope I did right. It took me a lot of thinking and figuring out.. Can someone tell me if I did correctly?

@dbd1000

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19d

Here's my assignment.

@dbd1000

•

18d

Some more.

Laika

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19d

Here is my submission. I tried to do it without a horizon line and it worked at first, but on some of them it definitely didn't. For the last few I used a horizon line and they turned out better

Patrick Bosworth

•

19d

Nice job, you tackled quite a few of these! It definitely helps to establish a horizon line every time until you've really internalized the way cubes act in perspective, keep up the practice they get easier the more you work on them. I'm noticing some extreme convergence in a few of your cubes (4, 14, 15, 16, 17.) A quick rule of thumb to controlling convergence, the closer your vanishing points are, the more distortion you'll see. Your examples 12, and 18 have a much greater distance between the vanishing points so they feel more like cubes. The extreme pinch of the top corner in 16 shows a dramatic up angle perspective, but you'd notice a lot of distortion in the facial features with this much convergence. It helps to make sure you only have one vanishing point visible in the frame of your drawing to make sure they're not placed too close together. You can see in my example, one vanishing point to the left of the cube, and far off the page to the right is the second vanishing point where the hairline/brow/nose/chin lines recede. Play around with the distance between your vanishing points to see how this works so you can adjust it to however you want your portraits to look! Hope this helps, keep up the good work!

@na_talie

•

22d

This worked better for me, than the measuring project. Probably, because these portraits are smaller and therefore easier to measure.

Ty Rogers

•

23d

Getting back to the flow of things

Jose Anton

•

27d

Level 1 and 2 exercises. At the end of the course, we'll delve deeper into portraiture. I felt quite uncomfortable with level 2.

@brimarie

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1mo

Yes, finally found time to draw again—although I find this kind of exercise really hard...

Janou Baarda

•

18d

Now you are just showing off 😜 Just kidding, amazing page!

Melanie Scearce

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1mo

Awesome sketchbook page 🤩

Tommy Pinedo

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1mo

This was hard for me too lol, these are great attempts! :D Glad that you found time to draw :)

@seandraws

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1mo

This was a fun 15min exercise

Sofy

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1mo

Plodding along. Focusing on the low angle references because I find them tricky. Especially the jaw and chin. But I do feel like it's getting easier.

@brimarie

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1mo

Great job!

Sofy

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1mo

1st attempt at Level 2. Before watching the demo. Feedback appreciated :)

Sofy

•

1mo

another struggle:

Wieke Pierhagen

•

1mo

I started before the holidays, took a break for Christmas and finished for a good start of 2026 ;-) I had a pretty hard time in the beginning because I couldn't figure out how to see a head in cube form/ 3D. Then I realized that I've always drawn from pictures in a way that focusses on the outline (2D), not on the 3D form. Then I understood what made it so hard for me. I've noticed the progress from the 1st to the last drawing, though I still need a lot more practice to get it more and stop checking outlines instead of the 3D form. The most issues came from length, breadth and tilt of the cube form. Often it was too much or too little. I'm not sure how I can change that, so I guess it's time to watch the demo's ;-)

Tori Blade

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1mo

Any critiques appreciated! I got procreate right after Christmas and have been experimenting with digital art for the first time. I am really loving it. I don’t typically draw portraits so this was fun :)

Daniel Cabot

•

2mo

some two point boxes and heads

Ágúst Strand

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2mo

Level 2 after watching the demo and critiques

Ágúst Strand

•

2mo

Level 2

Sofy

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2mo

I started reiterating and I think I need some help. I’ve done similar exercises before and I just never seem to get it right. Sorry if these are a bit sloppy. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong, but I seem to be doing it consistently.

Sofy

•

1mo

Second attempt at level 1. A little better maybe? Not sure.

@murcdirty

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2mo

These are my level 2 assignments, I've done 90% of this course traditional, but I would like to get better at digital so I drew these in Clip Studio Paint.