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The term “composition” derives from the Latin “compositus” which means “well placed”, while perspective derives from the Italian word “perspicere” which means “see clearly”. The composition and the perspective are instruments through which the artist draw lines and forms on a bidimensional support (i.e. sheet) in such way to create the illusion of a three dimensional world. [Read more…]

Chiaroscuro is an italian term that means “light and dark”. It usually refers to the ability of simulate volumes using light and dark gradation of tones. The three characteristics of a color are: hue, saturation and tone. In this article I will focus on the last one. A chiaroscuro can be drawn using different medium: pencils, pens, paint and others. Using paint a chiaroscuro can be done using whatever color plus white. In this case the final picture is said monochromatic.

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In this article I start to talk about techniques to make portraits. In particular, I am going to discuss on how to use proportions to make credible portraits. When a professional artist executes a portrait, he has in mind the proportions between the various parts (mouth, nose, eyes and so on) of an ideal model face. [Read more…]