Craig Nelson: Drawing a Duotone Portrait

Master the art of portrait drawing with professor of illustration, Craig Nelson.

With this instructional video workshop, Drawing a Duotone Portrait, you will soon master portrait drawing, following the logical and intuitive progression Craig has refined.

Craig Nelson emphasizes logical order while drawing. He compares his drawing process to focusing a photograph. He builds layers of soft lines and swatches of tone, then rapidly sharpens his subject with crisp edges and bold darks.

You see Craig translate angles from his source photo to his paper, as he looks for reference points to guide him. He completes a gentle outline of his subject then dusts in a layer of tone. With tissue and fingertips, Craig diffuses blocks of color to avoid locking in detail too early in the drawing.

With his value in place, Craig finishes the drawing with dark charcoal lines and deliberate strokes. He carves out the well worn character of his subjects face and lifts out highlights with a kneaded eraser. Throughout the workshop, Craig emphasizes restraint, under doing each step until he finds the right moment to bring his subject into focus. As he adds last details to the nose and chin, you'll see this logical, intuitive process come to fruition.

Large Reference Photo jpg download file

In this relaxed, candid conversation with Craig Nelson we asked him questions we thought you would most like to ask if you could have dinner with an artist.

After graduating from Art Center College of Design with distinction, Craig began his career working in Los Angeles for recording companies and motion picture studios, creating portraits and other subjects with strict deadlines. Craig's countless movie posters include "The Cowboys", "Slapshot", and "Homeward Bound" among many others. His album cover credits include, "Sammy Davis Jr. Live", "Rick Nelson, Country" and "Natalie Cole, Thankful" along with many more.

Collectors include, James Garner, Neil Simon, Toyota Corporation, UCLA Dental and Law School, the U.S. Air Force, UCSF Dental School and many more. He has won over 200 awards of excellence and several gold medals. The "Arts for the Parks" national competition awarded Craig the Grand Teton Natural History Award for a painting entitled "Dining Alone". His work is collected in the United States, Asia as well as Europe.