Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Digital Painting Tutorial: Painting Faces
Concept Art Genre: Fantasy Characters
Over thinking and over-planning can really hold an artist back, because the process of painting requires that we shift priorities at different times during the rendering process.
When it comes to painting faces I always recommend starting with line art, because it’s an efficient way to communicate shape and form. However, if we depend on those lines to inform more than the initial form of that face, then we start to lose sight of something really important—which is that there are no real lines defining the form of your face, nose, or mouth.
When you look at a face what you are perceiving is actually shape: shaped areas of light and dark, shaped areas of colour. It’s the combination of shape, colour and lighting that define the 3 dimensional form of each feature of the face.
So, after I use lines to inform the initial structure of the face, I try to move away from line and towards shape as quickly as possible in the painting process. This is what many artists refer to as: “painting like a sculpture”.
_______________________
Digital Painting Challenge: 5 Faces in 5 Weeks ✍🏻
Improve your ability to draw realistic and compelling characters, as you challenge yourself to paint 5 faces in 5 weeks with Hardy Fowler.
HOW TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE:
→ The weekly challenge will be posted every Wednesday at 11am (CT)
→ You have one week to finish the face of the week
→ Post your painting to your gram and tag @hardy_digitalpaintingstudio
We’ll be hand selecting 5 artists (one each week) for an invitation only feedback & mentorship session with Hardy Fowler.
_______________________
PAINT YOUR WORLD
Hardy Fowler is a professional Digital Painter with work seen in productions for Disney, Games Workshop and Neon District among many others.
Hardy's online academy, Digital Painting Studio, teaches the master-level skills, process and mindset he's learned from decades of experience as a professional digital artist.
CONNECT
→ digitalpaintingstudio.com
→ instagram.com/hardy_digitalpaintingstudio
→ artstation.com/hfowler
_______________________
#conceptart #digitalpainting #characterdesign #howtopaint #paintingfaces #drawingfaces #conceptarttutorial #fantasyart
Digital Painting Tutorial: Painting Faces
Concept Art Genre: Fantasy Characters
Over thinking and over-planning can really hold an artist back, because the process of painting requires that we shift priorities at different times during the rendering process.
When it comes to painting faces I always recommend starting with line art, because it’s an efficient way to communicate shape and form. However, if we depend on those lines to inform more than the initial form of that face, then we start to lose sight of something really important—which is that there are no real lines defining the form of your face, nose, or mouth.
When you look at a face what you are perceiving is actually shape: shaped areas of light and dark, shaped areas of colour. It’s the combination of shape, colour and lighting that define the 3 dimensional form of each feature of the face.
So, after I use lines to inform the initial structure of the face, I try to move away from line and towards shape as quickly as possible in the painting process. This is what many artists refer to as: “painting like a sculpture”.
_______________________
Digital Painting Challenge: 5 Faces in 5 Weeks ✍🏻
Improve your ability to draw realistic and compelling characters, as you challenge yourself to paint 5 faces in 5 weeks with Hardy Fowler.
HOW TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE:
→ The weekly challenge will be posted every Wednesday at 11am (CT)
→ You have one week to finish the face of the week
→ Post your painting to your gram and tag @hardy_digitalpaintingstudio
We’ll be hand selecting 5 artists (one each week) for an invitation only feedback & mentorship session with Hardy Fowler.
_______________________
PAINT YOUR WORLD
Hardy Fowler is a professional Digital Painter with work seen in productions for Disney, Games Workshop and Neon District among many others.
Hardy's online academy, Digital Painting Studio, teaches the master-level skills, process and mindset he's learned from decades of experience as a professional digital artist.
CONNECT
→ digitalpaintingstudio.com
→ instagram.com/hardy_digitalpaintingstudio
→ artstation.com/hfowler
_______________________
#conceptart #digitalpainting #characterdesign #howtopaint #paintingfaces #drawingfaces #conceptarttutorial #fantasyart
