GIOVANNI PRIANTE

Designing a Portrait

In this intensive one-week workshop, participants will work on portrait drawing from the live model through a structural and expressive approach. The course proposes understanding the portrait not only as a likeness, but as a designed image from the very beginning, in which every decision—composition, structure, and value—contributes to the final result.

Throughout the workshop, students will learn how to develop a solid portrait starting from a clear block-in based on the underlying structure of the head and its relationship to the neck and shoulders. Special emphasis will be placed on proportion, gesture, and simplification as tools for organizing the drawing and establishing a clear intention from the earliest stages. Once the block-in is established and the value range defined, students will work on toned paper using Russian Sauce as a unifying base.

The course will focus on how expression and character emerge from conscious structural and compositional decisions rather than from excessive detail. Participants will learn to prioritize visual information, define focal points, control edges, and design the relationship between figure and background to create portraits with presence, atmosphere, and coherence.

Through live demonstrations and personalized critiques, students will be guided through the entire drawing process—from initial construction to final resolution. The workshop aims to provide practical tools that help artists make confident and informed decisions, which they can continue to apply consistently in their own portrait practice.

Basic drawing experience is recommended.