Face reference drawing: elderly man, woman in profile, child looking up

Three finished face studies for artists learning portraits: an elderly man in three-quarter view, a young woman in profile, and a child looking up. Each is drawn in graphite, pen and ink, and charcoal, to show how the eye, the nose and the turn of the head are handled. Use them as a copy study or a lesson sheet. Type another face, such as a laughing man or a freckled girl, and the same three media carry it.

• a copy study for portrait practice
• a reference sheet on a drawing table
• a lesson sheet for a figure drawing class
• a sketchbook page of faces

Frequently asked questions

What are the nine drawings?

Three faces, each drawn three ways: an elderly man in three-quarter view, a young woman in profile, and a child looking up, in graphite, pen and ink, and charcoal.

Can I ask for a different face?

Yes. The direction field takes another face, such as a laughing man or a freckled girl. It is a request, so the result follows it in the same three media.

How do the three media differ?

Graphite is fine contour and smooth tone. Pen and ink is thin lines with cross-hatching and no gray wash. Charcoal is soft smudged shadow with a few bold lines.

Are they photographs?

No. Each is a drawing on a plain white sheet, with no photograph and no color.

About toile

This page is a showcase and a starting point: nine samples already rendered, three readings of the pack crossed with three styles, each shown at the size and ratio it was made for. Take any of them further on the wall with a few words, or ask for all nine again under your own direction; a sign-in keeps what you make, and it is free while Toile is new. The recipe behind each sample — the subject, the style, the palette, the framing — travels with the image rather than staying private to the render: it is in the alt text of every sample and in the page's own structured data, so a search engine reads the same handles a person would.