Portrait Rendering Tutorial

Interested in leveling up your art? Consider checking out my Patreon! I host weekly live workshops and post all my work including original character design sketches, illustrations, academic figure drawings, portraiture, and plenty of study guides!
/ christopheyoung
Olivia Ciarfella Reference Photo:
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Brushes:
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To see more of my work:
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/ christophe_young
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[@alessandro7630]

You see the whole process and then in the end you still think "how is this possible?" because the result looks like magic. Amazing work and thanks!

[@Bororm]

Art is a real form of magic imo. Spot on.

[@Corruptedkiwi]

I still find it amazing when I myself do art and I’m like god this looks ugly and when I finish it looks decent and I’m like…. How the hell that happen?

[@vergasyt7702]

@@Bororm gghhhhhhhhhjhhhjh6hhhhhj

[@Bororm]

@@Corruptedkiwi This has been my main take away from art in a life lesson sorta way. You start out on something and it looks like crap but you power through till it turns out ok. Hopefully lol

[@jonathaslamarca]

yes

[@itsnarthus]

I've ALWAYS hoped I'd find a video of someone just DOING what I thought I could never do. No cuts or skips or anything; just the entire process altogether. This is so helpful. Thank you!

[@ericavoss8105]

It feels illegal watching these tutes without paying for them omg. Best teacher ever! Thankyou so much!

[@adverse811]

Oh my god bro i literally yelled NO WAY! Thank you so much for posting this! I've been really lost about rendering portraits. Keep up the great work !

[@CrimsonDawn-ou4og]

When I read this comment I laughed so hard because when I saw this in my recommends I went "No???" In a very confused and shocked way 😂😂

[@augustosantiagobarrios9609]

Hola buenas noches soy un hombre de la telenovela que me gusta mucho el trabajo que me ha pasado y que me ha dado un poco de tiempo para que me haga sentir que no soy un buen hombre para mi vida y que no lo quiera hacer nada en el mundo que no lo quiera hacer nada en el mundo que no lo quiera hacer nada en el mundo que no lo quiera hacer nada en el mundo que no se

[@hazysyd]

Jesus loves you! Accept God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the eternal consequences of sin and death! Repent and be saved. Because everyone is a sinner fallen short of God’s glory, we all deserve just punishment for our sins. But God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life! Instead of giving us what we deserve, God loved us so much to send Jesus (the Word of God become human) to take ALL of our sin and punishment into Himself, forever defeating sin and death for US! By living in Christ, we are forgiven, redeemed, have the gift of the Holy Spirit who comforts and helps us live holy lives, and have eternal life in heaven being reconciled with God our Father! God’s love for us is more high and long and wide and deep than we can comprehend, but I pray that you will understand and rest in the love of God and the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit and the right of being adopted by Him as an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven is a beautiful gift and I plead that you accept it. Give up your life, take up your cross and follow Jesus! I love you, Jesus loves you!

[@ElvisDman]

Your channel is a goldmine, thank you so much for doing this work!

[@Nanaba]

agreed

[@ahmedhussain9095]

Berserk is the best woo

[@hugodevotion]

well said bro

[@ElvisDman]

@@ahmedhussain9095 fuck yeah

[@Ninjatoertchen]

This is one of the few tutorials on youtube that actually helps a lot! I really appreciate that you explain in a relatively slow way. Thats really cool and helpful for me as a foreigner! I learned a lot today thanky to you! May god bless you

[@Azidust]

i totally agree with you the other videos assume we already know things , so they speed up the process, i never learned much from a youtube tutorial other then this chanel

[@iamrom]

I love your genuine personality. A lot of the other tutorials I've encountered so far are made by people with overbearing comically large personalities which get too distracting.

[@gundevilz]

i genuinely can't believe i can watch this for free... your content is wonderful, i sincerely appreciate all of the work and effort you put into your videos, as well as your decision to make your knowledge so accessible! 🙏

[@sb-fc9lg]

this is the video that I've been looking for my whole life! Step by step guide and detailed explaining are things that can't be found in a time-lapse speed painting tutorial. Thank you so much for making this video.

[@iammethefoo]

I loved watching the whole process for this video. I usually don't watch all the way for long videos but I didn't want to miss any detail you explained. I am so glad I watched this whole thing because I know so much more about portraits now. I'm also very motivated to draw again thank you so much

[@enas7547]

Total beginner here and the steps you easily explain here helps me out a lot in finding my own process. Thanks!

[@Art-base]

You truly have a natural talent for explain deep and complex subject about art and rendering. Keep it up, Chris !

[@Danny-zb1ze]

I love you. Best teacher ever!

[@cristiantamayoarango8009]

Man, your channel is really exellent, I hope life rewards you for putting this professional content for free.

[@realmaer6108]

Thank you for your labor. This is a very good detailed tutorial. I'm one of those people who need long, leisurely lectures to really understand the material. So this channel is a real treasure!

[@Maren617]

Your commentary is SO HELPFUL! Thank you with all my heart, you‘re a hero for art babies! ❤

[@PaulsonAustin]

thank you for the fantastic in-depth tutorial. It's really hard finding good tutorials on this stuff for the digital medium, and I think your doing the best stuff out there.

[@simonadumascu]

You can't believe how much you're helping

[@Andreaosj]

Feel like I've just won the damn lottery. This is amazing. Best tutorial/walkthrough I've seen so far. Thank you for sharing every single step. Looking forward to more of your videos

[@55MAK55]

MY NOTES (numbers do not correlate with one another) Questions/ my own tid-bits: 1 How did you open the background menu to adjust the white background to grey? 2 what's your shortcut for making the brush bigger and smaller? (Comma and period keys! you answered it) 3 how do you pick your highlight color? 4 how can we practice identifying lighting angles? (I was totally wrong when you said the light was coming from the top down at an angle. I thought it was coming from bottom left heh) 5. what exactly did you do to the eye to make it "fixed" ??? because damn was that a good job. roughly before the 40 min mark. 6. HOW TO LIQUIFY! I will google it but was that super helpful omg you moved the whole nose lol. ((I use clip studio)) 7 personally my skills cannot get me passed the 40 min mark (if I'm lucky) so my notes may be a tad off in terms of language used or just general understanding, so help me out if you can! 8 can you explain your layers and how exactly you are adding/merging and why particularly after the 50 min mark. 9 if you could critique your own piece what would you say? it looks 100% beautiful to me but I am curious if there are any "errors" or things you could do more. 10 similarly, how can you keep rendering forever? what exactly more would you add- this looks so nice as is. and how do you keep from mudding everything by the end? 11 this is a dumb question but can you see every stroke that you do? towards the end when you pulled out the orange ( 1:09:16) I could not see any strokes that you added but I know you was doing something and I know that it looked better after it! Things to Remember: 1 Curves have softer shadow transitions while sharper contrasts have sharper shadows. 2. Cast shadows can have harder light (sunlight) as opposed to form shadows 3 small brush to make a hard edge and then make it bigger to get a nice "fade-out" 4 no need to make shadows super detailed. Eyes focus on lightness. 5 merge layers as you go 6 putting in saturated colors softly transitions (hair to forehead area) are more fluid. 7 highlight color looks almost like lighter skin color! (who knew! for some reason I didn't know that??) 8 LIQUIFY is a great tool to help move things after they've been placed. 9 each time we move a step further into the piece we allow ourselves to use a smaller brush than the last smallest size we used to add details. 10 adding some of the lighting from the background to the face is how we can show how the background affects our character. 11 everything has a purpose (adding shadow under the eye because some of the eyelashes can cast a shadow) 12 eyeball anatomy- the cornea is round. highlight on one side and major eye light on the other side) 13- rendering can apparently go on forever hahahaha 14- easier to de-saturate than saturate. Order of things: 1 Line Sketch in orange/red 2 color in skin color 3 block in shadows and merge (pay attention to hard and light castings) 10:00 4 add the general red for color on cheeks/nose (24:50) 5 add darker and more saturated red to the sharp lines (nose, mouth, eyes, jaw line) 6 highlights! (32:20) 7 at 36:20 we have all basics down and are ready to move onto... 8 pulling out and pushing in certain places by manipulating light. (i.e. nose bridge highlight to make it look more "3D") 9 editing everything in general? 10 liquify tool to edit further. 11 fixing the ear to hair transitions 12 50:35 understanding the lighting of your piece further 13 adding the background blue to the portrait "glazing" 14 hair that surrounds the face 15 designing the final small detail shapes. 16 eyeball lighting/shapes/highlights 17 final liquify - checking relationships between features/angles/sizes 18- more rendering ? final checks! 14 toning things with saturated orange color to un-mud things and add that umph. 15 vibrance and saturation filter -- color balance -- other filters. FINAL COMMENT: I came into this video as someone who has been practicing clip studio for just over 2 years now and practicing art as a lifetime hobby. The piece is beautiful and to start I was very motivated. But..... quickly humbled! I am not sure I can achieve all that you have but I will keep trying and eventually I hope I can grow. (IG is MaieBearArt if you are curious *sweat ) Thanks for posting the video, and I hope my comments are able to help someone out there too.

[@nack4097]

I am an artist practicing drawing. and enough knowledge to answer any questions you may have. 1. How did you open the background menu to adjust the white background to gray? = Shortcut Keys by pressing Ctrl + u and reducing the light intensity or if it's clip studio, just double click on the paper, it can change the color as you want. 2.what's your shortcut for making the brush bigger and smaller? = { } 3.how do you pick your highlight color? = I don't know how to answer this one, sorry. 4.how can we practice identifying lighting angles? = Sort my training to practice By using Blocking in > Core shadow Cast shadow > Shading Light and Shadow >Overcast Lighting > Portrait > Hair > Figure Shading. 5.what exactly did you do to the eye to make it "fixed" = to be corrected The shape of the face looks more stable. If you're interested in proportion, check out Andrew Loomis' book or proko's KZbin channel. 6.HOW TO LIQUIFY! = photoshop click filter in the top bar and click on Liquitfy = clip studio press J button and look at subtool [blend] there will be Liquify (if yours doesn't have it, you may need to press update clipstudio to the latest version) 7. (:w 8.explain your layers and how exactly you are adding/merging = 0.Adding a normal layer shortcut key (ctrl + shift + n) 1. All merging into a single layer. (Ctrl+Shift+E) 2. Selecting only the layers that you want to be a single layer, click on “Layer”, right click and then select “Merge Layer” 3. Combine layers into the same GROUP (Ctrl+G). 9. if you could critique your own piece what would you say? = You try to study the reference of your favorite artist. or exercises that you want to practice using comparative pictures. and set a goal that you want to gradually practice step by step 10.how can you keep rendering = You may need to group the tasks you do or the thinking process. Going step by step, for example starting with Drawing > Shading > Color, will help keep the work from getting too cluttered. 11. towards the end when you pulled out the orange ( 1:09:16) = Increase image freshness by adding saturation using shortcut (ctrl+u) (All answers are expected answers that Christophe Y would use this technique. There may be some correct answers or there may be other methods. I only answered the part that I knew. and compiling various vocabulary Maybe it's weird or wrong because I use google translate to help translate all of them. If there's a mistake, I'm sorry. Have fun drawing :> )

[@lucamaretti]

@@nack4097 Hello ! i have a question for the 2. How can i make those symbol, i press the keys to get: { but the brush don't became bigger or shortes.... and i don' t understand why... Sorry for my english

[@nack4097]

@@lucamaretti that you will increase or decrease You will need to use Brush before you can adjust the size. An example from a channel (Photo Feaver) kzbin.info/www/bejne/mH7Zmqhjlr2CZ5o&ab_channel=PhotoFeaver Or is there another way, shortcut (Alt + Right Click + Drag Horizontally.) 1.In order to increase or decrease the size of your brush, you need to: Click and hold the Alt key. (On Mac, this would be the Ctrl and Alt keys), 2.Click and hold the right mouse button, 3.Then drag horizontally from left to right to increase, and from right to left to decrease the size.

[@AlekThunder47]

Imo you shouldn't bother yourself with all these small questions/"tidbits" and focus on fundamentals if you want to improve.

[@55MAK55]

@@nack4097 Thank you so much! I super appreciate it, I will review it all and put it to good use! Wow, this is a lot- thanks! Do you have an art insta? I would like to follow you :) you do know more than me after all hehe

[@leddyxx]

I'll be returning to this video time and time again, you're incredible.

[@Hannah-fo3bc]

I've been wanting to get back to painting but it had been difficult because I couldn't find a video process I would understand or appeal to me. Thank you so much for this comprehensive video it gives so much direction without being too strict about a lot of things. I can't wait to follow along when I have the time. Keep up the good work and I hope you have a great day!

[@user-mi5hg7co2s]

oh this is a godsend! i keep coming back to this video, it's such a help when you're stuck on a piece

[@kingpen1179]

THIS CHANNEL IS ABSOLUTE GOLD

[@arelix6646]

Your stopping and explaining and still manage to do this in an hour. This would take me a whole day to do :(

[@annablaster]

Ok I had to sub, there really isn’t much videos in like a full rendering process so thank you so much. And I love the fact that u talk into it, that’s really great and very helpful

[@pedroalves-wy2kn]

Christophe, what an amazing tutorial. Well explained, simple and to the point. For a new comer like me this is invaluable. Thank you so much. Pedro, from portugal.

[@rachelzenzile]

I think this is the best tutorial I've ever watched. Thank you so much!

[@BrightSkies7]

This changed my art from this tutorial alone- thank you!

[@haleygoodrich1045]

the brush size change for tapered lines is so useful! thanks for sharing something so in depth

[@Negativ3_]

I'm not even an artist but I was very fascinated the whole time. Incredible video 👍

[@MostlyDrew]

Man your videos have been a blessing. Thanks for sharing

[@francinegabb]

i cant even express how much i appreciate you making this tutorial right now. thank u so much u are actually like jesus to me rn teaching the biblical scriptures and commandments of colors

[@ink2papyrus]

IT’S CRAZY HOW PERFECT THIS IS!

[@Lorenzo-pw7dp]

definitely the best skin rendering tutorial on youtube

[@omalga]

thank you, rendering was always hard for me. Especially detailing process because other youtubers always say, now add details etc, and you actually explained it. Love yaa

[@adoragrayskull]

Dude, your channel has saved my aspiring artist broke ass! I'm serious, it's been sooo helpful, thank you so so so much!

[@AuroraCelestialGlow]

Hands down the best tutorial I've seen to date! Thank you so much!

[@kenziiixxx3628]

•use half tone (colors middle left of box) •gray background (white is too intense) •line art color orange or red •lock color layer •have reference next to your drawing •change your brush size big and small to your liking (can use key changes on keyboard) Using a dark red for shadows •keep things softer when beginning and sharpen edges near final *If you have difficulty with control of your airbrush change the opacity * 15:11 line art/mask Paint on one layer for shadows /break

[@vanthulla]

Not only the result is gorgeous, but the process is so interesting and useful. Thanks!

[@rageagainst_thePC]

the sound of the pen against the drawing tablet is sooo relaxing

[@Otaridae]

really thankful for explaining everything you do and the process as well. I'm really amazed by your works, they're gorgeous

[@mrssirens]

Best channel for art level ups!

[@LutherDesigns]

Best, most in depth tutorial I’ve seen, answered so many questions, thank you so much!!

[@octonolite_0]

Thanks for the helpful tutorial. It was worth the watch for the quick eyeball tutorial alone. As many times as I learn, that always escapes me in practice.

[@stevenroberson9846]

So many great techniques! Thanks for sharing your process with us. Your explanations were very helpful.

[@Khaleddraws]

This is insane.. Thank you for the detailed explanation and walkthrough of the process.

[@ritap679]

I might have just made the best portrait I've ever done watching this video

[@latifx3944]

Thank you so much for this video! Ive been really struggling with my depth of values, I tend to color block in the darkest and lightest, then smudge it to create value, but have been unhappy with it. This gives me a whole new way to think and change things up! Much appreciated!

[@Simm777]

Most helpful tutorial I watched in a very long time - thanks a lot, Christophe!

[@jackneblung8287]

Here are a few notes for myself, but feel free to add on 1. Pick a good reference photo, high resolution to see the fine details, like shadows around the lips. 2. A reference with clear lighting is important, I picked one that had a very soft diffuse lighting over the whole thing and the lack of clear shadows made this process difficult. 3. Do not go into detail too quickly, large details into small, soft into hard. and hard edges into soft edges with the brush size. 4.Find graphic reads, and don't be afraid to stylize.

[@anaversary-]

Ok so i've had issues with note #1 & 2. So many people say these points, but i ask myself, what if i want to choose a reference that has bad lighting? Is it never recommended at all? Or are those notes supposed to be just for learning portrait rendering.

[@jackneblung8287]

@@anaversary- for me those notes are just for learning. Picking a reference with soft/unclear lighting simply makes it more difficult. It is a good idea to start out with well lit reference and then work your way towards less traditional lighting arrangements.

[@anaversary-]

@@jackneblung8287 Thank you Jack. That's what I was thinking. It's like playing guitar, don't start with crazy riffs and instead play songs with simple chords to get used to the feel of the guitar. I assume when people said don't choose references with bad lightning I thought they meant always. Even 30 years into your art journey. But it's just for learning :)

[@jackneblung8287]

@@anaversary- Yep! I wrote it down because when I was following along I chose a picture with bad lighting and It made things difficult, but I still think it came out nice!

[@anaversary-]

@@jackneblung8287 that's good. Notes are so important

[@nala8179]

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! Would you do a tutorial on how to render characters in different lighting environments? Like indoor/outdoor. This was extremely useful!

[@pinkcheng8188]

You can check out the book written by James Gurney, and a light book for visual artist by Richard Yot Last one would be how to render by Scott Robertson

[@nala8179]

@@pinkcheng8188 Tysm! Will be checking out all of your recommendations

[@danashajames8941]

Yaaayyy ur back!

[@虎右]

你的每个教程对我的启发都非常大，可以说你是我的启蒙老师了。希望多出视屏，在我眼里你就是最好的老师。

[@Lissbirds]

I've been struggling with face rendering and this was SO helpful, thank you!! I would also love to see your process for male faces.

[@ninjarama]

Beautiful work! Really inspiring…

[@UrusaiJoe]

Wonderful. I'm gonna come back from time to time to this.

[@OXSYON]

Yay another video, you can make the videos as long as you want i watch the whole video and try learn thanks for sharing :)

[@adelstav6856]

Found this video right after dropping one of my portraits out of frustration, and now I have the knowledge and motivation to continue! Thank you, that was really helpful❤️

[@sunniesh9915]

heroes dont wear capes, thank you so much for doing this!

[@greedmarks7478]

Oh how long I was waiting for new content ! Thanks for sharing :)

[@diestans1587]

I always waiting ur video Chris!!! All of ur video really helps me for drawing, especially drawing women, girls, that's really hard for me 😂😂😂

[@ppl82]

Finally I can this kind of art style 😭 Thank YoU VERY MUCH!!!

[@sunnydaysonly420]

This was very helpful and I like that your design process is very simple. Some artists have a very complicated rendering method that makes it hard to follow or learn. Also appreciated your voiceover.

[@santiagoromero8424]

I thought you wouldn’t upload another tutorial anymore, thank you so much

[@songofstorms3534]

This is gold! Thank you so much for sharing. Really insightful and helpful. Very glad I stumbled across your channel today 👍

[@khangaroo6504]

Thank you CHristophe, you're a godsend!

[@ksksksks4437]

I love the concept of tutorials

[@artofnocula]

That specularity trick is incredibly cool. Never occurred to me that the pin light mode would be useful for anything besides making cursed-looking memes.

[@9b8ll]

Oh my goodness. This is worth the 1 hour watch for sure. Keep it up 😊

[@rem7502]

Thank you for dropping this absolute gem exactly when I needed it. ❤️

[@spierdaczka]

23:30 - very valuable information. I usually make a delicate gray on the lower part of women's faces, but I explain it to myself by the reflection of sky light from the ground, clothes (if dark or cool), etc. also from observation - in lower part of my own face there is always a cooler shade

[@kneckoknecko]

Simply amazing. Thank you for sharing your process! Will try to find a way toincorporate this into my own style!

[@FuzzyWhisper]

Thanks so much for this! Your tutorials are always packed with top quality info.

[@RezzhulGames]

Hey Christophe, thank you for this amazing tutorial gonna buy your brush sets to show some support ;) Maybe a video about brushes and how you use them would be nice for some future tutorials. Thanks one more time! Amazing work!

[@weewoo719]

WOO LETS GO ANOTHER ONE DROPPED

[@suigeneris131]

Thanks fot taking the time to do this. We aprecciate it a lot!

[@lauren-bq7nb]

Shadow mapping is such a good idea!

[@NilO_D]

Wow! It's a perfect digital portrait. That's great. Keep our meeting! 👍 Watch the video to the end. Have a happy new week!

[@treverjohansen1458]

i love watching you paint soo damn crisp.

[@alwaysyou1333]

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!! WISH EVERY GOOD THING HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE AND YOUR WORK REALLY REALLY WONDERFUL !!!!!!

[@MohamedHesham-xk1mn]

Great artist and great person ❤

[@LIZSTOMANIABTCHS]

OMG i love all your videos 😍

[@rinn570]

This tutorial was very helpful! Thank you so much and keep going!

[@philliplewis2023]

Your back already 😯👏👏

[@TeaThe12321]

Amazing work 👏👏👏

[@dinhle8757]

your channel is so coolll, thank you so much, Christophe

[@MusaJalii]

Such a beautiful piece! Thank you for the whole process!

[@maokai09]

Thank you. May need to rewatch.

[@Freeasacloud]

Im so happy i came across this YT channel. You have amazingly useful videos and very good at explaining as well

[@cristinabadea7509]

This is so beautiful and so marvelously explained. Thank you soo much!

[@ayan4697]

I can't find the brush you mainly use in this video in your brush packs in gumroad :(

[@TESTMACARONI]

so so helpful, thanks

[@devy4017]

Pls give more tutorials like thiss, this is soooo helpful :D

[@roninguts0]

Awesome tutorial! In-depth explaining of more settle aspects

[@akitoakito8790]

Thank you so much for the video ❤️ 💖

[@kyymbrlyy]

PLS DONT DELETE THIS I cannot find anyone else that explains well and I can understand 😭😭😭😭

[@manueldelacruz]

just amazing! thanks for sharing 🙏

[@daffyduck912]

Hi Chris, the brushes you are using didn't seem to appear in your painting brushback - are these available? Great video!

[@yveltalsea]

i'd also love to know this :O was planning on buying the pack *edit, just bought the brush pack and can confirm the soft shading brush is not in there ;; i feel kinda dumb now.

[@niedostempna123]

i just bought them for the soft brush :( now i feel sad cuz i was motivated

[@bernatmoreno8301]

Just bought the brushes aswell. Hope he'll make a vid about those as this tutorial was great.

[@alessandro7630]

I think you can recreate that easily and maybe for this reason he didn't put it in his brushes pack: you take a normal round brush, you reduce slightly the hardness, then if you want it like in the video you can put a texture on it. Then I also see that the thickness is modified (it has a long and narrow tip), the size dynamic is turned on and the flow is reduced (you can see the exact value on screen). He maybe has the pressure-opacity turned on too. It seems like the brush shape follows the direction of his pen but I don't think that is so important. In the first series on human figure he talks about how a slightly soft brush with a texture can help have a final that seems less digital since the strokes blends better, and a low flow value helps controlling the strenght of the brush strokes. I hope this helps

[@grimsonforce7504]

@@alessandro7630 Yeah everything else is easy to create however I'm not having any luck regarding the brush shape direction, my brush settings don't move like his. To me it is important. I'm glad I didn't buy the pack. That was the brush I was looking for.

[@MrManagerCat]

8:35 can i ask what keyboard shortcut did you use here?