Portrait Sketchbooking – Explore the Human Face by Gaby Niko

This course is a practical, no-fluff guide to drawing portraits. Gaby Niko walks you through the core principles of proportion and structure, then shows you how to sketch three different types of portraits in your sketchbook. It’s about building a habit and seeing your own progress, not chasing perfection.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Draw the structure of the head and understand facial proportions.
• Sketch individual facial features: eyes, noses, and lips.
• Complete three portrait sketches: profile, three-quarter, and frontal views.
• Photograph and edit your sketches for sharing online.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: No previous experience is necessary.
• Tools: A pencil, a sketchbook, and access to the Snapseed App (or a similar editing app) if you want to edit your illustrations digitally.

📝 Description

This isn’t a course about hyper-realistic rendering. It’s about getting comfortable with the human face as a subject and building a consistent sketchbooking practice. Gaby Niko breaks down the intimidating process of portraiture into manageable chunks. You start with the basics: how to hold your pencil for shading and hatching, and the simple geometric rules that govern head structure and proportions.

From there, you focus on the details. You’ll spend dedicated lessons drawing eyes, noses, and lips, learning how to capture their unique shapes and angles. The real payoff comes in the main project, where you apply everything to draw three distinct portraits: a profile, a three-quarter view, and a face from the front. The final module is a practical bonus, showing you how to photograph and edit your sketches to share your work online. It’s a straightforward, skill-building approach that prioritizes practice over theory.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Anyone interested in learning how to draw portraits.
• Artists who want to improve their drawing abilities and build a sketchbook habit.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Gaby Niko is a freelance illustrator and sketchbook artist based in Poland. She studied design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poland and spent nearly a decade working in sports apparel design before leaving to pursue drawing full-time in 2020. She has amassed over 350K followers on Instagram and works as a brand ambassador for Paper Concept, a Polish art store. Her commissioned work includes book illustrations, tattoos, and logo designs.

🏁 Final Result

• Three completed portrait illustrations (profile, three-quarter, and frontal views) in your sketchbook.