Free original lessons
Learn to place a profile portrait on a numbered grid and add a candle still-life element with consistent light direction and shading.
This lesson teaches a reliable method for drawing a profile portrait using a numbered grid, then integrating a candle object into the same composition. You will set up a grid, map key facial landmarks to grid cells, place the candle in a designated cell, and shade both forms using a single light direction from the candle flame. The approach is checkable: you can verify proportions by counting cells and confirm shading logic by tracing light paths. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and reference to set real values. The convention for art and handwriting is defined below so that valid stylistic alternatives are accepted.
Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.
Choose a rectangular drawing area and divide it into equal square cells. For this lesson, a hypothetical example is a 6 by 8 grid (6 columns, 8 rows) on a 12 cm by 16 cm area, giving 2 cm cells. Label columns 1 to 6 left to right and rows 1 to 8 top to bottom. The profile faces right, so the face occupies columns 3 to 6 and rows 2 to 7. The candle placement cell is column 1, row 6 (lower left), leaving clear space between candle and face.
Map facial landmarks to grid intersections. Hypothetical example: top of head at row 2, chin at row 7, eye line at row 4, nose tip at column 6 row 5, ear at column 3 row 4. The back of the head touches column 3; the face outline runs from column 3 at the crown, forward to column 6 at the nose, then back to column 4 at the chin. Count cells to check: head height is 5 rows (rows 2 to 7), eye line sits 2 rows below crown and 3 rows above chin, a plausible proportion for a stylized profile.
The candle sits in the reserved cell (hypothetical example: column 1, row 6). Draw the candle body as a vertical rectangle centered in that cell, with the flame above the top edge. The flame is the light source. Define light direction as radiating from the flame center outward. For shading, treat surfaces whose outward normal tilts toward the flame center as lighter and surfaces whose normal tilts away as darker. Because the flame is low and to the left, surfaces that face downward and leftward catch the most light: the underside of the chin, the lower cheek, and the lower jaw. Surfaces that face upward or rightward, such as the top of the forehead and the upper nose bridge, tilt away from a flame below them and read darker. The back of the head is not automatically dark just because it is far away; judge it by its normal. If the back of the head curves so its surface faces leftward toward the flame, it can be mid or light. Check each region by asking whether its surface tilts toward the flame center, not by distance alone.
Keep the light direction consistent: draw a small arrow from the flame toward the face and use it to test every shaded area. If a surface normal points toward the flame, it is light; if away, it is dark. This rule applies to both candle and portrait, unifying the composition.
Use three tonal values: light (normal tilts toward flame), mid (normal roughly parallel to the light direction or side-facing), dark (normal tilts away from flame). Hypothetical example: on the candle, the top rim near the flame is light, the vertical sides are mid because they receive grazing light, and the base is dark. On the face, the underside of the chin and the lower cheek are light, the nose bridge is mid, and the top of the forehead is dark because it faces upward while the flame is below. The back of the head is judged by its curve: where it faces left toward the flame it is mid, and where it faces up or right it is dark. Add a cast shadow from the candle on the ground plane toward the right, since the flame is to the left of the shadow area.
Check consistency by tracing straight lines from the flame to each shaded region. If a region marked dark faces the flame, correct it. Also check grid alignment: the candle base should sit on a row line, and the flame center should align with a column line for easy reference.
On a 6 by 8 grid with 2 cm cells, place a right-facing profile with crown at row 2, chin at row 7, eye line at row 4, nose tip at column 6 row 5, and candle in column 1 row 6. Describe the shading for the chin and forehead given the flame at the candle top.
The chin is at row 7 near column 4, below and to the right of the flame near column 1 row 6. Its underside faces downward and leftward toward the flame, so it is light. The forehead is at row 2, above the flame, and its surface faces upward, tilting away from a flame below it, so it is dark. The cast shadow falls to the right, opposite the flame.
A 5 by 7 grid has equal cells. Crown is at row 1, chin at row 6, eye line at row 3. How many rows separate crown from chin, and how many rows separate eye line from chin?
Crown to chin is 5 rows (rows 1 to 6). Eye line to chin is 3 rows (rows 3 to 6).
Why: Count inclusive row differences: 6 minus 1 equals 5; 6 minus 3 equals 3.
Check: Recount the rows on the grid and confirm the subtraction matches the counted rows.
A candle flame is at column 2 row 5. The face is to the right. Which side of the candle body faces the face, and should it be lighter or darker than the side facing away?
The flame is above the candle, so the top rim is lightest. Both vertical sides receive only grazing light from a flame above them, so both are mid; neither side is clearly lighter than the other based on the flame position alone.
Why: A flame directly above the candle illuminates the top rim most directly. The vertical sides are nearly parallel to the light rays, so they receive grazing light and read as mid tone. Proximity to the face does not change the light on the candle; only the flame position matters. Therefore the right and left sides are similar in value, with the top lightest and the base darkest.
Check: Draw an arrow from the flame to the candle top and confirm the top rim is lightest and both vertical sides read as mid tone, since a flame directly above gives only grazing light to the sides.
On a 6 by 8 grid, the nose tip is at column 6 row 5 and the ear at column 3 row 4. How many columns apart are they, and how many rows apart?
They are 3 columns apart and 1 row apart.
Why: Column difference: 6 minus 3 equals 3. Row difference: 5 minus 4 equals 1.
Check: Count cells between the two landmarks on the grid and compare with the subtraction.
A candle is at lower left and casts a shadow. If the flame is at column 1 row 6 and the shadow falls toward column 4, is the shadow direction consistent with the light direction? Explain.
Yes. The flame is at the left, so the candle casts a shadow to the right, toward column 4, opposite the flame. This is consistent with light radiating outward from the flame.
Why: Cast shadows fall opposite the light source. With the flame at the left, the shadow falls rightward. The radial light still produces a shadow on the side away from the flame.
Check: Draw the light arrow from flame to shadow and confirm they point in opposite horizontal directions.
No. The 6 by 8 grid with 2 cm cells is a hypothetical example. Measure your paper and choose any equal-cell grid that fits your composition; keep the landmark row and column counts consistent with your chosen grid.
Yes, but then reverse the light direction and shading logic. The rule stays the same: surfaces facing the flame are lighter, and the cast shadow falls opposite the flame.
Draw a light-direction arrow from the flame and trace straight lines to each shaded region. Any dark region facing the flame is inconsistent and should be corrected.
The convention allows valid alternatives. As long as landmark rows and columns are recorded and cell counts check out, a different nose shape or chin angle is acceptable.