Marcus Chen
Artists who draw and paint people are commonly referred to as portrait artists or figurative artists. Portrait artists focus on capturing the likeness of individuals, while figurative artists depict the human form more broadly. Other terms for artists who draw include illustrator, sketch artist, and urban sketcher. Some people consider the term drawer to be an accurate description, but it is not commonly used. The term artist is also used as a catch-all term for those who draw, paint, sculpt, or create other works of art.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Single-word term | Painter, sculptor, ceramist, cartoonist, illustrator, watercolourist, portrait artist, figurative artist, visual artist, drawer, draftsperson |
| Depends on the medium | A painter uses paint, a ceramist uses ceramics, a watercolourist uses watercolours |
| Depends on the subject | A portrait artist focuses on individuals, a figurative artist depicts the human form more broadly |
| Depends on the style | An abstract artist uses a visual language of form, colour and line, independent from visual references |
| Depends on the technique | An aerosol artist uses spray paint, an oil painter uses oil paints |
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What You'll Learn
Portrait artist
A portrait artist is someone who creates portraits—representations of a particular person or group of people. Portraiture is one of the oldest forms of art, dating back to ancient Egypt around 5,000 years ago. Before the invention of photography, painted, sculpted, or drawn portraits were the only way to record a person's appearance. Portraits have been used to display the power, importance, virtue, beauty, wealth, taste, learning, or other qualities of the subject.
Portraits can depict the subject in various ways, including full-length, three-quarter view, profile, or even with the front of the subject not visible at all. The subject can be clothed or nude, indoors or outdoors, standing, seated, or reclining. Portraits can be created using different media, such as oils, watercolour, pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, pastel, or mixed media. The size of the portrait is also a consideration, depending on where it will be displayed.
Creating a portrait can be a time-consuming process, often requiring multiple sittings with the subject. Portrait artists may present their subjects with a portfolio of drawings or photos to choose a preferred pose. Managing the subject's expectations and mood is a critical aspect of the portrait artist's role. The final portrait should capture the inner essence of the subject or a flattering representation, not just a literal likeness.
Some famous portrait artists include John Singer Sargent, known for his detailed portraits, and Kehinde Wiley, who creates vibrant, large-scale paintings.
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Figurative artist
There are various terms used to refer to artists who draw or paint. A “drawer” or “draftsman” are terms used to refer to artists who draw, although these terms are not as common as "painter" or "sculptor". This may be because drawing was historically a technical occupation and a preparatory step for painting, sculpture, tapestry, and other artistic practices.
A "figurative artist" is an artist who creates figurative art, which is any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world, particularly the human figure. Figurative art is sometimes written as "figurativism" and is often contrasted with abstract art. It is dependent on formal elements such as line, shape, colour, light and dark, mass, volume, texture, and perspective.
The history of figurative art spans centuries, with representations of figures and real-life subjects integral to art across cultures. Prehistoric cave paintings featured animal and human forms, while ancient civilizations like Egypt and Greece portrayed highly symbolic figures and scenes. An important landmark in the evolution of figurative art is the first known reclining nude in Western painting, Sleeping Venus (1510) by Giorgione, which introduced the female nude as a subject. During the Renaissance, masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci revolutionized figurative art by introducing unprecedented realism and anatomical detail.
In the 20th century, artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and other artists of the School of London continued to pursue figurative painting in the face of avant-garde approaches. Younger artists continue to expand the parameters of figurative art, such as Cecily Brown, whose abstractions evoke sensuous bodies in motion.
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Illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specialises in creating visual representations that correspond with a text or idea. They work to enhance or elaborate on the text or concept by providing a visual element that complements it without distracting from it. Illustrations are often used to clarify complicated concepts or objects that are difficult to describe using words alone, which is why they are commonly found in children's books.
The work of an illustrator typically begins with understanding the client's brief and project requirements. They may be involved in the initial ideation phase, offering creative advice and adapting their artistic style to meet the specific needs of the project. Illustrators work with both manual techniques and advanced illustration software to create their images. Traditional illustration techniques include watercolour, pen and ink, airbrush art, oil painting, pastels, wood engraving, and linoleum cuts. With the advent of computers, many illustrators now also use digital tools such as graphics tablets and scanners to create their artwork.
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Painter
A painter is an artist who paints. Painting is a visual art form characterised by the application of paint, pigment, colour or other media to a solid surface. The medium is usually applied to the base with a brush, but other tools can be used, such as palette knives, sponges, airbrushes, and the artist's fingers.
There are many different types of painters, including those who work with oil paints, acrylic paints, aerosol paints, and watercolours. The term 'painter' can also be used in conjunction with other words to specify the type of painter, such as a 'watercolourist' or 'oil painter'.
In the past, drawing was often seen as a preparatory step in the process of creating a painting, sculpture, or another form of art. As such, there is no widely-accepted single-word term for an artist who draws, as there is for painters, sculptors, and ceramists. Some people use the term 'drawer', but this is not commonly used and can sound strange. Instead, people who draw may be referred to as 'artists', 'draftsmen' or 'drawings artists'.
If an artist draws and paints people, they may be called a 'portrait artist' when focusing on individuals or a figurative artist when depicting the human form more broadly.
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Draftsman
A draftsman is a person who draws plans and sketches, such as machinery or structures, and legal documents or other types of writing. Draftspeople are engineering technicians who make detailed technical drawings or CAD designs for machinery, buildings, electronics, infrastructure, etc. They use computer software and manual sketches to convert the designs, plans, and layouts of engineers and architects into a set of technical drawings.
Historically, draftspeople sat or stood at drawing boards and used pencils, pens, compasses, rulers, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices to prepare a drawing by hand. From the 1980s to the 1990s, manual drawing became less common with the development of computer-aided design (CAD) systems, which could produce technical drawings at a faster pace.
The term "draftsman" is gender-neutral, but the terms "draftswoman" and "draughtswoman" can be used for female draftspeople. Other terms for a draftsman include drawing artist, drawer, cartoonist, portrait artist, and figurative artist.
While there are single-word terms for artists who work with other mediums, such as "painter", "ceramist", or "sculptor", there is no widely accepted single-word term for an artist who draws. Some people suggest that this is because drawing was historically seen as a technical occupation or a preparatory step for other art forms, rather than an artistic end in itself.
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Frequently asked questions
An artist who draws and paints people is commonly referred to as a portrait artist or figurative artist. Portrait artists focus on capturing the likeness of individuals, while figurative artists depict the human form in various styles, which may not always be a direct likeness.
There is no single-word term for an artist who draws, but they are often referred to as artists or drawing artists. Other terms include illustrator, sketch artist, and urban sketcher.
An artist who paints is called a painter.
