The first page of any "Aditya Chari Portrait Techniques" PDF would not start with shutter speed. It starts with empathy.
: Lighting can dramatically change the mood of a portrait. Techniques include using natural light, artificial light sources (like studio flashes or continuous lights), and manipulating light to create shadows and highlights that accentuate the subject's features.
Aditya Chari’s portrait techniques are largely centered around his influential book, Portrait Techniques Made Easy published by Grace Prakashan . A former Sir J.J. School of Art student and a concept artist for major films like
, where heads and features are broken down into basic shapes like spheres and cubes to establish correct proportions and balance Shading and Depth: A primary focus is on light and shade
The primary reason artists seek out Chari’s techniques—often through scanned PDFs circulating online—is his emphasis on "construction." Unlike many instructional guides that teach students to copy what they see superficially (the sight-size method or simple grid copying), Chari’s approach is structural.
: Building the head using basic geometric shapes like spheres and cubes.
Before Chari ever renders a single eyelash, he focuses on the . His technique emphasizes that a portrait is not a drawing of skin, but a drawing of bone and muscle wrapped in skin.