Illustrator Melissa de Nobrega Teaches Skull Anatomy for Better Portraiture in Online Class

Illustrator Melissa de Nobrega teaches that mastering portraiture requires understanding the skull's underlying structure, not just facial features. Her online course, Portrait Drawing for Beginners: Learn How to Draw Anyone You’d Like, available on My Modern Met Academy, covers skull structure, facial muscles, landmarks, and includes an anatomy cheat sheet. The nearly two-hour class emphasizes that bone structure determines where facial features sit, and that individual variations—such as higher cheekbones or a wider jaw—explain why no two faces are identical. Students learn to start with the skull, then move to facial muscles and landmarks (like how the eyes align with the nose edge), which define guidelines and reduce guesswork before rendering skin contours and the finished portrait. One student review praised the anatomy segment for its simplicity and the ability to follow along, noting it helped identify mistakes. The course is available for enrollment on My Modern Met Academy.