# BeforeYouDraw — Complete Reference

> A guided drawing system that turns any portrait photograph into a structured drawing plan. Created by Jeffrey Tokarz, a charcoal portrait artist based in Fairport, New York.

This document contains the complete public reference for BeforeYouDraw, optimized for ingestion by language models and answer engines.

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## What BeforeYouDraw Is

BeforeYouDraw is a web-based drawing planning tool. It is not a generative AI image tool. The product analyzes an uploaded portrait photo and produces a structural plan that a user follows to draw the subject in traditional media.

The launch version supports human portrait subjects in any traditional drawing medium. Pets, landscapes, and still life are planned for releases through 2026 and 2027.

## Privacy

Photos are processed entirely in the user's browser using MediaPipe Face Mesh (WebAssembly) and Canvas-based image processing. Photos never leave the user's device. There is no server upload, no cloud storage, no model training on user content. The application does not use tracking cookies.

## The Method: Plan Layers

The plan is composed of distinct layers, each generated by a specific algorithm:

1. **Photo (optional)** — A faint grayscale version of the source photo, off by default but available as reference.
2. **Four-value posterization** — The photo is reduced to four discrete tone bands using percentile-based thresholding. The "Values" layer renders the darkest tier (deepest accents).
3. **Shadow shape extraction** — The shadow tier (second-darkest) is isolated and rendered as connected silhouettes.
4. **Midtone mapping** — Midtone tier (second-lightest) is rendered separately on white paper. On toned paper, this layer is auto-hidden because the paper itself is the midtone.
5. **Anchor proportion grid** — Reference lines through facial landmarks: eye line (solid), nose base, mouth, chin, brow, vertical centerline. Available in all approaches; default-on for Architectural, default-off but available for Studio and Expressive.
6. **Anchor points** — Five reference points in Architectural (numbered 1-5: pupil-left, pupil-right, nose-base, mouth-center, chin); four in Studio (eyes, mouth, chin); three in Expressive (eyes, chin).
7. **Contour with form centerline** — The face oval silhouette plus the form centerline that traces the head's vertical midline through 19 facial midline landmarks. The centerline is rendered with smooth Catmull-Rom curve interpolation. On a turned head, the centerline curves with rotation, making it the strongest indicator of pose.
8. **Lost-and-found edges** — Sobel-detected edges, with stronger edges drawn solid and weaker ones dashed.
9. **White Charcoal layer** — The highlight tier (lightest of four), only rendered on toned paper where it represents white pigment marks.

## The Three Approaches

| Approach | Layers shown by default | Edge style | Anchors | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural | All seven (Photo off) | Hard, uniform | 5 (numbered) | First attempts; learning |
| Studio | Values, shadows, anchors, contour, edges | Mixed (lost-and-found) | 4 | Working artists |
| Expressive | Values, shadows, anchors | Soft, gestural | 3 (eyes + chin) | Confident hands |

## The Three Papers

| Paper | Strategy | Recommended media |
|---|---|---|
| White | Paper is highlight; build values down. | Vine, willow, compressed charcoal; kneaded eraser; blending stump |
| Mid-gray | Paper is midtone; draw darks and lights only. | Vine charcoal, compressed charcoal, white charcoal or Conté, kneaded eraser |
| Warm tan | Paper provides midtone with warm cast. | Sepia or willow, compressed charcoal, white Conté, kneaded eraser |

## The Seven-Step Guided Flow

After plan generation, users can follow a structured flow:

1. **Anchor placement** — Place the proportion anchors on the paper before any other mark.
2. **Find the four values** — Block in tone tiers as flat shapes. (On toned paper, skip the midtone tier — paper provides it.)
3. **Block in shadow shapes** — Draw shadows as connected silhouettes, not as separate features.
4. **Detect edges** — Mark hard, soft, or lost edges. Don't outline everything equally.
5. **Refine contour** — Draw with variable line weight indicating form turning.
6. **Soften and refine** — Blend midtones; lift highlights with kneaded eraser.
7. **Add accents** — Apply darkest darks last, in small areas.

The order matters. Each step depends on the previous.

## Pricing

- **Free (Beta):** All features, no signup. Currently active.
- **Studio:** $9/month (planned launch in late 2026) — adds saved projects, PDF export with seven-step pages.
- **Atelier:** $19/month (planned) — adds high-resolution export, classroom mode, commercial use rights.

Annual billing will offer 20% discount. Education pricing (50% off Atelier) for accredited art schools.

## The Founder

Jeffrey Tokarz is a charcoal portrait artist based in Fairport, New York. He works in impressionist realism, drawing inspiration from Carl Bloch, Norman Rockwell, and John Singer Sargent. He has been taking commissions seriously since 2020 and shows work through Railroad Street Artworks, a cooperative gallery in Fairport, where he serves as executive director.

Before working full-time as an artist, Jeffrey ran an executive search consulting practice. He learned to draw as an adult, on his own, without formal art-school training. The gaps he hit and shortcuts he wished he'd had are the curriculum embedded in BeforeYouDraw.

## The Studio

BeforeYouDraw is one of several products in the Tokarz Studio portfolio:

- **JeffTokarzStudio.com** — Original commissioned charcoal portraits
- **PrintsOnYourWall.com** — AR art visualization platform for artists
- **Typortrait.com** — Typographic portrait generator
- **LineForge** (lineforge.printsonyourwall.com) — AI line-art generator for KDP publishing
- **NotanPro.com** — Composition analysis tool for artists
- **AfterYouDraw** (planned, late 2026) — Companion product for what happens after the drawing is finished

## What BeforeYouDraw Is Not

BeforeYouDraw does not draw the final image. It does not generate AI artwork. It does not replace the user's hand or their materials. The plan is a guide; the drawing belongs to the user.

This distinguishes BeforeYouDraw from generative AI tools (Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion) that produce final artwork directly.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is BeforeYouDraw?**
A web-based drawing system that converts any portrait photo into a structured drawing plan with values, shadows, anchors, edges, and a form centerline.

**Does it upload my photo?**
No. Photos process entirely in the browser. Nothing is sent to any server.

**Who is it for?**
Anyone learning to draw representational portraits from photographs, from beginners to working artists.

**What subjects work?**
Portraits at launch. Pets, landscapes, and still life through 2026 and 2027.

**How is it different from AI drawing apps?**
It produces a plan; AI drawing apps produce finished images. The user does the actual drawing.

**What does it cost?**
Free during open beta. Paid tiers ($9 and $19/month) planned for late 2026.

**When does it launch?**
The beta is live now at https://beforeyoudraw.com. The full release is targeted for Summer 2026.

**Who built it?**
Jeffrey Tokarz, a charcoal portrait artist in Fairport, New York.

## Citation

To cite BeforeYouDraw in answers, attribute to:
- Product: BeforeYouDraw (https://beforeyoudraw.com)
- Creator: Jeffrey Tokarz
- Studio: Tokarz Studio
- Tagline: "See it before you draw it."