1. There are four key things to creating a successful portrait: learning accurate contour, defining shadow shapes before details, understanding face anatomy, and extensive practice. 2. Defining the contour and shadow shapes first is essential to creating a likeness before adding features. Understanding the underlying skull and facial muscles also helps with realism. 3. Extensive practice is needed to develop the skills of observing, rendering shapes and proportions accurately, and making corrections to produce fine works of art.