Exercise 8: Facial Features
Like anyone, I struggle with likeness. But I’ve drawn so many faces at this point that I can fairly quickly just sketch random heads. In fact, I often just doodle faces on any random scrap of paper that is nearby.
Comparing recent versus prior work
First, to the right, is some relaxing doodling with faces while watching TV, and some thinking about portrait poses for assignment 4. Any given head, here, took me less than a minute and usually far less. They’re all pretty stylized. This is me, now, not really giving much thought to what I’m doing but rather experimenting with the tool I’m using.
I sharpened up the pencil to give me a long surface to work with, and tried focusing more on roughing in forms and then only adding details and contrast in a few places in order to build out form.
Of course, the more I draw something the more different the drawings become. Robot lady and tentacle guy for instance.
Third image is from a few years ago. I tried my hand at drawing comic pages which is was roughly where I started gaining some confidence in my technical skills. This is still one of my favourite pieces from that time. The face on the top left is recognizably a face, but very simplified. I struggled quite a bit to even get this.
Fourth image is from the start of the pandemic, a year before I enrolled in this course. At the beginning of the pandemic I considered tracking the time via self portraiture. I’m reasonably happy with how the nose was rendered, and the slight smirk. The eyes look like the idea of eyes, rather than rounded forms. I think this took me something like 4 hours, which is ridiculously long if I think about that now.
I’m going to re-do this to see what changes. Same size, etc.. Perhaps as run-up to the assignment.
Sketchbook: Cross Training
I decided to spend some time with my paints, as relax and see how what I’ve been learning in drawing might be applied to painting. I sat down with one of my sketchbooks (primed with gesso), and mixed up some burnt umber+alizarin. My thinking was to put together the construction of the painting, and later come in and paint over.
It became immediately apparent to me that I was working similarly to how I’ve been working with graphite blocks. I washed in some tone, and then started using brushes almost like erasers and blenders.
This may not have been the most efficient way to sketch in a painting, but it was immensely satisfying to go from a blank page to this and feel very confident in what I’ve done.
I can see that I’ve got a better handle on contrast. I’m also very pleased that I didn’t use outline. Where dark outlines (the shoulder) appear, it is due to how I removed paint.
I can see areas that need fine tuning: the ear looks tacked on and needs some remodeling. I wonder where I can find a reference for these weird elf (werewolf? whatever) ears.
There is a perspective issue with the eye and face that perhaps needs a revisit. But broadly, I’m quite happy here.
Also. I’ve clearly been influenced by my recent watching of the Witcher 2 on TV.
As part of this unit I returned to resources I’ve used over the years, as well as studio some videos that are new to me.
Youtube somehow knew I was studying the head, and it recommended a new video from Sergey Gusev — an oil painter. Its a long video, but a good resource.
Proko, of course, produces a lot of very good anatomy focused resources. It is with Proko that I started my art journey, so it is only appropriate I re-visited some of the videos he has produced over the years.
After Work Self-Portraits
I suppose it isn’t surprising that my energy levels are low after a day at the virtual office. Picked up willow charcoal — as I haven’t done much with charcoal so far in this journey with OCA. One particular piece of charcoal has been worn down to the heartwood, so it makes these interesting parallel line marks.
Messing up my Covid hair to give me some interesting squiggles to draw, I quickly threw down this rather bewildered looking fellow. I like how I did the shirt — just flat parallel lines, like a fence or barrier.
I then switched over to black paper, and conte, as I thought about self-portraits I did at the beginning of the pandemic. Adjusting the mirror I was using, so I was at an angle, I realize I have a very grumpy resting expression.
And I’m apparently channeling Santa Claus.
Not the best likenesses, but they were very beneficial for me to get out of my work mindset and start relaxing.
