Adding Age to a Portrait

                                                          By Lauren Davis
 
Opposite of my last post, an equally difficult task is portraying realistic age in portrait the delicate balance of highlight and shadows is crucial when creating believable wrinkles and contours. Author Jack Hamm recommends keeping in mind a number of things including the ear length, drooping eyelids, and lines in the forehead. (Hamm 38)  I decided to draw this one based off of a photo due to my lack of experience in the technique. In honor of the new season, I based mine off of a photo of Peter Capaldi, the 12th doctor on BBC's Doctor Who. This is my drawing.

The Example Photo

  Step 1- The Outline and Winkle Lines

The outline of a person changes a deceptively large amount with age. Hamm said "The flesh drops at the jowls and the chin bone protrudes."(Hamm, 38) I started by outlining the face keeping these facts in mind. Afterwards I drew up the shape of the hair and drew the contours for all the wrinkles. It is important to keep the anatomy correct wile doing this. Hamm recommends focusing on sinking the eyes, thinning the lips and adding lifework to the forehead.(Hamm 38) It is okay to make the lines darken then usual guide lines because you will need to add highlights surrounding them.

                                  Step 2-  The Shading and Highlights

The most difficult part of shading wrinkles
for me is preserving the desired skin tone.

I happened to choose a pale British man for my model, so it is important to add light between the shadows. I blended out the wrinkles with my finger and then erased the pencil marking on both sides of them. Afterwards, I lightly added in the darker parts of the face with a duller pencil. Notice along with the face, the neck has different shading then other pictures. Hamm reminds an artist, "The neck becomes gaunt making the skin hang in drapes." (Hamm, 39) I tried to incorporate this into the picture. 

                                 Step 3- The Hair and Finishing Touches

                                    

I happened to choose one of only pictures of this actor where he didn't have messy hair. I tried to incorporate the contours of his light grey hair in the drawing. Wile the author reminds that the hair usually thins with age, Peter Capaldi doesn't seem to have this problem. (Hamm, 38) After I got the hair to a good place, I added depth to the eyes, shadows to the hair and color to the outfit. Then the piece was complete.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I like the way this came out. I liked the books advise, but wish it had more unique help for problems that spring along the way. I disappointed at some of the obvious and self-explanatory tips. So what do you think? Do you use any of these methods or do you have your own? Leave it in the comments below. 🔹

                                                            Citations 

Hamm, Jack. Drawing the Head and Figure. Time Warner International, 1963.

“The 12th Doctor .” The Mary Sue , The Mary Sue , www.themarysue.com/peter-capaldi-plays-doctor-one-last-time/.

Drawing a Child's Portrait

                                                                  By Lauren Davis

Another topic to bring up is the challenge of drawing children. They have different proportions then adults and take completely different techniques to accurately portray. With rounder cheeks, larger features and sweeter faces, they are an entirely new and difficult task for any artist. Even the hairstyles can be harder. The author recommends remembering many different points while drawing kids. He reminds the artist in include wider eyes, larger ears, thinner brows and longer lashes in young children. (Hamm 36) Here is the picture I came up with by using these techniques. I used Scarlett Estevez who is a ten-year-old actress as my model. (You may know her as Trixie from the TV show Lucifer on Fox.)

Step 1- Outline and Eyes 

I took the outline of the features from a photo of the actress I got from the show. In the book, the author said "The face is smaller in proportion to
the rest of the head. The back of the

head sticks out farther and the neck is smaller." (Hamm, 36) After the face is outlined, you need to perfect the eyes. the wider, brighter eyes have a sense of childlike wonder. Next get the precise eyebrow hairs and shape, ear size and hair. Then it's on to the shading.

                                                  Step 2- Shading 

             

After the outline looks how you want it to, you need to add

depth to the face. The shadows will be different than those on an adult face. With rounder cheeks and a more upturned nose, you have to change the places of light and dark. Author Jack Hamm said, " the early nose is usually upturned; the chin is less prominent and recedes; the mouth has more indentation in the corners." (Hamm, 36)  All of these crucial details can be achieved through careful and precise shading. It is very important to blend everything thoroughly to keep the illusion of roundness in the face. 

                                             Step 3- Hair and Final Touches 

With this particular photo, Scarlett was wearing pigtails. Nothing portrays youth and cuteness like a little girl hairstyle. Unfortunately, they proved to be insufferable to draw nicely. I was shocked at the difficulty of the adorable hairstyle. My technique of choice with hair is to start by picturing it as a shape. after getting the shape correct, then the tricky part is adding in hair strand textures. Then you can blend it out. I generally use a tissue for blending because it picks up less of the pigment than my usual finger blending. Then I just had to shade the shirt and neck and fix the jawline and I was done.

                                                       Final Thoughts

Overall, I did like the book's advice on children's portraits. It had helpful tips for shading and face shape. I'm happy with the finished product but I wish it looked more like the photo I based it off. So what do you think? Do you like the techniques the book's tips and tricks or do you have your own? 

Leave it in the comments below. 🔹

                                                          Citations 

Hamm, Jack. Drawing the Head and Figure. Time Warner International, 1963.

Drawing a Photo-Realistic Male Portrait

                                                        By Lauren Davis


One of my personal favorite techniques is making a photo into a drawing. Drawing photo-realistic portraits is a fun challenge for any aspiring artist. Along with trying to recreate a photo, this picture also applies the intricate and difficult techniques of a front male head. This is very different than the methods for a female head. The author, Jack Hamm, told the reader "Observe the interesting changes of planes in a face- look for them in the male head- and strive to record them." (Hamm, 35) This is my finished drawing, and the picture it is based on. (The photo is of Oscar Isaac, an actor whom I love from his role as Poe Dameron in Star Wars.)

Step 1- Outline and Shape 

 The first step in drawing a photo is the get the shapes just right. This can take a lot of trial and error, and that is great as long as the finished product looks like you want it too. You have less creative freedom when doing this, but it is a fantastic way to practice skills and techniques.

The eyes are always an identifying feature in people to make sure you get the lighting in the right place and the pupils at the right angle.

Hamm recommends trying different observing depth, width, lid formations and wrinkles in your drawing. (Hamm, 34) Then you are ready for the shading. 

                                                        Step 2- Shading 

  Shading a male face has many subtle differences from a female. Making the face appear masculine can be tricky and time-consuming. Hamm said, "Highlight strip above brows, upper eyelids hid, inside the eye in full shadow, set lines of mouth accented by double parentheses in cheeks, strong skeletal feeling beneath the flesh." (Hamm, 35) After shading in features, I had to shade the beard. Stubble can be hard to draw but it was an important part of this photo. Start with adding pigment, and then add texture and hairlines. 

                                           Step 3- Hair and Finishing Touches

Finally, I had to tackle the curly hair. If you haven't learned by now, I tried my best to get the hair correct but it didn't work quite right. After that, it was final fixes with the eyebrows and lips and done. 

                                                       Final Thoughts 

Overall the book gave fantastic advice on drawing a male portrait. I like the information about shading and shapes. I feel like this is definitely what the book has taught the best so far and I am happy with the information. A couple of my friends recognized who the picture was of without me telling them, so I call that a win. So what about you guys think? Do like this technique or do you have one of your own? Leave it in the comments below. 🔹

                                                        Citations 

Hamm, Jack. Drawing the Head and Figure. Time Warner International, 1963.

“Oscar Issac .” Creator/ Oscar Isaac , TV Tropes , tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/OscarIsaac.

Drawing a Side View Face with a Four Square Method

By Lauren Davis 

One of the more difficult techniques when it comes to female portrait drawing is a side view face. Getting the eyes nose and mouth just right can be near impossible. Jack Hamm recommends this four square method for beginners. Hamm said, “You can use it to get the proportions correct.” (Hamm, 30) This the picture I ended up though using this trick and how I got there.  

Step 1 - The Setup 

The first step is drawing a square with a cross through the middle of it. This is how you achieve the "four squares." I used a ruler because I can't draw a straight line to save my life. Then you use cue lines to add in facile features. The author said, "Watch out for how the bridge of the nose may run into the eye if the face is in semi-profile." (Hamm, 26) He warned the artist to keep the bridge consistent with the position based on the face. (Hamm, 26) After drawing the basic shapes you can continue to shading and detail work. Make sure to have the pupil of the eye facing the correct direction and the eyelashes pointing out. Also, remember that the lips go outside the square.

                                                Step 2- Hair and Shading 

After you finish the setup, the next step is very similar to the first drawing. A simple shading process should suffice. By adding places of light and shadow you give your picture life and the illusion of depth. The jawline contour is especially important with the side view. Changing the placement and the darkness of it and the cheekbones will drastically change the shape and feel of the face. Cheekbones and jawline are the focal points of the makeups shading. The nose and lips are less important. I chose a very odd hairstyle for this one based off an example from the book. I was very disappointed with how it turned out but it's not terrible.

                      Step 3 - Final thoughts and Finishing Touches 

For finishing touches, I completed the hair, fixed some of the rough edges and evened out the hairline. Overall, I didn't thank this method was very helpful. I tried very hard to understand the forms that could be helped by the box and struggled to see the use. But I liked the help in getting the eye placement correct and I like the eyebrows better in this piece. I think overall it's not bad and I'll appreciate any help I can get on profile sketches. What do you think? Have you tried this and found it helpful or do you have a better method? Leave it in the comments below. 🔹

                                                     Citation

Hamm, Jack. Drawing the Head and Figure. Time Warner International, 1963.

Drawing a Front View Face With the Double Circle Method

By Lauren Davis 

      One of the most important parts of drawing people is being able to portray a realistic face looking straight ahead. Wile being a valuable skill, it can also be very difficult. Getting a correct head shape, well-proportioned eyes and textured hair can be tricky and require a lot of practice and effort. In the book Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm, he outlines many tricks and methods on how to achieve this task. One is the double circle. He said, "This is a  mechanical method of setting down proportions of the ideal female head." (Hamm, 2) I followed his instructions and drew a basic front view head using example features from the book. 

Step 1- The Head shape and Features

      The book shows an interesting method of getting the proportions and head shape correct. The author recommends drawing two circles and then placing the eyes nose and mouth in marked spaces.

This will give more obvious areas to put the other parts of the face, as seen on the left. After this, I used features from example lists shown in the book. Please note this book was published in 1963 so the style then included large curly hair and very thin eyebrows. The image to the right shows the features added, but the placement marks still there. 

            Step 2- The Chin, Cheeks, and Shading  

      The next step, of course, is erasing the guidelines but afterward, you have to fix and shape of the chin and cheeks. Hamm explains how the cheeks and chin will always vary in shape and size. Some might be flatter or rounder.  (Hamm, 3) While shading the picture you have to add dimension to the face by adding more or less pigment to an area. More pigment gives the illusion of a lower place and less makes the place look higher. The bridge of the nose, chin, and cheekbones are generally the highest, and therefore lightest, areas on a face.

                       Step 3- Hair and Finishing Touches   

      In my opinion, the hair is the hardest part of a face. Getting the highlights and shadows just right can be near impossible. Hamm said, "One of the objectives of drawing hair is to make it look fluffy and weightless." (Hamm, 18) It was the peak of fashion in the 60's. He recommends starting with the shape and the hairline and building out from there. After that, all that is left are the final touches to perfect your picture. 

                                                              

                                                    Final Thoughts 

      I am happy with the way the sketch turned out but some of the shading is off. I think the method works well with getting the features in the right place, but I wish it helped more with the chin and cheekbones. So what do you think? Is this method helpful to you or do you have a different one that works better? Leave it in the comments below and thanks for reading. 🔹

                                                          Citation 

Hamm, Jack. Drawing the Head and Figure. Time Warner International, 1963.