Monday, January 2, 2017

Drawing: Facial Parts in Black and White

Blending and Contrast

Examples in Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing of proper
and improper blending of tones
In my last post I showed my drawing of a sphere, displaying how a mix of blending and shading helped it appear more lifelike and less like it was on a two dimensional surface. All of that was supposed to better help me understand how to use those elements along with the use of lighting to be able to apply the same techniques to drawing faces. According to the book I'm reading: Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing, a key element of drawing faces ". . .has a lot to do with the "lighting" or contrasts." (Hammond 16). Those were useful tools for me to learn and try and add on to my artwork. While I drew some of the features of a face I had to keep in mind how I used contrast (how I portrayed the light areas showing up against the dark areas) to keep it looking well. Blending was also a really helpful technique to be able to help my drawing appear more realistic. Since blending requires smearing some of the shades together it's easier to use a tool that still gets the job done without leaving your fingertips all grey. The book I have refers to it as a tortillion which is simply a piece of paper rolled into a cone shape, that I myself use in all of my drawings.
A picture of a tortillion as shown in Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing.
Used to help with proper blending of the artwork

Drawing Features

Before heading straight into drawing the face I focused on certain features before eventually adding them all together. I first started with drawing a nose as seen on the right and I tried to apply a good use of shading. Like the creases closer to the nose had to be darker in contrast to the lighter shaded spots like the areas that continue away from the nose. I also tried to make it appear as if the lighting was hitting straight on the top of the nose which is why it is mostly left in a white circle.

Next I worked on drawing a mouth which in comparison to the nose was a lot more difficult to draw. What made it especially hard was the fact that it wasn't easy to blend the dark color of the lips to make it appear smooth and life like. Not that my drawing is exactly very realistic, but it's very easy to see, especially on the bottom lip it's easy to see how I tried to color it in because there are darker lines on the lips rather than it all being one smoothly blended shade.


My final drawing put into work what I had practiced with the previous two drawings. This drawing was an attempt to apply the techniques I had used from drawing the nose and the mouth separately to be able to create this piece of them together. This shows the benefits of thinking of drawings as one large puzzle with many different pieces. I feel this is a successful method because in comparison to the previous drawings this one shows a better mastery of both blending and lighting techniques. The tones are also blended gradually rather than unevenly.

Before I attempt any drawing I always use a grid for scale because it can make drawing a lot easier, and according to my book ". . .using a grid will help you simplify all of the basic shapes" (Hammond 24). Once you've got a basic outline using the grid, that's when you erase the grid lines and start filling in your drawing, already establishing a base for your artwork.

Closing

By the time I finished my third drawing I felt that I had gotten a pretty good grasp of how to work with blending and applying lighting and contrast to my artwork. However, there is always room for improvement and I want to know how can I blend the shades of my drawings to make them appear smoother like the surface of a face, rather than the jagged edges of drawing lines? What else can make my drawings appear life like in your eyes? I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments down below regardless of your expertise on the matter. Just letting me know what I should add more or less of is all very helpful critique. Thanks for reading! :)

Bibliography: Hammond, Lee. Lee Hammond's Big Book of Drawing. Cincinnati, OH: North Light, 2004. Print.                         





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7 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 8, 2017 at 11:50 AM

    Hey Tolu!

    This year is actually my second year of taking art this year. Last year I took Draw, Paint, and Design and this year I am currently taking commercial arts. As you said in this blog post about how to blend your artwork to make it look more realistic, it would be very helpful. Last year, we weren't allowed to blend our shades. This made it very difficult for my drawings to look realistic but this blog post was really helpful in doing so!

    I love how you have various drawings to add more detail to your blog post which makes it all the more interesting to read. I think you're doing a great job on blending your shades together and they look life like as they are. Thank you for all the tips on realistic drawings, it was a great help!

    Keep up the great work!

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    1. Tolu AdebayoJanuary 16, 2017 at 6:14 PM

      Hey Simran!

      I am very glad to hear that my tips on realistic drawing were able to help you! I'm sorry to hear that you weren't allowed to blend your shades on your drawings in class last year, I think it's a very useful skill when learning how to draw past a basic level, whether you're trying to draw realistically or not. However, it was kind of hard for me myself to pick up the skill and apply it to my drawings in a way that actually made it look decent. But the longer the skill is worked on, the better it will soon turn out and show through your own artwork.

      Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog! I really appreciate it and hope you continue to keep drawing as well! Good luck on your own artwork!

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  2. Betty TruongJanuary 12, 2017 at 10:47 AM

    Hi Tolu!

    I've never done realistic drawing professionally or in an educational setting, but I have tried it for fun. Honestly, I was pretty frustrated that my end products never looked the way I had hoped. Reading your blog really helped be though! I now know a way to leave my fingers spotless while attempting to draw ;) keep up the good work, Tolu!

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    Replies
    1. Tolu AdebayoJanuary 16, 2017 at 6:57 PM

      Hey Betty!

      Glad to know that my blog really helped you! Up until this point I hadn't really pursued any kind of realistic drawing, I was really interested in drawing my favorite cartoons. I felt like realistic drawing would be a challenge for me and help me step out of my own comfort zone. I can tell you from first hand experience it can be very frustrating when you first start and the end result doesn't match up to your own expectations. I still encourage you to still try realistic drawing once in a while because once you get the initial steps down, you'll be amazed at what you'll be able to create.

      Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to comment. Your feedback is really helpful and I'm also glad you found using a tortillion to be so helpful (it has definitely been a superb tool for me to use)especially since it's so easy to make and use! Thanks for you thoughts and have fun with your own drawings!

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  3. Thuy LamJanuary 12, 2017 at 4:22 PM

    Hi Tolu!

    Your drawing looks amazing! Honestly I've tried drawing realistically a few times, but it always eventually ends up looking cartoonish or more like abstract art. The way that you practice and drew your final product was really eye opening and I'm going to try your method for my next attempt at drawing realistically.
    I'm excited to see your next few post! Good luck on the rest of your drawings!

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    1. Tolu AdebayoJanuary 16, 2017 at 7:22 PM

      Hey Thuy!

      Thanks for liking my drawings and taking the time to read my blog! I can understand the initial stage of wanting to draw realistically and having it turn into a work of cartoonish abstract art. Like I said in my blog the best way to think of the whole process is like a giant puzzle that has many little pieces that you need to perfect, before turning it into the final product.

      I appreciate you trying out my method for your own artwork, and even if you try it only once in a while, just taking it one step at a time, as time goes on you'll be amazed at what your final product will look like. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment your feelings, and I hope you continue to comment on my future posts. Have fun drawing!

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  4. UnknownJanuary 29, 2017 at 6:16 PM

    Hey Tolu!

    You're drawings are looking amazing so far! You were asking about how you can make your blending smoother and more life like. I would suggest working with your lightest shades first and then building up from there. That way it's easier to build up or take away color!

    One way I improve my drawing skills to make my drawings more life like is to just look at different pictures and seeing how the light and shadows appear in different positions. By doing this you can really get a feel for how light and shadow looks in real life, and it can help you improve over time! I hope this helps you out as you continue to draw! Keep up the good work! :)

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