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. 🔹
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