Learn to Draw Portraits - Ep.6i Measuring

[Ixandius]

@Ocelott22

Does it matter? This is -practice- for -beginners-, that is why it is a tutorial. Eclectic is kind enough in taking his time to show people the steps to furthering themselves on the road of mastery, show a little more appreciation.

[rouncer81]

thats really impressive, i can do it, its just I look a little sketchy at the end and im missing bits and pieces here and there... i guess i just have to keep practicing.

[ocelott22]

so much work... for just a copy of a thing. lol i just don't get portrait fans. creating is an art. again... this is just, a copy.

[KerstiKuhn]

Take it or leave it. Who gives you the right to define whats art and what is not, whats right and wrong?

[ocelott22]

oh. simple. why do i not call this art? because anyone can do this. hell, a copy machine can do this. a camera can do this. i've met maybe one or two "portrait artists" that can actually draw. by that I mean create out of his own imagination. i've also met some amazing one, 99% of them, that without looking at a picture, can't draw anything. my opinion is as good as yours i guess. this is just a pet peeve of mine. portrait art is over rated. i don't like to call myself an artist.

[stinky472]

@ocelot22, I don't completely disagree with you. There are far too many portrait artists nowadays who work strictly from photo references and have just learned to copy the photo as accurately as they can. Their process is very mechanical and a trained artist can see that (lack of rhythm and energy in the strokes, static poses, etc). However, to define an artist strictly by what he can draw by imagination is dismissing a very important half of what defines art. [...]

[stinky472]

[...] Your emphasis on drawing from "imagination" also makes me think you must be a fan of comic book artists like Hogarth who can construct human figures quite convincingly from *memory* without the aid of a model. I emphasize *memory* because while Hogarth can create convincing figures in wild perspectives that could not be captured practically from a live model, he learned and memorized those forms from numerous live drawing sessions where he simply recorded what he *saw*. [...]

[stinky472]

[...] Before you can draw convincingly from imagination, you must first learn how to convincingly draw what you *see*, and *remember* what you saw. Skip this process and you'll at best be drawing only good-looking symbols and diagrams of what you imagine. While there are an awful lot of portrait artists who are far too mechanical in their process and start to depend on the process too much as a crutch, there are also a lot of mediocre illustrators trying to draw things from imagination [...]

[stinky472]

[...] without first learning to convincingly draw what they observe. These wannabe comic book illustrators tend to place heavy emphasis on imagination over memory because they just don't get it.

[stinky472]

That's not to say you fit into this category, but it sounds an awful lot like you do. I was the same way when I was a teenager before I formally studied visual arts: I gave little credit to those who simply drew what they saw and much more admired comic book illustrators, animators, etc. who draw from memory and imagination. Yet even the best artists who can draw this way like Hogarth, Vilppu, Buscema, etc. became masters because they spent their time drawing from life.

[ocelott22]

I agree... but I dismiss most portrait art as art because like I said... most portrait artists cannot create. I don't call copying art. It's more of a study. Like I said, I've seen some people do some amzing stuff I can't do on photoshop because I haven't really explored it... but then you see their real work, with no reference and it seems that all the "study" work they've done goes out the window. The reason why I'm being dismissive is because I don't want young guys thinking this is the ...

[ocelott22]

comic book artists, real comic book artists like Jim Lee, Mac Silvestri, David Finch, Leinl Yu to name a few, are highly underrated when it comes to art. Most comic artists and yes, me too, can do any of this portrait stuff. On top of learning anatomy and drawing it from the imagination, we have to also learn perspective and draw cities,towns,rooms from the imgination.On top of all that,we have to tell a story and still keep a consistent style, page by page.Portrait art? I'd be crippling myself

[stinky472]

Portrait *studies* might help you draw more convincing faces from imagination though. Also illustrators in general are underrated whether it's people illustrating magazine/book covers, comic books, or anything else. They generally don't get as much attention as fine artists whose works are displayed in galleries. The common audience just doesn't pay attention to the skill and mastery used to produce a painting for a book cover as much as a painting they see in a museum. It's sad, really.

[stinky472]

The main point with which I disagree is that observational drawing is somehow inferior to drawing from imagination. I think they are vastly different and arguably the latter involves more creative processes, yet observational artists aren't mere cameras. No one sees things exactly the same way or draws things exactly the same way, and no one captures things as accurately as a camera can, yet it's in this human inaccuracy that observational drawing becomes a form of art in itself.

[ocelott22]

my point remains consistent. as I just read my last comments. DON'T GET STUCK HERE. That's all I'm trying to say. To be a great artist, you have to be more than well rounded. Like davinci said "A good painter is to paint two main things, namely, man and the workings of man's mind. The first is easy, the second difficult..."

[stinky472]

For someone to remain a portrait artist or any kind of observational artist is a perfectly great pursuit, provided that they can depart from mechanical processes and really learn to be creative with what they see. BTW try a youtube search for David Kassan and check out his latest works. I think his portraits speak for themselves and are clearly more interesting than what he would get if he merely took a picture of the subject.

[pl126dn]

The point is to learn how to draw the values that you see without your brain jumping in and naming the features, you have to start somewhere to grasp the foundations in order to be able to then create your own work. I don't know why of all the places to find art on the web you decided to come and critique a tutorial?

[ocelott22]

i'm just amazed at how much credit it gets, that's all. i understand that one learns from life drawing. like i said, i've been underestimated because of the lack of portraits i do. people almost always ask "can you draw me?" yes. i can. i can also take a picture and cut the shit. i never seriously attempted a detailed portrait. so to prove my theory, i did one a few months ago on photoshop, with less than 2 months of experience on PS. proved myself right. anyone can do it. sorry?

[MooxSensei]

The technique he is using is an exercise, it's for absolute beginners that don't have the insight to see images as shades and tones just yet.

It opens you up be able to do it on your own. I create faux portraits of made up people. In order to get them looking halfway decent, you want to be able to know your rules and basics.

[ocelott22]

i've come to believe that's all absolute beginners do lol my point. learn tones, yada yada. yes, learn anatomy... move on. the end. don't get stuck here. that's all i'm trying to say.

[bu331hay]

well it only shows how ignorant you are with the craft...sorry but its a fact

[ocelott22]

where can I find you? i'll show you where you can see my work. lol

[thermophille]

This is an exercise...

[Sarunikss]

portrait is more beautiful than just a plain photo

[ocelott22]

they can be. i guess people diasagree with me because they really don't know much about art. fortunately I do. i'll say it again. yay, this is good practice for the eye. yes. but again, creating is best. leonardo already did these studies to show us how anatomy works... yet we're still "copying" people's faces in a single, stale, boring pose. evolution of art? lol no.

[Sarunikss]

yeah, it's plain, but still, its very beautiful, like drawing this as gift to your girlfriend and ect, this is not hard and doesn't require talent.

[ocelott22]

i agree with the last part , takes no talent.

[bu331hay]

then show what you can do if you really are a master of this craft...i'm a professional visual artist and i know how to respect my own kind..if you can outdo him...then that is the only time i will believe you

[ocelott22]

lol where can I find you???

[Arqus88]

Is that the bottom left side of Marilyn Monroe's face?

[JLaurierMusic]

yeah

[surajmgcn]

where can i download all these episodes combined together?

[difras83]

u doing it in da hard way,,, but u teaching rite

[morbidshadowx]

do you happen to use a drawing tablet pad on your computer? im sure you do, would you mind giving a tutorial on how to use the latest adobe's 3D features ect.?

[thumbnugget1000]

I can't believe this stuff is for free! Cheers!

[jadeafi0003]

if i wana make a portrait of lets a picture of me... how do i get all those diffenrent color of pages that u have ?

u know

how one is all dark the other all white and like the first one was just a bluer

[EclecticAsylumArt]

If you take the time to do all 4 sections of this exercise it will teach you how to see all the different pages in one photo or anything you are looking at.

[selvatico3]

fantastic tutorials! can i know wich kind of paper u use? smooth or more rough? thanks - bye

[EclecticAsylumArt]

Drawing/sketch paper has a little bit of a rough texture. Printer paper is not good to draw on.

[selvatico3]

thank u very much

[JLaurierMusic]

Oops

[AgaCobra]

wow...just...awesome

[pjm012345]

jason can i ask what 2 pencils are you using ? do u use 1 hard and one black ? .i always have trouble knowing which pencils to use ,and how many i should use

[EclecticAsylumArt]

I'm using a 4B graphite lead in a Caran D'Ache Fixpencil 77 leadholder. The second pencil was just something laying around I never used it for anything other than measuring tool.

[pjm012345]

do you use just the 4b throughout the whole potrait or do you switch between lighter and darker pencils according to the tones ?thanks for the reply

[EclecticAsylumArt]

4b throughout, but I suggested when other pencils would be useful. If someone isn't used to drawing shading lightly with a 4b can be very difficult.

[EclecticAsylumArt]

I use the 4b thought on this. If you are just starting out it might be easier to switch pencils to get lighter values. It depends on how soft of a touch you have.

[imdrowning2ohno]

MARYLIN MONROE MANSON

i don't get it...

[daleech]

MANSON!!!

[giglywiglygo]

monroe...

[gussaldanha]

marylin...