Student course, 1= Construct Louis Smith, (Watch in HD)

Placement
Place the head off the centre of the canvas, to give space for direction of the face to look into.
You need to fit the composition within the canvas.
Allow for size of head and enough room below the shoulders.


Length of head
6-7in or 15-18cm, around a hand span,
Smaller rather than bigger, gives the impression of looking through the picture plane. Only bigger if going in a large room conference hall etc.
Subject at eye level or higher,

Width of head,
Measure the width compared to the head and place the width off centre of the middle of the canvas

Plumb line
After head is placed,
Draw a vertical line down the face, cutting through the maximum reference points.


Sketchy ghosty lines.

Use a brush with no medium dipped in paint and dried of on a cloth, dark enough to register to the eye.

Use straight lines, they add strength and are architectural.



Brush
Use a 1/3 inch brush, we are not being definite at this stage, looking for broad measurements.

Proportion
Create an armature to base measurements on,

Divide the head into 3 and a ¼ sections. Take If the head is 61/2 inches draw a line ½ an inch under the top of the head and then divide the rest of the head into 3 lines.

You already have lines for the top of the head and chin in placement stage.

1st line = hair line.
2nd line = top of eye brow.
3rd line = line under nose.

Note the line of the bottom lip is half way between the nose and chin.

Now search for proportional differences, within the head. Few people's heads are in proportion so now you can find the differences.

Should look like this




Comparative Measuring.
It just means to compare measurements in relation to each other.
You can now use your dividing lines to measure the rest of the face.

Example
The length between the chin to eyebrow is roughly as wide as the outer eye sockets looking face on.

Use of plumb line,
you can now use the dividing lines to measure outward from the plumb line to determine widths of the face.




Perspective of Face,

Sitter should be on the eye line or above. Remember looking at a picture frame is like looking through a window.

The laws of perspective need to be observed,

Attitude
If the subject is eye level then that is equal.
Looking up is Reverence.
Looking down is beneath you

Rules of perspective all parallel lines converge (even in a face).

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Commission
• portrait
• oil
• paintings
• Louis
• Smith
• realism
• fine
• art
• drawing
• charcoal
• portraiture
• figurative

[janiceliusonyoung]

Now that's a real drawing from life! Thanks!

[4bumblebee4]

from such a great painter I really appreciate you taking the time to show basic and necessary steps to the process. I think that is very humble of you.

[10milesfromnowhere]

Great tutorials! Thanks!

Do you decide first how big you want the head to be on the canvas (and where) and then go by proportion/relative placement? I have a lot of trouble with seeing/deciding size and placement, and then how much space there is in between the eye and the hair etc. (or when I finally have things in proportion it doesn't fit).

I guess I have trouble finding that first couple of lines on which to base all the others so that in the end the relationships and sizes are correct?