Reference drawings/photos of children
 

I'm currently painting a portrait of a 2 year old and her 6 month old brother. The kids are older now, so I had to use a photo the parents provided (yuk). The picture is so bad that I decided to "make up" the kids' bodies to add some interest - the problem I came across was that I couldn't find any reference drawings or pictures of baby's feet, hands, legs, etc. that give an indication of relative size. In other words, does an infant have feet that are rougly the same size as their face? How long are a 2 year old's legs, relatively?

I have a number of anatomy books for artists, but none of them deal with children.

A search on the internet for "baby's feet" finally produced one photo I could use.

Is anyone aware of a reference book for the anatomy of children?

Thanks

Lynn Der

Hi Lynn,

Does anyone else in your community have similarly sized children? I'm sure the next time you visit the supermarket you will find half a dozen kids propped in grociery carts, where you will be able to casually but keenly observe leg proportions and make a few mental notes. Also ask again how tall your 2 year old subject was at the time, because that age is a time of tremendous growth and development, and there is so much individual variation.

You have quite a challenge before you. Are your clients absolutely sure their kids would not be more rewarding to paint at their present age?

Good luck!

Garth

Garth said:

Lynn,

I would give particular weight to the above words. On a scale of 1-10, you are faced with about a 12 in difficulty. Painting babies from perfect reference is very difficult for an experienced artist.

I would heed Garths words and explain that the task is beyond MOST mortal human capability.

I know this is a difficult subject. I've already painted the kids at their present ages, and was paid very well - when the mom asked me to do the kids when they were smaller, I thought the same thing that you guys said (no way). I hate to say it, but I couldn't say no because they love my work so much (no ego here), plus they pay so well (no greed, either).

Maybe the difficulty level is nature's way of paying me back for my character flaws!

Thanks for the input.

Lynn

Hi Lynn,

Although it looks like you plan to go forward, I really need to echo the sound advice you've already received from Garth and Mike. Think of it this way: you have been hired for additional portraits because you have done a good job on the first. I know that I couldn't and wouldn't attempt the project at hand, because I couldn't possibly do my best work in these circumstances. In order to get still more work and more referrals, I think you can't now deliver anything less than you originally did.

Hi Lynn,
If you are going to go forward with this, I have two suggestions.

One is to request additional photos from the parents that can be used as reference. They probably have lots more photos. Tell them that you are not concerned about the pose, you just want to see whatever additional photos they may have. This method has helped me tremendously when clients provide the photos. I just had a similar situation where I was working on a second portrait for someone. Their daughter is now in college, but the mom wanted a painting of when she was three. I had one photo for the pose, another for hair color, another for eye color etc. A tough assignment by the mom was very happy with the results.

My second suggestion is to try and get a book published by North Light called "Painting Vibrant Children's Portraits" by Roberta Carter Clark. I don't know if it is still available as I got it several years ago. The first three chapters give some excellent information on anatomy at different ages.

Hope this helps,
Mary

Thank you all for your help. I have to finish this painting because the mom wants it badly. I probably will end up not using it in my portfolio, and hoping that a potential rich patron never sees it!

I may post it sometime as an example of what NOT to do.;)

Lynn Der