Methods of creating a likeness

[Carolyn Ortiz]

Leslie,

Thanks for the compliment on the drawing. Your input is appreciated! I'll go back and see what I can do about the forehead. That's the good thing about drawing with charcoal, I'm sure I'll be able to fix it. And thanks so much for all your tips. I am a strong believer in flipping the piece upside down also. A teacher had us do that in jr. high and I was amazed, and have been doing it ever since. But sometimes, I guess I still can't quite see when things are off a bit. But I'm sure more practice will help. It's so nice to hear what techniques others use, so thank you for sharing and taking the time!

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Carolyn, we all got here the same way, by benefiting from others' advice, so it always feels good to give back. If you do make changes in your drawing based on some or all of the tips you've gotten, do please post the finished work. It's so much fun to see the progress of a piece.

[Mark Branscum]

Forgive me, as when I tried to post my image it was too large, and when I came back all the points I was offering were gone. So I am going to now post the image and simplfy all I said.

First, methods I use in establishing placement if you would like.

Also (I hope this is OK) I used a digital example on your pic to show what I am talking about.

You will see to the right, the corrected or partially corrected pic, then in the middle the photo, then your's to the far right.

Let's go right to it...

I agree with all that was said, establishment and placement is absolute. Getting this before moving toward detail is needed. However, it is not an guarantee that you still won't have to make refinements along the way.

The eye can trick you, so this is why checking your landmarks will assist you greatly.

Right off, I noticed on yours as I was trying to find what was different between the photo and your piece, that the shadows on the cheeks were higher than that of the photo. As you can see, I corrected that.

Then I noticed her left eye, meaning the shadow around it and eyebrow placement, was not exactly shaped right. I made the correction somewhat, though not complete, but just enough to demonstrate my point.

Also staying there at that eye I noticed the width from the shadow of the eye to the edge of the face was too wide when comparing it to the photo.

I made the correction to demonstrate. Also, then if that was too wide, the left face edge is not in the proper place. That right there, even though you got the shape correct, inproper placement will throw the rest of your feature placements off.

I corrected that on both sides though on the right side it was not as severe.

I then changed the location of the neck ever so slightly, as it was off because of the width of the face had been off.

Note you weren't off by much, but enough to add years, as you say, to the face.

OK, I have demonstrated enough. What this is showing is to look and see where a shadow is, then confirm its placement with several landmarks, the nose maybe, edge of an eye and so on. This will help you get everything in the right place.

You are doing great work and I hope I have been some help.

Mark

[Carolyn Ortiz]

Mark,

Thank you so much for taking the time to do all that. I have done quite a bit of changes to the piece but it still doesn't look right. I think you are absolutely right about the eyes being liars some times. I think I started off wrong on this drawing by relying only on my eyes and not on measuring, so I think this one may just get scrapped and I'll have to try a new one. I will definetley use your advice for the next piece!

Leslie,

Think I am just going to have to start over. If it works out I'll post the new one in the drawing section. Thanks.

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Carolyn, don't scrap it! It's great! The suggestions were intended to help you convey the correct age of the child and they would take very little effort and modification to apply. This is the part I like best about drawing or painting: when the tough work is done and only minor tweaking is necessary to bring the work to a satisfactory conclusion. It should be easy to make those tweaks, especially since you're working in graphite. (Actually, oil would be easy too but I'm not sure about watercolor; that's why I don't use it.) Please, don't scrap it!

[Lon Haverly]

I lead off with this quote of a statement I made in another thread to amplify the fact that I am not very much into the world of art around me. I just draw and work. Draw and work. I quickly learned who he is, (although I admit hearing his name mentioned a little around here) and what he has to say about drawing "inside out," which is really the topic of this thread.

I am an "Outside Innie." Here is why. I have noticed that almost without exception, I can recognise an "Inside Outie" by the trouble they have with the eyes. The "Inside Outie" begins with the eye on the artist

[Lon Haverly]

When drawing the second eye, your big old hand covers the first eye.

[Lon Haverly]

This usually results in the following:

[Lon Haverly]

I always follow a procedure that begins with the overall layout of the outline of the head, then the hairline and outline of the face and neckline. The features are laid out last, and often not until the preliminary shading is done. I just draw the eyes in turn. This gives me a chance to build a structure upon which to carefully place the features. It also establishes the overall placement of the portrait on the page before getting carried away with detail.

Granted,the eyes are important. All the more reason to get them right by building a framework for them.

The very best artists can be roped into this method by obsessing over the eyes by drawing them out of turn.

So what are you, an "Inside Outie", or an "Outside Innie?" And why?

[Chris Saper]

Admin note: Lon iniated an additional thread, "Who's Daniel Greene"; because it is a continuation of the Inside-out/outside-in discussion already in process here, Lon's thread has been merged here.