Portrait Drawing Fundamentals
The Loomis Method
The Features
Full Drawing Demos
Drawing the Loomis head.
Newest
@toki
2mo
I tried to do some of my own after this demo. The likeness and proportions are definitely not there yet, but I do think that I got the understanding of the loomis head in 3/4 view down. Any critique or tips are very welcome!
Buğra Beyaz
3mo
It was fun and definitely easier than trying to get that 3d model from weird angles.
Looking for feedback.
Shynnel Cumming
4mo
I followed this video for this drawing. Pretty tough but I know it’ll get easier with a lot of practice. This was my first attempt. I fully plan on doing this again to see how the attempts compare.
Cesar Barcenas
4mo
Gaylon Lucas
6mo
I think my proportions a still a little off but please critique away
•
6mo
Hey there! I think you're off to a good start with your guidelines and construction of the head, it's just mostly the placement of the features that could be tweaked a bit. For the first guideline across the face, you have the brow placement already, but it seems too compressed and close with the eyes, that giving them more space and placing the eyes further down would help. The second guideline will have the nose. The bottom portion seems pretty good with the mouth/jaw proportion, just keep in mind to continue the perspective that the rest of the guidelines follow. Hope this helps! :)
Yoshi Oda
7mo
I think I just need to work on the hair more. I was never really good at drawing hair to begin with but I still wanted feedback on how I can improve.
•
7mo
Looking good! You have some solid construction that already gives a good impression of 3-dimensionality. The thing I'd recommend is rounding out the edge furthest from the viewer, as that slight curve better fits the perspective of the rest of the features. With the side of his head visible, and the eyes/nose/mouth facing left, the side of his head furthest away will look smaller as it turns away.
faye zhang
8mo
My suspicions have been confirmed. The Loomis method isn’t very effective if you don’t fully understand the planes of the face and facial rhythms.
Drawing the features onto the Loomis guidelines feels like wrapping a gift. It’s 3-dimensional, but we lose the nuances of the face.
@sharpjab
9mo
Drawing along felt very helpful. The pacing was slow enough to keep up.
Sumit Gupta
9mo
Well done
Sumit Gupta
9mo
I have a question guys will Loomis method work on images like this, I think its a foreshortened image thats why standard ratios might not work. Please suggest.
faye zhang
9mo
It’s not exactly the same, but you can use it as a guideline
faye zhang
9mo
It will work, go back to the 3D model and rotate the Loomis head just like this.
Nicole Guz
10mo
First try before going into lessons
@killzen
10mo
I can 'see' how to create the portrait from the circle but have no clue when I find an image on the web I would like to copy as to where to place the 'guiding' circle. I have seen post where the circumference embraces the now and other times it touche lips,etc. Is there a guiding rule or just simply draw it over the image and then start placing featues? I am lost on this
maciek szczech
10mo
I think it is a good decision. You are in the perfect place to learn and get feedback on your work.
It seems simple, but the different possible positions of the head, tilt, lean, perspective, give you a bit of material to study and get used to when drawing circles and ellipses, keeping in mind that these describe 3D object.
One thing is that I would not study the basic construction for very long time, but I would always push myself a little further, like not only drawing the ideal lines where the hair, nose and chin are, but also drawing different head shapes and adding simple lines to describe the position of the eyes or mouth, also a simple shape of the ear, its angle, then position of the neck, angle of the arms etc. Good luck with your studies.
@draft_al
10mo
Hi @killzen I agree with Maciek that drawing over photos does benefit in the beginning when it comes to understanding the Loomis method. One thing that helped me was taking into account the tilt of the head; that will help you understand where the circle will need to be placed. Also, it is true that not all the heads fit Loomis, but it will give you a point of reference to make adjustments. Good Luck in your journey. What helps is looking at the thirds on the face.
maciek szczech
10mo
Maybe it depends on a reference which you found? Maybe in one example the head is angled towards the viewer and in another it is in a different position? It might also depend on how someone drew it, maybe they were a bit inventive or interpreted things a bit differently than you or Loomis would?
Drawing over the picture certainly helps but I would not learn to draw that way, but rather draw by looking at the reference, and then compare with it and find areas where I could improve.
I really like the explanation how Stan draws portraits based on the Loomis method. The Loomis method is rather quite simple once you have studied it, got used to it and practised it a bit, but it does not work for everyone and does not have to work for everyone. For other people/artists it is not intuitive or it is a waste of time or they find the Asaro head, or the Reilly method or just the shape of the head helps them to understand how to start or draw a good portrait. It would be helpful if you could post a reference and we can study it together.
@artistjen
10mo
Critiques appreciate my first attempt and the lips are definitely throwing me off. I would love advice!
Vivian Cromwell
11mo
my first post
@cbdemt
11mo
Critiques welcomed.
Joseph Rivera
1yr
Decided to go through the whole portrait drawing class from the beginning again since I was getting rusty. I have had alot of trouble with the Loomis method and here is my second go at it. Hoping I can finally master it! This time I am going all digital as well.
May Berry
1yr
First 2 Attempts
•
1yr
Hi @May Berry, nice drawings! I'll do my best to help you further :)
- The proportion vary between the attempts (the second one looks like and improvement 😎👍), so I'll try to give some tips on proportion:
It helps me a lot to relate everything to one thing in the subject. When you draw the figure for example, it's common to relate everything to the head's lenght (the upper body is four head lenghts for example). You could do a similar thing when drawing any subject. Yesterday I drew a landscape with a house. I started with a line that represented the lenght of one side of the slanted roof, then with each line and measurement I added, I related back to this line.
You could try something similar for the lay-in of the silhouette of the head (see attached images). When you have the overall shape of the head, showing the construction with a loomis head might be a nice next step.
Doing one thing at a time, has helped me a lot. Focusing on form, proportion, gesture, line weight etc. all at the same time can make you lose focus. If you draw the figure for example, it might be a good idea to first draw to describe what the subject is doing (the gesture), then on the next layer establish proportion and placement, then on the next focus on getting the shapes accurate. This was just an example; it doesn't necessarily have to be in that order. And the more skilled you get the more you might be able to do at the same time, but you want to work in a way that allows your thinking to stay clear.
As inspiration: here's an example where animator Glen Keane works in two steps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA7Naf0RF4M&t=9s
I hope this helps :) Let me know if you have any questions!
Julia Pe
1yr
The first day that i tried to draw a sphere with the ellipses, it was hard, and i was trying for hours. I then practice it again the next day and it was so much easier, i could imagine the lines and i enjoyed the drawing. But most of all i enjoy the learning process and how the brain works.
(the first day, i went for sleep at night and i was dreaming about the spheres, lol :)
Source: Drawing the head and hands by Andrew Loomis
Lenserd martell
1yr
Why is it different from 3D? Did I miss something?
Julia Pe
1yr
you didn't miss a thing, your lines are correct. the line number 6 represents the side of the face, your line represents the cheek bone, both are correct.
@samdufoe
1yr
The only difference is if you look closely, you can see yours is a little bit wider and the circle indicating the side of the face is also wider than the model, this is why the angle looks different, still rlly good tho
Gannon Beck
1yr
The first image finds the rhythm from the chin through the zygomatic process, the part of the zygomatic bone that reaches towards the top of the jaw. The 3D model doesn't account for that.
Strictly speaking, Andrew Loomis doesn't add that rhythm in his explanation of his method. That rhythm is something Stan learned somewhere and he adds it when he does/teaches the Loomis method. I learned it from Stan's explanation, and find it incredibly useful. The one little swoop helps define the side plane of the jaw and the placement of the zygomatic arch. It gets you a step closer to being able to find the planes of the head.
Dawn Vermillion
1yr
First try
@minhinks
1yr
at 2:00, a line from the chin is drawn that connects to the center of the oval. but in the 3d model rendition, it implies that that same line connect to the top of the oval as opposed to the center. which is the more accurate representation, and why does it seem that there is a difference.
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About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
