Project - 8 Step Method
Project - 8 Step Method
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02:50

Head Drawing and Construction

Perspective Forms of the Face and Features

Project - 8 Step Method

1K

Project - 8 Step Method

1K

Complete 20 portrait drawings using the full 8 Step Method. 

  1. Shape of the Skull: Focus on the skull's gesture, its tilt, and two-dimensional axes.
  2. Jaw and Cross: Establish the jawline and cross-sections, combining the center line with the brow.
  3. Perspective: Find perspective by observing the relationship between the brow and the ear.
  4. Proportions: Discuss and mark the proportions, noting halves and thirds from the brow to the chin.
  5. Side Plane: Explore the side plane of the head, incorporating elements like the ear and jaw.
  6. Eye Sockets: Introduce the eye sockets with a basic "planar visor" before progressing to a more detailed three-tiered plane.
  7. Nose Development: Develop the nose from the keystone to the tip, and then from the tip to the base.
  8. Chin and Denture Sphere: Focus on the large, rhythmic shapes of the chin and the area around the denture sphere.

Half of these should build upon previous work and the other half should start from scratch using the reference images provided in the downloads tab.

Each drawing should ideally be completed in a 10-minute timeframe, although extending to 15 minutes is acceptable.

Newest
Elijah R
2mo
Made some heads by scratch. Honestly just drawing along with Hampton from the previous video. Got to see what I did versus what he did and adjust. These feel great. I hope everyone else feels the same about these head constructions. Thnx Hampton for these videos
Michael Hampton
Nice job! And of course, my pleasure. Thanks for giving it a watch.
@kumaika
2mo
Here is 11-20 from the proportion reference zip. I think the only decent one was #13. I know these are probably too small but i've been trying to get 10 on a 5.5 inch x 8.5 nch sketch pad page for each assignment when I have time at work.
@kumaika
2mo
here is 1-10 from the 8 step references zip.
Rógvi í stórustovu
After watching the critique
Rógvi í stórustovu
Before critique
Tohega
2mo
I think I am on the right track. Now onward to the critique video :)
Angelica
3mo
I think I know the steps pretty well by now. It's just a matter of getting better at applying them. But for now I have done my best and managed to do 20 drawings. I think I have come a long way since I started this course. For a long time, the eye sockets and cheekbones confused me so much. The overlap with socket and cheek on the side further away from you in a three-quarter view, that didn't make sense to me at first. It was a big step forward when that that finally clicked. With that said when I look at reference, I still feel I don't understand what's going on well enough, especially the cheekbones, but hopefully with practice it will make more and more sense. Lately I have had most trouble with front views looking up, it gets so foreshortened. and also, three quarter views looking up where you still see the jaw on both sides, in confuses me. Also the better I get at the steps the more I start to worry about other things, like how to connect the neck. Any feedback on how I'm doing or how I can improve on them would be great.
Michael Hampton
These are looking great!
Sundiatta Small
Nikos Koulakis
I don’t understand why my jaws look super thin and how to get the rotation to better match the references :/ What am I doing wrong? Can I get better with practicing or is a piece of knowledge missing?
mike mcdonald
Would love some feedback on these, thank you!
Michael Hampton
These are all looking pretty good. Biggest thing I noticed is when above the head, make sure you drop the tip of the nose below the base or proportion line for the nose. Keep it up!
Mike
4mo
Feedback welcomed on these!
@notthatowl
Hi everyone! I wanted to ask for a tip on a thing I struggle with most. If in 3/4 view I keep the the tilt line, and plum line and profile line all perpendicular, the features become very stretched, the chin much too large. But if I let the plum line have a different angle and converge, it looks more natural. Did I miss something? Also please critique my noses, I feel like all features are placed on a facial slope and don't line up with the plum line at all, and when I try hard to keep the base of the nose centered, it becomes distorted. Loving the course and thank you for any tips and feedback!
@notthatowl
I really got it in my head that the symmetry line has to match the tilt line, and it was driving me crazy. Now I've noticed that in your book it's shown that that's not always the case! I have to train that more, somehow I've missed that point. I guess you have to eye that line?
Inner Man
4mo
done. any critique would be greatly appreciated
Michael Hampton
Very nice! When you're showing above the head make sure you drop the tip of the nose more. Otherwise, they look solid!
Kevin Ortiz
How do you get the side circle and the centerline? I analyze the reference carefully, but I always have trouble. The circle is too big or centerline is far away? I can't seem to get it
R081n
4mo
Courts
5mo
Hi Everyone! Would absolutely love some feedback back on this even if it’s just to say good to move on or if I need to continue practicing these? any help is much appreciated.
Michael Hampton
These look great. Nothing critical to say at this stage.
@purpleart
5mo
Had another go at this project as another aid to the gesture course, although this is going a bit beyond gesture now.
Huy Vuong
6mo
this assignment is really burn to my brain but at least im learning. The issues i have is drawing from above. Can't get it right. Hopefully, few more practice of it will get right.
Jack Mills
7mo
Ben Whitfield
Drew the 10 new portraits assigned to this project. I am happy with the landmark placement for the most part but need to a lot of work/practice on the tilts, proportions and under planes (when applicable). I still find these to be big challenge. I did not time myself but I estimated about 10 to 15 minutes per portrait. Any feedback is appreciated.
@josephl
8mo
Getting better but the more detail I have the more distorted it feels. Worried about moving on to the facial features but I guess I'm just gonna need to practice more.
Josh Fiddler
20 Heads. 10 drawovers: THe first ten, reference from lesson videos. 10 start to finish using provided references. I still have some issues with the heads from below and getting the jaw shape. Something I've started doing is using the 3rds of the face from head on or profile and trying to place those in the other views to help get the proportions a bit more aligned. And, as a big surprise to me, when I use the timer, I'm much more thoughtful about the use of that time and usually get it done in 10 minutes. The from-under views have take me a bit longer. But without the timer, I have NO IDEA how long I'm fiddling around, erasing, undoing, etc, before I get to the end. It really helps focus the mind.
Michael Hampton
Very nice, Josh
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About instructor
Educator, painter, writer, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention.
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