Project - Portraits in Perspective

182K
Mark as Completed
Course In Progress

Project - Portraits in Perspective

182K
Mark as Completed
Course In Progress

In this project we'll practice applying perspective to organic forms. Heads, while organic, adhere to the rules of perspective similar to boxy objects, so we'll start by constructing 3D heads. Look for clues of the angle of each axis such as angles from brow to ear, the vertical center line of the face, and the horizontal side to side angles of the features.

I've prepared a range of portrait photos for you to work with, that you could find in the downloads tab under the video. You'll notice each photo is numbered. Please label your drawings with the corresponding photo you're drawing to help me and the community give you a critique. Otherwise it would be very difficult to know which box matches each photo.

Level 1: Basic Box Construction

Draw a box representing a simplified version of each head.

  • Try to match the orientation and dimensions of the head in the photo
  • Rely on your intuition to imagine each head's rotation and dimensions
  • Iterative process: Redo and refine as needed

Level 2: Head Construction

Start with a small box representation of the head, same as Level 1. Then add linear head construction with accurate perspective.

  • Use primarily straight lines to draw, emphasizing plane changes
  • Find angles in the organic shape that correlate with the simple box (ex: top and back of the head)
  • Observe, analyze, then draw
  • Avoid drawing tiny heads; aim for at least 4 inches in height

Deadline: Submit by 1/15/2024 for a chance to be in the critique video!

Newest
VAGABOND
2d
Been away for a bit, but going to catch up this summer. Starting small with level 1 boxes, going to do more tomorrow.
@landsloth
Wow my brain hurts after this. Visualising is hard. I really struggled with the boxes where i had to introduce the bottom side, my brain just refuses to fully comprehend the bottom side. It's hard to visualise the overall box and ignore the details.
@deepanshu12
@deepanshu12
its hard not to bend lines of the boxes, should i do them again with straight lines?
@osrour
14d
@osrour
15d
@osrour
15d
Richard W
17d
Did no do all of them. The level 2 have the boxes on the right, but very light so difficult to see. Any comment is welcome
Art Stark
18d
Level 1 Heads 16, 17, 18, 19
Art Stark
20d
Level 1 Heads 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Emanuel Mejia
Hey @Art Stark, The ear on numbers 10 & 11 are a bit on the small side. The ones on 12 and 14 are getting a bit big and 14 and 15 are pretty spot on! The way to keep your ears from going to big or too small is by getting your rule of thirds (the Andrew Loomis method) right first and then constructing your ears from there. Your facial features are looking dynamic! I'd try and see them as boxes as well though, as some of them are looking a bit flat. Really looking for that three dimentionality. Good work!
Melanie Scearce
These are really stylish, great job @Art Stark!
Kyle
20d
This was a fun project! I liked being able to quickly iterate with different angled boxes to get a better perspective.
Stephen Worthington
4 level 1 portrait boxes 2 - I wonder if it's not 2 point enough? But then, given a head is a small object, I guess the vanishing point would be incredibly far away. Anyway, I've not measured my box but I do wonder if either my X or Y axes will have vanishing points 5 & 8 - think these are fine? 10 - definitely the one I struggled to visualise most because of the rotation on both the Z and X axes, but I think it came together okay
Stephen Worthington
Though I do seem to have given everyone very wide faces. Particularly 8, whose head I have drawn wider than it is deep.
@deadsm
27d
The proportion guides finally make sense. I can see why, though boxes are a great first step to good construction, and not an end-all solution.
Arthur Nesbitt
Goodness this one proved to be a challenge for me. I feel my most obvious issue is I have a tendency to make my heads too much of a cube when they should be more rectangular. I was trying to be conscious of the perspective but critique is welcome!
Aubrey Hannah
I just did the level 1 version of this exercise, but I think I did pretty well. The only thing that gave me trouble was understanding how exactly two-point perspective applied to the reference photos. I assume that the vanishing points were either well-hidden or outside of the picture plane. From what I can gather, that's pretty common. If anyone could give me advice on how to better apply the concept of perspective, I would greatly appreciate it.
@kirstybp
30d
My first attempt at portraits in perspective. This is hard! I’d be grateful for any feedback! Thanks! ☺️
Laurent Van Acker
Two level two attempts! I found the perspective reference and thinking about the head's landmarks with perspective really helped with getting these 'right' quicker than measuring, so that was nice! Noticed that even though I realised I should have tilted the face cube more in my start for #11, I still didn't tilt the final head.. Also post-edited the drawings in Photoshop to make them more readable!
hobodios
1mo
(I did all of these in order #1 was the first one #14 last I got better! I think) I find it extremely difficult to get a drawing with good proportions in a shorter period of time. Usually I take 2+ hours to get my proportions almost perfect but I put around 1 hour into these drawings and the proportions just look worse and it bothers me. I'm moving on to 3 point perspective but I definitely need to keep practicing these to improve my proportions. As always any feedback is highly appreciated!
Patrick Alexander Büchi
My oh my what a struggle this was, but even though the assignment was terribly difficult I had immense fun trying to figure out what way the axes converged. Also, I cannot simply put to words how amazing this task is. Even though I struggled, it has shown me a whole new perspective (understanding) on how to look at heads, perhaps even other objects, thanks! And as always, any sort of critique is very welcome. :)
Melanie Scearce
I agree, this exercise is great. You can do so much with a box in perspective. Glad you had fun working on this! These are excellent. The only one that I think could be adjusted slightly is #1. I see a bit more of the top plane showing in the reference image, which means the head is pointed downwards more. Overall you've done a great job with these.
@621
1mo
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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