Sketching the Head

Final drawing.  I put the primary emphasis on the eyes, mouth, and hair details.  I tried to make the cheek shadow very sublte. 

Step 3.  The hair has three layers now.  I have begun to work on the jaw and neck shadows.  Shadows have been added under the nose and lower lip. 

Step 2.  This photo shows the hair with two layers.  The eye and mouth areas already have about five layers at this point.  I worked a lot on the jagged hair line.

Step 1.  I thought this was a nice profile.  I begin with the exterior contour line then add large shadow shapes.  Very little of the face has no shadow. 

Sketching Process

The sketch above is complete.  I worked to make the exterior contour lines less bold.  The figure fades to flat shadow on the bottom and in the arms.  The highest contrast is in the face.  I am very happy with the jaw and neck shadow.

Here is step one of the sketch: contour lines and first shadows.  The shadows are all one large shape at this point.  I worked on \the sketch starting light and proceeding to dark using layers of color pencil. 

The above is step two.  This shows about three layers of shadows. 

Here is the final sketch and the line drawing I use to work out the contour details. 

Figure Sketch Book

Happy Holidays to everyone!  I spent most of the day in my studio today working on my figure sketch book.  The above figure is based on a photo of Emma Watson, with some liberties taken.  I de-emphasized the exterior contour line some.  The mouth came out well, I think.  Ears are fascinating, so I spent a lot of time on them. 

The above drawing was a quick sketch.  The feet are large due to a little exaggeration in the perspective. 

I liked this pose due to the twist in the head and hands.  The neck appears long, but is in proportion. 

The above drawing may appear in an earlier post.  Here is a better photo.  I used less contrast than my usual approach in this sketch.  The only detail is in the face.  The "S" shape of the neck and torso is great!  The arms appear to have real weight, which I am pleased with.

The focus of this drawing was the hand.

This sketch has a nice twist to the torso and face as well.  I am very pleased with the collarbone, eyes, and mouth.  Also the cropping of the whole figure nice action to the pose.

Figure Sketch Book

 This is an unusual drawing because I used two colors.

 I tried to use less value contrast on this drawing.

 This is copied from another artist's drawing.

 Little shading or value, almost a cartoon.

The lips came out really well on this one.

Drawing 9 progess

I worked to make the shadow a smooth gradation towards the edge of the paper.  Also, I increased the contrast between the legs and the shadow by darkening the shadow area. 

Sketchbook Drawings

This pose was surprisingly difficult, so I stopped at the arms. 

The lips came out especially well on the above drawing.  I used brown color pencil for this one.  I usually draw with a red hue. 

Poster Created by Ai Student

Ai student Jalessa McClain created this poster for a series on Art Institute faculty.  I love what she did with the quote from my biography. 

Drawing 9 Step 2

I have been working on the hair and face and realized I needed to work on the feet and legs.  I like to have the drawing develop as a whole and not let one part get too far ahead of another. 

Above I am beginning to put the shadows around the feet and legs.  I did not like the shadow under the closest foot.  So I erased it. 

Above that shadow on the close up foot is gone.  Then I put in the shadows on the soles of the feet.  The shadow cast by the hand is looking great!  I like that part of the drawing. 

Here is my studio with the drawing up on the desk so I could work on the feet and legs. 

Sketchbook figures

I worked in my figure sketchbooks recently.  Three of the drawings are yoga poses and one is not.  People ask why my models have short hair.  The reason is that I find the physiology of the figure more interesting than hair. 

Drawing 9 Begun!

I have a process for each drawing or painting I begin.  I do a small drawing or value study in one of my sketch books first.  This allows me to catch problems in the composition before I waste too much time on a larger drawing.  In the sketch of this drawing, I changed the slant of the rock a lot.  At this point in the drawings above, I have worked on the outline or contour of the entire figure.  During this stage I had to make a lot of changes to the face.  When the contour is at a certain point I put in the first white highlights with white charcoal.  Looking at the drawing now, it  looks like her hands are cut off, oh no!  I will have to work on that.  Her toes look cut off as well.  I have a long way to go on this one. 

Figure Sketches

Here are a few sketches from my figure sketch book that I have completed recently.  I zoomed in on the one above.  There are some problems with this drawing that I did not notice until I was finished.  The right eye is too big.  I need to go back and fix that, maybe by making the left one larger. 

This one is different from my usual short hair models. 

This is only about an hour of work on the drawing above.  This pose is from a pose book.  I'll work on this one tomorrow.

In the studio in spite of the heat!

I worked on this and two other sketches today in my studio.  I like how the neck and the hair fade into one another in this sketch.  The ear may be a little large.

Sketch for the next drawing in the weight series

I am beginning my thought process for the next drawing in the weight series.  Here is a sketch I completed recently.  The figure is using one hand to hold up the rock instead of two.  Some questions come to mind.  Does she look like a super hero holding up the rock?  Should I make it look like the rock is falling or tipping over?  I will probably do another version of this concept. 

Sketch Book in April

Detail of the face.  

 Full Drawing.  I decided not to put the hard exterior line on this drawing. 

 This drawing has the hard exterior line. 

These are found images that I drew in my sketch book recently.  The exhibition in December and January went well, but took up so much time and effort that I did not get to my studio for a while.  I'm back!  I am playing with the exterior contour line: whether to use it or not.