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.