Back to normal

**bgermain** · November 17th, 2003, 03:40 PM

I'm finally beginning some serious efforts to break away from the cartoony stuff I normally enjoy doing and pursue things a bit more realistically. I'm starting with strict photo refs at the moment but I'll eventually move on to life drawing. I used the old tried-and-true grid method to maintain proportions while drawing. Hopefully I'll get to the point where I can accurately eyeball everything, but one thing at a time.

These are images pulled from a Google search for faces/portraits/headshots. The last one is me, taken by a coworker.

**silverslash** · November 17th, 2003, 03:59 PM

very nice job, the childs face is def my fav out of the bunch. very interesting since u can actually see the progression in skill as u look down all 5 finished pieces.

**bgermain** · November 18th, 2003, 08:27 AM

Thanks! I hadn't noticed the skill progression until you mentioned it.

**marc_taro** · November 18th, 2003, 08:40 AM

I'm prefering the two old guys at the top - the rendering is sharper...with your self portrait at the end the handling is getting too fuzzy.

As you lose the line, you also loose form...If you are trying to eradicate line, to get away from a cartoony style that's cool - but you still have to have hard and soft edges - I think hard highlights and sharper shadows in your eyes and teeth would help a lot.

my 0.02 cents
~m

**Oddo** · November 18th, 2003, 08:49 AM

Nice going

. Drawing from photos from Google is sometimes that I also do a few times, to try and catch a bit more realism in my drawing hand

. Is it a good approach, anyone ?
These are good. For what it's worth, I am not using a grid, however I look for mental lines that align various features. For instance for pic of the military fellow: the top of his right ear, his eye corners and the top of his left ear are placed on such an imaginary line. Noticing that would have prevented you placing his right ear too low. But, I'm not a very good artist, so you might want to take my advice with a pinch of salt ).

**Oddo** · November 18th, 2003, 08:50 AM

By the way, the old Indian man is my favourite. Great skin texture, beard and sketched clothing

**bgermain** · November 18th, 2003, 08:13 PM

marc_taro: Yeah, it's definitely a process that I need to refine. The trouble I'm having at the moment is that I'm swinging too far away from my usual style. Hopefully I can balance it out.

Oddo: I see what you mean about finding invisible lines. Again, it's something I hope to get fluent with over time. I don't want to become dependent on a grid, but I think it's a good place to start.

**Pencil Soldier** · November 18th, 2003, 08:26 PM

Just wondering, what did you put in the google search window?

**Christian C.** · November 18th, 2003, 08:31 PM

Very nice. I like the second one most.

**bgermain** · November 19th, 2003, 11:53 AM

I did separate searches for faces, portraits, and headshots.

**bgermain** · November 20th, 2003, 01:42 PM

I swore I wouldn't bump my own thread. Then I saw that the "Painting fish and wiping your ass" thread got a hundred and fifty responses in about two days.

**bgermain** · November 21st, 2003, 05:45 PM

Okay, last time.

**Android** · November 21st, 2003, 06:30 PM

please dont insult our intelligence by changing your post title just to get more views.

your drawing pictures from photos.....

thats boring.

and thats why you are not getting alot of replies.

i would encourage you to draw from life and post in the figure drawing thread, you will learn alot more.

**cucaracha** · November 21st, 2003, 06:59 PM

When I saw the title, I already knew it has nothing to do with the content

Android,
not all of us have opportunities to draw always from life / by classes - I, for example, live in a 3000-inhabitant mini-village, with 2999 old people and me in it.
I could only draw my dog, so photos are the next opportunity (but I agree that drawing from life is nicer than to draw from photos....)

cu

**Android** · November 21st, 2003, 07:26 PM

well we all have the oppourtunity to draw from life whenever we want, life exists al around us, all the time, it takes more effort to aquire a superficial photograph, than just sitting down and drawing what you see.

and your small town theory holds no water for me, i draw a portrait from life every night, surely you have mirrors in that little town of yours.

**vfxart** · November 21st, 2003, 07:51 PM

I think these are more successful as potential fabric studies than portraits. There's an absolute ton to learn about all of the inherent problems in photos before you can use them well as reference. As has been said, your best bet is to draw as much from life as possible. This will force you to make decisions and learn about what you're looking at. Mirrors, self-portraits, friends (you can reserve the right not to show them), and quick incidental drawings at various places will get you much further much faster. Working from photos now, and your work shows, will slow you down and bring a lot of bad habits your way.
That being said, I can never fault someone for almost any time spent drawing, just try to spend it a bit more wisely. Keep going!

**bgermain** · November 21st, 2003, 09:11 PM

I have no argument for anything said so far. I would like to clarify that my changing the post title wasn't to insult anyone's intelligence; it was a cynical response to a moment of frustration. Neither was it done to wrangle more views: anyone clicking on "Asian Porn" and finding this thread would most likely get the joke and understand the frustration.

I'm also aware of the benefits of drawing from life. In fact, there are a number of beneficial exercises in art, but I can only do one thing at a time. At the moment, it's this one.

**nikia** · November 21st, 2003, 11:31 PM

Very nice work. The first man's chin and neck seem to be a bit narrower than they actually are in the photo, but not bad just the same. The other three are very nice. As for the portrait of you, I find it kind of strange that the photo itself is fuzzy and somehow you've conveyed that to the portrait. I think this is what some of the others are saying you have to watch for when using a photo reference. All in all though, nice work.

On a side note to cucaracha, I think you're missing a once in a lifetime opportunity by not drawing the 2999 old people in your town. Old people have the stories of life imprinted on their faces. What a great advantage you're missing!