Hey everyone, So I'm relatively new to this forum. But I've always had a fascination with learning how to draw. But sadly because of my career, etc., I've never had the time to really take intense art classes. How can I learn to draw a really realistic face - like with appropriate shadowing, etc. to make it look 3-dimensional. I've always struggled with faces. Anyone have ideas or references??
All I know is that even sometimes experienced artists or even if you are modeling in 3d in computer have trouble with organics.Organic Shapes are fluid and more complex and textures as well. Start with a building maybe, watch the way the shadows fall. Theres only one way to learn how to draw and thats to draw. Dont worry so much how it looks just keep @ it! you will get better!!! :2thumbsup:
There are some books that you can buy at any local art store that focus on drawing. There are also some on-line sites where you can learn to draw. Many have videos of how to draw, paint, etc. Sky Walker is basically right, though - just begin to draw. I do a lot of painting, and I'm always sketching. Even at work, when I'm in a meeting, I'll doodle while listening to the conversation. I keep a sketch book with me most of the time, and when I've got some time (like at a doctor's office), I usually draw what I see. It may be an outdoor scene (I do mostly landscapes) or an indoor one. I'll sketch people, usually only basic shapes, but occasionally, I'll detail a face. To make things look 3D, shadows and shading are the key. Look in the mirror and start with your own face. See where the eyes fall relative to the height of the head (usually in the middle). See how the eyebrows curve around the eyes and the extension of them begin the nose. The bridge of the nose is usually the brightest area on the face along with the forehead and the cheek bones. The mouth is the hardest for me to draw, and there are a lot of different mouth shapes. Use your fingers to feel the way your face is formed, and you'll quickly learn facial structure to aid your sketches. When looking at a face, notice that the sides of the face usually are darker as the light fades toward the back of the head. The same will apply for a tree, a building, or any object facing you, unless the light source is from the side rather than behind you. Perspective is another thing one needs to learn. The books on art will show you how to make a drawing appear in the correct perspective. Good luck.
You don't NEED shading for drawings to look 3dimensional perhaps the most important part of drawing 3Dimensionally in convincing manners is line weight and using interior lines to show perspective. Line weight: Harder lines in planes closer to picture plane, thinner lines farther away Interior lines: Using lines that are closer to picture plane to intersect into the form of your subject. This creates different segments of form and will aid in the progression of spacial organization. You also definitely need to try and forget or not allow your previous/intuitive 'picture' of a face ruin the drawing of a face. Example: When drawing a head that is looking straight on, a lot of people try to make the face take up the entire oval that is the skull shape, when in fact, the face only takes up about half or a little more than half of the skull's front plane. Looking at anatomical drawings (like in an anatomy book) will definitely help you draw better humans. Understanding how muscles and joints work together will also help you when drawing different poses. A few key tips: (For face looking straight ahead) a) The top of most ears are on the same level as the eyes b) The corners of mouths are found below the pupils c) Eyes are spaced evenly apart so that another eye of equal size fits inbetween the two. d) The nose is usually contained within the corners of the eyes e) The nose is the brightest spot on the face - for me, the easiest way to illustrate a nose is to draw the nostrils and then start to work on the literal holes in the skull where the eyes are socketed. The difference of light/dark will help the viewer 'imagine' the structure of a nose to fill out and with some touch-up shading towards the end of a drawing, can be realized.
uh drawing this is still my weakest stop just after physics and maths. you should check some videos on youtube or any other site they have planty of good tut lying around
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you definitely SHOULD NOT check youtube videos or online shit........... find a life-drawing class near you, there are always real cheap ones, like 5+ - dollars..... constant and changing real life critique.....+
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Purp gave some good advice. Mason, I can see where you're coming from.. but why limit yourself? look online and get to some life drawing classes. Try and attend a few different different classes taught by different artists, you get a wider range of info and techniques. Teaching styles will also vary - some may suit you and others might not. Online there are a load of shit videos and tutorials telling you how to draw when they can't even do it themselves - definitely, but every now and then you can pick up a good bit of information. Check out a dude called Matthew Archembault - the guys insanely good, and has a website with invaluable information - you have to pay a monthly fee for most of it, but there are a few vids that are free to view and he covers things from anatomy to composition to drawing without a reference. You should also try gridding a picture. Pick a pic of whoever, print it and draw a grid made of squares around 2cmx2cm.. obviously the size of the picture depends on how many squares and shit you want.. Then copy that same grid, or enlarge it/shrink it and copy the basic lines in each box to match up. It's time consuming, but it keeps everything in proportion. If you do it right it'll probably look wrong, but persevere and things will pop into place when you add your shading. Printing black and white will help give you the values. And another thing.. the only solid lines on your drawings should be the nostrils, eyes, and lips. NEVER EVER draw solid lines onto the teeth or nose. The teeth will look goofy as fuck, you only want to LIGHTLY shade the gaps between them. The nose.. well.. just don't do it if you're going for realism
Check out a book like "Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. These types of books are used in art classes and teach you how to look at subjects. They teach you about shadow, lines, and getting in the zone. I started figure drawing, of course it was horrible at first but I learned how to see things in smaller details instead of one big picture. I then moved to oil pastel which really helped my eyes and hands get accustomed to contrast. Want the best tip I have for anyone? Go to your local craft store or even Walmart and spend 3 dollars on a small box of plain old charcoal. You can easily create professional three-dimensional looking works of art with these. If you don't have the extra money for a finish to spray over it, hair spray works just as well. Good luck!
