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Step 3-Here I basically summed up what it all means when it is said and done.  This head took about 3 minutes to draw because I know the principals of drawing a well done head, and I practiced them repeatedly for years and years. I also had an idea of what I was after for a finish. This guy could easily be refined many times over, but I am not bashing or critiquing, merely demonstrating what a good understanding of the basics can get you. Here are a couple pages of head drawings I have accumulated from a number of my sketchbooks.

Here is an assignment if you so choose. If you do this assignment, DON”T DO ONE DRAWING AND CALL IT FINISHED. You shoud draw entire pages of at least a dozen drawings on the page. Repetition is the KEY to successful drawing, can’t stress that enough. Come to my studio some time and I will show you the dozens upon dozens of pads filled front to back of studies.   Good, Bad, Horrid, Eye Wrenching, etc.   but done no less.  Mileage is the hamburger helper of the basic principals, trust me.   Doing a hundred heads before understanding how they work is great, so long as by the time you have done them all, you understand volume and proportion to a logical degree.  Drawing the heads repeatedly over and over again is boring to only those who refuse to learn, interesting to those who are curious, and fascinating to those who need to know. 

So the assignment is to do dozens of these wire frames, attach the chin, find the ear and the nose, like the one in step two.  Different tilts, and different angles.  I want to see proper division.  No guess work, you have the rules in front of you, follow them closely, and I guarantee you next time you draw some figure in a scene or in a pose of some sort, that head is going to look well constructed from a proportion stand point, because you took the time to learn those principals of head division and will never stop using them until you stop producing art… I hope this helps you out a bit. Good luck and enjoy.

       Ron Lemen

Recomened Books

Andrew Loomis-Figure Drawing for all its worth
Andrew Loomis-Creative Illustration
Andrew Loomis-Fun with the Pencil
Andrew Loomis-Drawing the Head and Hands
Andrew Loomis-Successful Drawing

Anatomy
Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life
Stephen Peck-Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist
John Vanderpoel-The Human Figure
Fritz Schider-An Atlas of Anatomy For Artists

Perspective
Dora Miriam Norton-Freehand Perspective and Sketching
Arthur Guptill-Sketching as a Hobby
Guptill-Sketching and Rendering in Pencil
Ernest Watson-Creative Perspective for Artists and Illustrators

The Famous Artists Courses from the Fifties to the early 1970's

I would tend to stray away from the Hogarth books, only because what he does is purely inventive, not using real models or anything for his basis of structure. As a result, his images tend to be a bit too sinuey, rubber like, and just not quite right. Bridgeman though is a bible that no artist should be without.

About Ron Lemen

Ron Lemen is a master painter (and my own personal savior, MB). He has worked in the entertainment and illustration industry for more than 16 years. He is currently working for Presto Studios in San Diego as a lead designer on Myst:3-Exile as well as teaching night classes at Jeff Watts Art Atelier. To view samples of his work go to:

http://www.geocities.com/lemenayd/index.html

This tutorial was originally created and posted By Ron Lemen on the Digital Art Forum. You can find the Digital Art Forum here:

http://www.sijun.com/dhabih/mainscreen.html