If this is the case, the first thing you will do is to create a Line Drawing. And the very first part of your Line Drawing will consist of drawing the so-called arabesque.
In pencil portrait drawing, the arabesque is defined as the entire positive shape of your subject's head. In other words it is the outer contour of the head.
The arabesque includes the proportions, the shape, and the symmetry of the head. This means that the arabesque communicates pretty much an overall likeness of your subject and often even some emotional content.
In trying to realize the arabesque we meet our first challenge as a draftsperson. That is, the challenge of "seeing the reality". Indeed, when we observe an object complex mental process is initiated which in part falls short of the degree of accuracy necessary to create an acceptable portrait.
The mind, for good reasons (one is to maintain our sanity), immediately replace the very complex subject with the symbol it has stored since childhood. For example, we all know how a child draws a house. It really is more like a symbol of a house. But this is what the mind tends to bring up and often even adults draw a house like they did as a child.
Clearly, it is these symbolic preconceptions (a left brain phenomenon) that are the enemy of the draftsperson. You must train yourself to ignore those symbols and really see what the really of, for example, a house is.
In general, learning to draw involves the reprogramming of the mind's eye. To this end there is a skill-set that has been developed over the centuries since the Renaissance.
Applying this new found skill to the arabesque is particularly important. "Striking" the arabesque is probably the most important element in the creation of a good likeness. Once you have this skill down path all the rest will follow fairly easily.
The first step in striking a proper arabesque is to force your eyes slightly out-of-focus. This condition is called seeing or observing with a "soft eye". With a soft eye proportions and shape are more easily seen. It also helps you to avoid the invocation of the symbolic preconceptions we talked about.
To train your eye to improve your powers of observation you must always draw first and check second. There is very little to gain from pre-measuring. The habit of pre-measuring of the height and width of your subject's head will hold you back in the long run.
When striking the initial arabesque always use short straight, i.e., architectonic lines. This will impart a sense of the head's structure and the form of the underlying bones and tissues. Note that round or curving lines are symbolic preconception.
Also pay attention to the symmetry of the head. The term "symmetry" in the context of drawing and painting does not so much refer to the similarity of two parts but more to the beauty that results from correct proportioning and rhythm.
After striking the arabesque (without doing any measurements) you can check the proportions. Take a measure of the largest width (i.e., the width of the arabesque across the brow line) and set it off vertically starting at the bottom of the chin. The end point of the width usually ends up somewhere close to the middle of the hair.
The idea is to determine exactly where that end point is situated. Best is to judge the shorter of the following two distances: (1) the vertical distance from the brow line up to the end point of the measure; (2) the vertical distance from the end point of the measure up to the arabesque. The shortest distance is the likely to be the most accurate. Don't forget, the arabesque encompasses the entirety of the head including the hair.
With practice your eyes will develop this critical skill. Then, once the proportion and shape of the arabesque have been established you are ready to proceed with placing the so-called landmarks.
Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and expert teacher. Check out his Pencil Portrait Course and his Portrait Print Package Special
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remi_Engels 
No comments:
Post a Comment