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Facing the Facts Dina Wakley

dina@dinawakley.com

http://www.dinawakley.com ©2013 Dina Wakley. All Rights Reserved.

My Drawing Journey All my life until 2010: I can’t draw.

August 2010: Why can’t I?

September 2010: I can draw!

Before We Begin

On Practice.

“We can draw occasionally for pleasure, but the results are always equal to our devotion. A daily commitment

of time yields greater gifts that spotty stabs at drawing....Some of us will draw just when we feel like it. That’s

okay, but remember the equal and opposite reaction. The force with which we commit ourselves is the same

force with which results come back.” Cat Bennett in The Confident Creative.

On Expectations.

“Often beginners are afraid they’re ‘no good’ when their first efforts disappoint them. Our first efforts will

disappoint us if what we’re looking for is accuracy. We haven’t practiced enough yet. We have a long way to

go....Our main goal is to be fully present in the work, just like in life, and to know that learning to draw with

accuracy and expressive quality is process.” Cat Bennett in The Confident Creative.

On Using a Reference.

Did you see Work of Art, a reality show about art? Both winners used references! And so should you.

Find someone you want to be and copy everything they do.

My Pinterest board, “Portraits I Love”: http://pinterest.com/dina_wakley/portraits-i-love/

100 Girls on Cheap Paper by Tina Berning.

Artists who do portraits: Misty Mawn, Mindy Lacefield, Jane Davenport, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Katie

Kendrick, Maria Pace-Wynters, Milt Kobayashi, Gillian Lee Smith...and so many more.

Trace, trace, trace. Buy a fashion magazine and trace over every face with a sharpie. By tracing, you train

your hand how to form shapes.

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Draw a Face Before we get into the nitty gritty, I want you to draw a face.

Yep.

Do it.

I need you to have a “before” face so you can see how far you have come after you finish this class. If you ever feel

frustrated with your progress, you just need to go back to your “before” face and you will feel GREAT about how good

you are doing! So, draw a face. Do it quickly and don’t erase. You have thirty seconds. GO.

The Formula Artists discovered formulas for drawing the human

form during the Renaissance in the 16th century. I

think it’s important to learn the formula, because

then you can tweak (or even completely abandon)

the formula for your own creative purposes. The

“official” formula can be quite mathematical and

complicated. It can involve lots of lines and

measurements.

Well, I don’t do numbers well, so this is my

“doable” adaptation of the formula. I have

simplified it enough to make it workable for me.

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The Formula for Front View Front view is also called 100% view.

Note that all aspects of a face (shape, eyes, mouth) vary according to race and genetics.

Step 1: The head.

Draw a head shape. The mistake most people make is making the head too round. The head is more oval or egg-shaped

than round, with flattish sides.

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Step 2: Guidelines.

Divide your head shape in half vertically and horizontally.

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Now divide the lower half in half (so you’re making a line at the ¼ mark). Then divide the area under your ¼ mark in half

(so you’re making a line at the 1/8 mark).

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Step 3: Neck.

Touch the sides of your mouth and move them back towards your ears. Do you see that your earlobes are lined up with

your mouth? Now touch behind your earlobes. What can you feel back there? Your neck! Your neck begins behind your

ears. A common mistake people make is making the neck too thin (I call that a “bobble head” neck). Start your neck at

the mouth line.

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Step 4: Eyes and Ears.

Eyes go on the eye line. It’s a common mistake to make the eyes too high. I promise you, your eyes are in the center of

your head (remember we’re measuring from the top of the head and not the hairline). Eyes are one eye width apart, and

one eye width from the side of the head. Ears go between the eye line and the mouth line.

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Step 5: Nose.

The tip of the nose goes on the nose (1/4) line.

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Step 6: Mouth.

The mouth goes on the mouth (1/8) line.

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Step 7: Eyebrows and Nostrils.

Eyebrows go over the eyes and connect to the TIP of the nose. Nostrils go to the side of the tip, no lower than the tip.

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Step 8: Lids, Iris, Pupil.

Draw in the eyelids, iris, and pupil. The pupil should have a catchlight.

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Step 9: Hair.

Draw in hair. A common mistake is to draw in too much hair, or to try to draw every strand. Just draw in the

“suggestion” or overall shape of a hairstyle.

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Feature Details Let’s go over how to draw individual features. Note that every artist draws features a little differently. Work on

developing your own style! Find an artist who draws lips, eyes, and noses that you like, and copy those features over and

over.

Eyes.

Does this look familiar? Beginners commonly draw eyes like this.

What the eye above is missing is eyelids! Take a look at your eyes, or the eyes of someone around you. You cannot see

the full circle of her iris, right? The upper and lower eyelids cut off the iris on the top and bottom of the eye. And, you

can see a catchlight--a reflection of light in or near the pupil. Catchlights are what make people look alive!

A note about eyelashes...I don’t draw them in, because they are tricky to draw and make them look natural. I may use a

darker stroke on the lash line to emulate lashes, though.

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Nose

I find people struggle with the nose more than any other feature. The nose can be tricky because of its volume. It’s like a

pyramid sitting on your face. In order to make it look “real,” it takes shading and shadowing. When you’re drawing, keep

the nose simple. I often describe it as the handle bars of a bicycle. And remember, remember, remember that the

eyebrows connect to the TIP of the nose, not to the side of the nostrils.

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Lips

Often beginners tend to draw clown lips, like this:

Clown lips look unnatural...no one has lips like that except the Joker!

Touch the center of your top lip. Do you feel that fleshy little bump? Lips that you draw will look more real if you draw in

that little fleshy bump. The bottom lip can be rounded or a bit square, and it doesn’t extend to the very edge of the

mouth.

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The Formula for Three Quarter View Three-quarter view is trickier to draw than the 100% view. You need to adjust guidelines and features.

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Take a look at the diagram below. Note how the angles of the guidelines change with the position of the head.

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Step 1: Find a reference photo. Draw the head and guidelines.

Find a reference photo to use as a guide. Remember that reference photos are essential to learning how to draw,

particularly when you start drawing views other than a full 100% view.

Step 2: Draw the head and guidelines.

Draw the head shape and guidelines. For this view the head shape is different. It has a slight curve on the side where the

eye is, and a slight bump for the cheek. Then it narrows down around the chin and goes up via the jaw line.

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Step 3: Draw the eyes.

The eye that is closest to the edge of the head will not be totally visible. Some of it may be cut off at the edge. Because

of foreshortening (i.e. what is farther away from you is smaller), it needs to be slightly smaller than the eye that is

closest to you. Be sure to leave one eye width between the eyes so they are properly spaced.

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Step 4: Draw the nose.

Draw the nose. Keep in mind you will see more of the side of the nose, and possibly only one nostril is visible.

Sometimes it helps to draw in the eyebrows when you draw the nose.

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Step 4: Draw the lips.

Draw in the lips. Remember that the half of the lips that is further away from you (i.e. near the side of the head) is

smaller than the half of the lips that is closest to you.

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Examples

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Notes