[spooge demon]

This is in response to a thread by Dr Bang about improving his heads.

My first thought is always to paint from life, but since this is inconvenient at best, you have to do the next best thing. And really where bang is at, drawing from life may not be the best thing. The model moves, time is limited; there is SO much information there that it is easy to become overwhelmed. Academies used to have the beginning student drawing from plaster casts, which I think is a great way to start- it has many of the advantages of drawing from life but few of the drawbacks. Only when they had that mastered could they draw from the model. So buy a plaster head, if you can.

But if that is not a possibility, use photos. Trying to draw out of your head from the start is a sure way to blow a gasket. I know I do sometimes. These photos (I bet you can’t tell where I got them) are B+W on purpose. The whole idea with starting out is to eliminate variables (motion of models, color, time, etc.) The best way would be to start with drawing, but everyone wants to jump right in with painting, so I think this approach is a good compromise.

READ all of the Sargent notes on my site before proceeding. You want the big picture here. Start from a middle gray, then establish your darks. That will leave you with a middle tone for most of the head that is in light. Carefully work up your lights from there. Work with a large brush at first (and later if you can manage it) and work zoomed out. Don’t get into the detail at all. If you really want to fix yourself of this, run a mosaic filter on your photos so there is no detail. This can be really helpful to see just what is and what is not there. And don't worry about masterpieces, make them ugly almost on purpose. Let that they are correct make them beautiful. I should have spent more time on mine, but if I had they would be less finished than they are, but the shapes would have been more accurate.

I left the bottom row undone so you can do them.

[mellowsmoothe]

hey spoogy...what is your site address?...thanks.

[Flinthawk]

mellowsmoothe: his page is at www.goodbrush.com

*hastens to his computer and gets to work on some heads*

..........

*WHEEEZ...puff..puff..puff*

Ok, I'm back with a couple heads. Hope they're ok. Damn, just remembered I'm still on geoshities...now I remember why I haven't posted in so long...Oh well, click the link to go to the webpage now that I made it an html document.

Two Head Pics


[edit]added pics...and then had to make them links...argh.

-Flinthawk

[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: Flinthawk ]

[dead]

wow, what a guy. Seriously.

[Francis]

I'm signing up for this class.

you said make it ugly, so...

I've had a printout of that Sargent piece for a while. It bears re reading now and then. I only did one because I'd like to see feedback (either for mine or others' work) to incorporate into the next one.

I already see that I have not accomplished what Sargent talked about, which is being able to use just a few bold paint strokes to model the planes in the head. Mine has too many spots that are overworked, with small brush strokes.

[Awetopsy]

thats awesome Spooge.. thanx... even tho it wasnt for me.. this is info i can use too.

[Zorglub]

oh oh I wanna do this too, god knows I need practice

[EviLToYLeT]

Impressive! I like spooges better than the photos, honest!

[Akolyte]

Wow spooge, youre helpful Thanks for this stuff!

[surferboi]

i guess this is good for me

[aquamire]

I had more, but I called Photoshop a bad name, and it crashed on me in response.

Second one as you can tell, I struggled with.. its a bit overworked I think.

Spooge, my question is, what good does this do? To me, whenever I work from photograph my mind automaticaly has me tracing the contours rather than seeing the form in the image. I hate working from photographs because of that. So arent we simply learning to copy a photograph better than drawing a head? My apologies if I'm not realizing something here. I tried my best to see planes and paint them as so.

[GiTcH]

[KOryH]

Here Ya GO!!!

[Gimbal8]

Jeesh, I tried to economically place the planes of her face in the proper positions and I ended up not even getting the right angle to her face. Then I got carried away with trying to fix where I thought I misplaced my brush strokes and started overworking everything. Another botched attempt. Ah well. If i got it right the first time i wouldn't have learned a thing I guess.

I used one brush size for everything with the exception of the eyes, lips and hairline when I checked the size modifier box.



Probably should have fixed the forehead area but I figured I'd stop before overworking the image even more.

Aquamire - I'm sure someone else can explain the purpose of these excersises better then I but here is my take on it. You probably won't get much, if anything, by merely tracing the contours out. It is important to actively think about the forms of what you are drawing. Constantly ask yourself "what is the shape of this" and "where is the light coming from, where is it going". If you don't actively give thought to the shapes you are drawing, you will only be tracing contours.

[Jezebel]

Here's mine...

[Staff Sarge]

Yeah sorry, got carried away with the details... and the background is there just for practice.

Hmm.. next time I'll aim for less detail, more shapes. And yes, I read the Sargent notes before I started to paint, very interesting stuff.

[Frost]

Hmm, that WAS very a interesting experience... I had a rather hard time doing the second one... interesting...

Koryh: that is amazing! (I am very impressed)
Staff: you too.

[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: Frost ]

[LordArioch]

Isn't that Winston Churchill at the top left?

[Jezebel]

Ok... did it again. This time faster, tried to do less detail, bigger brushes, etc etc...

[dr . bang]

I'm speechless Craig ! I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!

Hopefully this thread will be come the next "Paint Along with Fred" thread!

I'm really glad that many people participate in this thread. This also make me less guilty for asking Craig to do all this.

Anyway here's something i did in 1.5 hour.



I'm in the process of finishing the rest !

[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: dr . bang ]

[Staff Sarge]

Ok, another one...



[edit: hehehehe just noticed, forget everything I said about details in my previous post... next one is just shapes. No details. Promise.]

[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: Staff Sarge ]

[opticillusion]

I painted mine above the reference shot, which prolly led me to knock a few inches off her head. Nevertheless, a very educational post and I look forward to doing more. Thanks for the lesson spooge



EDIT: Ack, I went to bed and couldn't sleep....so I came back and tried again. 3 AM now, and finished this one up. Hopefully getting to sleep'll be easier this time


[ May 24, 2001: Message edited by: opticillusion ]

[spooge demon]

*goes to the window* HEY FRED!!!! WE NEED SOME HELP OVA HEA!

Also, I put on my art center hat, meaning all pretense of humane treatment is abandoned. Think of it like pulling of a band-aid real fast- It’s better in the long run!

Look at everyones and see if your crit agrees with mine. Doesn’t have to but it is interesting to develop your own judgment.

After you have done a few, take the original, size it over your painting and turn the layer on and off really quickly. How does it differ? A good way to check things out.

******************Also, I screwed up, goto corbis.com and type in heads, that is where all these are from. You can get a little better rez that way. Working from these little images is a little cruel. Now he tells us.

Spooge- Not precisely drawn. Spend much more time getting the really big shapes quite accurate (not rendered or finished or fussed) and less on eyelids. Overall character of heads is not coming through.

Flinthawk- too much information, too many little value shifts where they are not doing you much good. On right, to much contrast, or light and dark areas within the shadow area. Does not read like shadow. What is in shadow should be in shadow, what is in light, in light. The shapes that result for the division of light and shadow…

Francis- Yes, similar comments to spooge. Bigger brush, se the bigger shapes. Her head is an inverted cone, sharper radius at the chin. Brow in plan view is peaked, meaning we see little of here far eye beyond the nose. You have a lot of that eye showing, making her face flatter than it should be.

Evil toilet- Yes! This is what I like to hear. There are fewer details in my sketches, but what about them is more interesting than the photos? That is what I am after, successful editing.

Surferboi- Pop eyes- Eyes not staying in socket means too much contrast, eye go darker to stay under brow. Don’t round off your shapes, keep the corners on things, or they look melted

Aquamire- my mind automatically does a lot of really bad stuff too. That is the whole reason behind trying. And as I said in the introduction, this is a lame substitute for life drawing. If you find not value in it, which I can certainly understand, don’t do it. Read the Sargent notes- you are “overstating your tones” Are those really the values you see in their relative positions and strengths? Simplify does not automatically mean exaggerate, most of the time it just means eliminate.

Gitch- too blurry and soft. Work more on basic proportions, and alignment. Read Sargent notes on “keen appreciation of the vertical” I can’t remember what page, so you have to read it all again The vertical thing is just a way to check you drawing. You can use a horizontal as well. Look at your head on the right. Look a the top of the ear and the eye- they are quite a bit off. Less time blending, more time thinking, looking, and drawing.

Koryh Looks good, just be much more precise, and at least indicate front and side planes of head. That huge eye is growing hungry and will soon devour us all.

Gimbal- read about vertical and horizontal alignments as drawing aids above. Look at the relative position of the two eyes. Your far eye is way high. More time on stuff like that and less smoothing it out.

Jezebel, simplify. Much activity and contrast everywhere. This is not automatically bad, but it is a crutch to make something look interesting. I like to paint in oils really thick cause it looks cool. Even when my painting doesn’t Looks at your painting and then the source and back and forth rapidly. Does yours have the same feeling? Have you communicated from the original through your mind and to the third party who has never seen the original? I know that it is arbitrary to limit yourself to only this, but it is a good restraint and challenge for this exercise. It is hard, requires control and observation and thinking, and not as much expression.

Staff sarge- simplify! Read the Sargent notes on “classifying” values. Where is the lightest light and darkest dark? It is subtle, but it is there. Measure it with the eyedropper. Even blur it a lot and sample it. It is there, and it really will help you. Also, might back off on the contrast in shadow areas. Will improve graphic effect through simplification.

Frost- do it all like you did the bandanna around the girls hair. Simple, understated, no scrubbiness about it. The draw is good, but it is not what is there, you have changed things a bit, read Jezebels comments. See those areas in the light halftones that are blown out? This is one reason to draw from life, you would have a much better handle on faking that in after a few years of studio time.

Jezebel 2- yes better, but he drawing is gone. Not details, but big picture stuff. Do the overlay thing and you will see the trouble. Not only look at how your shapes are different, but what forms of the head your shapes imply. Like Francis and the flat face. If you think about it this way, you will learn to “feel” your way through drawing problems (look whose talking) in the future. If you just look at the shape, it comes in one eye and out the other.

Dr bang too render-y Too concerned with smooth finish. Did you read the Sargent notes? Go!

[S4Sb]

I wonder why I can't draw what I see... my brain just doesn't allow. It draws what I learned over the years. It draws what it should be like ..not what it is like...

Thank you, Craig.I don't know why you do it, but it's very kind that you tech us.

[Dean Welsh]

ugly I can do!

-Dean

[ May 25, 2001: Message edited by: Dean Welsh ]

[Staff Sarge]

Alrighty, I tried to study more carefully the values, shapes etc. etc.. I found Adjustment Layers (curves) quite handy doing this.

Maybe a little too detailed again but 'ere it goes:



SSgt takes a break now.

[dr . bang]

Another one in 1.5 hours



More to come!

[Strawberrysauce]

god i need to practice ... a lot!...

[BooMSticK]

hmm.. yeah - whatever. Must try harder... Great thread, though. Just like in the old days!
,Boom

[beet]

good exercice,15 mn each. btw the Sargent pages are a great reading. thanks . Can somebody recommnend a good sargent book to I can find online? hard to find them here...like the impressionism movement never spread out of france. anyway.