Term 3, Head Drawing II, Week 1

Week of March 29, 2021

5 min readApr 5, 2021

For a description of this unit see my Head Drawing II unit plan. For full context, see the description of my Art Home School Curriculum.

Retrospective

I ran out of steam this weekend so I came in just under 30 hours. It was fun to get back to head drawing this week though. Most of the drawings from this week are 5–20 minute drawings. Only a couple took longer. There’s a heavy focus on quicksketch. Over the next few weeks, it will move towards 20 and 30 minute drawings, and finally 1 hour.

Log

Drawings and Critiques

Monday, Mar. 29

I’ve finished making everything I need to start oil painting. Here is a brush holder.

It’s meant to tip down slightly so the oil will not drip down the handle.

Here’s a proportional divider I made with a laser cutter.

You measure a still life with one end and use the other end to transfer to the canvas. Depending on which hole the screw is in, you can draw 1-to-1, or scale down.

Here’s a color checker.

You put some paint of the white tab, then look through the hole to compare your mixed color with the color in a still life.

Here’s my easel, canvas, and palette table in position. I probably need to angle the canvas toward the light.

5 minute head lay-ins.

It’s been about 3 months since I last drew heads so things started out a little rusty. I found a lot of good black and white portraits to use as reference here.

Drawing from a cast.

Something is off about this so I tried it again the next day. I think less of her right eye should be visible.

Drawing from Andrew Loomis’s Head and Hands book.

Tuesday, Mar. 30

5 minute head lay-ins.

I need to foreshorten the eye that’s turned away in the 3/4 view. I keep drawing them both the same size.

Drawing from a cast.

This one turned out much better. Eyes are still the most difficult things about head drawing.

Drawing from Loomis.

Wednesday, Mar. 31

5 minute head lay-ins.

Drawing from a photo.

This is the linear lay-in and shadow mapping.

Drawing from Loomis.

Thursday, Apr. 01

5 minute head lay-ins.

Drawing from a photo.

I like how this turned out. The nose is pointing too straight on. It should point a little to the viewer’s right.

Drawing from Loomis.

Friday, Apr. 02

5 minute lay-ins.

I like the top right, but the bottom right looks like a Halloween mask.

15 second, 30 second, and 1 minute heads.

These were copied from the instructor’s drawings.

Drawing from Loomis.

The lips and chin should stick out more in the bottom head.

Saturday, Apr. 03

5 minute head lay-ins.

These already look so much better than the heads from the beginning of the week.

10 minute head lay-ins.

These were done by the instructor as 5 minute lay-ins, but it took me 10 minutes each to copy them. I like the look of them though. I like how he makes a composition out of the page.

5 minute head lay-ins.