Week Fifteen: Portrait Drawing

Your drawings of the Girl and Beret, after the artist Corot, were wonderful! wonderful! wonderful!

During this course I've challenged you to draw from pictures by some of the greatest visual artists in history--Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Ledger, Van Gogh, Corot--and each time you've drawn with them, stroke for stroke! Even those of you who said you can't draw! :-) Last week's highlights were Leif's skull sketches and his drawing of the Girl and Beret, and Elvis' proportions that he drew for the Girl and Beret.

This week, finish your side view of the skull. Remember to keep sketching lightly, get your proportions correct, then finish with contour lines and shading. Go for the accuracy!

Your last drawing challenge for the year is to draw the front view of the skull. And if any of you want to go WAY out there with the skull challenge (and have time), you can go for drawing the 3/4 view of the skull. At least give the front view a shot. :-) Hilda has the reference pictures.

We'll start our final project on Friday. It will be a portrait of a big-time famous guy. One of his famous quotes is "Imagination is more important that knowledge." Know who he is?

But wait! Here's an important notice...

You also have an option for your final drawing. You can draw a portrait of a big-time hero in your life. It can be your mom, dad, brother, sister, or anyone in your family. It can be a friend, a famous athlete, musician... just has to be an all-time hero of yours. What a fun way to use all the skills you've learned!

Hero Reference Picture: You must have a clear photo of your hero that shows a full view of their facial features. It needs to be large enough and clear enough to see details when making your drawing on 8.5 x 11" paper. You can use a photograph or picture from a magazine or book for your reference. You must have your reference picture in class on Friday. If you don't bring it, you'll be drawing the big-time famous guy I've chosen. Note: You'll also have next week to finish your Hero Portrait.

C ya Friday! --Rob

Jamee

Excellent! Work! Jamee! Fantastic job on drawing the proportions of the girl's face! The contour lines for her hat and clothing are VERY accurately drawn. Her hand is also very accurately drawn. Superb drawing.

Shaylah

Beautiful portrait, Shaylah!! Your continued improvement in drawing contour lines, shapes, space, and proportions amazes me. You did an awesome job of drawing the girl's facial features and contours of her clothing accurately.

Keeley

Your hard work paid off BIG-TIME on this drawing, Keeley!! The proportions of the girl's face and body are well drawn, especially the measurements of her facial features. The improvement from your first study sketch is remarkable!

Gage

Your unique 'Gage' drawing style really came together in a cool way for this portrait! You did a great job of capturing the overall proportions and details with bold contour lines. The proportions of the hand and face are accurately drawn.

Leif

Wow, Leif!! You continue to blow my mind with your drawings! You've really done a great job of drawing the overall proportions of the girl's face and body. Your ability to draw contour lines has improved in a big way. The details of her hat, facial features, and hand are very well drawn.

Doug

Hey, Doug! When you put your mind and skills to work, you produce really awesome drawings! Your drawing of the girl with the beret is fantastically awesome! The overall proportions are very well drawn, especially her facial features and hand.

Elvis

Excellent! Proportions! Elvis! Overall you did a great job of drawing the proportions of her face and hand. The contour lines for her clothing is very well drawn, especially the folds and drape of her sleeves. Great job of including the details of her face and drawing the form of her hand.

Tiana

Tiana, your contour lines are awesome!! You have a way of capturing proportions and contours with quick, accurate lines. I know this sketch was done on the day it was due... I'd really like to see the one you forgot at home. :)

Our Teachers!

Hilda
You've truly drawn beautiful contour lines for this portrait!!! The proportions of her facial features, hat, and hand are accurately drawn. The details for the folds and drape of her sleeve, as well as the embroidery are wonderfully drawn.



















Patty
Outstanding!! Portrait!! The contour lines for her hat, clothing, and hair are exquisitely drawn! I really like how much detail you packed into this one!

Week Fourteen: Proportions of President Obama's Face

I'm very proud of each of you for taking on every challenge that I've thrown at you for the past fourteen weeks!! We're now exploring the fundamentals of drawing realistically. And, as always, you jumped right in and started drawing.

Your first attempts at a portrait drawing were FANTASTIC!! You concentrated on drawing guidelines and measuring overall proportions, and then finishing with contour lines. Each of you made a lot of progress in capturing the likeness of president Obama's facial features and expression. Your drawings are posted below.

Reference picture of Barak Obama: Click here

This week, continue working on your drawing of Corot's Girl with Beret. Remember, we're studying Corot's pencil lines and concentrating on accurate proportions of the girl's face and body. Keep measuring proportions such as the distance between each shoulder, the size of the beret (hat) compared to her face, and the overall distance from the top of the beret to her hand. Make sure her hand is accurately drawn, too. :)

Reference picture of Girl with a Beret: Click here

See you Friday! --Rob

Keeley

Fantastic portrait, Keeley!! The proportions of the president's face and neck are very well drawn. You did a great job of drawing contour lines for his ears, lips, and dimples around the corners of his mouth. Great job of capturing the form of the chin, nose and forehead. You've done an awesome job of drawing a portrait that resembles president Obama. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. Look closely at each eye. Is the measurement from the top to the bottom of each eye correct? Check the distance from the outside end of his eyes to the beginning of each ear. Are the areas accurately drawn? Now, take time to carefully compare the width of his face from ear to ear. Are there areas that could be narrower?

Gage

Great portrait, Gage!! Excellent job of drawing gray tones to represent different color values and shading. Overall, you did a great job of drawing the contour lines that form his head, especially the chin and cheeks. You drew accurate contour lines for his nose and chin. The contours of his ears are VERY well drawn. The way you drew his head turned slightly, the form of his mouth, chin, and shoulders capture the mannerisms of the president. Check the reference picture. Compare the eyes that you drew to the reference picture. Are the eyelids and the areas under the eyes drawn the same? Also, check the area of the forehead and area between the outside ends of the eyes and the beginning of the ears. Are they the same proportionately?

Tiana

Excellent job, Tiana!! Your contour lines for the nose and dimples around the corners of the mouth are very well drawn. The contour lines for the cheeks and chin are also very accurately drawn. Great job of drawing the overall proportions of the face. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. Carefully check the size and form of the ears and lips. Are they correct? You did an excellent job of drawing the contour lines forming the eyes. Compare the eyes that you drew to the reference picture. Do you see a likeness of the president's eyes in your drawing? Also, compare the measurements of the forehead area the area of the hair. Are they the same?

Elvis

Great portrait, Elvis!! Excellent contour lines for the ears, nose, and mouth. I really like the contours of the nostrils and shading of the nose. You did a great job of drawing the chin and neck. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. Carefully check the proportions of the head. The distance between the bottom of the nose and top lip is very accurately drawn. Also, the distance between the bottom lip and edge of the chin is accurately drawn. Nice job on the distance between the edge of the hair to the eyebrows. Now compare the distance from the outside edges of each eye to the beginning of each ear. Are they the same? Is the shape of the jaw the same? Check the distance between each eyebrow and the top of each eye.

Leif

Excellent effort, Leif!!! You did a fantastic job of including all of the president's facial features and overall form of his head. You did a GREAT job of shading his face, especially the areas where the nose and eyes meet. I really like the edge highlight you drew where the jaw (to the right) overlaps the neck. This brings the jaw and chin to the foreground, making your picture look 3D! The neck, shirt collar, and shoulders are well drawn. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. Carefully measure the distances between the edge of the hair and eyebrows, as well as the forehead area. Are they correctly drawn? Now, check the width of his head, above the eyebrows, from edge to edge. Are the proportions accurately drawn?

Jamee

Great job of drawing president Obama, Jamee!! Excellent contour lines for the nose, lips, and dimples around the mouth. The contours of the ears are also well drawn. You did a wonderful job of drawing the chin, shirt collar, and shoulders. Nice job on the shading of his cheeks and ears too! Compare your drawing to the reference picture. You did an excellent job of drawing the distance between the bottom of the nose and top lip. You also did a great job of capturing the expression of his mouth. Check the length of the neck on both sides. Is it the same in your drawing compared to the reference picture? Now, check the nose width, the space between the eyes, and the distance between the outside end of each eye to the beginning of each ear. Are the distances accurately drawn?

Doug

Great job, Doug!!! Overall you did an excellent job of including the details for his facial features. You did an excellent job of drawing the the proportions of his chin, neck and shoulders. The contour lines for his ears are well drawn. Nice job of drawing accurate proportions of the areas between the bottom of the nose and top lip. The contours of the lips are very well drawn. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. Is the overall shape of his head, above the eyebrows and ears, the same in your drawing compared to the reference picture?

Our Teachers!

Great job on the portrait of Obama!! Excellent control of your contour lines, especially on the chin and dimples. You did a GREAT job of drawing the width of the chin, shirt collar, and shoulders. Excellent work on the shading around the nose. Compare your drawing to the reference picture. You did a nice job of measuring the distance from the edge of the hair to the top of the eyebrows and the distance between the bottom lip and edge of the chin. Compare the left cheek area to the right cheek area in your drawing. Are the proportions from the middle of the nose to outside edge of the jaw the same on both sides? Carefully compare the left and right edges of the neck. Notice how the top edges of the neck in the reference picture are angled slightly outward. Are they the same in your drawing? Also, compare the overall shape of the eyes for accuracy.

Reference Picture: Barak Obama

Click on picture to enlarge

Reference Picture: Girl With Beret by Corot

Girl with Beret by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), French Realist painter.



Click picture to enlarge