Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Chp 5-10

Finished! Hooray!

Source Picture

Before
After

What do you think????

I enjoyed following along with "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 5 - Shade
Carrie teaches us to use values to shade our self-portraits which really gives dimension to our drawing.

Chapter 6 - Drawing Eyes
This chapter and the remaining chapters refine what we already know adding additional tips and measurements. This chapter gave my eyes life and you should be able to see the difference. I did.

Chapter 7 - Drawing Noses
Again, some refinements to my nose created a more realistic nose,,,pug that it is :)

Chapter 8 - Drawing Lips and Teeth
More expounding on lips and teeth to make a more realistic portrait.

Chapter 9 - Drawing The Head
Explains the difference between adult and child heads and between male and female heads. Much good info here.

Chapter 10 - Drawing Hair
Good chapter, discusses hair types, shades and highlights.

All in all this is the best book I have read on portraits. I learned a lot and I think the difference between my before picture and my after picture is astounding. I will be looking for more books by this author. Thank you Carrie!

My apologies to anyone who picked up my post with Babylon information embedded in the text. I think I inadvertently caused this and have since removed the offending code.

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Chp. 4

Continuing with my self-portrait I've completed Chapter 4 in "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 4 - Shape
Carrie teaches us the elements of "Shape" by training our minds. There are quite a few very useful items in this chapter and here is where my drawing starting coming alive.

I apologize for not posting sooner but throughout this entire month my internet provider has been down more than it has been up as they have been replacing cable and repairing as they go.....

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces Ch. 1-3

Here is my self-portrait line drawing after finishing chapters 1-3 in "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stewart Parks.

Chapter 1 - Materials and Supplies
Carrie discusses various materials and supplies, but basically all you really need is pencil, paper and a BIG eraser!

Chapter 2 - The Problem
This chapter is most interesting as the author discusses perceptions and memorized facial patterns. These memorized patterns get in the way of really seeing what you are drawing. Additionally there are before and after student portraits. One of the students is 7 years old and her work is amazing!

Chapter 3 - Site
Here we start getting into the meat of the book. Carrie shows us several methods to use to help get the right proportions. Very useful chapter.


I am enjoying this book and really believe that it will help me become a better artist.

Finally! It was a struggle but I have completed my "before" picture so I can follow along with the art lessons in the book "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" . It was a struggle and doesn't even look like the photo, I guess I fudged a little and took some weight off. hehe. As you can see I need a LOT of help.

Thank you dear DebiCates for taking the photo of me :)

Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces

OK, OK...I get the message. Here is my post finally :)

Right now I'm reading Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces. I would recommend this book to anyone learning to draw. It is written by professional forensic artist Carrie Stuart Parks and so comes with a more technical approach to drawing. It is very easy to understand and I think I can actually do this. I will be drawing my "before" self portrait and posting it soon so you can help me compare the "before" and "after" pictures and see if her method has helped. Stay tuned!

Recycling

Recycling is a worthy activity for young and old these days. But reusing is always the real challenge. I am on the lookout for new ideas for reusing old materials and when I found Jan Pinney's Art See Blog I just had to share. The clock is made from cardboard and the flowers from pop bottles. Be sure to check out January's archive where a mannequin leg is all decked out. Check it out.

P.S. Hello to all and I am back!

In The Middle of Things

Here I am in the middle of things. Notice that the inset picture is of my "feather" duster, that may give you a hint of where I am. But the feather duster is only the tip of the iceberg, there is a lot of mop, broom, bucket, and plain old elbow grease below the water line. I am getting into the Zen of it now and actually enjoying it. I'll be working outside after this and so will probably have this hiatus from my blog for awhile. But don't give up on me, please, because I will continue commenting and occasionally posting. Be back soon.

Book Meme Let's Play

Oh fun, it is called The Book Meme and it goes as follows:
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

The Mapmaker's Opera By Bea Gonzalez

'And because he is no good at small talk, has never bothered to learn the rules that govern high society, does not know how to engage this man on his own turf, Nelson jumps in now and begins to laud the area's birds - the motmots, the ibises, the hummingbirds, the owls and the terns. "So many precious birds," Nelson says. "Do your people know how truly lucky they are to live under this extraordinary piece of the sky?"
Don Victor nods in reply. Though he has only a passing interest in the area's birds himself, he is most pleased at a foreigner traveling from so far to admire the beauty of his region of the earth.'

I tag Debi Cates Photo A Day, Sue of Sacred Circle Mandalas, Barb of Life In The Sunshine, Enzie of World Market Portraits, and D.C. Confidential. Let's play!

Sign / Post 2 Things Challenge

I pray that a SIGN will be sent from God for all people to see and that He will POST a message of peace on the heart of man. Just imagine no more war, no more terror, no more maiming, no more killing, no more torture. No more. Imagine.

This is my 2 things challenge entry for this week.

Deconstruction:
Software was Photoshop CS3. Images were purchased from dreamstime.com ($4).

I used a quickmask and eraser on the background of the doves to isolate them, then pasted them into my work image and added the clouds layer. I added a layer mask [layer, add layer mask] and brought the doves forth from the previous layer. I used [image,apply image] to get the eye blended into the previous layers. I felt finished so I stopped here :)

Name The Painting and Win a Prize

I've been following Enzie Shahmiri's blog for awhile now as she posts paintings by Orientalists and I like them. I've learned quite a lot from the daily posts and have enjoyed seeing the works by various artists of days gone by. She is an accomplished artist herself and has been working on a painting of the above photograph she staged and took of world renowned belly dancer, Tiffany Bisconer, and is looking for a name for it. All you have to do is name her painting and you will win. Here is what Enzie says:

ATTENTION!
This will be an interactive project and I will give a drawing of one of the objects in the painting to the person who can come up with a cool title for this painting. So as you visit and see the developments, start thinking of some titles. All you have to do is leave me a comment on any post that says "Tiffany". When the painting is completed the person whose name suggestion I will choose, will receive the drawing. If several people should suggest the same name, I will have my son draw a name and announce the winner. Good luck!


Come on friends, lets get this painting named!