This assignment will fill 2 pages in your sketchbook.
1. Draw 1 self portrait using graphite and make the PLANES OF THE FACE prominent (do not erase them).
2. Draw 1 portrait of someone else using graphite and make the PLANES OF THE FACE prominent (do not erase them).
Make sure that you fill the entire page with each drawing (avoid drawing small in the middle of the page), and that you thoroughly SPRAY FIX each drawing to avoid smudging (if your drawing smudges, you will lose points).
Make sure to start lightly and gesturally. Think about starting with the skull shape (rather than with an egg shape or a circle), and also think about the 5-eye rule (generally 5 eyes across your face, etc).
Use this list of common mistakes as a checklist to avoid them in your own drawings.
| Portraits most common mistakes:1. Outlining the eyes (like wearing heavy eyeliner) do just the top of the eye-lid rather than the bottom (helps avoid eyeliner eyes)
2. Eyes too high (in the forehead rather than in the true middle of the head) 3. Outlining the nose (makes it look like a banana) 4. Low or absent shoulders (remember to accurately measure the neck so they don’t look like a bobble head) 5. Portrait is too small for the page (too much empty space – like a where’s Waldo book) 6. Outlining the lips (like wearing heavy lipliner) 7. Drawing individual lines for hair (looks like spaghetti) hair just needs to be shading and light |