5-Minute Sketches

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I created these sketches using charcoal pencils, a material that I recently bought and have been itching to use ever since it arrived. I love working in charcoal, but for something as finely detailed as the human face I felt that using the material in pencil form would be better, as the nib was thinner than the chunky pieces of charcoal I’m used to working with. I loved creating these sketches, it was really interesting to explore sketching my own head from a range of angles. Of course, there are areas for improvement, but for a first attempt, I’m feeling pretty pleased.

My favourite of the 5-minute sketches is the bottom-left – my face from a slight angle. I think, in this one, I have accurately depicted the proportion of my facial features and the form of each individual part turned out well. The sketch on the right is a drawing of my head tilted downwards slightly, looking up towards myself. I don’t think I’ve manage to depict this well, and I’ve also drawn the eyes way too close together, so I’m not too fussed about this one. It doesn’t even really look like me. I think, also, I may have over-shaded the nose. This is the most difficult area of drawing a face, I find – the noses. They’re very tricky.

The top left drawing was the first one I created, where I was simply easing myself into the task. I think it’s pretty effective, and I think the layout of my facial structure is depicted well in it. However, one thing I have noticed is the lack of shape within the “outline” of the face – another thing that I find a little tricky! Looking at these, it seems that a sideways view of myself is where I create the best depiction of my face. Interesting. I have very high cheek bones and quite a prominent chin, which I think is better displayed from the side. I was able to add these very obvious details more effectively when drawing myself from the side, and I think this has a lot to do with how well these two pieces turned out in comparison to the other two, where my face just looks a bit like a potato.

Longer Study – 1

I’m really pleased with how this turned out. I spent about 30 minutes on it, and was very wary not to go too far (as I am prone to do). I didn’t want to over-shade it and I was also conscious of trying to accurately portray the layout of my face (not spacing the eyes too close together/far apart, ensuring the distance between nose and mouth is too long or short, the face shape).

I’ve really surprised myself here, and even my partner was surprised at the progress I have made. I really enjoyed adding the darker tones to show the dips and curves of my face, and each time I looked up into the mirror it was as though a new area to shade in had appeared. Slowly and subtly adding these areas it what really brought this whole sketch together, and it was so interesting to watch the development as I sketched. I’m pleased with the nose and the mouth in particular. These are areas that I’ve found challenging but it shows that practice really does pay off because I think I’ve depicted them really well here, however, the space between the nose and the top lip is just a little bit too long, which threw off the piece a bit. I also feel that the eyes are a little too small, and the forehead should be a little higher. These are all very small and very easily avoided mistakes, which is frustrating, but hey, it’s a learning curve, and, other than these small changes I would make, I think I’m doing a great job. I’ve come a long way in the few weeks that I’ve been studying the human form and head, and it shows here.

Rework

I decided to go back to the piece and add to it. I didn’t do too much else, but there were just aspects that I felt needed some work. It was never going to be perfect, but I wanted my first attempt at drawing myself to be as close to perfect as it could be. I didn’t want to attempt to rectify any of the proportional issues, but I felt that I could at least work around them and uplevel what I’d already created. I darkened the hair, because I felt that it looked very sparse and that further work was needed on it. I think this helped to move the piece forward a lot. I also rounded my cheek bones and the eyes a bit more. Where I was sat, the lighting was quite harsh and you could see all dips and curves of my face prominently, which helped me a lot in drawing this sketch. It accentuated important features of my face which helped me get a an accurate portrayal of it on the page.

For a first attempt, it’s fine. I’m not blown away, and I know that I could’ve done a lot differently to better it but I’m happy and I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Later in the day:

The more I look at this piece the less I like it. I am finding more flaws and reason to dislike it the more I inspect it.

On further inspection of the sketch I also realised that the chin is a little too small. I think it needs to be carried out further from the neck.

Another thing that I’ve picked up on is the shading I have included. I know that the brief says not to worry about an accurate depiction of the face, and that the focus of the piece should be to get the general features of the face in the right place (which I feel I have basically achieved), and to map out the areas of tone and the shadows upon the face (which, again, I have done), but the severe shadowing I have added is really bugging me. It looks too much. I went too far, which is something I said above that I really didn’t want to do! I see now that I should have left it somewhere between the first final study and this one.

True, it does accentuate the surface of my face and all the dips and curves of it, but I think it looks way too severe.

I like working in bold, extreme tone / colour now that I’ve started to develop my own signature, and I think this is a quirky and interesting piece to look at, however, as the person that created it (and a person that is very self critical) I am continuing to scrutinise it and I am finding a long list of areas that I’m not a fan of, and one of the things that is starting to bother me the most about this is the extremity of the shading – particularly around the cheekbone and above the eye on the right hand side.

That being said, not all of the darker tones are bad tones. I’m pleased with the shading upon the nose and mouth. I think the nose is my most accurately drawn nose yet, and I think this has a lot to do with the movability of the charcoal and a subtle smudging technique. I also enjoyed drawing the nose from this angle, which may have helped.

Longer Study – 2

My second attempt was created using HB pencils. I feel a mix of emotions towards this piece. I think it’s got strong areas such as the shading, the mouth, and I’m satisfied with the shape of the face. I think the layout of the features is a little off – the eyes are a little too large and slightly unsymmetrical, the nose is a little too small, and, again, the gap between nose and mouth is a bit too long.

That being said, the general area of the features is accurate, and with some tweaking, I think this could be a strong piece. It’s really challenging to realise how off your facial placement is whilst you’re drawing, and only afterwards did I notice the errors I have made. Regardless, I can see vast improvement and I’m feeling assured that with time and practice I could create some powerful and realistic portraits.