To create interesting fluid portraits that radiate life you must appreciate the effect of the spine on the skull and shoulders.
To produce a relaxed feeling in your portraits quite often you will need to draw the skull tilted. Most people when they are at ease will view with their head slightly slanted. In this article we will point out what to look for and how to tackle the slanted head.
In the slanted skull view the model will show a clear change of direction from the action of the torso to the slant of the skull. Also take note of where the shoulders are. The subject’s shoulders will approximately be aligned with the bottom of the nose.
With this information in mind, the first step is to gauge the angle of the head’s tilt (from the base of the chin to the top of the skull) before drawing the arabesque. To do this hold your pencil (or a knitting needle) at arm’s length, looking through one eye, and adjust the angle of the held pencil so that it relates to the angle of the slant. Keeping your arm straight and locked you can now transpose this angle onto the drawing.
Now that the angle of the slant is found you can draw the construct and validate the height/width proportion.
The axis of the features is perpendicular to the slanted facial angle. A common tendency while drawing is to straighten out the features so that they are horizontal to the paper. Be aware of this and ever on-guard because this trend is subtle and is constantly trying to sneak into the sketch.
It is not a recommended practice to situate all of the features at this time. It is actually more correct to first fix the brow line and the bottom of the nose and work from there.
When the head is tilted you should also be aware of the effect that gravity has on the face. The skin, particularly on the underside of the jaw, will be slightly pulled down. This effect is quite faint but for those of you who are expert portraitists you should catch this in your initial arabesque. If you are a beginner just put this information away for future reference.
Take note, also, of the neck. The important visible neck muscle is extended. Its companion is compressed. This opposite muscle action is referred to as abduction/adduction. This action of the neck always renders a beautiful effect.
Once the arabesque is situated and you are satisfied with its accuracy relative to proportion and form you can render the features and hatch-in the principal big darks and lights. Keep the tone simple. The more complex the lighting arrangement, the more this applies.
The tonal arrangements are worked further, but are still a bit crude and unresolved. The prime concern is the overall light effect.
There are a few items to keep in mind as you prepare to finalize the sketch:
1. Determine how far you should carry the drawing. You can get a good effect if you give the shoulders and upper torso an unfinished quality. Remember, sketches are not meant to resemble photos.
2. As you gain a deeper understanding of the facial structure the tendency exists to draw what you know rather than what is actually there. So make sure you always pause to observe the life model or the model in the photograph.
In conclusion, the slanted skull pose is special in that the features will be centered on a tilted axis and that the tension in the shoulders will be different from one side to the other. Also the changeover from the torso and shoulders to the skull should be carefully observed.
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Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and expert drawing teacher. See his work at pencil portraits.
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