Proko - Drawing any Head with the 4 Steps

Drawing any Head with the 4 Steps - Extreme Poses

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Drawing any Head with the 4 Steps - Extreme Poses

Steven Michael Hampton

in Head Drawing and Construction

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Head Drawing and ConstructionFull course (26 lessons)

$125

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Full course

This course teaches students to draw realistic human heads, from basic structure to detailed features, using Loomis-inspired techniques.

$125

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About instructor

Steven Michael Hampton

Educator, painter, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention and Gesture Drawing: Dynamic Movement and Form.

comments 29

I think I'm getting confused about the axis line you use to determine the angle of the the cranial mass. In most of your examples so far, you've placed it at the relative center of the sphere, but in the 3rd example here you have it much more off center toward the front of the face. Does the placement of this guide matter, should it be aligned with a particular part of the head? In other examples it seems to align with the ear and back of the jaw but here it seems to align more with the edge of the chin.

LESSON NOTES

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We are focusing on difficult views to get a clear sense of perspective early on. I use a four-step approach to pose portraits:

Sizing the skull
Tilting the head relative to the neck and shoulders
Placing the jaw
Establishing rotation and basic perspective

Head and Neck Relationship

Treat the head like an egg. The head naturally sits at a slight diagonal. The cervical spine pushes the neck forward, so always draw the neck at a diagonal to capture its three-dimensional position.

When drawing the neck, remember the concepts of pinch and stretch. A C curve represents a pinch or active muscle. An S curve represents a stretch or passive muscle. These pinches and stretches happen inside the form just as much as on the contour.

Jaw Placement and Back Views

For three-quarter back views, bring the corner of the chin up to form the mandible, aiming the line toward the ear area. Instead of using a brow line across the front, use the base of the skull as a guide. The back of the head is boxy and broad. A line across the back of the neck or slightly above the hairline provides context similar to a front brow line.

Overlaps are vital for back views. Overlapping forms, like the transition of skin from the jaw canopy into the neck, create a mini landscape that pushes the three-dimensional illusion forward.

Handling Extreme Foreshortening

When dealing with extreme angles, use perspective arrows to help your brain connect with the forward or backward lean of the head.

A common mistake is stretching features out instead of compressing the space. Abbreviate and truncate the spaces to accurately capture foreshortening. If the head is tilted far back, the brow line will be very high, and you will see the underplane of the jaw. If the head is tilted far forward, the brow is very low, and the neck might barely be visible.

Keep your perspective lines parallel. When you find planes through elimination, all the information on them must remain parallel to avoid distortion. If a pose is too extreme, rely heavily on overlapping forms and basic abstract shapes before worrying about details.

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COMMENTS

Steven Michael Hampton

In this session, we're improving perspective skills with challenging head views. Starting with the back of the skull, we use shapes like a ball and an egg to set tilts and angles. We focus on the neck's 3D positioning and overlapping forms, emphasizing the head's natural diagonal inclination.

Max Long

•

3mo

These are my follow along drawings for this video. For this, I used a circle template, an ellipse template and a ruler for cleaner drawings. I feel like I am starting to grasp this initial design concept now. Now, I suppose that I need to find a portrait reference package for future studies. If anyone knows of any good ones, let me know about them. As usual, critiques are always welcome. Cheers!

Eksno

•

7mo

I tried doing one with the head tilted back. I wasn't sure how to do it after the video though. The jaw is foreshortened, so I drew it over the circle, but I wasn't sure how to draw the jaw lines correctly. This is a cylinder in perspective, so I tried drawing the underplane and using that as the jawline, but I'm not sure if this is correctly. I'm not sure about the neck either, since it looks pretty static in the actual photo too.

Eksno

•

3mo

Just a note from future self: This "diverges" the forehead, so when drawing the head backward like this, it's important to "converge" the forehead so it doesn't become big. I found this issue with a portrait I made here https://www.proko.com/s/nebv

Steven Michael Hampton

•

7mo

Looks pretty good. Don't be afraid to move the straight for the chin into the head shape if necessary.

laura mcgann

•

1yr

Great lesson! Just a quick question: I assume whenever you are figuring out the axis line it is on the plane that is facing you? - it gets a little confusing when the head is slightly turned and tilted. TIA

Mario Ulloa

•

1yr

Had to take a break from taking lessons since getting a new job. But back at talking Hampton's drawing lessons

R081n

•

1yr

Lin

•

1yr

After 1.3 year of drawing from level 0 and another two months of perspective practice I’m finally in a place to do these exercises!! I’m so happy because FDD&I was the first art book I got and I was too much of a newbie back to even draw a circle. I had to discover axes and convergences and such. Anyway, I’ve waited for this moment, it’s one of my favourite books. :D

Blueberry

•

1yr

What did you learn before going this course?

Steven Michael Hampton

•

1yr

These look great! Nicely done

@dwt12345

•

1yr

def a little confused on the neck and shoulders tilt, especially on #3 and #4.

rhea

•

1yr

Josh Fiddler

•

2yr

The last one though!

@paka

•

2yr

Loving this so far. Thought I still have a few questions I would love to have answered before begining the assignment - Regarding the first step, how do you know where to place the lines that show the direction of the head in realation to the circle. Is there a specific rule about it? What part of the anatomy does each of them reperesent? - Proko says that cross countours should wrap around the entire form of an object, and I find it really difficult to do that without losing the direction of the browridge - The neck in general. Just like figure drawing, there is a stretch and a pincht, but I just struggle to see any of what I'm drawing in the actual reference.

Steven Michael Hampton

•

2yr

It might be useful to watch the critique video. It might help answer your questions.

@dbx

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2yr

I did the latest lesson references from memory, then correcting them later and checking my work

Steven Michael Hampton

•

2yr

Great starts!

Side Shave Laura

•

2yr

Great following along with this. Heads up (hehe) I think there's some extra video that starts at 18:40 where Michael is speaking, but there's no voice?