Project - 8 Step Method

Lesson by

Project - 8 Step Method

Lesson by

Michael Hampton

in Head Drawing and Construction

Assignments 107

Downloads 6

Complete 20 portrait drawings using the full 8 Step Method.

Shape of the Skull: Focus on the skull's gesture, its tilt, and two-dimensional axes.
Jaw and Cross: Establish the jawline and cross-sections, combining the center line with the brow.
Perspective: Find perspective by observing the relationship between the brow and the ear.
Proportions: Discuss and mark the proportions, noting halves and thirds from the brow to the chin.
Side Plane: Explore the side plane of the head, incorporating elements like the ear and jaw.
Eye Sockets: Introduce the eye sockets with a basic "planar visor" before progressing to a more detailed three-tiered plane.
Nose Development: Develop the nose from the keystone to the tip, and then from the tip to the base.
Chin and Denture Sphere: Focus on the large, rhythmic shapes of the chin and the area around the denture sphere.

Half of these should build upon previous work and the other half should start from scratch using the reference images provided in the downloads tab.

Each drawing should ideally be completed in a 10-minute timeframe, although extending to 15 minutes is acceptable.

Christopher Corbell

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I've been doing a lot of these, though I wonder if I'm doing them too quickly - I will watch the critiques and then probably do some more a bit more carefully. The first batch from the course references was charcoal, which I'm not as fluent with, but the larger size was helpful I think. For the second batch with my own references I went back to graphite and did most of the construction with 2H, then came back with B to darken the main structures. I see a few big mistakes and lots of small ones, but overall it was fun. I wonder if I should at this point be trying to fix the generic structures for consistency (e.g. noses and chins) or whether it's good to start matching the reference more accurately.

Michael Hampton

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Great stuff! Personally, I like getting the generic structure set and then move to the specific likeness qualities. There's so right or wrong though.

Elijah R

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2mo

Made some heads by scratch. Honestly just drawing along with Hampton from the previous video. Got to see what I did versus what he did and adjust. These feel great. I hope everyone else feels the same about these head constructions. Thnx Hampton for these videos

Michael Hampton

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2mo

Nice job! And of course, my pleasure. Thanks for giving it a watch.

@kumaika

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2mo

Here is 11-20 from the proportion reference zip. I think the only decent one was #13. I know these are probably too small but i've been trying to get 10 on a 5.5 inch x 8.5 nch sketch pad page for each assignment when I have time at work.

@kumaika

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2mo

here is 1-10 from the 8 step references zip.

Rógvi í stórustovu

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2mo

After watching the critique

Rógvi í stórustovu

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2mo

Before critique

Tohega

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3mo

I think I am on the right track. Now onward to the critique video :)

Angelica

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3mo

I think I know the steps pretty well by now. It's just a matter of getting better at applying them. But for now I have done my best and managed to do 20 drawings. I think I have come a long way since I started this course. For a long time, the eye sockets and cheekbones confused me so much. The overlap with socket and cheek on the side further away from you in a three-quarter view, that didn't make sense to me at first. It was a big step forward when that that finally clicked. With that said when I look at reference, I still feel I don't understand what's going on well enough, especially the cheekbones, but hopefully with practice it will make more and more sense. Lately I have had most trouble with front views looking up, it gets so foreshortened. and also, three quarter views looking up where you still see the jaw on both sides, in confuses me. Also the better I get at the steps the more I start to worry about other things, like how to connect the neck. Any feedback on how I'm doing or how I can improve on them would be great.

Michael Hampton

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3mo

These are looking great!

Sundiatta Small

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3mo

Nikos Koulakis

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3mo

I don’t understand why my jaws look super thin and how to get the rotation to better match the references :/ What am I doing wrong? Can I get better with practicing or is a piece of knowledge missing?

mike mcdonald

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3mo

Would love some feedback on these, thank you!

Michael Hampton

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3mo

These are all looking pretty good. Biggest thing I noticed is when above the head, make sure you drop the tip of the nose below the base or proportion line for the nose. Keep it up!

Mike

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4mo

Feedback welcomed on these!

@notthatowl

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5mo

Hi everyone! I wanted to ask for a tip on a thing I struggle with most. If in 3/4 view I keep the the tilt line, and plum line and profile line all perpendicular, the features become very stretched, the chin much too large. But if I let the plum line have a different angle and converge, it looks more natural. Did I miss something? Also please critique my noses, I feel like all features are placed on a facial slope and don't line up with the plum line at all, and when I try hard to keep the base of the nose centered, it becomes distorted. Loving the course and thank you for any tips and feedback!

@notthatowl

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4mo

I really got it in my head that the symmetry line has to match the tilt line, and it was driving me crazy. Now I've noticed that in your book it's shown that that's not always the case! I have to train that more, somehow I've missed that point. I guess you have to eye that line?

Inner Man

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5mo

done. any critique would be greatly appreciated

Michael Hampton

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5mo

Very nice! When you're showing above the head make sure you drop the tip of the nose more. Otherwise, they look solid!

Kevin Ortiz

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5mo

How do you get the side circle and the centerline? I analyze the reference carefully, but I always have trouble. The circle is too big or centerline is far away? I can't seem to get it

R081n

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5mo

Courts

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5mo

Hi Everyone! Would absolutely love some feedback back on this even if it’s just to say good to move on or if I need to continue practicing these? any help is much appreciated.

Michael Hampton

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5mo

These look great. Nothing critical to say at this stage.

@purpleart

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5mo

Had another go at this project as another aid to the gesture course, although this is going a bit beyond gesture now.

Huy Vuong

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6mo

this assignment is really burn to my brain but at least im learning. The issues i have is drawing from above. Can't get it right. Hopefully, few more practice of it will get right.

Jack Mills

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7mo

Ben Whitfield

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7mo

Drew the 10 new portraits assigned to this project. I am happy with the landmark placement for the most part but need to a lot of work/practice on the tilts, proportions and under planes (when applicable). I still find these to be big challenge. I did not time myself but I estimated about 10 to 15 minutes per portrait. Any feedback is appreciated.

@josephl

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8mo

Getting better but the more detail I have the more distorted it feels. Worried about moving on to the facial features but I guess I'm just gonna need to practice more.

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Michael Hampton

Educator, painter, writer, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention.