Project - 8 Step Method

Lesson by

Michael Hampton

inHead Drawing and Construction

413

Assignments 68

Downloads 6

Project - 8 Step Method

Lesson by

Michael Hampton

in Head Drawing and Construction

413

Assignments 68

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.

Thieum

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My attempt at the 8 Step Method. I started by returning to the drawings from the previous exercise. Then the new references. I struggled a lot with some of them (mainly with number 8) and only did tracing on number 5 to try to understand the shapes.

@lauralana

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23d

I finally put my drawings side by side with the reference, which really helped me to see the issues. I have a habit of making the faces too wide and not shaving down the sides enough. When there's a tilt upward, I tend to not make the tilt dramatic enough.

@aub

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1mo

Here are my 20 constructions with the 8-Step Method. Some are done fast, while others took me more time. I had to adjust a couple that were completely off!

Rachel Dawn Owens

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1mo

Great head construction drawings! I know it’s not part of the assignment, but I think some neck anatomy could improve these drawings. Especially the angles where you can see under the chin. Great work on the faces!

Nick Quason

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2mo

10 from previous drawings 10 from new references I'm struggling this week and feel like I take longer to do the whole head from nothing to basic structure. I'll try to practice some more before moving on.

Marcela Pacheco

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3mo

After much practice, things start to work better.

Michael Hampton

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3mo

Very nice!

Ian Aaron Fuentes Sejas

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3mo

Enjoying the course!

Stephen Kienhöfer

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4mo

@veryartthing

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4mo

Trying to get back into this course. There are so many steps here that its hard to keep track of it all, but I can see the value of it.

@rupertdddd

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5mo

My attempts... enjoying the course so far.

@lightsdesu

•

5mo

feedback welcomed

Ash

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5mo

These look amazing, lightsdesu!

Matyáš Kulkovský

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5mo

Hello. Not perfect . But I really enjoyed this assignment. I hope at least one think will be right. For me, the most difficult pose was from the front. thank you for the lesson maestro.

Monique Frish

•

5mo

I think I'm really starting to get it... Though I'm still getting a bit tripped up by the more extreme angles.

Adrian Potato

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5mo

learned a lot :3

@michaelkopa007

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5mo

Michal Abraham

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5mo

Hi. some parts get easier and more understood, but the cut of the head, the jaw and the nose... not so much still.

@lightsdesu

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5mo

Help pls

@lightsdesu

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5mo

Hello classmates, does anyone know if I can turn in my assignment on the 28 and still be eligible for the critique? Or is the 27 the cut off day?

John Daniels

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5mo

In my experience with proko courses, it depends on the instructor. I always do it the day before just to be safe. But even if ou miss the date, post it anyway! Plenty of people can help you even after the course is complete and putting your work out there for critique is never a bad thing.

John Daniels

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5mo

This was a struggle. I just have an honest trouble getting cinstruction forms to match with my obseverational measures afterwards ( and I don't mean a little, I mean ALOT). I'm going back to do some draw over practice and see if I can make something click. Drawings labeled "proportions" are from Last project (like many I had redo them because they were off). Ones labeled "8-step" are for the current project.

Dave Sakamoto

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5mo

I had to draw all 20 from scratch because my previous work was so off. I took Michael's advice, grabbed a screenshot of the 8 steps, and placed it in the corner of my computer screen to remind me what order to go in. That helped immensely.

Martin Vrkljan

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5mo

My first 10 with provided references. I feel that I keep ending up with too narrow heads in 3/4 and profile views for some reason, but can't figure out what exactly I'm doing to cause that, so will have to play around some more with that to figure it out. I'll post the other 10 from previous work soon, having trouble picking out the 10 I like the most, hah!

Sydney

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5mo

I like how solid your forms feel, they have nice overlap and perspective. It looks like you might be lengthening the back plane of the jaw, which makes it look longer compared to the cranium; could be why the heads feel narrow?

Martin Vrkljan

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5mo

Added the 10 from previous work.

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Michael Hampton

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