Project - Portraits in Perspective

Lesson by

165K

Mark as Completed

Assignments 638Lesson NotesDownloads 6

Project - Portraits in Perspective

Lesson by

Stan Prokopenko

in Drawing Basics

165K

Mark as Completed

Assignments 638Lesson NotesDownloads 6

In this project we'll practice applying perspective to organic forms. Heads, while organic, adhere to the rules of perspective similar to boxy objects, so we'll start by constructing 3D heads. Look for clues of the angle of each axis such as angles from brow to ear, the vertical center line of the face, and the horizontal side to side angles of the features.

I've prepared a range of portrait photos for you to work with, that you could find in the downloads tab under the video. You'll notice each photo is numbered. Please label your drawings with the corresponding photo you're drawing to help me and the community give you a critique. Otherwise it would be very difficult to know which box matches each photo.

Level 1: Basic Box Construction

Draw a box representing a simplified version of each head.

Try to match the orientation and dimensions of the head in the photo
Rely on your intuition to imagine each head's rotation and dimensions
Iterative process: Redo and refine as needed

Level 2: Head Construction

Start with a small box representation of the head, same as Level 1. Then add linear head construction with accurate perspective.

Use primarily straight lines to draw, emphasizing plane changes
Find angles in the organic shape that correlate with the simple box (ex: top and back of the head)
Observe, analyze, then draw
Avoid drawing tiny heads; aim for at least 4 inches in height

Deadline: Submit by 1/15/2024 for a chance to be in the critique video!

Aura

•

Level two project. I picked the two faces I hated the most, or rather the ones I had the most trouble with, while completing the level 1 assignment. I tried to really nail the proportions and placement of the features, so much so that I feel like I put the perspective boxes on the back burner - but they look ok! Onward.

@shopdoc

•

#13 in particular threw my for a loop. I’m thinking the side plane (ear) is almost horizontal? I’ll keep working on this lesson. Maybe it will help me to eventually learn to draw faces…

Mika Vermeulen

•

This was more challengng then i thought it would be, but it was good practice. i will try level 2 as well just for the sake of it.

@gwendolynjules

•

Level 1 doing a level 2. I gave myself 25 minutes for each, they aren't horrible but I dont feel like they look like the people... but I really enjoyed this exercise and definitely will do more!

Melanie Scearce

•

I think you did pretty well with the likeness, especially for a 25 minute drawing!

CharmLotta

•

11d

I did all boxes for level 1 and a made small attempt to level 2 (I felt like doctor Frankenstein designing his creepy creature...). It gave me a general idea, but I'm not going any further on the subject yet. Without a closer understanding of the anatomical structure of the head it's hard to expect good results especially since some faces have facial hair that hides their features.

Yevhen Syrchin

•

12d

the most complex was №1, 3, 17.

Ben Whitfield

•

14d

This was fun! Here are my level 1 sketches. I feel like I did ok but did struggle with some of the top/bottom of the heads. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Off to watch the demos to see how I did.

Ben Whitfield

•

14d

After watching the demo I noticed I struggled with convergence. Any suggestion on how to see that better when looking at a face?

Stefan Sharkov

•

19d

Here are my sketches for the Level 2 exercise. I struggled to capture the likeness of some of the models, but I'm happy with my first attempt.

Gilles Dubuis

•

20d

Level 1 is tough to nail

Rachel Dawn Owens

•

19d

These look solid

Art Stark

•

20d

Level 1 Heads 2, 3, 4, 5

Aura

•

22d

Level 1, basic box construction with some features bc I have no self control. It was difficult to picture the box around the whole cranium, I kept chopping off the top of the skull in an attempt to account for hair (bald man was nice to draw) and I kept squishing the boxes vertically. It was a helpful exercise though, and now I see a box around everyone’s head when I look at them.

@dollydigital

•

1mo

demo and no14

Art Stark

•

1mo

Level 1 Head 1. I got the feeling this was more 3 point, rather than 2 point, perspective. Anyway, I gave it a go.

Melanie Scearce

•

1mo

Love it! I tried moving the center line over a bit because I thought it might have been a bit too far to the left. What do you think?

David D

•

1mo

Even though these a boxes, I felt like when I got it right, it portrayed the feeling of the pose. Some more successful than others. I have a tendency to rotate planes towards the viewer and break the perspective illusion. I tried to be more cognizant of that in the later poses. Would love to hear how I could make these perspective more convincing! looking forward to including people in my drawings and I feel like this sort of construction is going to be important to making it correctly!

David D

•

1mo

Watched the demo video and I think the most apt description of my assignment is “missed the forest for the trees” I think I got too distracted by the organic lines and missed the (now) glaring errors in the perspective boxes. Some are worse than others, but the demo was both helpful and illuminating. definitely going to redo some, if not all, of these.

Chauncey Holder

•

1mo

This was pretty fun to do but I had a lot of trouble thought through it

J. Menriv

•

1mo

Project - Portraits in Perspective | Level 2: Head Construction No. 14

Martha Muniz

•

1mo

Great work!

Antonio Santiago

•

2mo

I thought this project was really fun, definitely learned a lot about using two point perspective to represent an object. Will definitely practice more, some of them I was able to do quickly but others took a while just to analyze. Any advice is appreciated.

Naomi

•

2mo

messy lines I know.... Im trying my best

Melanie Scearce

•

2mo

Messy is fine! Try to lighten the pressure and when you find a line that you like, then darken. These all look great, and I think starting a bit looser/lighter can help with clarity of your lines.

Michael Longhurst

•

2mo

Here’s some of the ones I did. Struggled on 10 and 12 to get the shapes right. Still need to watch proportions, as I often have to extend the head after I start adding features.

Martha Muniz

•

1mo

Keep at it, you're already at a great place! Keep an eye on the placement of the features, making sure that they continue the perspective set by the box, especially that the eyes follow the horizontal guidelines on the box in relationship to each other as well as constructing the nose as if it were a smaller box following the same original perspective.

Nikita

•

2mo

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Stan Prokopenko

Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.