It seems that artists sometimes get worried or nervous about drawing people and faces. There are many reasons why this may be. What if the proportions are wrong? What if I make uncle Jim 100 lbs heavier than he is? What if the model doesn't hold still? What if my drawing looks nothing like the person I am trying to sketch? These are common fears among artists. It even happens to artists who have been drawing for many years.
Sometimes it's not the person that's hard to capture, it's their likeness that's hard to capture. Likeness when drawing people is all important. The principle of seeing things accurately and disposing of icons is very important when capturing a likeness to the person you are drawing.
Consider the drawing of an eye. Often, an artist will draw the eyes of the model or subject they are drawing like two footballs or almonds. Somewhere the artist has been taught that the eyeball looks like a football and he draws it this way every time. Ridding your mind of these icons will help you draw a closer likeness of the person almost immediately.
Any artist can draw a generic person who doesn't look like anybody but it's capturing the essence of your subject that can bring new life to your drawings. The icons you used when you were younger must be tossed aside and you need to start seeing accurately to draw accurately.
Learning to draw is almost like learning a new language in that you need to set aside what you already know and look at things differently. Learning that eyes can be many different shapes and that each one is unique is a little different than our understanding of they all look like footballs. When a model is posing, the artist then processes this information and draws this, he doesn't draw what he sees, he draws what he thinks he sees. That's why a big key to drawing is observing accurately.
If you pay attention more to what you are seeing, then your drawings will become more accurate and you will achieve a closer likeness to those you are drawing. Anyone can learn to draw. It starts with passion, determination, and practice. As you learn the correct techniques of observing and doing studies, you will see your drawings take on life and you will grow as an artist.
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Todd Harris is a master artist who is currently working as a concept art director for a multi-billion dollar corporation. He is trained in the Florence Academy Method.
Learning2draw.com is a resource based website devoted to aspiring artists wishing to master figure drawing. Visit
http://www.learning2draw.com to get tips, tricks, and techniques to master the human form.
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