Teach Yourself Visually Drawing

The Portrait in Three Dimensions.

The drawings in this section were chosen to illustrate this subject because they represent concise

and beautiful examples of the principles that you will be exploring in this chapter. The first

example is a copy in charcoal of a painting by the great seventeenth-century Spanish artist

Diego Velázquez de Silva.

When drawing the human head using line or tone, it is
essential to have a clear mental concept of the big forms of
the head. It is much easier when you set out to draw a
three-dimensional portrait to place the smaller forms—that
is, the features of the face—on a well-rendered foundation. If
you don’t understand this form, then the results are often
renderings of individual features that are disjointed and
floating within the shape of the face. Even if the features are
well drawn, the form of the head won’t be convincing.

Once you establish a mental image of the large forms of the
head and you consider the direction and intensity of the
light source, you will more clearly understand the manner in
which the light falls on the form of the face. In return, this
will enable you to convey this concept of form and light in
your work.

Study after Diego Velázquez de Silva’s Aesop,

by Dean Fisher

TIP

Find Shapes to Simplify

The portraits on the following pages have been

reproduced large enough for you to be able to

make copies of them. It is recommended that you

construct your copies in the same way as shown

here: Form simple rectangular boxes, progress to

the main planes, and finally consider the light and

shadow.