Pastel Journal - USA (2019-09)

Skill Builders

T

hefaceis,formostartists,the

mostdifficultsubjecttodraw.

Anatomically,theheadand

facearetwooftheleastcomplex

partsofthehumanbody.Thehuman

skullconsistsof 22 bones—14facial

skeletonbonesandeightcranial

bones.Bycomparison,twoarmsand

handshavea totalof 128 bones.

Soif thefaceissosimplecompared

tootherpartsofthebody,it should

berelativelyeasytodraw,right?

Wrong.Theprimaryreasonisfamil-

iarity.Ifyoudrawanelephantthat’s

70 percentaccurate,peoplewilllook

atit andsay,“Greatelephant.”Butif

youdrawa person,especiallya sub-

jectknowntotheviewer,evenjust 1

percentinaccurately,theviewerwill

say,“Looksgood,butsomethingisn’t

quiteright.”

Saving Face

Follow these practical guidelines to improve your portraiture work.

By Justin Maas

Chantelle (pastel on sanded paper, 12x16)

8 Pastel Journal OCTOBER 2019