Video: Portrait study timelapse by Mike Meth, a good friend of mine - focus on how he lays in the underlying structure of the face
http://youtu.be/r1I17wOXSZA
2015-01-27 23:48
Uncomfortable
seedatruthpen
2015-01-28 14:40
Honestly I prefer the value approach to potraits over the hard edge line work in the video.
You can avoid the big beginners mistakes like putting hard edges on the lips, nose, eyes, etc. And it's easier to map the multiple plane changes on the face.
[deleted]
2015-01-28 21:43
Why does he flip the canvas back and forth?
Uncomfortable
2015-01-28 22:23
It's a very common issue that when working on a piece for a while, we get used to it. We've been staring at mistakes for so long that they start to look correct to us. Flipping the canvas is a great way to look at the illustration with a fresh eye. When working traditionally, artists would often use mirrors to give themselves a different perspective on their work.
mike_meth
2015-01-29 18:37
Like Uncomfortable said, it's to keep my eyes fresh and prevent/fix any drawing inaccuracies that come from only viewing the piece one way.
Mero1
2015-01-29 12:55
I'm not even remotely close to start drawing on digital mediums, but I did notice something I didn't think was the case:
Why does he use a single layer for the whole drawing? Is that common practice?
I've always assumed people had hundreds of layers for each line/color or what have you, or at least separate layers for the structure and the hard lines/colouring/shading. Is there a purpose for a single layer?
Uncomfortable
2015-01-29 13:59
I often forego the layer structure as well, at least when I'm starting off. Have you ever noticed how when you sketch, your drawing carries much more energy and life than when you try to clean it up to make a nice line drawing? I believe this follows much the same. When you're working in layers, you're interrupting your creative process with too much structure.
At least, that's my reasoning - either way, painting on a single layer brings back more of a traditional feeling. If you make a mistake, you just paint over it and keep going. You're always pushing forwards, instead of trying to figure out which layer you should be making your change on.
I do still use layers, for different reasons. Most often I'll add a new layer when I'm uncertain of a change (ideally I'd flatten it down once I've decided that the change was a good idea, though more often than not I forget to). I also use layers once I have my a good deal of my illustration completed - I'll flatten the whole thing down, duplicate it multiple times and mask out each individual component of the painting, focusing on separating out different levels of depth. This allows me to throw in atmospheric perspective (fog or whatever else) between those layers to help push objects back where necessary.
mike_meth
2015-01-29 18:36
I think it's completely subjective. I try to paint digitally using a traditional approach, therefore I really try to actively work on one layer at a time. It forces me to make decisions and be confident. It's definitely gotten me into trouble with commercial clients who yell at me for not having a bazillion layers lol.
mike_meth
2015-01-29 18:34
Hey all, I'm the guy who did the thing! Thanks for the link, Irshad (u/Uncomfortable)!
Uncomfortable
2015-01-28 14:58
Fantastic videos - I'm definitely going to take a closer look at them after work. Personally, I find that when learning, people have a tendency to ignore the existence of the different planes on the face if they aren't forced to mark them out in line. I do agree that in the long run, it may be more helpful to forego as much line as possible. Once a person can recognize and understand that these different planar shifts exist, then it's probably better to move into painting it entirely in value. Of course, there's always a hundred different ways to reach a good result, and everyone has a method that suits them best.
barkerart
2015-01-28 16:48
I think people should practice both. It works different mental muscles. The best artists can do both when needed, and different mediums will force different ways of working. Casey Baugh can almost certainly lay down a linear head construction if he needs to. An artist may also find him or herself in a position where some figure invention is necessary. Then those gesture/structure skills will really come in handy.
Every successful painter I know keeps all these plates spinning in their heads as they go, and constantly switches between them. Even though the lines aren't drawn, they are getting thought about. That's why it takes some much practice, there's just too much to think about unless a huge chunk of it is ingrained.
seedatruthpen
2015-01-28 17:54
There's going to be linework in both approaches so naturally you're practicing both. However when you're approaching value, you're essentially working from "inside to outside". This approach is really advantageous to beginners because it emphasizes value change and soft edges (probably the key principle in portraits) and minimizes lines (the number one culprit for poorly drawn portraits).
This is kind of my point. The art fundamentals on this subreddit cover the basics of lineworks (line weights, contours, etc) so I'm not really worried about people not practicing lines with portraits. There's just better exercises to do if you really have problems with your linework (like the one detailed in dynamic sketching lesson 1 & 2) than just trying to force linework practice onto portraits.
Whirly123
2015-01-28 22:43
This is my preferred method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmQYFX8N7MU Seperating the shadow from the light. Its useful for all art in general and done even by environment artists like Eytan Zana and Nick Gindraux etc. Its part of how we see (light shapes and shadow shapes). After learning the breakdown of the head like how its layed out in the this subreddit I personally found doing this was the easiest to jump into.
seedatruthpen
2015-01-28 23:34
This is the classical approach usually taught at ateliers. Set the proportions, block the shapes, mark shadows/darks, etc. There's a big downside to the classical approach however. The final product is very blocky and voluminous (almost like it's been sculpted by marble). The value approach is exactly the same but you're putting the values first then the linework last.
rebelheart
2015-01-29 10:40
It's probably not my place to critique someone who does a tutorial, but I feel the final thing isn't that good. It starts with his drawing, he gets the shape of the forehead wrong and the mouth and chin area are too big and chunky. She loses a lot of warmth in her expression and the chin ends up looking masculine.
So, err, is it just me?
Whirly123
2015-01-29 16:55
Dont be silly its your place to critique everything! Your eyes are your biggest asset crit anything and everything! Also I agree Chris really doesn't get a good likeness from the ref in this one which is strange because he is usually excellent and getting one in a short amount of time. At least the video does show very well the technique of using the shadow shapes. Note that this method is even used techniques in the earlier classes on this subreddit. Here is a page of my old notes from Peter Han http://imgur.com/d5o3ATR
mike_meth
2015-01-29 18:42
There are a million ways to arrive at the same result, like many said. I've tried plenty of different approaches, but measuring out with straight lines, blocking out basic shapes, etc, tends to be the best way I know to achieve accuracy. I very much like to mix it up sometimes though and go with more of a traditional, alla-prima type approach.
seedatruthpen
2015-01-29 21:34
I hope you're not assuming that the method I proposed was superior to yours. I get the feeling a lot of people seem to think that but that's a wrong assumption. I'm merely stating the value way gives a huge edge for beginners than hard edge outlining.
Again it might be to you but honestly the value approach in my opinion is just easier to comprehend. Just like how this subreddit encourages using felt tip pen and certain exercises, I firmly believe approaching portraits as sets of values prevents really obvious mistakes and encourages a perspective that respects three dimensional space.
And the value way doesn't achieve the same effect? It certainly does achieve the same type of accuracy as seen in the video I've listed.
mike_meth
2015-01-29 21:59
I didn't take it as a slight at all, no worries =)
As for starting with value vs starting linearly--- I agree with you for the most part. I think it's extra work to try and translate a 3D subject into a 2D linear line drawing, especially for a beginner. That's why what I try to do is block out where the value is going to GO as opposed to outlining eyes, nose, lips just for the sake of detailing those features.
I find that taking my time laying in that structure makes the actual painting/rendering process MUCH easier, as I don't need to waste time fixing mistakes that could have been prevented at the initial underdrawing stage. Thanks for your comments!
mike_meth
2015-01-29 22:03
As you can see in the following video, I'm really just blocking out angles and basic shapes as a means to create the structure for the rendering to come:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10101229856025566&l=226904609376701620