Pencil Drawing of a Skull for Portrait Practice.
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If you're looking to improve your portrait drawing or painting, it helps to have an understanding of what gives the face its structure. A pencil drawing of a skull is great practice. Let's take a closer look.
Here is a pencil drawing of a skull that I did:
It may not seem like it will help at first, but when you get back to drawing an actual face, you'll see how the bone structure plays a role in the shape of the face. It'll make more sense now that you know what is underneath.
Of course, having an understanding of the muscles of the face helps too, but that gets pretty complicated. For now, just doing a practice drawing of a skull will give you the basic idea of what makes a face look like a face.
The thing about bone is that it is a pretty solid material. Muscle and fat, on the other hand, are softer. In areas of the body that are not covered in very much muscle or fat, you can easily see the bone sticking out. One example of this is the elbows.
On the face, certain areas tend to show the bony structure of the skull more than others. There are a few areas where you can easily feel the bone. One is the area about an inch below the eyes. Another is the jaw/chin on the bottom. Also, the forehead is pretty bony as well. Try feeling it with your own hands to see what I mean.
The structure of any area of the body that is not covered in much fat or muscle will be affected by the bones close to the surface of the skin. So, this is why it is help to understand what is underneath the skin in the first place.
It's important do your portrait work that you understand a little about the skull. I've seen videos that break the skull and facial muscles down into individual muscles and bones, and believe me there are plenty of them. But you don't need to know all of that. A basic understanding will be enough for now.
For practice, I recommend using a proper skull, not one that is out of proportion for the human face. Just a normal (fake) human skull will do. If you can't find one, try drawing the one I just posted or look online for others you can draw from. It really will make a difference in your portrait work. Also, feel free to use any medium you wish. It doesn't always have to be a pencil drawing of a skull.
This is just one more step towards better portraits.
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