I have been drawing for about a yr now. I have gotten better but can't to seem to master faces. I have tried several books and several trys. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I get scared when it is time to draw the face and put it down and never finish it. Thinking that it will not come out right. I don't know what hurdel I need to get over. Please help any advice would be great. Thanks for the help.

As one who loves drawing people, I would say that any portrait(face) is a challenge in its own right, there is no magic bullet for drawing faces.
Portraiture is a talent that comes from observing people in real life, noticing proportions in live models or photos, practicing for many years to reach to stage in which you can say you master faces.
As a matter of fact i wouldn't even use this word that to me mastering a face means to be able in a few sure lines to render the essence of a person.
You need to really enjoy doing this kind of drawing, sketching, measuring(even from the eye), comparing, observing most of all; to start a project with fears and the feeling of helplessness is going to end up in a ruined portrait.
Try to draw a face until you are satisfied with the result and in the process come with your work to the Portrait gallery where you can get advice and guidance.
Only by working daily and enjoying this exercise you can overcome your frustrations.
Thre are also weekly challenges that usually have faces of real people. Join a challenge and try your hand at sketching faces.
We are welcoming you at any of these challenges.

Using a grid helps get the proportions and perspective correct. Also turning the reference upside down so you don't recognize who you're drawing helps sometimes. Keep in mind, it's all just shapes!

Practice, practice and then practice some more.

Listen to all the tips & tricks - use what works for you, discard the rest and practice!

Remember you are getting no benefit from the ones not finished so does it make any difference if they are unfinished or if you muck them up??? Well the only difference is that by not finishing them (even if you aren't happy) is that you have missed out on the practice ..........................its only a piece of paper after all ...........................you can always start another tomorrow.

When you get that I don't care what it turns out like attitude, and are not so invested (after all they are not all masterpieces) and just go for it you are more relaxed and more likely to do better work (and I don't think I mentioned it before but the practice will help you improve ha ha ......sorry .........couldn't resist).

I'm no expert, but if you keep drawing what you actually see instead of what you think a face looks like. It's hard sometimes, because your mind tells you what should be there, whereas it actually looks the way it is. I know that sounds muddled, but if you forget what you think you know about a face and actually look at it like an object, you might get a bit better.

Hi Style Heaven, Just had a look at your gallery and basically I can see you are on the right track, you just lack a sense of proportion which can easily be learnt. Faces follow a set rules, once you have these rules drawing a face becomes second nature. This site has a lot of good lessons and is a very good place to start. Try http://www.drawspace.com/lessons/section.php?id=h to start with.
Never be scared of making a bad drawing we have all made our fair share of bad drawings
good luck
kev

I would echo all the advice given here - for years I never drew or painted figures at all, not just faces as I did not think I could do it 'right'. Only recently have I been drawing people/animals, as I have finally gotten it into my head that it really is 'all just shapes'! The skill in drawing is looking at an object and creating a likeness of it on a piece of paper/canvas/whatever. So it does not matter if the object is a tree, flower, building or even a face, the trick is for the eye to see and communicate this to the hand.

Over the past few months I have found the lessons on here invaluable in helping to improve on how to render figures, faces and specific features and I cannot recommend these enough as learning aids. Also the encouragement of other DS members has helped my self-belief that I can actually draw people. Do not slave to produce an exact 'photo'-like image of a person - we are not Xerox machines but artists! So practice, practice, practice and do not get stressed, just relax and enjoy what you are doing. If the end result is not to your satisfaction, just take what learnings you can from it for the next time!

Art is a journey and we all develop and change as time goes on, learning from our mistakes, as in life itself. I wish you every success in your journey.

John

Hello,
besides all that already has been said, and I agree with it all, I can only add that you try out diferent kind of paper or pencils that you use. I don't know what you are using, but smooth paper is better for portraits (in my opinion) and a range of diferent pencils also helps to get your values and shading correctly
I also took a look at your gallery, and agree that you are in the right track
and as Ernest would say, its only paper! so don't be afraid if you ruin it, you can always start over again.

hi there, i really dont have the time right now to read everyones reply but i was here too. i have been drawing for about 6 yrs. for the first three i really didnt see much improvement at all. i read, studied tried and cried and have every book you can think of about drawing .but i guess my brain was storing information or something because by the time i got around to finding drawspace (some learn faster than others) it was like a switch was thrown or something and i could suddenly do it..the human face is difficult for beginners to master for many different reasons and i myself still have trouble but here is what helped me the most..i bought a skull..i drew that skull over and over from different angles..when not drawing it i simply looked at it and said oh i see ...wow..my eye really does sit quite a ways into that hole doesnt it? or oh i see..the jaw bone actually ends here or so on..a good understanding of the skull is a very important part of drawing realistic faces/portraits. Grid works helps too but you are only getting surface info and not truly developing structural knowledge of a human head..

practice practice practice diligently and one day you will wake up and 'voila' (thats french for "poof") you will impress yourself..but no matter how much you learn there is always more

Hi,

Firstly I like your work, and I can see good control of tones. Your faces appear to be well executed but highly stylised which can sometimes make them look slightly unreal. It is I think a style which is appealing in its own right, and has roots in Art Nuveau, Arabic art, Chinese and Japanese art.

I cant claim to be an expert in drawing faces at all, but here's an approach you can try, it has certainly helped me to reduce the tension when I have to draw faces.

I think taking on a complete face is a daunting challenge, with so many problems to overcome, fortunately we dont have to consider a face as a single entity but can break it down.

Try drawing the individual parts of the face as exercises. Draw eyes until you are satisfied you have completely mastered them, then draw noses, then mouths, then ears, then chins, you get the idea.

Only move on to the next facial part when you are completely confident and satisfied with your results with the last.

Once you can draw eyes ears noses mouths, both open and closed, chins, hair both light and dark, and necks, then and only then move on to drawing a full face. It can become almost an assembly process of all the individual parts.

I find its much much easier to limit myself to drawing a nose without having to worry about the shape of the entire face, and if I mess up, hey its only a nose, its easy to just get back on that horse and draw another.

Now when I draw a face I plan where each part goes and then all I am doing is drawing another eye or another nose, and the face emerges, its so much easier.

I hope this helps.

Brian

Some of the techniques that I've worked on to develop my skill of drawing the human face is to work on specific areas. First start out with the eyes. Learn the parts of the eyes. Learn the different shapes that can make an eye unique to a person. Some eyes are not like the perfect football that some artist seem to see when they draw. Draw the eye as if one were looking up to the eye, or if one is looking down to the eye.
Then move to two eyes. Then placement on the head. Study how far apart they should be. Calipers works nicely to measure the distance on how big the eye is. However you can use a ruler too or pencil to guide you on the size of the eye. Then the distance between the eye to the opposet eye is about the same distance of one eye.

Practice drawing many noses too. Noses are very different from one person to another. Look at different points of view. Same way with the mouth.

I'm sure if you search on google or yahoo, you can find steps to place the eyes, ears, nose and mouth by drawing horizontal and vertical lines on the head. The main thing here is to capture the contour of the face, so you establish the likeness of the subject. The nose is very unique too and the folds of skin that are unique to the subject.

I also focus on the direction of the light. How it reflects on the subject. This creates the depth Focus on the shadows, and save the highlights for the finishing touches of your drawing to make your drawing pop.

I also draw my face a lot since most of my subjects don't want to pose for me for very long. I bought 12" square mirror without a frame for about $5.00. Then practice drawing the hard and soft lines. When using a mirror try to avoid smiling at the beginning because this will change the shape of your facial muscles. Once you feel comfortable doing it this way, then start trying to draw yourself with a smile.

Another technique that I've used. Start by drawing the contour of a face without lifting your pen. Try to make the drawing with fewer then 10 lines. Make the drawing with a felt tip pen, so you can't erase. This forces you to be very cautious in making a stroke. It shouldn't take more then 3 minutes to draw. If you use a marker beware of bleeding through, so you don't damage whats underneath. Your first ones may not look very good, but they will develop.

There are other techniques too that can help a person make a drawing more realistic and that's by using the grid system. This tends to go against your natural ability of drawing. It's a matter of preference though. You also develop your sense of value from dark to light and less concern proportion since the grid guides you through placement of the line.

Some people just draw to capture the gesture of the scene and not so much the preciseness of the drawing. I've tried to do this in many of my drawings.

Also try to experiment with different media. I love to use charcoal, It's quick to use, and creates some very contrasting striking images. Charcoal is real forgiving. It's very messy though. I like using ink too. The different forms of media have their own unique properties that are better then the other.

A comment on your gallery and drawings. I like what you have done, and how you have captured the innocence of the subject matter. Just keep drawing. You are doing just fine. Try to establish your unique style that sets you apart from everyone else. Thank you for sharring. I like your work!

Regards,
Gilbert

i have come back and put these here for ref if you like.. a skull purchase would be better
Click to view attachment

Hi Style Heaven,
Try to focus on the process of drawing and not the finished product,if you concentrate on the basic elements of drawing and develope those skills drawing faces will become easier and you will start to create your own unique style of drawing .

Dont be afraid of not finishing the drawing,we are all at different stages and art is dynamic, your own style and technique will probably change as you perfect and develope it.

Enjoy, have fun,regards Wayneo.

Hi there,

don't worry and keep drawing, you'll get over this hurdle.
...this seems to be a common feeling for beginners...we want to walk before we can crawl.
From what I gather....it's just a matter of time and practice before you start seeing differently,
learning tips and tricks...Personally I'm finding that to do better, I have to make a commitment
to myself to keep trying. Also, there are great weekly drawing challenges...you don't have to
be the best, just drawing new and harder subject helps you learn.....also...read. The three
art commitments I made to myself are draw everyday, look at art that inspires me (old and new),
and I read two art blogs for tips.

Also, here's something that inspires me. This artist posted her progression....and you can see the leaps
and bounds she made...it makes me hope that I can make my own progress....
http://cataclysm-x.deviantart.com/art/The-...ession-86965445 (click on the pick to enlarge it...you can really see
how far she's come)

Oh...and I posted a similiar question, not more than a month ago....and the wonderful people here
on drawspace gave some great advice too...
http://www.drawspace.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5820

lastly.....my art teacher in high school showed us the proportions for a human face but cautioned us to
look and learn from all the faces we see everyday. She said that just drawing a face from the standard
proportions turns everyone you draw into "Robo-cop".

Make it a goal to draw several faces to throw away. They don't have to look right, don't have to take long, etc. Don't say "I'm going to try my best". Instead say "I'm going to make 12 crappy portraits and I don't care how they look".

look i'll tell you something, alayws draw for joy and fun ..it means that you must be very relaxed and focused at the same time and try some pro helping things like "grid" and learn about shading and crosshatching it's realy amazing and always remmember drawing is for fun

Drawing portraits or the human form is likely one of the most difficult aspects of drawing and one that most appeals to people.

Besides constant practice, there are specific techniques that help you achieve a likeness. One is measurement. There is a standard measurement for creating facial features to make them in proportion. The head is an oval which is divided into halves. The top half is the distance from the eyes to the top of the head. The distance from the eyes to the bottom of the chin is the same distance as from the eyes to the top of the head.

From the line representing the eyes, divide the face into thirds. The first third is to the end of the nose, the second to the mouth, the third to the bottom of the chin.

Proportion and measurement are essential to achieving a likeness in portraits. I drop imaginary lines from various facial features or points on the head to see where they intersect with other points on the face. Knowing human anatomy is essential. Understand what muscles make up the face and how they move. Understand how the eye or lips or nose is formed, what happens when light strikes it, etc.

There is no quick fix to drawing portraits, but knowing the techniques and knowledge behind the drawing goes a long way to helping you draw with success.

I Always start with the face!! Once my sckeletal structure in made I start with the face! Try to just concentrate on faces for a while then build up from there. I know that it's annoying but practice really makes perfect and we always need prectice! You'll get better! I'm personaly scared of hands!! I'm getting better but I still have a long way to go! You can do it!
))

to answer the question about faces, i have been only drawing for about 6 months now i go to the art institute and what our teacher had us do about faces was that he had us learn facial planes. they are a big help and they will map out every portion of the face. its easy to do. as well GET YOUR SELF SOME HOW TO DRAW COMIC BOOKS. i dont care what anyone says comic book artists are the worlds best artists, they can draw ANYTHING in ANY PLACE aswell as in any POSITION. but yea for faces use facial planes and get information from some how to draw comic books. you will mess up but just do it over and over again with the facial planes so that you will be able to do what a real artist can do

I can understand your dilemma well as I've been going through the same for quite some time now. My approach to the deadlock has been much similar to what rmspencer has suggested. Try it, it works good.

I didn't read in detail so someone may have commented on this but one of the things I have had students to is to draw a lot faster and a lot more. One of the challenges I have faced in my MFA program is that the instructor states to take 30-40 minutes but grades as if you took hours on the piece. Don't do this to yourself!

Take a picture that you are going to draw and set the timer for 10-15 minutes tops. Then draw it again and compare. See if you made better decisions! You can go over the sketch with a red or a blue pencil to see where you could have made changes. Then when you are done comparing draw it again. When you get bored with one picture then move to another one. If you can withstand doing this five times on one picture then you will be able to compare the last one with the first one and see (we hope) a diference in the decisions you have made and thus have more accurate rendering of the human head.

Study the skull first.

Thank You everyone for your advice. I have listened and put it to good use. As you can see from my 2 recebt photo's. thank you again. i will be posting more soon.

Yeah i got your point, Im actually doing the that. Im new to drawing so im practicing every now and then. Ive always my pencil and papers with me.