Facial Illustrations
By Esteven Saloj
Drawing faces is an intimidating task, way more than completing any of my tests without Mr. McKinney drafting me out of a much more important class (Lunch & Early Release). Why would anyone torture themselves trying? I initially became interested in the challenge thanks to Neuwirth’s favorite art teacher, Ms. Stobart. Thanks to Stobart, I was able to renew an interest and focus on this daunting task.
With my renewed interest and focus, I decided to embark upon a journey to improve in the sport of facial illustration. The only question that remained before I glued the pencil to the paper was WHO would be my subject? Like so many students who have come before me, time spent in APUSH is the highlight of the Neuwirth experience. It is only reasonable, to draw his face, over and over again, until I get it right (or somewhat close). For this activity, I drew Mr.Winchell’s face 3 different times with varying levels of quality or accuracy. Keep in mind that this is not a tutorial but rather a reflection or journal for my drawings.
Although this is not a tutorial, these are the kind of guidelines I exclusively(for some reason) used.
By the Rule of Thirds (Left) the features of the human face are believed to be divided into three evenly spaced horizantal boxes(or lines). The area of these boxes houses certain facial features, while the perimeter of said boxes can mark the edge or location of facial features.
By the Rule of Fifths (Right) the features of the human face are believed to be divided into five evenly spaced vertical lines similar to the Rule of Thirds. An eye is the width or unit to measure to set proportions for other facial features.
Mk.i (November 30th)…
Here I started on my journey unaware and a bit naive. The result was a version of Mr. Winchell who had his eyes, eyebrows, and nose very squished compared to the stretched-out mouth and chin. He didn’t come out very well, and I later realized that I did not properly follow any guidelines; I merely tried recreating them from a distant memory. I showed this to Noe Sanchez, and he said “He looks kinda fat”. I started this drawing during 5th period (first class of the day), and after taking the time out of my other classes to finish such a bad drawing I was able to realize that I needed to take my business home where I have a bit more freedom.
Mk.ii (December 2nd)
Then came the second drawing. I had newly acquired knowledge of ancient literature, and I did much better. The eyes and eyebrows aren’t positioned or shaded like the actual face and just end up looking like a misplaced sticker. I don’t know how to explain it but this version of Winchell looks like a malnourished child. I also had to compensate for the angle Winchell’s head was turned in leading to a change in the size of his ears, and an extension of the bottom box for his smile dropping his chin down. Was this compensation I was doing through my drawings necessary? I don’t know but once I finished this one, the face shape was still inaccurate.
Mk.iii (Circa December 5th)…
This was my last attempt at drawing Winchell’s face. This version of Winchell finally looks like an adult, and actually kinda looks like the local leprechaun. Unfortunately, the mouth is too vertically-wide + too horizontally-short, and his entire face is too vertically-tall. This one took me approximately 4 hours (just like mk.ii) but it only takes long because I am very stingy and work very slowly.
From these three drawings, I’d say that I improved. However, I don’t think I have a balance between proportions and other skills because I did not start off drawing a circle for the cranium, I did not draw in different faces and angles, I did not draw different expressions, and for some reason, I made the guidelines first before the simple-blank face shape. Whatever I should have done differently I can at least say that I drew Mr.Winchell and that I will try to continue to do so.