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Among artists, there has been much debate over the merits of drawing from life (direct observation of the model) verses drawing from photographs. Generally, I have tried to draw from life whenever possible, but drawing from photos is sometimes necessary (given schedules, time constraints, etc.). Also, drawing from photos has some benefits, such as capturing a specific pose or expression that would be impossible to hold over time, and allowing me to study a model's face for longer stretches of time. Finally, working from photos allows me to obtain a higher degree of finish as you can see in these drawings.
Shadow Mapping Process
Shadow Mapping Process
Since photos allow me to spend much more time on a portrait, I will dedicate a considerable amount of time to developing the underlying structure of the human head, before committing to the tonal rendering of light and shadow. Jeff Watts, in his online Watts Atelier program, demonstrates "shadow mapping", where students learn to analyze the structure of the head in line, without use of tone (or at least very minimal use of tone). While I do not always follow this approach, I found that this practice of shadow mapping really helped me to achieve much more solid drawings. You can see this shadow mapping technique applied in my drawing of Humphrey Bogart.
In this closeup detail, hopefully you can see the time spent to develop the structure of each feature of the face. This is a slow process, taking my time to check proportions and alignments, while paying very close attention to each plane and surface, and how they fit together to create the structure of the head.
Also, I believe it is important that we not copy the shadows exactly as we see them, but that we analyze and "interpret", or even "design", what we see, using our aesthetic judgement and personal taste to determine what looks best for the drawing.
The shadow mapping technique is applied again here to analyze and define the features in my drawing of Cary Grant.
Closeup of the features in my drawing of Cary Grant: I may have restarted this drawing a number of times before eventually achieving the accurate alignments, proportions and solidity of structure seen here.
Detail of Cary Grant's eye. I spend a considerable amount of time on all the features, but especially the eyes. Even the most subtle mistake can alter or change the expression. This requires upmost attention to detail, always checking proportions and alignments to see how each part fits into the whole.
For my drawing of actor Miles Brown, I followed this process, carefully developing the underlying structure of the head through the mapping of shadows. Once the under-drawing was complete, and the structures of the head fully established, I began developing the lights and shadows with a full range of value. I believe that the quality of finish you see in the final stage would be impossible to achieve without the solid under-drawing seen in the earlier stage.
Shadow mapping the face of Miles Brown
Detail of the mouth and nose in my drawing of Miles Brown
Detail of the eye in the above drawing. Note that I did apply some suggestion of tone, but I keep it minimal. The structure is developed mostly through line at this point.
In this last example, you can click the arrows to see a closeup section of my portrait of Orson Wells develop from the shadow mapping stage, through adding mid-tones and shadows, to the final stage.
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