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SITAR is about ANYTHING art. Your art, someone else's art, writing, photography, the art of cooking, the art of sewing and textiles. Sharing historical art, street art, a story about art. Do you have a question or need help with art? Write a blog post and link it up here. We will all try to help with it. My only rule is that if someone asks for critique it must be done with generosity and consideration. 

This is a place of learning, encouragement and inspiration.

 

Lately, I feel like I'm having trouble drawing eyes. I will sketch a face in and realize the eyes are way off on the side of the head. Here is an example. I got so frustrated with this that I just crumpled it up and threw it away. I retrieved it from the garbage. That's why it's all wrinkled.

I had erased the one eye so many times that the paper was shredding. You can see how far apart the eyes are.

It was the same with this piece. That I salvaged it by adding an eye patch. 

Most of the time when I sketch out a face, I just do it. I rarely put in guide lines.

However, my Nan told me to do the 1/3 method. That the outside of the nose should line up with the tear ducts of the eyes, and ends of the mouth should line up with the middle of the eyes.  Easy right? 

In fact I don't even think about it I just eyeball it and put in the features.

However, for some reason I see the eyes too far apart. I have had to start measuring eye placement. 

Not of the whole face just the eyes.
There should be one eye length between the eyes. I'm not putting in all of these line to draw a face. My dyslexia would go nuts.

 I think I have shared guidelines for a face in an older post, but it doesn't hurt to  review the lesson again.  Maybe this will help some one with portraits.

There are so many ways to measure features and some of them are pretty extensive. I'm just not into that. I need and want easy.

Lately, I get everything sketched in then I actually take a ruler and put light marks on where the eyes go. 

Here are more examples of proportions of the face. This one just doesn't make sense to me but it may to someone else.

Also, I'm not putting in numbers either.

Drawing for me has to be fun and instinctual. I don't want to follow some mathematical equation to draw a face. 

 

 

Give me the general measurements and let me go for it.

My question to all of you is, how do you start your portraits?

 

  A reminder, FFO Portrait challenge is 

April 24th. There is still plenty of time to create one, two or all of these expressions.

Happy, Sad, Tired, Surprised, Anger.

 

That's it for now. I look forward to seeing you in Sunday in the Art Room.

Nicole