Been a long time since I did a face study of a real face. I mean one that exists out there in the world. This is not a live portrait, but instead a face from a magazine. I just thought it’d be a nice change from the face studies I’ve been doing (see several recent posts) that involve making them up completely, or turning them through various angles…skills I’ve been interested in a lot for The Project… A passable copy from a photo propped up in front of one is not so hard, with a little practice, since (among other reasons) the subject is very still and most of the 2D translation is already done. These are different skills from portraiture, I think, or pure expression of a face from the imagination, but useful and instructive to keep sharp, all the same. A close study of a real face from whatever source helps one remember what real faces look like when designing them from the ground up.
This was a reasonably quick pencil study (H with HB touches), where I was careful with the halftone on the face and neck… then I got a bit bored with the hair and the clothing, so they are comparatively rough. I sort of hurried up at the end as I got impatient to experiment with painting it a bit in Photoshop, as a study of some simple techniques there (as an alternative to Illustrator). That colour study was kind of the main goal of all this… (Click for a larger view, and I’ve included the original graphite scan for you as well.)
Fun.
-cvj
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Hi Jude!
Been a while since I heard from you. I figured the Aspen area posts might have caught your eye, but…
But great to hear that you have Leadville connections, including the bar!
Thanks for the link. It is interesting.
Best,
-cvj
Cool portrait, Clifford. I thought you might this blog post about the process someone followed to get a graphic novel about anthropology written and published. http://savageminds.org/2011/08/18/illustrated-man-7-shane-the-lone-ethnographer/ Also, I enjoyed the post about Climax. My dad worked there before he went to England in 1942 for the duration of WWII. My grandfather worked there during WWII, so I have a Climax Molybdenum wool blanket. From about 1890 on, about every third ancestor went through Leadville; for awhile, we even owned the Silver Dollar bar. I’m going to share that post with a few relatives. Anyway, I hope you like the link.