I’ve drawn pencil portraits for years, but recently I discovered the Loomis Method of drawing heads. Andrew Loomis was a famous illustrator and author in the 1940s and 50s who developed a method for drawing the head using circles and lines. I’ve been using this method to draw portraits and it’s helped me to create better proportions of the head, especially when the head is tilted.
You can click on the images below to see a slideshow. The last image is a drawing of the Loomis head used at the beginning of the drawing to get proportions right.
It’s interesting to learn what approaches you’re drawn to–and why. (I’m also wondering if you talk to yourself (silently, even), as you draw, and, if so, what sorts of things you find yourself saying–and what sort of mood you’re usually in when you draw.
They each have such a real look in their eyes. It’s like magic!
Thanks, Guy. The eyes are so important. When you get the eyes right, the portrait’s half done.