Drawing Facial Features in Charcoal with Travis Wilson

In this workshop we will learn how to draw each feature of the head, along with techniques for drawing hair!

The process of learning to construct and render the various facial features in your drawings is integral to creating believable and inspiring portraits.

Although constructive drawing is the backbone of believable representational art, this will be a great class for those who want to develop proficiency in shading and rendering their drawings. Shading simpler forms such as the eyes or nose can help to introduce the underlying concepts behind making something look realistic.

This workshop will include a printed workbook which we will be drawing from (as well as a link to access a PDF version).

The last day of the workshop, we will have a 3 hour live model session to put all the pieces together. For those interested there will be an extra session after the model workshop that will go over stylization and invention of the head for comics, games and entertainment art.

I hope to see you in this workshop, Drawing Features in Charcoal!

– Travis

Schedule

Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 to 17:00
Lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00

Program

Each session will start with an instructor demonstration of 30 minutes. In the remaining time students will draw and Travis will provide individual trace-over corrections and critiques on student work.

Day 1:

• Session 1: Introduction and Drawing the Eyes.
• Session 2: Drawing the Nose.

Day 2:

• Session 1: Drawing the Lips.
• Session 2: Drawing the Ears.

Day 3:

• Session 1: Drawing the Hair.
• Session 2: Drawing a Portrait from the live model.
• Extra Session (18:00-19:30): Learning to stylize and invent the
  portrait and features.

Materials

Demos and Instructor drawings will be done with the following materials:

• Smooth newsprint paper, 18”x24”.
• Drawing board, 18”x24”
• Conte 1710b Charcoal Pencils
• Wolff’s Carbon Charcoal Pencils (4b and 6b)
• Kneaded Eraser

Students are welcome to use either charcoal or graphite with their preferred paper. If desired, even a sketchbook and pencils will work well. Note: Rough newsprint is not recommended.

Atelier note: See our materials list to find options where to buy smooth newsprint and Wolff's Carbon pencils.