Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head by William Maughan

From the Publisher

In this innovative guide, master art instructor William Maughan demonstrates how to create a realistic human likeness by using the classic and highly accurate modeling technique of chiaroscuro (Italian for “light and dark”) developed by Leonardo da Vinci during the High Renaissance.

Maughan first introduces readers to the basics of this centuries-old technique, showing how to analyze form, light, and shadow; use dark pencil, white pencil, and toned paper to create a full range of values; use the elements of design to enhance a likeness; and capture a sitter’s gestures and proportions. He then demonstrates, step by step, how to draw each facial feature, develop visual awareness, and render the head in color with soft pastels.

Library Journal

This solid effort uses a drawing method based on value, rather than line, and on the centuries-old principles of chiaroscuro. The latter creates an illusion of three-dimensionality by studying light as it falls across the structure of form. It attempts an exact rendering of both form shadows and cast shadows. Maughan cites the Mona Lisa as the supreme example of chiaroscuro in portraiture. He supplements chapters on drawing technique with a good section on using color and a bizarre, extraneous chapter on using pig snouts and elephant ears to create grotesque portraits. For a good beginners' book on portraiture, see Pat Clarke's Painting Heads and Faces. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents