Capturing the Essence

This week's InkTober tools: a Bic 4-Color, Uni Pin fineliners and
a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook.

InkTober is almost half over, and I’m beginning to hit my stride – not necessarily in visible progress but in responding to the challenge I’ve given myself. Like the 30 days I spent studying composition, I’m surprised by how much I am enjoying portraiture from photos. Both portraiture and using photo references are unfamiliar practices that I have resisted in the past, but I’ve embraced both, and I’m having so much fun as I learn.

Although the 15-minute portraits I tried last week were instructive, I felt they were encouraging sloppiness, so this week I stayed with 30 minutes. Maybe after I’ve given these a solid go, I’ll try 15 minutes again with better results. In 30 minutes, I can’t finish the whole head with the same degree of completion everywhere, so I’m learning to scan the reference photo quickly to identify which features and facial planes I want to emphasize. If I can’t capture resemblance, can I at least convey the person’s age and mood accurately? In her 30-minute sketches, France Van Stone pays little attention to hair or facial hair other than their general shapes and where they meet the face. She says that the point is not to duplicate the reference photo exactly but to focus on overall proportions, values and form.

Roz Stendahl is another role model for portraiture that I’d like to emulate, not necessarily in style, but in her approach. A huge proponent of process over result, she rarely, if ever, talks about whether she has captured resemblance in her portraits (which are often from paused streams of her favorite TV shows). Instead, she strives to convey the mood or attitude of the model and what I call the “essence” – the thing that identifies a face as a living individual, not a generic human or a mannequin. When I finish each portrait, that’s the question I ask: OK, so the face is too short again, and the head is not slanted, and the pupils are creepy, but did I capture this person’s essence as a living, breathing individual?

As for materials, I’ve been much happier since I switched from a Bic 1.6mm bold point to a Bic 4-Color, which has a medium point. I like using a Bic because of the ink’s similarity to graphite in pressure sensitivity and ability to layer, but the resemblance stops with 1.6mm, which blobs like a badly treated dip pen. The need to constantly wipe off ink drool was annoying, even with the benefit of laying down lots of ink quickly.

A few sketches this week are do-overs of reference photos I had drawn from previously. France strongly recommends practicing from the same image multiple times. I find it highly instructive: The second time, I notice details that I had missed previously, or I’m more careful to preserve a band of reflected light that I didn’t quite get the first time.

10/8 I’m not sure why I had such difficulty getting the skull shape right – it seems like that should be the easy part!

10/8/22

10/9 I had originally drawn from this reference photo in 15 minutes. This time I took 30. I also got the idea of pairing red and black Bic inks, reserving black for the very end to bring out the darkest areas.

10/9/22

10/10 When I sketched this man the first time (shown in the previous InkTober post), I noticed at the end that I did not get the angle of his head right. On the second try, the proportions are better, but I still didn’t get the angle right. Note to self: Pay attention to this!

10/10/22

10/11 The first time, I sketched this poor girl with a harsh, unforgiving fountain pen (see last week’s InkTober post). For my second try, I used a Bic, which resulted in a softer look, and it was easier to convey rounded, young skin.

10/11/22

10/12 I picked a fresh reference photo and fresh pens: Uni Pin 0.5mm fine liners in light gray and dark gray. After the previous day’s teenage model, it was a relief to go back to a craggy old guy with angular facial planes and plenty of “character” (not to mention a great head of hair). I strongly prefer the tip on these Uni Pins to the gray Copic Multiliner I used once last week, and the two shades of gray are a useful pairing. I’m using them in the same way I’ve been using red and black Bics: Light gray for most of the work, then dark gray for the darkest points I want to emphasize. France is a champ of observing and also reserving small highlights and reflected light, but I sometimes obscure subtleties when I hatch too quickly, even when I see them. This time, I was pleased that I caught those tiny strips of reflected light under the tip of his nose and upper lip.

10/12/22

10/13 I chose this reference photo specifically because the model’s head is both at an angle and also rotated slightly – a good challenge for me, based on previous angled heads. My brain wants to straighten out the features, and distortion is an easy result. I began by making a guideline for the eyes, checking the angle multiple times, and another for the nose. I’m close, but the eyes still seem off.

10/13/22

10/14 The full-frontal lighting was harsh in this reference photo, and I knew it would be difficult, but since the month is nearly half over, it was time to push myself to do the ones I would typically avoid. The pupils, almost completely in shade, were the hardest. The only thing I’m pleased with is that tiny strip of reflected light I reserved under her nose.

(All reference photos are by Earthsworld.)

10/14/22