Imagine that we have a profile where the skull, arm, and fingers are visible and are in contact. Very often, the beginning artist will attempt to draw each of these elements individually. The approach will always lead to frustration and ultimately often to disappointment.
Instead of drawing each element individually, the first step in your drawing should be to draw the "inclusive" arabesque, i.e., the inclusive contour of the figure. The inclusive arabesque which encompasses parts other than the head (in this case the head, fingers, and arms) is called the "construct".
For the beginner it is best to reduce the complete arabesque to its simplest form thereby ignoring all the details such as the bumps in the fingers and the hair. With practice, you will be able to add all these bumps without much difficulty as you go along.
A good construct (also known as a complete arabesque) also contains a singular gestural tempo that subordinates all details. In other words, this rhythmic gesture exists free of the details.
When you are drawing a single object or head the examination of the height/width proportion is rather straightforward. As a general rule the width of the head is checked against its length making use of the base of the chin as the primary marker.
If, for some reason the chin is conceiled (e.g., behind the arm or fingers), an other marker must be found. The arm, the jaw, or the lines of the fingers are excellent spots to find a new marker.
Once you have drawn an adequate construct it must be examined for precision. To do this, we can, for instance, look for vertical and/or horizontal distances that are supposed to be equal and see if they in fact are equal. Use all your acquired knowledge of sizing. Also use your general knowledge of anatomical placing of the ears, eyes, etc.
Once you are pleased that the construct is correctly drawn you can continue to block-in the primary light/dark blueprint and take your first tentative stab at drawing the facial features, i.e., the placing of the brow, the eyes, the nose and the mouth. Again, if the usual markers for those entities can for some reason not be made use of you should be creative enough to determine suitable substitutes.
Keep blocking-in all entities as soon as you draw them. This includes the fingers, arms, and hair if any of them are visible in the particular profile you are drawing. Remember to always work from the general to the specific.
Also, always use a sharp pencil, take into account your knowledge of anatomy, and always look for errors and, of course, correct them.
Next, the pencil portrait sketch must now be worked-up value-wise by cross-hatching with 8B, 2H, and 4H pencils, by stumping down the pencil dust with your fingers or a stump, and by using your kneaded eraser to characterize the lights. All this should be done in a painterly manner.
Lastly, you can settle how much details you want to put into your sketch or how uncompleted you may leave the sketch. For instance, you can leave some parts of the fingers or the arm uncompleted. Or, if you want to emphasize a certain part of the portrait, you can add detail in that part and leave the other parts slightly uncompleted.
These are several of many considerations that go into drawing a more intricate portrait that has a construct. One important thing to memorize is to draw the construct first so you do not end up drawing one entity after another without maintaining cohesion. Following these rules will surely put you on the proper path of drawing more intricate portraits.
Instead of drawing each element individually, the first step in your drawing should be to draw the "inclusive" arabesque, i.e., the inclusive contour of the figure. The inclusive arabesque which encompasses parts other than the head (in this case the head, fingers, and arms) is called the "construct".
For the beginner it is best to reduce the complete arabesque to its simplest form thereby ignoring all the details such as the bumps in the fingers and the hair. With practice, you will be able to add all these bumps without much difficulty as you go along.
A good construct (also known as a complete arabesque) also contains a singular gestural tempo that subordinates all details. In other words, this rhythmic gesture exists free of the details.
When you are drawing a single object or head the examination of the height/width proportion is rather straightforward. As a general rule the width of the head is checked against its length making use of the base of the chin as the primary marker.
If, for some reason the chin is conceiled (e.g., behind the arm or fingers), an other marker must be found. The arm, the jaw, or the lines of the fingers are excellent spots to find a new marker.
Once you have drawn an adequate construct it must be examined for precision. To do this, we can, for instance, look for vertical and/or horizontal distances that are supposed to be equal and see if they in fact are equal. Use all your acquired knowledge of sizing. Also use your general knowledge of anatomical placing of the ears, eyes, etc.
Once you are pleased that the construct is correctly drawn you can continue to block-in the primary light/dark blueprint and take your first tentative stab at drawing the facial features, i.e., the placing of the brow, the eyes, the nose and the mouth. Again, if the usual markers for those entities can for some reason not be made use of you should be creative enough to determine suitable substitutes.
Keep blocking-in all entities as soon as you draw them. This includes the fingers, arms, and hair if any of them are visible in the particular profile you are drawing. Remember to always work from the general to the specific.
Also, always use a sharp pencil, take into account your knowledge of anatomy, and always look for errors and, of course, correct them.
Next, the pencil portrait sketch must now be worked-up value-wise by cross-hatching with 8B, 2H, and 4H pencils, by stumping down the pencil dust with your fingers or a stump, and by using your kneaded eraser to characterize the lights. All this should be done in a painterly manner.
Lastly, you can settle how much details you want to put into your sketch or how uncompleted you may leave the sketch. For instance, you can leave some parts of the fingers or the arm uncompleted. Or, if you want to emphasize a certain part of the portrait, you can add detail in that part and leave the other parts slightly uncompleted.
These are several of many considerations that go into drawing a more intricate portrait that has a construct. One important thing to memorize is to draw the construct first so you do not end up drawing one entity after another without maintaining cohesion. Following these rules will surely put you on the proper path of drawing more intricate portraits.
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