Learning to Draw the Human Face
This fall, I was invited to teach two drawing classes at Billings Public Schools as part of their Adult and Community Education extension program.
Student studies of an eye, noses, and value scale for my class Learning to Draw the Human Face. A study is a drawing, sketch, or painting done in preparation for a finished piece of artwork.
The two classes were Introduction to Drawing with Basic Objects and Learning to Draw the Human Face. I had a lot of fun teaching adult students who were new to drawing, but had plenty of natural talent and passion to learn. Together, we had a lot of fun and learned a lot!
Introduction to Drawing with Basic Objects
The first class I taught was Introduction to Drawing with Basic Objects. In this class, we talked about how to find basic geometric shapes in everyday objects and break them down in order to create a realistic drawing. In the final classes, we drew our own still life, using what we learned.
A still life is a work of art, mostly meant as a study, that depicts commonplace objects.
Still life set up that we used in class.
A completed student drawing of the still life.
Some of the students brought in their own objects to add to the still life. The student whose work is pictured above brought in their own ceramic spoon to add to their composition. (A composition is the way an artist chooses to arrange the subject matter within a work of art in order to make it visually interesting. In this case, it was the objects in the still life). I really love when students make things their own! I felt that many of the students had natural talent, and this student’s work reminded me a lot of painter Alice Neel.
Learning to Draw the Human Face
The second class I taught was Learning to Draw the Human Face, which was an introduction to portrait drawing. In this class, I broke down each feature of the human face - eyes, nose, lips, ears, and head structure - and developed a lesson around it. In the final class, each student brought in a photo of their choice and used what they learned in class to create a portrait of their own.
Below is a selection of student studies in preparation to draw their final portraits.
Sketchbook page of eyes that one student completed on their own after learning to draw an eye in class (the eye in the center of the page was drawn in class).
Side profile student study of a nose and value scale, both drawn in class.
Student sketchbook page of eye, nose, and value scale studies.
Student sketchbook studies of an eye, noses, and value scale.
Moving Forward
I was invited back to teach both of these classes at Billings Public Schools starting in March. I am really excited to continue in-person education, and these classes also helped me to start thinking about how I can also share drawing lessons online.
That’s why I decided to update the Learner level on my Patreon page after the New Year to include basic lessons in video tutorial format. The tutorials will be short and similar to the lessons I offer to students in Introduction to Drawing with Basic Objects, where we break down everyday objects into geometric shapes in order to learn how to draw them; and Learning to Draw the Human Face, where each facial feature is broken down in a separate lesson.
I will have at least one new lesson uploaded after the New Year, along with other Patreon updates.
