Learning to sculpt heads/faces

#1

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                         Hello everyone.
                           
                           First, a bit of background. Feel free to skip, but it'll put the work below into context.
                           I've been doing CG art for years. Without meaning to I started to concentrate on vehicles, which was cool, but I couldn't for the life of me create characters. Fast foward to last September, I started college and I also started to sketch people - I had NEVER drawn people before. A few months later (now), I'm deciding to concentrate on heads.
                           
                           I'm keen on learning the underlying anatomy, so I've done lots of drawings of skulls. You can see one below. I try to produce between two and four of these a day.
                           
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Skull01_zps652085ca.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Skull01_zps652085ca.jpg.html)
                           
                           I also hunt around for random images of people on the web and try to copy them, trying as hard as I can to achieve a likeness (which is really hard!).
                           
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_04Guy01_zps544f7dce.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_04Guy01_zps544f7dce.jpg.html)
                           
                           I also sometimes combine the above methods of practise - draw a head, then draw the skull underneath.
                           
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_05Guy01_zpsb122b09a.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_05Guy01_zpsb122b09a.jpg.html)
                           
                           I've also tried doing this with photographs in Photoshop. That way I know that the image I'm tracing over is accurate (being a photo, not a drawing) but I find this really hard. Like, so far they've all looked terrible!
                           
                           My ultimate goal is to be able to freely sculpt characters in Zbrush, but I'm doing a lot of 2D work for two reasons. I've read here and elsewhere that working in 2D is better for learing anatomy, and also I want to be able to design characters on paper quickly before committing to sculpting them in 3D (do concept art, basically).
                           
                           Two days ago I rolled up my sleeves and plunged into Zbrush. I used ZSketch to generate a base mesh, then move elastic and clay tubes to build it up from there. Below is my fifth attempt.
                           
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Head0105_zpsb04766d3.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Head0105_zpsb04766d3.jpg.html)
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Head0104_zps31e4b702.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Head0104_zps31e4b702.jpg.html)
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Head0103_zps6801468e.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Head0103_zps6801468e.jpg.html)
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Head0102_zps6b20d65b.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Head0102_zps6b20d65b.jpg.html)
                           [[img]http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa172/Temppe/2014_05_07Head0101_zps2c4b6f18.jpg[/img]](http://s197.photobucket.com/user/Temppe/media/2014_05_07Head0101_zps2c4b6f18.jpg.html)
                           
                           In both the drawings and the 3D I'm deliberately avoiding details. I've done detailed drawings before, but I think it's waste of time if the basic forms are still iffy...
                           
                           This post is getting really long. Basically if anyone has any comments or criticisms (in fact I'm dying for constructive crits!) then fire away. I still have lots to learn, so I intend to update this thread with new material every day (right now I'm finishing college and getting a job for the summer so it's gonna be hard!).
#2

I meant to upload these yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to. I went for a female head this time.





I made the eyes from separate spheres this time. It’s very hard to know if they’re the right size or not. I’ve read that they should be one third as wide as the head is, but I don’t even know if the head is the right size, so how can I compare the eyes?

#3

Looking at the screen shots above I can see I made the cheek bones too low.

Anyway, I didn’t (yet) do any 3d today, but I did some 2d work.

For all the anatomy nerds out there:

And a few complete heads:

Looking at the one above I can see I made his nose way too long!

Anyway…

#4

No sculpting, but I did manage to squeeze in some more drawing this evening.





#5

More work from today. Sorry about the shitty quality of some of the images.






And a sculpt!



As you can see I’m still having massive problems getting the eyes to “sit” in place. I think I might do a few detailed sculpts of just the eye socket and bridge of the nose in particular.

But I felt a lot more in control of the sculpt this time. Strange, since it’s my first time sculpting in nearly a week.

I also got a new Wacom! Happy days!

#6

Today’s work.




And now a sculpt. I think I can see a major improvement in the eyes. I purchased a small bathroom mirror on a flexible stand. Using this with another hand held mirror means I can view my own head from any angle as I work, which is very handy!




#7

Another sculpt.



#8

I haven’t updated in a while! This is what I did over the weekend.





#9

And the work I did today.









I’ve been talking to the wall since this thread began. Does nobody have anything to say?

#10

Nobody? Well shit. I’m gonna keep updating here anyway - it’s a good way of tracking my progress.

A set of eyes I sculpted last night, from a plane.


#11

This is my first attempt at nailing a likeness.



It’s supposed to look like Sigourney Weaver, in her younger days.

#12

Hey hey, I haven’t been here in a while.

I’ve decided that I won’t bore you with all the skulls that I’m drawing any more. I’ll just throw up a few screen shots of the last head I made.



I still suck at the eyes. I’ll do a few more detail sculpts of the eye area tomorrow.

#13

Female eyes, this time. Getting better, I think.



#14

More eyes.



#15

I got a job for the summer so I’ve been very busy lately. I’m doing as much as I should be. Anyway…





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#17


#18

To preserve my sanity, I’m taking a break from the heads. I did this torso today instead.


By the way, if a mod happens to read this, is it possible to rename the thread to “Anatomy thread of Temppe” or something…?

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#20