Drawing: Basic Face / Head Proportions

No, this isn't a drawing class -- but like the "Rule of Thirds" this technique can apply to many of our projects and designs.  Almost everybody who draws a face draws them out of proportion -- usually by placing the eyes too high on the head.

Please follow along with my presentation on the whiteboard so you have a better understanding of facial structures before you begin working on the head in Sculptris.

Notice that if you look at the human skull and divide it into a 4x4 grid, the eyes are directly in the center of the face.

By applying that same division to a human face, we can see that the line appears right on the top of the eyeball in most faces.

You may also notice that the width of the eyes usually equal the distance between the eyes -- and really, on the sides of the face as well.  This diagram shows 5 eye widths on the face.

Another interesting observation is that the center of the eye roughly lines up with the edges of the mouth, and the edges of the nose generally line up with the inside corners of the eye.

Notice in the finished drawing that the same line (now invisible) that ran across the top of the eyes also indicates where the ear joins the head.  Also notice that the eyebrows are not directly centered above the eyes.

You should keep these lines in mind if your figure is not looking directly at you.  Also remember that the head is really skull-shaped with "attachments" (nose, lips, hair, etc.).

While we are on the subject of proportions, this is an interesting general diagram showing human [male] body proportions.  Notice that "one head" is the unit of measure.  At the "second head" the line intersects the models chest -- at the 3rd, across the top of his naval... etc.

And this "sewing guideline" chart shows a few variations to the original.

Finally, here's a video demonstrating the facial proportions:

Flash: Trace Bitmap Function

We have colored in line art in Photoshop and manually traced an image to create line art in Flash.  Today we will be learning the MODIFY > BITMAP > TRACE BITMAP function in Flash.  Basically what it does is convert a bitmap/raster graphic (i.e. a photograph) into a vector graphic automatically -- or at least with very little effort.

Typically I begin by either importing the graphic to my stage or pasting the graphic onto my stage.  Then I go to Modify > Document and change the Document Properties to match the Contents.  All that does is makes my "stage" the same size as the picture on the stage.

I also give it a Title (and sometimes a description) at this point as well.  You will also notice the Frame rate -- which is something we will be using later when we get to animation.

Next I go to the Modify > Bitmap > Trace Bitmap menu so I can trace my image.  Here I can adjust the color threshold (smaller numbers are more detailed) and the minimum area (again, smaller numbers give higher detail).  You can also adjust your Curve fit or the Corner threshold to smooth the graphics out.

I used various settings on this example image to get more or less detail and to smooth out what I have.

In the Eagle example I traced the outline by hand with a black paintbrush, but did a "Modify > Bitmap > Trace Bitmap" to pull out some feather details.  I also added in some of my own details (using the paintbrush) to make it appear more hand drawn.

Finally I traced a flag using the Trace Bitmap option and placed it behind the Eagle.

Because this project can be done in a number of seconds, what I want you to do is create several different images using different settings and then choose two good example to upload to your portfolio.

Guest Speaker: The Art Institutes

Today we have a guest speaker from The Art Institutes in San Francisco.

As always, I expect respect, attention, and valid, appropriate questions for our guest speakers.