Skull and Crossbones

I really enjoyed drawing the Skull.  In class we did practice a long drawing of the skull, something we did not address all semester. I think it is very crucial to understand the basic underlying elements of the face and muscles in order to understand how it functions, and thus, how it shows up on a model.  I wish we had done more practice on the subject, but this is what I learned thus far about it.

Skull Long Drawing

            Thinking about the skull as “boxes” or planes will help break it up. Most importantly, something most people overlook, the cranium will make up about 2/3 of the entire head, and only 1/3 of the head is face (from bridge of nose to ear hole)!  From the top of the head, it is almost “egg shaped”, but with less of a point on the top. Back of the head has the widest widths while the front has smallest. From the lateral view, or side, the tallest point is above the earholes. 

            On the face itself, many people focus on the eyes, but I thought it was interesting that the professor pointed out that the eye sockets are actually even more crucial in developing the face. This made a great deal of sense, and although we are tempting to overlook that and just draw gorgeous eyes that enamor us so much, we must focus on the overall shape, from the eye socket width beneath, to the space above the eyes. Uniquely, guys have almost a “bump” above their eyes that is more masculine (by the brows), because they have larger sinus cavities.

            When I drew the skull, I focused on trying to get the overall proportions and then comparing them to each other. Trying to keep the skull from being flat or even too smooth, I tried to indicate areas that were “rough” or indented. It was rather difficult because I had an image in my head of what I wanted it to look, but in drawing that can be quite detrimental so I took a very math like approach to it.  I think it came out fairly ok, considering it was my first time.