CRAYON PORTRAITS.
Crayon is especially adapted to portraiture, on account of the brilliant effects which it is capable of producing, as well as the great softness and delicacy of finish which may be obtained by its use.
Portraits should, of course, always be taken from life if possible, though if the person be an invalid or is for any other reason unable to give many sittings, a photograph may be used for the beginning. The portrait is carried on from this until well advanced; if one or two sittings from life can then be had in finishing, it will be a great advantage, especially in regard to the expression.
In portraits of children a photograph is frequently a great assistance, particularly if the artist has not had much experience.
In all such cases, however, it is best to decide upon the pose, and sketch it from life, and then have the photograph taken in the pose you have selected.
In this way, the light and shade are arranged to suit the artist, and the pose being decided upon by him, the portrait will have the effect of being drawn from life instead of being merely a copy from a conventional photograph.
In general the effect of light used by photographers is exactly the reverse of that chosen by artists. It will be noticed that ordinary photographs have the greater part of the face either in shadow or covered by strong half-tints.
An artist, on the contrary, in posing a head for a portrait, prefers exactly the opposite arrangement, selecting broad and simple effects of light with only enough shadow to give the necessary variety and relief to the features.
When arranging the preliminaries for a portrait, there are several things to be considered.
In the first place, study the head carefully and see which view is most agreeable. Sometimes features in the same face look differently when seen from opposite directions. Some noses or mouths look well on one side and distorted on the other.
A very broad face should not be given a full front pose, but would look better seen in three-quarter.
A very retreating chin must not be seen in a profile view.
This same pose, however, for a person with a cast in the eyes is preferable, and so on. After all such matters have been considered, see that the head is not thrown up too high, as it will make the nose look short, while lowering the chin too much will make the nose look long. A good rule is that the eyes of the sitter should be on a line with those of the artist as he sits or stands at his work.
The method most generally in use for crayon portraits is that described in the preceding pages, in which the stump is used. All the old-fashioned ways of stippling and hatching are seldom resorted to, and not considered artistic.
In drawing a life-sized head the artist must not be too far from his subject, the easel being placed about four or five feet distant. It is well to get up and walk back occasionally, looking at the work from a distance so as to see the general effect.
There are several different kinds of paper used for crayon portraits, some artists preferring one make, some another. The ordinary “Lalanne” and “Michelet” papers used for charcoal and crayon studies are a little too rough in texture to please every body, and do not produce quite so fine a finish as is desirable. They come in too small-sized sheets for a large portrait head, for which one wants plenty of room.
This, however, is merely a matter of taste, that can be indulged when one has become sufficiently proficient in the work to judge for himself. We will suggest that Whatman’s crayon paper is one of the most satisfactory; this comes in large sheets, and should be stretched before using in the manner already described. A good sized stretcher for an ordinary portrait is 20×24.
If more of the figure than the shoulders is to be seen, a larger size would be better.
The portrait is first lightly sketched in with charcoal, and if the student is not very proficient in drawing from life it is better to make the first sketch upon an ordinary sheet of charcoal paper.
When all corrections are made, and the general proportions of the face appear to be right, the outline is transferred to the stretcher in the following manner:—
Take the sheet of charcoal paper on which the sketch is made, and with a stick of charcoal “scribble,” so to speak, all over the back, so that the paper is entirely covered behind your sketch.
Now lay this sheet with the face upward on the clean stretcher, placing it so that the head will come in exactly the right place, neither too high nor too low.
Fasten it with pins at the top and bottom, so that the paper will not slip, and then with a sharp, hard lead-pencil carefully go over the outline, and every important part of the face and head. If the paper should move in the least the whole thing is spoiled, therefore it is best in transferring to lay the drawing upon a table till finished. Remember not to rest the hand heavily upon any portion of the paper except the line to be traced, as every touch leaves a black spot beneath.
On removing the sketch a perfect outline will be found upon the stretcher, which will be a sufficient guide to the proportions and general likeness. Now, with a sharply pointed charcoal stick begin to draw in the head, following the outline, block in the features, massing the shadows in the face and hair.
Do not begin to use the crayon until the general likeness is assured, for the paper must not be roughened by too much erasing.
Use the soft cotton rag for dusting off charcoal whenever you can, instead of bread, as too much rubbing with bread will grease the paper; for very large spaces, where erasing is necessary, use Faber’s India rubber.
When the crayon is put on, advance slowly, remembering that in a portrait there is much more careful work than in an ordinary life study, and that there are many more things to be considered than merely the drawing. The likeness is to be secured, which is sometimes a difficult thing even for those with experience.
This is accomplished gradually; the student must not always expect to see the likeness in the first sketch; it comes by degrees, as the drawing progresses, and it is a good rule to draw the head in exactly as you see it, emphasizing the salient points, no matter how ugly it may appear. Do not attempt to improve and modify until the drawing and general likeness are secured.
The expression comes last of all, and with it the beauty. If you attempt to make the face pretty at first, you will weaken the drawing and lose the character. For this reason, many artists make it a rule never to show their portraits until finished. The sitter does not understand the methods of working and is tempted to criticise, which renders the worker timid.
After the head is put in with the crayon and modeled with the stump, in the manner described in a previous chapter, the finishing is carried on with the crayon point, the small stump, and the pointed rubber stump, which is found more useful than bread at the last.
The animated expression is put in the eyes by dark touches in the pupil and under the lids, while sharp lights are accented in the iris and on the eyeball.
The form of the under lid must be carefully studied.
The nose, also, has much to do with the expression; especially the shape of the nostrils, and the direction of the lines at the side of the nose running down to the mouth. Observe whether the nostrils droop downward at the outward edge; this gives a serious expression; if, on the contrary, the line is elevated, it tends to give a bright and animated appearance to the face.
The mouth, of course, is of great importance, and influences the expression more than any other feature; when smiling, the corners are turned upward, and the lines or dimples are curved in an outward direction. In a sad face the corners of the mouth drop downward and the lines grow straight.
If the student learns to look for such indications in many faces, he will find more suggestions of importance to aid him in developing the expression. Without such knowledge, he may accidentally reverse these conditions, and work on blindly, puzzling himself vainly to find out where he is wrong and why the expression is just the opposite of what it should be.