Seriously thank you. I thought I was just stupid when I used the loomis method. It's hard to find a video that goes beyond constructing the boxy head. The construction is easy, the theory is straightforward. What is not easy is applying those concepts to real life faces. You just gave me the liberty I needed to stray away from the basic construction without thinking that I'm missing valuable information because I can't retain it because I'm freaking stupid. Sorry, I'm so frustrated lol.
The construction is not easy, that’s the problem. It’s overly complicated, too many steps, and anything produced from it will be stiff and stilted as a result.
Ethan Becker has a few very good videos on developing your own art style. You have to be able to understand very heavy sarcasm, though. ;) One of the most interesting ideas is: Find a theme you love, find a different style from an artist you love and then find a motive that you want to draw in that artist's style. Do this for several different art styles and you will eventually land on what you love. For how to construct there really is no way around trying various methods and sticking to the ones that click for you. I personally found that I gained the most from actually sculpting anatomy in Blender. I bought an anatomy 3D model from Artstation and just tried to sculpt individual bodyparts with the model as a reference. Paired that with a few instructional videos from Proko. But really - try and stick to what seems to be effective. It will always be frustratingly difficult in the beginning no matter what. Like riding a bike for the first time or trying to learn guitar. Nothing is easy after the first few hours already. And again draw things you like. You know to ballance frustration with fun. ;)
Andrew Loomis was an AMAZING artist !!!!! I got his books back in the 1960's. it helped my drawing so much that as a professional artist that I can draw or paint anything or anyone. I use to work for Disney before the bs and have also drawn caricatures professionally for years. Andrew Loomis= Most important art teacher I ever had even if it was just through his books!
One of the things that's helped connect the dots for me, is using Traci paper and making the Loomis heads on top of photos. That helped me understand how to apply it better and tweak it for different head shapes and types.
Proportion is really one of your biggest tools for pushing character, there's that one page in the book that has a whole tonne of examples that push the proportions to each of their extremes and I really feel like that should be shown along side anytime anybody brings up Loomis. It's something that I only fully grasped on to my second time going through it. This is one of cases where only seeing bits and pieces online you can loose the context of what you're meant to get out of learning a technique and the method becomes the end goal instead of it just being a tool to help you reach your own artistic goals for piece.
I agree, I just learned about the loomis method recently and it clicked with me so much better than any person trying to explain their own way of drawing heads and placing the facial features. And because I already have a bit of background in art I knew that I could use it as a tool and still use shape language and creativity and even just drawing from life to create unique portraits or designs I have a lot to learn still but I love the loomis method it has completely changed the way I think
Thanks for confirming something I have come to understand. I did buy and read several of Loomis' books and found them very helpful. I also watched a bunch of youtube videos regarding the technique. I am recently retired and picking up drawing and painting as a hobby which is really rewarding. I have a sketchbook for drawing heads and figures. I write down notes in it as well. As a trained musician I think of drawing the Loomis head as doing my scales and arpeggios. They are EXCERSISES and are useful because they appear in music over and over in different ways, shapes and forms. No one wants to hear you play just scales. But if you can't play scales heaven help you if you want to play Mozart, Beethoven, the Beatles or improvise. To me the Loomis head is the same thing. Master the proportions Loomis helps you understand and internalize and you can draw all sorts of things. In fact, Loomis' books makes this very clear. He expects the reader to use the technique as a foundation for releasing his or her imagination to draw anything they want. Your video demonstrates this point very well. One can alter the proportions to achieve different effects but one needs to do so knowingly. I am not there yet but your video is very useful in helping me progress. Thanks so much.
I liken construction exercises like doing hannon Life drawing to be like sight reading. And working on a piece to be like learning a new etude or fugue that utilizes all the practised elements into one piece. And yes I'm also a trained musician so very good comment and relatable :-)
At last someone said what was on my mind, not only for the Loomis method, but for art in general. Guys, this is not math, physics or language science. It has no defined rules and that's the beauty of it.
Nonsense, there are defined rules that can be applied to representational visual art. Perspective (both linear and atmospheric) , using overlapping line to define form, lighting a form, shadow types, line variation. Then add the world of color theory… you get the idea. There are tons of rules, once you develop some proficiency with the rules you learn which ones you can bend or even break while still conveying the subject realistically. Now, if you’re not into representational art then cool, no rules man, be free. But if you want a thing to look like a thing then there are rules and math that you can learn to make that possible
Amazon lists a beautiful boxed set Loomis Drawing the Head and Hands & Figure Drawing in Hardcover for 50$. Large, gorgeous, with the best paper i've seen in a modern art book. A treasure.
Thank you so much for explaining the lineage of the method...As a beginner, it's come across (esp. since I'm starting my education on UA-cam, for better or worse) that the Loomis method is "The Way," and while it's obviously an exceedingly helpful tool in keeping proportions consistent as the face moves, it's liberating to have a professional tell me it's okay to find my own way. Some personality types understand this concept (freedom to find one's own way after learning various underpinnings)--but others, like me, stay stuck/frozen in the learning process & feel like failure is certain bc "The Way" isn't working w/my brain for some reason. A long way of saying thank you for reminding me, all of us, that core learning is key (buying the book, for instance, to really get it)--but that there's freedom to explore other methods & develop one's own flow. While that's obvious to many, I'd forgotten that, and your video helped me relax again and want to keep going. That's worth everything. Thank you again.
The one weakness of the Loomis head in particular is the fact that it's based on a round form as opposed to a box. When you try to draw the head from a more heavily tilted upward or downward angle it becomes a lot harder to understand how the planes work if they have a curve. Whereas drawing a cube from a 2 or 3 point perspective makes it a lot more manageable.
I know a lot of people here want you to draw cool stuff like manga and fantasy, but Ive always _loved_ your "beginner" drawing videos. You come across as mature and actually wanting to teach, whereas other youtube drawing instructors seem to only go for clicks. Thank you from way up in Washington state.
whats interesting to me is that whilst studying the loomis method your perspective on it came to me almost immediately. It's bizarre because you're right I could absolutely see other early artists getting trapped in construction. This idea that it HAS to be this way. but the loomis method is basically a starting point to help you understand proportions of the face and helps you work in a way to keep them always in mind. you're right about saying its not about drawing the blocky white man. proportions can be stretched and bent in many many ways! Love this video and im sure you helped a TON of young artists!!!
Well, if a teacher once in a while would tell you that instead of teaching you the Loomis method and basically saying "there you go" I think more students would figure that out sooner.
I've got most of Loomis and Bridgman, that I bought about 10 years ago. Now I'm actually reading them and practicing them. It's not a single path, it's more like a longitudinal study of four or five systems, extracting a syncretic construct from them all, modifying the balance until I like the result. Needless to say, it's slow, but I'm enjoying myself. 😁
In his book Fun with a Pencil by Andrew Loomis, he states that on page 36, Ms. E Grace Hanks with Pratt Institute of Brooklyn had published a book teaching this same method before his. It had been passed down, but reading some of his books, he teaches and gives a lot more instructions you can't really learn from a 30-minute youtube video. There are several free copies online.
I think the most important part of drawing is actually drawing the more u do it over time u figure out a technique for yourself that works only for you because u are the only person drawing..... eventually ur own style comes out Loomis method etc are very helpful it was really useful to me....but pencil milage is key.
I spent y formative years in Spain. I started painting when I was a very young child. I came across drawing techniques at school and on my own. I had never heard about “x method” “Y method”,,, When I moved to London, I was surprised to find that some artist were indentifyied with what I thought were classical drawing techniques explained by different artists. So yeah, I totally agree with you. (Btw, I own a copy of the Loomis book, which I bought in a second hand bookshop. It was one of the first art books I bought in London).I loved rhe video.I have been mostly painting lately but I am so glad I came across your channel. I feel that I want to draw more. Thank you for the inspiration. Subscribed immediateely.
How to Draw Heads and Hands was my very first drawing book. Some of Andrew Loomis' sketches are so good they look like photographs. In other words he was a legend.
Well, the method goes back to Dürer probably, who wrote a multipart treatise about it, only published completely after his death I believe (I still longing to see a nice translated Dover edition of this book for instance ) and he himself learned it by studying in Italy, so the method comes likely from Da Vinci (and others). How the earlier flemish painters drew portraits, still puzzles me, because, if you look at the perspective in their paintings they didn't seem to have had much knowledge of geometry, yet they've made such stunning portraits and paintings in general. Anyway, thank you for sharing this video.
What has been game changing for me is to use Loomis or Reilly or other methods for your general calculation and decision making on poses. Then i put another layer and then use shapes to calculate the form and gesture. Sometimes gesture is first though. Then on another level I add details. So in 3 levels you got layers of art that precedes each other and you can feel the layers through your work. My next challenge is painting. In light lol
So true. Been doing art for 1.5 years and in the beginning I thought I needed to learn the loomis method to draw a head, that I should "copy" it a lot. I did not have an understanding of simple forms, perspective and spatial awareness. But once I could use simple forms and draw them correctly in space with perspective, for example boxes and cyliners in 1,2,3 and 5 point perspective and manipulate these forms (thanks ArtWod for that), I was able to better grasp what the loomis method actually is, its just one person's method of using simple forms to construct the head. What I think many people miss is that you need to in your own way (or with some help) also construct each facial feature by itself, or construct anything you want to be able to draw. And once you look at references, you will start seeing these simpliedfied forms and draw them correctly on the paper.
I agree, there is a lot more to the book than what can be learned in a short video. I have learned what I know of the Loomis method from the book. Comments: The method in the booklooks straightforward at first, but it also leaves a lot out. Like those cheek bones, Tim was drawing, I don’t remember seeing that in the book. Or what about the jaw line? What the book does have is endless examples you can can learn from. Also, some amazingly beautiful drawings of heads, for men, women and children. Of course they are wearing 1943-style haircuts, but that is easily fixed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! The Cheek bone indications are something that I add to help the style of cartoony faces I normally draw. I like to make them a feature of a lot of the characters I design so I tend to indicate the line of the skull cheek bones to remind me to add a lot of structure there (otherwise I find my characters were tending to look a bit rounder in the face). This is a great example of how you can modify and play with these ideas to suit your own work!
Top notch class. Loomis helped me to understand proportion and volumetric shape building especially with hair. I took several figure drawing classes in college and often suggested his figure drawing books to classmates. The early large format Figure Drawing for All its worth. Great book I have a 2nd printing with foil embossing. He was truly a genius.
I feel that a lot of the UA-cam videos that say "This is how to draw a......." or "how to paint a....." are completely useless. My suggestion to anyone wanting to explore art is to learn the fundamentals, take what you've learned and create your own way of drawing or painting. Just copying a certain artist or style is never going to scratch that creative itch or make you feel you've accomplished anything. There's a million girl with a pearl earing in the world so why not create something that doesn't exist yet.
I agree completely! I have my own way of blocking in a face for a portrait, and it works for me. I don't believe in formulas. They just frustrate people when they can't do it exactly like some book or video tells them to. Learn to see the subject as it really is, and draw what you see.
@UNKNOWN-zf9yq sorry to hear you're struggling but please don't give up. A great example of the loomis method you can follow step by step can be found on the link below. One particularly useful channel I found is Proko, he explains things in easy to follow terms and has a comprehensive library of free tutorials too. I hope this helps. m.ua-cam.com/video/H4KTkHiNgTM/v-deo.html&pp=gAQBiAQB
I think some commenters on here make a lot of comments.....the way we should view Loomis is that it is not supposed to be the be all end all, it is a way to generalize proportions until learning how to place features. Many combine Loomis with Reilly, and that gets really confusing to me. But most people unconsciosly use Loomis because they still draw lines for placement.
Exactly! All these drawing systems have one common base that is NOT rigid and can be sophisticated or implemented in one direction or an other. These systems are only tools that can be modified for personal needs.
I agree. I got the book years ago and tried duplicating it, but then explored other methods. Loomis’ is still my main framework, but the broader learning process and slight modification to my approach helped me better understand the foundations and articulating them as I move through the head structure. Great video. It supports how I have been thinking through the process and how it has evolved over time. Also, great, informative sketches!
Good video! I think one of the main things that can push beginners forward is to understand that techniques like the loomis method are reference points, not rules. And, most importantly, that it's not based on caucasian head because this is the universal reference point, it's just a caucasian reference point. That's the thing I think is fundamental to understand: that you need a reference point to know how to go further or closer (from the reference,) but the it can be *anything*, what matters is having something familiar to compare to when drawing.
I think that's good advice. Like you said there is a lot of people that basically parrot what Loomis wrote in his book, without getting the viewer to understand the fundamentals. As I progress and mature in my drawing ability I'm really finding how critical basic skills are. I thought it was a waste of time when I was younger but if I would have paid more attention it would have made things so much easier later. Oh well you live and learn, great video btw.
It's a framework. A method of approach. It's about breaking things down into steps, repeatable steps, where you make decisions. And, of course, how to replicate the process.
I feel blessed when you give the link about 5 head construction mistakes, it really helped me a lot! And its free, thank you for your generosity sir i hope you have a good life!
Practice basic perspective , study artistic anatomy is way more valuable than reaching for the watered down and shortcut method that leave people unconscious of the fundamentals.
It's really funny, I had to unlearn a lot of bad habits after a while to push my skill further, learn very different methods of drawing to find what works for how I think, which I believe is really what the learning to draw part is...figuring out how you think and how that translates to your physical approach to the paper/canvas. But early on in unlearning the bad habits I had which were an unclimbable cliff to push my drawings to be better, one of the first books I read were the Loomis books on figure drawing, head drawing and the one about creative solutions to 'artist block' and some go-to thought-tools that help solve illustration problems when under pressure. From there, I looked at some Hogarth books which were interesting because I saw some overlap in Loomis, but how the figure was posed by his methods were completely different, where Loomis focused on proportions, Hogarth focused on body weight and where it is, choosing to not draw the head first, but instead the chest. I think this idea of 'take what works and leave the rest' was something I started picking up on while reading the different approach. He still used construction and basic forms to draw, but it was less focused on getting things 'exact' and 'proper' and more about expression of movement and weight distribution. Long story short, I have a very unique-to-me solution for most of my drawing problems these days and don't always even use the same one every time for the same situation. For instance, when I draw faces, I draw the skull's eye holes first but shaped to the expression I want, then add in the eyelids inside to match, I use a soft corner triangle for the nose, the mouth is added, then I jut in the cheek bones and skip the skull shape and go right to the hair and jaw line and the only reason I can do this is because I internalized the Loomis head drawing. The advantage of how I internalized it is that I'm not so much worried about being perfect but instead illustrating the mood of the character's face while still being able to draw the character from different angles. In closing, anyone reading this struggling with drawing, fundamentals are absolutely necessary, but once you internalize them, you can skip steps. Don't 'learn to draw anime', learn to draw people THEN look at how anime distorts or adheres to the basic principles of proper drawing. From there, move on to how to 'skip steps' or 'change steps' in the process to suit the style you're aiming for. And for goodness' sake, own your style and don't copy other people so closely! As the great Elvis Costello said, "Style is what happens when you f*** up trying to copy your heroes." That's you, that's your voice.
Also, I think it's important to explore different drawing tools. I mentioned I use different methods even for the same situation, one of the most freeing things I learned is how industrial designers sketch their products and scenes, often blocking in with light markers first and 'drawing with shadows and lights'. It was very freeing as it helped me focus on the silhouette and feel of the subject without a bunch of pencil lines getting in the way!
I use combination of Bridgman and Loomis method to draw head. Bridgman allows me to place landmark and form well for realistic. The problem is it won't useful to draw anime style😅, it's conflicting tbh
I would say they are extremely useful for drawing anime. Any manga artist except the most cartoony needs to understand how to construct a 3d figure. Anime is just altering the proportions and finishing style of realism. Once you know how to create and turn 3d forms, then you can squash and stretch them to make them less realistic and more cartoony (different proportions and shape language). Then you come over and ink it in more of an anime style rather than applying light and shadow like a realistic drawing.
Thank you for this. I've purchased the Loomis Method books a few years back, mostly because it's been recommended. However, I've had a tough time following his method for some reason. Interestingly enough though, I am currently taking a drawing class which goes back to the fundamentals and the instructor I believe is actually using the Bridgeman method (using a box or square instead of a circle). Somehow, using the box and just doing the half by half by half is much easier for me than starting with a circle and trying to figure out where the center line is and/or how big the jaw should be. My proportions always seem to be way off an not natural when using the Loomis method but somehow using a box I can do my own proportions and they work. Not that the Bridgeman method is any better than the Loomis, it just works better for me and apparently how my brain works. As you said they are using the same idea but explaining it differently and somehow the Bridgeman explanation makes more sense to my brain. Also, I sincerely appreciate that you mention this is just a technique to use and not a rule to follow. Thanks again for all your videos. BTW - I've tried finding the your Ara Comic in English and it's impossible. I may end up buying the French version even though it is also hard to find but at least available.
Loomis' head method is great. It gives you some basics to work with, and then you can change them up for the final character. His ideas on hands? No so much.
@@reginaldforthright805 I agree. Fun with a Pencil has the best version of the head construction. After that, Figure Drawing For,,,,. Creative Illustration and Successful Drawing are my favorites
We call this "academic construction" in Ukraine. However, the most popular are Gottfried Bammes books, I've never heard about the Loomis before, but essentially it's the same. The same anchor points - eyebrows, eyes, cheekbones, base of the nose, etc.
Awesome thanks! I have never heard of him before. I ordered one of his books just now. I’ll check it out. There is a strong common lineage to all these ideas for sure.
I bought the book in 1972. It was already dated. The illustrations within were appropriate for advertising art of the 40s and 50s. It did provide a ‘guideline’ to understanding and establishing features, their proportions and construction. The book served me well as a young artist (along with two other titles by Loomis which I purchased at that same time) until I began drawing from life. I still tend to start off an imaginative piece based on those principles.
You know At frst, I always using loomish method to find general scale. for my personal experience I've tried so hard using loomish method to hit the landmark but always miss and my accuration is bellow standard most of the time... Thanks to reilly !! The reilly method is really2x help me to make my potrait drawing accurate, the method taught about the relationship between part to part Of the face anatomy. I don't blame loomish but mybe I still need a lot to learn about that method Just like what you have said but for real !! Really meathod help me A LOT !! And now I combine both method to draw a potrait
Hey Lucky! Yeah that's interesting, thanks for sharing your experience. The Reilly method seems to really suit some people. I think the idea of the Rhythms can be a great way of breaking down the form that is a bit less boxy, and more fluid. It's always about finding what works for you!
Loom is books are simply the greatest art technique books ever. They are a art school on paper. And quite frankly his writing is great in them. The drawings aren't dated because he draws real people. People look like this. All that aside, it's not a magic bullet. You have to study, and draw from life a lot. You have to learn to see. He's not teaching you to draw like him. He's giving you tools to teach yourself to draw better. Frankly laziness is your biggest adversary. Thinking anyone can really teach you to draw good let alone great is almost ludicrous. It's up to you. It's challenging work. Most fail and give up. But he gives you solid stuff to stand on, to work with to find your way, your style. You have to do the rest. As a connoisseur of art technique books, there are none finer than his. It's all there if you work hard and study. Randy of story.
I got my BFA from a well known art school that is very Bauhaus in their teachings. This was taught in “head and hands” class. Ruined my creative drive by being told I was always doing it “wrong”.
I generally start with a distinctive feature or focal point then build out from that with some loose proportional framework. B. Froud likes to start with an eye. I tend to do that most times as well for portraiture. But for full figures in space or groups, it's a line of action that I want the viewer to follow and then build on that.
Hey Tim i really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and i am also impressed how well you handle the (sometimes quite rude) critism in the comments. You got my respect
The first problem when you start with art is you don't know what you don't know so for that reason Loomis book are so good because the are like an introduction to the fundamentals and after that depens on you to learn more and experiment.
Top video, really enjoyed this and the obviously deep insight you have on this subject. Sub! Thanks. Your website (drawings) is extremely awesome by the way!
Looking at this again, I just wanted to add some things I have learned since. Andrew Loomis wrote in Fun With a Pencil that his method is the American standard face, and I also learned from tutorials about applying make-up on eyes, for various ethic eyes, Caucasians actually have a higher forehead, then Asians, then Africans have shorter. And the top of the skull is more rounded for Caucasians, less rounded for Asians and a slight higher ridge on the top for Africans. That is how forensics doctors and anthropologists determine ethnicity. This isn't implying racism, but anatomically, these are the features, just as much as the sinus cavity and length of nasal bone influence nose structure. If we use the same measurements for all of them, then they will all look alike. I just wanted to share that. And there needs to be an updated version of Loomis as nobody looks today like in his books..lol.
@@TheDrawingCodex Thank you for the response. I am confused between the two, but I practiced a few pages of Mr. Jack’s book and found his language easy. Note that I am an Iraqi-Arab girl. I think I will spend the holiday practicing it and dedicate the upcoming holidays to Loomis.
Thank you! I also watched your 5 construction mistakes and it pretty much encompasses everything that I do when I try to work from imagination. I did a few quick tests with your adjustments and can already see improvement (I still have alot of practice to do mind you 😆). Super helpful and delivered in a really straightforward manner. Very glad I came across your channel 😀
Great video I wish that someone could explain how to used surface tangents when drawing. It seems that is what loomis does with the centerline as well as observing and finding anchor points..
Loomis method is only part of the learning process. If you're trying to achieve believable proportions ( NOT realism) then perspective is a must. You can't skip perspective with the intent of being a pin up or portrait only artist, perspective is in everything and it has nothing to do with style or creative limitation, actually learning perspective makes the process easier and allows you to do more because you understand angles. But even before that, you should be practiced in gesture drawing. If you don't have confident lines and have a "I can't draw a circle," mentality, you gotta go back to gesture drawing. So gesture drawing to create confident lines, perpective for understanding how we see the world, Loomis method for construction and lastly studying life, in this case, people so that you're not drawing generic caucasian man/ woman. Eventually you reduce the amount of lines in the Loomis method. After months or years of practice you get to a point where you should be able to see where each each facial feature will be and it essentially is just fast gesture drawing which at the point the "energy" should be felt in your line work.
I was wondering what you meant by saying there is no such thing as the Loomis method. I almost didn't watch this video. I first learned about Loomis, then Reilly, then Bridgeman. It took a bit to figure out why Loomis and Bridgeman were able to use two different ratios and yet come up with the same head.
Heh, I've actually been doing this, while thinking it was wrong to do it and getting told it was wrong to do it, because I couldn't get the "correct" method to give me proportions and positions that were correct for the style and physiology xD so I decided "frak the standard Loomis, this modified Loomis works for me!" ^^
Fun with a pencil and i'Like to draw by loomis are awsome to, especially as he cover more head from imagination in very easy to learn way. His books are awsome as was this video. Thankyou
I find that every loomis method video is a bit different. For example, a popular artist youtuber named Proko placed the ears outside of the circle in the front view of the head while a different video placed the ears inside of the head! Does anyone know which is the correct one? 😅
Hello, great video ! I am searching advice and techniques for my wish to draw traditional japanese style, especially ukiyo-e style called also japanese prints. I was wondering if loomis method would help me to have a method to draw faces and respect the special proportions (as you show on your video) because it's my problem, the proportion and the position of each element on a face ...
Hey Josue! (Apologies for such a late reply here!) I think in this case the Loomis method might not be the best choice. Although it can be a really would good way to create a base on top of which you can place stylistic features. I know the style that you’re talking about. The Japanese wood block print style and… to a certain degree a lot of Japanese artistic styles… are based on shape and iconography as opposed to form. It’s more important to practice and understand the stylistic formulations that are created to represent people than basing it on some underlying form. You can however obviously block in the figure and the face using a structural system like Loomis and then draw the more two-dimensional iconographic features on top. But to really understand that wood block style you need to look more at the 2d side of things. Figures and faces are normally drawn from similar pre defined angles. Studying the Loomis method will help you understand proportion though which will be really useful in any style. Let me know if that helps at all. This is actually a really great question and topic. I’d like to make some videos exploring this difference more in the future!
@@TheDrawingCodex thank u for replying and especially finding time to help. Your comment is helpful. I had tried to find some books explaining their techniques at this period ( mostly Edo period) but I don't find any "rules" or techniques. Indeed, they didn't draw exactly what they really saw, but stylized ( I am sure they saw real hands don't look like that and sometimes the poses don't make sense) I was curious about these "rules" to compose these ukiyo-e but nothing. People talk more about the woodblock technique that the design or the drawing itself. Anyway, thank you for your advice !
How to get all sizes right.....when i draw a small drawing the features are...big... And i have another question is it okay to not draw a box a circle to find the alignment of the facial features.. Im struggling.....is it okay to not draw a circle...and draw the face inside i cant understand..
The thing you want to study is proportions. Proportions are made wherever the page is divided up by lines, and especially where lines intersect. What the video is talking about is constructive approaches to drawing, which are all about using boxes and circles to get proportions. Adding a construction line can tell you how much space you can use for facial features, or how large figures are relative to each other. It's like doing math: you're computing out an answer to where the proportions are. A complex 3D construction like the Loomis head helps you place the features with perspective. These appear early on in the drawing and are usually erased for the final work. The main alternative to construction is sight-size drawing. I suggest focusing on this if you are confused by construction or don't want to add the additional lines. This is the technique of lining up a reference next to your paper and drawing it at exactly the same size by observation. There are tutorials on both constructive and sight-size drawing and the techniques they use to get proportions, so I suggest looking for those. One last tip: another way of getting proportions is to trace the reference, for example, using your screen at maximum brightness as a lightbox, or doing the drawing digitally and using layers. Tracing isn't just a cheat or shortcut, it's a way to find your mistakes and correct them. And construction lines can be also be combined with sight-size to help you find mistakes; a good way to study construction is to try "finding the construction" in images you like, starting with some tracing and then trying to break it down.
@JH thanks so much for stepping in with your advice, that all sounds like great info! One of the things to consider when drawing small features is that often we have to suggest the smaller indications. This can either be through simplifying the shadow patterns (check out old comicbook artists like Hal Foster [Prince Valiant] for examples of shadow patterns for things like noses and eyes on smaller background characters). Or through iconography (Think TinTin etc... dots for eyes and simple expressions). Often the comicbook styles that we see with big heads hands and faces (especially eyes on Manga) allow better expression with a given size of face. When drawing comics often the majority of our faces are quite small so all these techniques are important to build as part of your practice and style. Let me know if that helps! Drawing small is a good topic for a future video... I had huge trouble with it early on when I started drawing comics.
Very interesting. Thank you. Just a pet peeve: Caucasian doesn't represent an average european person. It's a very specific ethnic group from Armenia Georgia and parts of Russia (the caucasus is a mountain range). It would be like calling every north african egyptian or every east asian vietnamese. It comes from racist ideology that humans are divided into distinct races, with caucasians being representative of basically western europeans and other white people. This is scientifically not true not only are caucasians not the ancestors of white people, but modern humans cannot be categorised into different subspecies or races. Just thought u might want to know cause i think it's a very common mistake to call anybody caucasian
“All of these people (Bridgman, Reilly, Loomis) are doing exactly the same thing. This is a broad oversimplification. Bridgman generally used a block construction, Loomis a circle and Reilly focused on rhythms, there are distinct differences in each method which is why their respective names are associated with them.
I really love Loomis’s method of drawing the spine and hips. His figure drawing book made it so much easier to position figures, and the explanation of how the figure sits in perspective was great... But on top of that, Burn Hogarth made it easier to alter the figure for characters, freeing up a student to start enjoying their own quirks of drawing, even drawing abstract work.
Yes but I think the main point here is that its not about drawing the head, loomis is just one method of constructing three-dimensional forms, which in this case happens to be the head. There is a lot more behind it, that is, perspective, form and construction in general, which ideally should be learnt through even more simple forms like boxes, cylinders, before learning about loomis method. Atleast thats from my own experience with art. Ask yourself, can you draw a cylinder in a 2- point perspective? If no, then start with simpler forms and construct with the help of those
@@ScilexGuitar This is the idea. A trap beginner artists fall into is copying a "method" exactly without studying flexible fundamental principles. It results in the artist being unable to visualize anything that doesn't fit within the examples provided by the particular method that was studied. For example, a limitation of Loomis' directions is that they're very static and emotionless - they generally represent idealized, mannequin-like images of the human form from extremely conservative 1940s, upper-middle class media and advertising. The human form distorts quite a lot from facial expressions and body movements because large muscle groups can change shape more than people think, until they study examples. There was for decades a similar issue with American comic book artists and their output - it was clear that many or most of them copied examples from Burne Hogarth books on dynamic anatomy. And only Burne Hogarth. This lead to decades of identical looking characters and a limited range of portrayed action and motion. In fact, the general "adult male" head Hogarth used in all his books for the sake of consistency, was exactly cloned and used unaltered for dozens of comic book characters - such as the famous Charles Xavier of the X-Men.
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Seriously thank you. I thought I was just stupid when I used the loomis method. It's hard to find a video that goes beyond constructing the boxy head. The construction is easy, the theory is straightforward. What is not easy is applying those concepts to real life faces. You just gave me the liberty I needed to stray away from the basic construction without thinking that I'm missing valuable information because I can't retain it because I'm freaking stupid. Sorry, I'm so frustrated lol.
The construction is not easy, that’s the problem. It’s overly complicated, too many steps, and anything produced from it will be stiff and stilted as a result.
Ethan Becker has a few very good videos on developing your own art style. You have to be able to understand very heavy sarcasm, though. ;)
One of the most interesting ideas is: Find a theme you love, find a different style from an artist you love and then find a motive that you want to draw in that artist's style. Do this for several different art styles and you will eventually land on what you love.
For how to construct there really is no way around trying various methods and sticking to the ones that click for you. I personally found that I gained the most from actually sculpting anatomy in Blender. I bought an anatomy 3D model from Artstation and just tried to sculpt individual bodyparts with the model as a reference. Paired that with a few instructional videos from Proko.
But really - try and stick to what seems to be effective. It will always be frustratingly difficult in the beginning no matter what. Like riding a bike for the first time or trying to learn guitar. Nothing is easy after the first few hours already. And again draw things you like. You know to ballance frustration with fun. ;)
@@YouTubsel I appreciate you taking the time to to write a long and thoughtful answer. Thank you!
@@reginaldforthright805 That's just not true.
Andrew Loomis was an AMAZING artist !!!!! I got his books back in the 1960's. it helped my drawing so much that as a professional artist that I can draw or paint anything or anyone. I use to work for Disney before the bs and have also drawn caricatures professionally for years. Andrew Loomis= Most important art teacher I ever had even if it was just through his books!
I'd even go so far as to say that Loomis, Bridgman and Hogarth are the 3 best teachers anyone could ask for
1960? Wow, that's a while back. Any other books you would suggest? Could I see your portfolio?
Damn 1960?? My mom wasn't even born yet
@@hyperguyver2 I agree 👍
Kesh drawing lessons helps too :D
One of the things that's helped connect the dots for me, is using Traci paper and making the Loomis heads on top of photos. That helped me understand how to apply it better and tweak it for different head shapes and types.
Hey! Good idea!
I like that idea
Proportion is really one of your biggest tools for pushing character, there's that one page in the book that has a whole tonne of examples that push the proportions to each of their extremes and I really feel like that should be shown along side anytime anybody brings up Loomis. It's something that I only fully grasped on to my second time going through it. This is one of cases where only seeing bits and pieces online you can loose the context of what you're meant to get out of learning a technique and the method becomes the end goal instead of it just being a tool to help you reach your own artistic goals for piece.
100% agree
I agree, I just learned about the loomis method recently and it clicked with me so much better than any person trying to explain their own way of drawing heads and placing the facial features. And because I already have a bit of background in art I knew that I could use it as a tool and still use shape language and creativity and even just drawing from life to create unique portraits or designs
I have a lot to learn still but I love the loomis method it has completely changed the way I think
Thanks for confirming something I have come to understand. I did buy and read several of Loomis' books and found them very helpful. I also watched a bunch of youtube videos regarding the technique. I am recently retired and picking up drawing and painting as a hobby which is really rewarding. I have a sketchbook for drawing heads and figures. I write down notes in it as well. As a trained musician I think of drawing the Loomis head as doing my scales and arpeggios. They are EXCERSISES and are useful because they appear in music over and over in different ways, shapes and forms. No one wants to hear you play just scales. But if you can't play scales heaven help you if you want to play Mozart, Beethoven, the Beatles or improvise. To me the Loomis head is the same thing. Master the proportions Loomis helps you understand and internalize and you can draw all sorts of things. In fact, Loomis' books makes this very clear. He expects the reader to use the technique as a foundation for releasing his or her imagination to draw anything they want. Your video demonstrates this point very well. One can alter the proportions to achieve different effects but one needs to do so knowingly. I am not there yet but your video is very useful in helping me progress. Thanks so much.
I liken construction exercises like doing hannon
Life drawing to be like sight reading.
And working on a piece to be like learning a new etude or fugue that utilizes all the practised elements into one piece.
And yes I'm also a trained musician so very good comment and relatable :-)
At last someone said what was on my mind, not only for the Loomis method, but for art in general. Guys, this is not math, physics or language science. It has no defined rules and that's the beauty of it.
Right on :)
YEP
Seemed more like ‘this is a specific method, for repeatable results, and there’s times you don’t use it’- let’s examine them… but you do you. 👍
Nonsense, there are defined rules that can be applied to representational visual art. Perspective (both linear and atmospheric) , using overlapping line to define form, lighting a form, shadow types, line variation. Then add the world of color theory… you get the idea. There are tons of rules, once you develop some proficiency with the rules you learn which ones you can bend or even break while still conveying the subject realistically. Now, if you’re not into representational art then cool, no rules man, be free. But if you want a thing to look like a thing then there are rules and math that you can learn to make that possible
@@jeffhreid The remarkable artists are those who know how to break the existing rules the right way, not those who follow them blindly.
Amazon lists a beautiful boxed set Loomis Drawing the Head and Hands & Figure Drawing in Hardcover for 50$. Large, gorgeous, with the best paper i've seen in a modern art book. A treasure.
Thank you so much for explaining the lineage of the method...As a beginner, it's come across (esp. since I'm starting my education on UA-cam, for better or worse) that the Loomis method is "The Way," and while it's obviously an exceedingly helpful tool in keeping proportions consistent as the face moves, it's liberating to have a professional tell me it's okay to find my own way. Some personality types understand this concept (freedom to find one's own way after learning various underpinnings)--but others, like me, stay stuck/frozen in the learning process & feel like failure is certain bc "The Way" isn't working w/my brain for some reason. A long way of saying thank you for reminding me, all of us, that core learning is key (buying the book, for instance, to really get it)--but that there's freedom to explore other methods & develop one's own flow. While that's obvious to many, I'd forgotten that, and your video helped me relax again and want to keep going. That's worth everything. Thank you again.
The one weakness of the Loomis head in particular is the fact that it's based on a round form as opposed to a box. When you try to draw the head from a more heavily tilted upward or downward angle it becomes a lot harder to understand how the planes work if they have a curve. Whereas drawing a cube from a 2 or 3 point perspective makes it a lot more manageable.
The point of the tilted elipses inside the sphere is to mark the planes in perspective, just like a box
You can turn the Loomis method into a box
I know a lot of people here want you to draw cool stuff like manga and fantasy, but Ive always _loved_ your "beginner" drawing videos. You come across as mature and actually wanting to teach, whereas other youtube drawing instructors seem to only go for clicks. Thank you from way up in Washington state.
Yeah I need to absolutely do more of the beginner videos! Thanks for reminding me!
whats interesting to me is that whilst studying the loomis method your perspective on it came to me almost immediately. It's bizarre because you're right I could absolutely see other early artists getting trapped in construction. This idea that it HAS to be this way. but the loomis method is basically a starting point to help you understand proportions of the face and helps you work in a way to keep them always in mind. you're right about saying its not about drawing the blocky white man. proportions can be stretched and bent in many many ways! Love this video and im sure you helped a TON of young artists!!!
Well, if a teacher once in a while would tell you that instead of teaching you the Loomis method and basically saying "there you go" I think more students would figure that out sooner.
The best thing is this guy being active on here, I've been looking for a good teacher and I think I have found one. Hallelujah!! ❤🇺🇸
I've got most of Loomis and Bridgman, that I bought about 10 years ago. Now I'm actually reading them and practicing them. It's not a single path, it's more like a longitudinal study of four or five systems, extracting a syncretic construct from them all, modifying the balance until I like the result.
Needless to say, it's slow, but I'm enjoying myself. 😁
In his book Fun with a Pencil by Andrew Loomis, he states that on page 36, Ms. E Grace Hanks with Pratt Institute of Brooklyn had published a book teaching this same method before his. It had been passed down, but reading some of his books, he teaches and gives a lot more instructions you can't really learn from a 30-minute youtube video. There are several free copies online.
Hey Steve! Thanks for your comment. That’s good insight for sure! It’s definitely something that’s been passed down. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@@TheDrawingCodex You are welcome I really enjoyed your work and comments and I want to study more of what you do. Take care.
I think the most important part of drawing is actually drawing the more u do it over time u figure out a technique for yourself that works only for you because u are the only person drawing..... eventually ur own style comes out Loomis method etc are very helpful it was really useful to me....but pencil milage is key.
@Dobby Do a search for "andrew loomis books pdf" and you will see pages of different pages for all of the books in PDFs.
I spent y formative years in Spain. I started painting when I was a very young child. I came across drawing techniques at school and on my own. I had never heard about “x method” “Y method”,,, When I moved to London, I was surprised to find that some artist were indentifyied with what I thought were classical drawing techniques explained by different artists. So yeah, I totally agree with you. (Btw, I own a copy of the Loomis book, which I bought in a second hand bookshop. It was one of the first art books I bought in London).I loved rhe video.I have been mostly painting lately but I am so glad I came across your channel. I feel that I want to draw more. Thank you for the inspiration. Subscribed immediateely.
How to Draw Heads and Hands was my very first drawing book. Some of Andrew Loomis' sketches are so good they look like photographs. In other words he was a legend.
Well, the method goes back to Dürer probably, who wrote a multipart treatise about it, only published completely after his death I believe (I still longing to see a nice translated Dover edition of this book for instance ) and he himself learned it by studying in Italy, so the method comes likely from Da Vinci (and others). How the earlier flemish painters drew portraits, still puzzles me, because, if you look at the perspective in their paintings they didn't seem to have had much knowledge of geometry, yet they've made such stunning portraits and paintings in general. Anyway, thank you for sharing this video.
What has been game changing for me is to use Loomis or Reilly or other methods for your general calculation and decision making on poses.
Then i put another layer and then use shapes to calculate the form and gesture. Sometimes gesture is first though.
Then on another level I add details.
So in 3 levels you got layers of art that precedes each other and you can feel the layers through your work.
My next challenge is painting. In light lol
So true. Been doing art for 1.5 years and in the beginning I thought I needed to learn the loomis method to draw a head, that I should "copy" it a lot. I did not have an understanding of simple forms, perspective and spatial awareness. But once I could use simple forms and draw them correctly in space with perspective, for example boxes and cyliners in 1,2,3 and 5 point perspective and manipulate these forms (thanks ArtWod for that), I was able to better grasp what the loomis method actually is, its just one person's method of using simple forms to construct the head. What I think many people miss is that you need to in your own way (or with some help) also construct each facial feature by itself, or construct anything you want to be able to draw. And once you look at references, you will start seeing these simpliedfied forms and draw them correctly on the paper.
I agree, there is a lot more to the book than what can be learned in a short video. I have learned what I know of the Loomis method from the book. Comments: The method in the booklooks straightforward at first, but it also leaves a lot out. Like those cheek bones, Tim was drawing, I don’t remember seeing that in the book. Or what about the jaw line? What the book does have is endless examples you can can learn from. Also, some amazingly beautiful drawings of heads, for men, women and children. Of course they are wearing 1943-style haircuts, but that is easily fixed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The Cheek bone indications are something that I add to help the style of cartoony faces I normally draw. I like to make them a feature of a lot of the characters I design so I tend to indicate the line of the skull cheek bones to remind me to add a lot of structure there (otherwise I find my characters were tending to look a bit rounder in the face). This is a great example of how you can modify and play with these ideas to suit your own work!
I have the book and it is hard to follow. I can understand what's being talked about but I learn by watching as well.. thanks for making this video.
Top notch class. Loomis helped me to understand proportion and volumetric shape building especially with hair. I took several figure drawing classes in college and often suggested his figure drawing books to classmates. The early large format Figure Drawing for All its worth. Great book I have a 2nd printing with foil embossing. He was truly a genius.
I feel that a lot of the UA-cam videos that say "This is how to draw a......." or "how to paint a....." are completely useless. My suggestion to anyone wanting to explore art is to learn the fundamentals, take what you've learned and create your own way of drawing or painting. Just copying a certain artist or style is never going to scratch that creative itch or make you feel you've accomplished anything. There's a million girl with a pearl earing in the world so why not create something that doesn't exist yet.
I agree completely! I have my own way of blocking in a face for a portrait, and it works for me. I don't believe in formulas. They just frustrate people when they can't do it exactly like some book or video tells them to. Learn to see the subject as it really is, and draw what you see.
but which fundamentals and how?seeing this type of videos make me feel like I am going nowhere at all, I am completely clueless can say...
@UNKNOWN-zf9yq sorry to hear you're struggling but please don't give up. A great example of the loomis method you can follow step by step can be found on the link below. One particularly useful channel I found is Proko, he explains things in easy to follow terms and has a comprehensive library of free tutorials too. I hope this helps. m.ua-cam.com/video/H4KTkHiNgTM/v-deo.html&pp=gAQBiAQB
I think some commenters on here make a lot of comments.....the way we should view Loomis is that it is not supposed to be the be all end all, it is a way to generalize proportions until learning how to place features.
Many combine Loomis with Reilly, and that gets really confusing to me. But most people unconsciosly use Loomis because they still draw lines for placement.
Exactly! All these drawing systems have one common base that is NOT rigid and can be sophisticated or implemented in one direction or an other. These systems are only tools that can be modified for personal needs.
He was a genius and revolutionized the art of painting ...RIP Andy ❤
I agree. I got the book years ago and tried duplicating it, but then explored other methods. Loomis’ is still my main framework, but the broader learning process and slight modification to my approach helped me better understand the foundations and articulating them as I move through the head structure.
Great video. It supports how I have been thinking through the process and how it has evolved over time. Also, great, informative sketches!
Good video! I think one of the main things that can push beginners forward is to understand that techniques like the loomis method are reference points, not rules.
And, most importantly, that it's not based on caucasian head because this is the universal reference point, it's just a caucasian reference point. That's the thing I think is fundamental to understand: that you need a reference point to know how to go further or closer (from the reference,) but the it can be *anything*, what matters is having something familiar to compare to when drawing.
I think that's good advice. Like you said there is a lot of people that basically parrot what Loomis wrote in his book, without getting the viewer to understand the fundamentals. As I progress and mature in my drawing ability I'm really finding how critical basic skills are. I thought it was a waste of time when I was younger but if I would have paid more attention it would have made things so much easier later. Oh well you live and learn, great video btw.
It's a framework. A method of approach. It's about breaking things down into steps, repeatable steps, where you make decisions. And, of course, how to replicate the process.
I feel blessed when you give the link about 5 head construction mistakes, it really helped me a lot! And its free, thank you for your generosity sir i hope you have a good life!
Practice basic perspective , study artistic anatomy is way more valuable than reaching for the watered down and shortcut method that leave people unconscious of the fundamentals.
It's really funny, I had to unlearn a lot of bad habits after a while to push my skill further, learn very different methods of drawing to find what works for how I think, which I believe is really what the learning to draw part is...figuring out how you think and how that translates to your physical approach to the paper/canvas. But early on in unlearning the bad habits I had which were an unclimbable cliff to push my drawings to be better, one of the first books I read were the Loomis books on figure drawing, head drawing and the one about creative solutions to 'artist block' and some go-to thought-tools that help solve illustration problems when under pressure. From there, I looked at some Hogarth books which were interesting because I saw some overlap in Loomis, but how the figure was posed by his methods were completely different, where Loomis focused on proportions, Hogarth focused on body weight and where it is, choosing to not draw the head first, but instead the chest. I think this idea of 'take what works and leave the rest' was something I started picking up on while reading the different approach. He still used construction and basic forms to draw, but it was less focused on getting things 'exact' and 'proper' and more about expression of movement and weight distribution.
Long story short, I have a very unique-to-me solution for most of my drawing problems these days and don't always even use the same one every time for the same situation. For instance, when I draw faces, I draw the skull's eye holes first but shaped to the expression I want, then add in the eyelids inside to match, I use a soft corner triangle for the nose, the mouth is added, then I jut in the cheek bones and skip the skull shape and go right to the hair and jaw line and the only reason I can do this is because I internalized the Loomis head drawing. The advantage of how I internalized it is that I'm not so much worried about being perfect but instead illustrating the mood of the character's face while still being able to draw the character from different angles.
In closing, anyone reading this struggling with drawing, fundamentals are absolutely necessary, but once you internalize them, you can skip steps. Don't 'learn to draw anime', learn to draw people THEN look at how anime distorts or adheres to the basic principles of proper drawing. From there, move on to how to 'skip steps' or 'change steps' in the process to suit the style you're aiming for. And for goodness' sake, own your style and don't copy other people so closely! As the great Elvis Costello said, "Style is what happens when you f*** up trying to copy your heroes." That's you, that's your voice.
Also, I think it's important to explore different drawing tools. I mentioned I use different methods even for the same situation, one of the most freeing things I learned is how industrial designers sketch their products and scenes, often blocking in with light markers first and 'drawing with shadows and lights'. It was very freeing as it helped me focus on the silhouette and feel of the subject without a bunch of pencil lines getting in the way!
This video is so informative. Not just about theory, but about historical information that supports theory and expands knowledge. Thank you! ⭐
I use combination of Bridgman and Loomis method to draw head. Bridgman allows me to place landmark and form well for realistic. The problem is it won't useful to draw anime style😅, it's conflicting tbh
I would say they are extremely useful for drawing anime. Any manga artist except the most cartoony needs to understand how to construct a 3d figure. Anime is just altering the proportions and finishing style of realism. Once you know how to create and turn 3d forms, then you can squash and stretch them to make them less realistic and more cartoony (different proportions and shape language). Then you come over and ink it in more of an anime style rather than applying light and shadow like a realistic drawing.
Thank you for this. I've purchased the Loomis Method books a few years back, mostly because it's been recommended. However, I've had a tough time following his method for some reason. Interestingly enough though, I am currently taking a drawing class which goes back to the fundamentals and the instructor I believe is actually using the Bridgeman method (using a box or square instead of a circle).
Somehow, using the box and just doing the half by half by half is much easier for me than starting with a circle and trying to figure out where the center line is and/or how big the jaw should be. My proportions always seem to be way off an not natural when using the Loomis method but somehow using a box I can do my own proportions and they work. Not that the Bridgeman method is any better than the Loomis, it just works better for me and apparently how my brain works. As you said they are using the same idea but explaining it differently and somehow the Bridgeman explanation makes more sense to my brain.
Also, I sincerely appreciate that you mention this is just a technique to use and not a rule to follow. Thanks again for all your videos.
BTW - I've tried finding the your Ara Comic in English and it's impossible. I may end up buying the French version even though it is also hard to find but at least available.
Loomis' head method is great. It gives you some basics to work with, and then you can change them up for the final character. His ideas on hands? No so much.
nicely done! I bought the book. Reading him and Bridgeman takes a little patience, for sure.
Actually, the head construction technique was first shown in Loomis' FUN WITH A PENCIL in 1939. Great vid!
Nice! Thanks for clarifying
That’s actually a much better book
@@reginaldforthright805 I agree. Fun with a Pencil has the best version of the head construction. After that, Figure Drawing For,,,,. Creative Illustration and Successful Drawing are my favorites
@@KevinWolffart Yeah Fun with a Pencil is awesome. I need to do some reviews of all the books so people can see how they are different!
This was a really great video Tim! You're a big inspiration and reference to me!
Thanks Leo!!
👏👏👏
We call this "academic construction" in Ukraine. However, the most popular are Gottfried Bammes books, I've never heard about the Loomis before, but essentially it's the same. The same anchor points - eyebrows, eyes, cheekbones, base of the nose, etc.
Awesome thanks! I have never heard of him before. I ordered one of his books just now. I’ll check it out.
There is a strong common lineage to all these ideas for sure.
I bought the book in 1972. It was already dated. The illustrations within were appropriate for advertising art of the 40s and 50s. It did provide a ‘guideline’ to understanding and establishing features, their proportions and construction. The book served me well as a young artist (along with two other titles by Loomis which I purchased at that same time) until I began drawing from life. I still tend to start off an imaginative piece based on those principles.
How old are you?
@@Eren_yeager_bomb how old are you?
Keep practicing dude, you’ll get it one day👍
You know At frst, I always using loomish method to find general scale.
for my personal experience I've tried so hard using loomish method to hit the landmark but always miss and my accuration is bellow standard most of the time...
Thanks to reilly !!
The reilly method is really2x help me to make my potrait drawing accurate, the method taught about the relationship between part to part Of the face anatomy.
I don't blame loomish but mybe I still need a lot to learn about that method Just like what you have said
but for real !! Really meathod help me A LOT !!
And now I combine both method to draw a potrait
Hey Lucky! Yeah that's interesting, thanks for sharing your experience. The Reilly method seems to really suit some people. I think the idea of the Rhythms can be a great way of breaking down the form that is a bit less boxy, and more fluid. It's always about finding what works for you!
👏👏👏
Loom is books are simply the greatest art technique books ever. They are a art school on paper. And quite frankly his writing is great in them. The drawings aren't dated because he draws real people. People look like this. All that aside, it's not a magic bullet. You have to study, and draw from life a lot. You have to learn to see. He's not teaching you to draw like him. He's giving you tools to teach yourself to draw better. Frankly laziness is your biggest adversary. Thinking anyone can really teach you to draw good let alone great is almost ludicrous. It's up to you. It's challenging work. Most fail and give up. But he gives you solid stuff to stand on, to work with to find your way, your style. You have to do the rest. As a connoisseur of art technique books, there are none finer than his. It's all there if you work hard and study. Randy of story.
I prefer the Reilly method especially on 3/4 and other angles.
I got my BFA from a well known art school that is very Bauhaus in their teachings. This was taught in “head and hands” class. Ruined my creative drive by being told I was always doing it “wrong”.
I generally start with a distinctive feature or focal point then build out from that with some loose proportional framework. B. Froud likes to start with an eye. I tend to do that most times as well for portraiture. But for full figures in space or groups, it's a line of action that I want the viewer to follow and then build on that.
Hey Tim i really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and i am also impressed how well you handle the (sometimes quite rude) critism in the comments. You got my respect
The Loomis method is for realistic drawing. Anybody can make their own method, just keep drawing! and stop comparing! The Loomis Method is great!
I notice you hold the pencil in a strange way. I may try that. I tend to hold it closer to the end.
The first problem when you start with art is you don't know what you don't know so for that reason Loomis book are so good because the are like an introduction to the fundamentals and after that depens on you to learn more and experiment.
Top video, really enjoyed this and the obviously deep insight you have on this subject. Sub! Thanks. Your website (drawings) is extremely awesome by the way!
I bought the book and copied every drawing into my sketchbook. It was well worth the time to do this.
Looking at this again, I just wanted to add some things I have learned since. Andrew Loomis wrote in Fun With a Pencil that his method is the American standard face, and I also learned from tutorials about applying make-up on eyes, for various ethic eyes, Caucasians actually have a higher forehead, then Asians, then Africans have shorter. And the top of the skull is more rounded for Caucasians, less rounded for Asians and a slight higher ridge on the top for Africans. That is how forensics doctors and anthropologists determine ethnicity.
This isn't implying racism, but anatomically, these are the features, just as much as the sinus cavity and length of nasal bone influence nose structure. If we use the same measurements for all of them, then they will all look alike. I just wanted to share that. And there needs to be an updated version of Loomis as nobody looks today like in his books..lol.
Nice. Next time you show a Loomis head or anything, could you draw bigger? It was small & difficult to see but still helped. Thank you.
What do you think about my study of Jack Hamm's book? Should I study it or should I go to Loomis's book and understand it and apply it to life?
I actually really like the Jack Hamm books! They are less structural but have a lot of super practical advice for drawing.
@@TheDrawingCodex Thank you for the response. I am confused between the two, but I practiced a few pages of Mr. Jack’s book and found his language easy. Note that I am an Iraqi-Arab girl. I think I will spend the holiday practicing it and dedicate the upcoming holidays to Loomis.
Thank you! I also watched your 5 construction mistakes and it pretty much encompasses everything that I do when I try to work from imagination. I did a few quick tests with your adjustments and can already see improvement (I still have alot of practice to do mind you 😆). Super helpful and delivered in a really straightforward manner. Very glad I came across your channel 😀
Great video
I wish that someone could explain how to used surface tangents when drawing. It seems that is what loomis does with the centerline as well as observing and finding anchor points..
Loomis method is only part of the learning process. If you're trying to achieve believable proportions ( NOT realism) then perspective is a must. You can't skip perspective with the intent of being a pin up or portrait only artist, perspective is in everything and it has nothing to do with style or creative limitation, actually learning perspective makes the process easier and allows you to do more because you understand angles.
But even before that, you should be practiced in gesture drawing. If you don't have confident lines and have a "I can't draw a circle," mentality, you gotta go back to gesture drawing. So gesture drawing to create confident lines, perpective for understanding how we see the world, Loomis method for construction and lastly studying life, in this case, people so that you're not drawing generic caucasian man/ woman.
Eventually you reduce the amount of lines in the Loomis method. After months or years of practice you get to a point where you should be able to see where each each facial feature will be and it essentially is just fast gesture drawing which at the point the "energy" should be felt in your line work.
I was wondering what you meant by saying there is no such thing as the Loomis method. I almost didn't watch this video.
I first learned about Loomis, then Reilly, then Bridgeman.
It took a bit to figure out why Loomis and Bridgeman were able to use two different ratios and yet come up with the same head.
You always spot on ,thank you for sharing.. 💯
There is such a variety of head and face proportions and features, that no formula is possible. Nobody ever has symmetrical features.
Thanks for the drawing demo and video
No problem 👍
For heads and portraits I use various teaching at one time.
Heh, I've actually been doing this, while thinking it was wrong to do it and getting told it was wrong to do it, because I couldn't get the "correct" method to give me proportions and positions that were correct for the style and physiology xD so I decided "frak the standard Loomis, this modified Loomis works for me!" ^^
Classic book! I had to hunt down a digital copy back in dialup days
I admited that I prefer to see a video for this kind of things, but I will start reading the book of Loomis to help me to draw a face
Thanks for the info. Very useful for budding artists like myself.
I'd love to get the books but man, they are expensive for how old they are. Wouldn't mind a paperback addition or something.
The are free versions online that you can download.
Fun with a pencil and i'Like to draw by loomis are awsome to, especially as he cover more head from imagination in very easy to learn way. His books are awsome as was this video. Thankyou
I did buy the book and practice and practice, but I am still not good at drawing heads; I must be making something wrong.
THANK YOU. REALLY THANK YOU. ❤
I do struggle to this as to get things right on loomis work.
Thank you for this great video.
I find that every loomis method video is a bit different. For example, a popular artist youtuber named Proko placed the ears outside of the circle in the front view of the head while a different video placed the ears inside of the head! Does anyone know which is the correct one? 😅
Hello, great video ! I am searching advice and techniques for my wish to draw traditional japanese style, especially ukiyo-e style called also japanese prints. I was wondering if loomis method would help me to have a method to draw faces and respect the special proportions (as you show on your video) because it's my problem, the proportion and the position of each element on a face ...
Same, but I want to learn Loomis method and try to use it to draw my favorite manga/anime in a Loomis style. I don't really think if that would work.
Hey Josue! (Apologies for such a late reply here!) I think in this case the Loomis method might not be the best choice. Although it can be a really would good way to create a base on top of which you can place stylistic features. I know the style that you’re talking about. The Japanese wood block print style and… to a certain degree a lot of Japanese artistic styles… are based on shape and iconography as opposed to form. It’s more important to practice and understand the stylistic formulations that are created to represent people than basing it on some underlying form. You can however obviously block in the figure and the face using a structural system like Loomis and then draw the more two-dimensional iconographic features on top. But to really understand that wood block style you need to look more at the 2d side of things. Figures and faces are normally drawn from similar pre defined angles. Studying the Loomis method will help you understand proportion though which will be really useful in any style. Let me know if that helps at all. This is actually a really great question and topic. I’d like to make some videos exploring this difference more in the future!
@@TheDrawingCodex thank u for replying and especially finding time to help. Your comment is helpful. I had tried to find some books explaining their techniques at this period ( mostly Edo period) but I don't find any "rules" or techniques. Indeed, they didn't draw exactly what they really saw, but stylized ( I am sure they saw real hands don't look like that and sometimes the poses don't make sense)
I was curious about these "rules" to compose these ukiyo-e but nothing. People talk more about the woodblock technique that the design or the drawing itself.
Anyway, thank you for your advice !
I bought the damn book. It arrives tomorrow. :D
How to get all sizes right.....when i draw a small drawing the features are...big...
And i have another question is it okay to not draw a box a circle to find the alignment of the facial features..
Im struggling.....is it okay to not draw a circle...and draw the face inside i cant understand..
The thing you want to study is proportions. Proportions are made wherever the page is divided up by lines, and especially where lines intersect. What the video is talking about is constructive approaches to drawing, which are all about using boxes and circles to get proportions. Adding a construction line can tell you how much space you can use for facial features, or how large figures are relative to each other. It's like doing math: you're computing out an answer to where the proportions are. A complex 3D construction like the Loomis head helps you place the features with perspective. These appear early on in the drawing and are usually erased for the final work.
The main alternative to construction is sight-size drawing. I suggest focusing on this if you are confused by construction or don't want to add the additional lines. This is the technique of lining up a reference next to your paper and drawing it at exactly the same size by observation. There are tutorials on both constructive and sight-size drawing and the techniques they use to get proportions, so I suggest looking for those.
One last tip: another way of getting proportions is to trace the reference, for example, using your screen at maximum brightness as a lightbox, or doing the drawing digitally and using layers. Tracing isn't just a cheat or shortcut, it's a way to find your mistakes and correct them. And construction lines can be also be combined with sight-size to help you find mistakes; a good way to study construction is to try "finding the construction" in images you like, starting with some tracing and then trying to break it down.
@JH thanks so much for stepping in with your advice, that all sounds like great info!
One of the things to consider when drawing small features is that often we have to suggest the smaller indications. This can either be through simplifying the shadow patterns (check out old comicbook artists like Hal Foster [Prince Valiant] for examples of shadow patterns for things like noses and eyes on smaller background characters). Or through iconography (Think TinTin etc... dots for eyes and simple expressions). Often the comicbook styles that we see with big heads hands and faces (especially eyes on Manga) allow better expression with a given size of face. When drawing comics often the majority of our faces are quite small so all these techniques are important to build as part of your practice and style.
Let me know if that helps! Drawing small is a good topic for a future video... I had huge trouble with it early on when I started drawing comics.
I try this many times to match likeness but i failed. Then i found loomis is made for imagination drawing !!
How to make my drawing resemble the reference?
Great video! Love your style bud
Very interesting. Thank you.
Just a pet peeve: Caucasian doesn't represent an average european person. It's a very specific ethnic group from Armenia Georgia and parts of Russia (the caucasus is a mountain range). It would be like calling every north african egyptian or every east asian vietnamese. It comes from racist ideology that humans are divided into distinct races, with caucasians being representative of basically western europeans and other white people. This is scientifically not true not only are caucasians not the ancestors of white people, but modern humans cannot be categorised into different subspecies or races. Just thought u might want to know cause i think it's a very common mistake to call anybody caucasian
Amazing works! Thanks!
I prefer the Bridgman articulation
Not the first book for beginner by Loomis should go with drawing for fun by Loomis.
Yeah great suggestion
Worded very well,thanks..
Very interesting video
11:43 / 13:35 or read online
Thank you Tim!
Thanks! No worries!
👍
Loomis is the gateway to other artists like Reilly and Bridgeman.
Yeah, you get hooked on them and you're really screwed. Next thing you know you're drawing lines with street artists under a bridge downtown...
I use it as a block in
I use this last after blocking in alike 2 other artists
“All of these people (Bridgman, Reilly, Loomis) are doing exactly the same thing. This is a broad oversimplification. Bridgman generally used a block construction, Loomis a circle and Reilly focused on rhythms, there are distinct differences in each method which is why their respective names are associated with them.
1:50 Thank you!
It’s more of a guideline than an actual code.
Nice!
Thanks Oscar!
👍
Thank you!!
I really love Loomis’s method of drawing the spine and hips. His figure drawing book made it so much easier to position figures, and the explanation of how the figure sits in perspective was great... But on top of that, Burn Hogarth made it easier to alter the figure for characters, freeing up a student to start enjoying their own quirks of drawing, even drawing abstract work.
So.. essentially you're supposed to experiment with different types of proportions with the Loomis method? That's the main idea I'm getting from this.
Yes but I think the main point here is that its not about drawing the head, loomis is just one method of constructing three-dimensional forms, which in this case happens to be the head. There is a lot more behind it, that is, perspective, form and construction in general, which ideally should be learnt through even more simple forms like boxes, cylinders, before learning about loomis method. Atleast thats from my own experience with art. Ask yourself, can you draw a cylinder in a 2- point perspective? If no, then start with simpler forms and construct with the help of those
@@ScilexGuitar This is the idea. A trap beginner artists fall into is copying a "method" exactly without studying flexible fundamental principles. It results in the artist being unable to visualize anything that doesn't fit within the examples provided by the particular method that was studied. For example, a limitation of Loomis' directions is that they're very static and emotionless - they generally represent idealized, mannequin-like images of the human form from extremely conservative 1940s, upper-middle class media and advertising. The human form distorts quite a lot from facial expressions and body movements because large muscle groups can change shape more than people think, until they study examples.
There was for decades a similar issue with American comic book artists and their output - it was clear that many or most of them copied examples from Burne Hogarth books on dynamic anatomy. And only Burne Hogarth. This lead to decades of identical looking characters and a limited range of portrayed action and motion. In fact, the general "adult male" head Hogarth used in all his books for the sake of consistency, was exactly cloned and used unaltered for dozens of comic book characters - such as the famous Charles Xavier of the X-Men.