Usually I design a character and immediately begin developing it in 3D by sculpting it. I would simply sketch the head from one angle and concentrate on re-sketching from the same angle adding elements of design and taking them away until I had the character I wanted. I'd do a few sketches to create a look but then start sculpting to give it form and see it from different angles and re-sculpt until all the issues and problems were worked out.
Now I think either I just got lazy or find sculpting easier than drawing because today trying to draw the head from different angle wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Feels like I've just forgotten how to draw! The principles are still within my grasp but the practice is more than a little rusty. And it's frustrating.
So the challenge today seemed to be not to rely on tricks or stylised marks to make the sketch look okay, but rather to persevere with sketching and re-sketching the head until I get fluent at expressing all the angles and forms and character elements I want on the paper. I found I would start sketching with one angle in mind and as I sketched the head would almost turn either away or towards me - I just couldn't get the angle I intended.
I usually sketch in pen with a couple of guidelines in pencil first but it took me a while to get used to altering the angle until I was comfortable enough to pick up the pen and commit to the sketch. It also took several sketches before I was able to add in the elements to construct the character, in this case, a Steampunk Aviator.
I used three angles to develop the character, to check if I'm happy with the design. I think it's okay but both the drawing and the character need much more work and I still need to work on more interesting angles. I started the sketch with a mechanical pencil with an 0.5mm lead and then went over with a Bic Biro pen and each head sketch is around 5cm in height.
So today the challenge of sketching a character head from different angles took me from my normal practice of simply getting a feel for the design, form and construction of a character with a couple of sketches and then working it out from all angles in 3D as I sculpt it, to really thinking about creating the whole head from all angles completely on the surface of the paper. The latter is a practice I used all the time when first studying sculpture but as experience and knowledge grew I let that skill slip. There are a lot of sculptors who use 3D maquettes as their preliminary 'drawings' and it's a way of working that I've embraced because it saves time but I need to make sure that it's not at the cost of my ability to express my thoughts clearly and eloquently on paper as well.
