Jack-Nicholson from memory
Every now and then I put myself to a test. Sometimes we can only rely on memory as a reference. To stretch my knowledge, I sometimes study several images of a character or celebrity and attempt to draw the face from memory. Often, a pose in an anatomical drawing is also a good test to measure your skills and expose the areas that need refreshing or training. Drawing the human head with different expressions and angles also serves the purpose of testing oneself.
I recommend that artists keep these tests on record – especially the failures. Take notes of the areas where you can improve and get back to practise and art sketching until you are satisfied with the results. The beauty of caricature, is that it demands dramatic action-lines to project the image, in in your mind’s eye, onto a sheet of paper. Be brave and do several quick sketches; playing and experimenting with shape and distortion to buffer and stretch the limits and see how much of the likeness can be retained.
This picture is of Jack Nicholson is an easy subject because he has such intense features and expressions. I will do more over time to refine my pencil skills and see how differently I can portray him. So I share the results here with you. (I have used the Wacom Tablet to clean up and retouch some areas)
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