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/hɛd kənˈstrʌk.ʃən/

Head construction

noun phrase · drawing pedagogy

The planning stage of a portrait drawing where the head is built as a 3D form using a structured method (Loomis, Reilly, Bridgman, Asaro) before features are added.

What it is

Head construction names the family of structured approaches to drawing the head as a three-dimensional object. The painter does not begin with the eyes, nose, or mouth — those come last. The construction stage establishes the cranial volume, the placement of major landmarks (brow line, eye line, cheekbone, jaw), and the rotation of the head in space. Features are placed onto the construction once it reads as a solid form.

Schematic of Loomis-style head construction
The Loomis ball-and-plane construction — sphere with sliced sides, brow line at equator, jaw dropping from cheekbone.

Methods

Four major methods exist in the modern atelier tradition: Loomis builds a cranial sphere with sliced side planes. Reilly overlays three rhythm chains for surface flow. Bridgman teaches the underlying skeletal anatomy. Asaro uses a planar simplification for value structure. Most ateliers teach the four in sequence — Bridgman first for anatomy, then Loomis for volume, then Reilly for rhythm, then Asaro for lighting.

Examples

The Florence Academy of Art's portrait programme requires Bridgman before Loomis, then Reilly. Watts Atelier teaches the four methods over the first eighteen months. Glenn Vilppu's Drawing Manual (1997) and Andrew Loomis's Drawing the Head and Hands (1956) are the canonical self-teaching texts.

See also: Loomis method · Reilly method · Plane of the head · Reilly pillar · Asaro pillar

References

  1. Loomis, Andrew. Drawing the Head and Hands. Titan reprint (2011). ISBN 1-84856-680-1.
  2. Bridgman, George B. Constructive Anatomy. Dover (1973). ISBN 0-486-21104-5.
  3. Hale, Robert Beverly. Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters. Watson-Guptill (1964). ISBN 0-8230-1401-9.

Sarah Chen

Founder of Grid Maker Pro. Classical portrait painter (BA Fine Arts). Writes about composition, drawing methods, and the art-history claims that don't survive measurement.

Updated · Methodology