Last quarter (Spring 2012) I took “Beginning Portrait – Drawing and Sculpting” at Gage (instructor: Suzanne Brooker). One week we drew (from the life model) and the next week we sculpted (from the same model) one particular feature of the head.
The point is to understand the plane breaks, dimensions and relations (of the features) of the face/head. To achieve this we drew so-called construction drawings that show the breaks and then sculpted this part. Sculpting (since it is 3-D) really enhances one’s understanding of the plane breaks and relations of the features to each other and as a result improves one’s drawing skills.
To illustrate here an example of a simple construction drawing from an artistic anatomy book:
And here are a few of my construction drawings of the model’s nose:
And the sculpture – the focus is on the nose, the other features are not really developed, only as much as needed for reference.
I’ll post other features of the head in the next few days.
Thanks for stopping by.
Discover & Create 
very interesting approach to drawing, with sculpture in mind. I may try this. My drawings feel flat
Yes, it really helped me to understand (and “feel”) the form – there are certain techniques to make a drawing look more dimensional but the understanding of the form is essential. The construction drawings are important and helpful as well as they force you to follow the form with your pencil (into space and back) instead of trying to produce a beautiful drawing. Thanks for stopping by.