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Plane Heads

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Art teachers have proposed various schemes for simplifying the head into an arrangement of flat planes. Here are two plane breakdowns by Andrew Loomis, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0857680986/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0857680986&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=LKKN3V32NGDXB3LR">Figure Drawing for All It's Worth</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0857680986" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0857680978/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0857680978&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=ORAE47N3HG2HEYHI">Drawing the Head and Hands</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0857680978" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMdU7NXAoCCaJzR9m6XEMUPiwlGNlBN1jm9Xs0WZbCovKPBWszPwSfI2KgpphZKwpVyykoRUDWWoSO9V5lnqQyBM9LxEJcqAM-FkRUzp-ydBJVgJpRiYmXdrVw3ZGdY1q3wHVaTpN6fv/s1600/loomis-planes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMdU7NXAoCCaJzR9m6XEMUPiwlGNlBN1jm9Xs0WZbCovKPBWszPwSfI2KgpphZKwpVyykoRUDWWoSO9V5lnqQyBM9LxEJcqAM-FkRUzp-ydBJVgJpRiYmXdrVw3ZGdY1q3wHVaTpN6fv/s1600/loomis-planes.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The one on the left is a simple breakdown, with front, side, and bottom planes. The one on the right subdivides the planes further. To be precise, some of these "planes" aren't perfect planes in the geometric sense, such as the curving planes on the top of the cranium.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTSh59t90c1Tl_oSdsUykJC2sWs4Yj7BRer1QiGvoBWXsWVkWkJ6GH2lNZkqUk_mk1JybOLal8E5lcw7xyD7aMWtrQkuxtUwROufMyo2GrdlrRs-E0_9wBuiM4mO4q4UD_9NnqjWe9ckX/s1600/Fixler.Planes_of_the_head.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-align: start;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453337844763770194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTSh59t90c1Tl_oSdsUykJC2sWs4Yj7BRer1QiGvoBWXsWVkWkJ6GH2lNZkqUk_mk1JybOLal8E5lcw7xyD7aMWtrQkuxtUwROufMyo2GrdlrRs-E0_9wBuiM4mO4q4UD_9NnqjWe9ckX/s320/Fixler.Planes_of_the_head.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.fredfixler.com/">Fred Fixler,</a> a student of famed Art Students League instructor Frank Reilly, came up with a slightly different plane breakdown for an idealized male head. There are some rounded forms too. The cranium is a ball with the sides sliced off. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEign3zoUnY0Vs7scJjtQHAhgeC8fzAHirOQwQq9SyBoFyerHqE_q4YMcN4OG-rM7rmeuJL1Rdh2lCrEa61GFf2EtnceYNr_xa2uFEVNJElQY1vJ8Tr686jVcjXPQUv3tEEiPy3q3CbDl1jX/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEign3zoUnY0Vs7scJjtQHAhgeC8fzAHirOQwQq9SyBoFyerHqE_q4YMcN4OG-rM7rmeuJL1Rdh2lCrEa61GFf2EtnceYNr_xa2uFEVNJElQY1vJ8Tr686jVcjXPQUv3tEEiPy3q3CbDl1jX/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sculpting the plane head brings the plane analysis into the realm of reality. This one is by painter and teacher John Asaro, who has a website called "<a href="http://www.planesofthehead.com/">Planes of the Head</a>.<span style="text-align: center;">" He has taught head painting using his plane head. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Many academic instructors have used plane heads as models before going to the live human, because it's much easier to accurately judge the values and color notes of each plane, compared to the infinitely variegated tones and curving forms of a real face. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52L9HkyY0TbqZYXdh62R8gLML7ltewCtDtpZ86AGij6JUHf5G8xSPC3PcAcNQwfei9g-MQJ0hY6OM8ah-sMkov5pL4cl2mtyzbuH7M-f1vkqhnbmg2SOovIpUe1y9woIwODuLur3LuTen/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52L9HkyY0TbqZYXdh62R8gLML7ltewCtDtpZ86AGij6JUHf5G8xSPC3PcAcNQwfei9g-MQJ0hY6OM8ah-sMkov5pL4cl2mtyzbuH7M-f1vkqhnbmg2SOovIpUe1y9woIwODuLur3LuTen/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Drawing and painting from plane heads is a central part of Chinese and Russian academic practice, and various companies have resurrected some of these art school models, such as this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2DYWJY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2DYWJY&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=FU73CJNCMB2XZM3I">21-Inch plaster head</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygWIaM65sqnsZoY41s_ofe3u8AVt3FEy5LO5MZA0Q-CwNyatWCJVjJRHM4vKtqrzNzSXJHwvM1v9HmbPT1Wr2arCW9zD7xz5UaCfDbpTBJBFvk_NiCUWpfX2La4ZnglXL5_efe8M5n5K2/s1600/Plane+Head2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygWIaM65sqnsZoY41s_ofe3u8AVt3FEy5LO5MZA0Q-CwNyatWCJVjJRHM4vKtqrzNzSXJHwvM1v9HmbPT1Wr2arCW9zD7xz5UaCfDbpTBJBFvk_NiCUWpfX2La4ZnglXL5_efe8M5n5K2/s1600/Plane+Head2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2DYYLA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2DYYLA&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=4AHKHQGPTTJEJXJ3">mini plaster head</a> is very different from a European or American standard head, and the planes are broken down into a mosaic of small forms. But the ear is treated as a single plane.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLrdNVjaIQQjyqY7fFGuY_jWB5hY5Cra4PDIxwwtils7ImIcrkkSOkJfitPr1RlRn-XcRtsdD1gc8Df12hyCBicRv1SjrujZ3CvkkbmRSPhelhyphenhyphenqk2cPdzDttPoAzJgN_X9Axu6Ouo6T0/s1600/Gurney+Plane+Head.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLrdNVjaIQQjyqY7fFGuY_jWB5hY5Cra4PDIxwwtils7ImIcrkkSOkJfitPr1RlRn-XcRtsdD1gc8Df12hyCBicRv1SjrujZ3CvkkbmRSPhelhyphenhyphenqk2cPdzDttPoAzJgN_X9Axu6Ouo6T0/s1600/Gurney+Plane+Head.JPG" width="387" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">People will debate the merits of these commercially available heads, but I've never been completely satisfied with any of them. I think it's a great exercise for any student to come up with their own analysis, and that's what I did when I was in art school. Before I knew about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026C1T8C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0026C1T8C&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=MKKLLLPVSAORTTEH">Sculpey</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0026C1T8C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, I made this the hard way, sculpting a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FR7TTBM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FR7TTBM&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=A5ZUGJQLYESXKLY6">plastilina</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00FR7TTBM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> original, and then making a two-piece mold and casting it in plaster. Mine was inspired mainly by Loomis and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402766785/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402766785&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=OKBSGTGJJ25CE2KO">George Bridgman</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1402766785" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOtICemEC8iQt6cyIiIYDJa72O6muvuHPPB8sDbKPJmNkC0MZviysQh_wJVI1if3_3zybMjVhLcGdGXtmiujPh63WNjVwUyqFJJdPfhqHStOlfZY8CnkSIsWFvYYcVehQd_orvTIu_13z/s1600-h/ColorHead1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-align: start;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188582214429311138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOtICemEC8iQt6cyIiIYDJa72O6muvuHPPB8sDbKPJmNkC0MZviysQh_wJVI1if3_3zybMjVhLcGdGXtmiujPh63WNjVwUyqFJJdPfhqHStOlfZY8CnkSIsWFvYYcVehQd_orvTIu_13z/s400/ColorHead1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">I have set up my little plane head and painted him in colored light.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">Once a student has had practice drawing and painting from idealized plane heads, and even sculpting their own breakdowns, then I think the next best step is to look at real human models and break the planes down in a unique way for that individual model. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1asIk_9F6OullPNLhHqgX7ZzaZChFcgj7X38yjqdDou3H_LngehICVU8bgJkQbNFQKrKMLhdEPF_RzW7-H6gDE8YvKO9ArQrWDehbb2ashW1BHTAfvlgkWWUqAxXemFjr_P2z5K8AQU/s1600-h/Plane.Heads.Man.vsm.W.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318600743229679698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1asIk_9F6OullPNLhHqgX7ZzaZChFcgj7X38yjqdDou3H_LngehICVU8bgJkQbNFQKrKMLhdEPF_RzW7-H6gDE8YvKO9ArQrWDehbb2ashW1BHTAfvlgkWWUqAxXemFjr_P2z5K8AQU/s400/Plane.Heads.Man.vsm.W.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 381px;" /></a><br /><br />This was the <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/03/plane-heads.html">method taught in a seminar I took</a> from Art Center instructor Paul Souza, and here's an exercise I did in that class, scumbling white oil paint over chip board sealed with shellac.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIX0URIssJpLmfU_zsqh5FHju8k8JGTEwx-MRcBlxEbCJjmDeTGD16pl1N8DC02jJfWWqVrkuitDQHBTPd_C4bsLFTF1R9CVKyhx4tnOYex0STaxm7N29G76aK5Nhm8PtOwtDN1_y82lo/s1600-h/Plane.Heads.Woman.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318600745328932370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIX0URIssJpLmfU_zsqh5FHju8k8JGTEwx-MRcBlxEbCJjmDeTGD16pl1N8DC02jJfWWqVrkuitDQHBTPd_C4bsLFTF1R9CVKyhx4tnOYex0STaxm7N29G76aK5Nhm8PtOwtDN1_y82lo/s400/Plane.Heads.Woman.sm.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 395px;" /></a><br />In truth, there is no single ideal plane head, and even an individual model's face can be analyzed in various ways.

Plane Heads

Art teachers have proposed various schemes for simplifying the head into an arrangement of flat planes. Here are two plane breakdowns by And...

07:47

Yvon's Academic Drawing Manual

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Many of you are familiar with the drawing course by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2867702038/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=2867702038&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=HFJAZKTO34JX2K5L">Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=2867702038" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. Painter and teacher <a href="http://www.studiorousar.com/">Darren Rousar</a> has procured another drawing manual from the period called "Methode de Dessin" by Adolphe Yvon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkFMiadJ9f8PxEToHyIdLsYViWPb9YnYf0dH6mUzom7lvNN6bqMemvrJhvfJpqfiiiTlk6saXhS1aaUTnXCnsfrN60Yb0ybqwnj1iN9YIOpH_EpkiKpA4IQck3PV5U7uK57SvxRRgC1sR/s1600/Yvon+Method.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkFMiadJ9f8PxEToHyIdLsYViWPb9YnYf0dH6mUzom7lvNN6bqMemvrJhvfJpqfiiiTlk6saXhS1aaUTnXCnsfrN60Yb0ybqwnj1iN9YIOpH_EpkiKpA4IQck3PV5U7uK57SvxRRgC1sR/s1600/Yvon+Method.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was the method used by John Singer Sargent when he studied in Paris. According to Rousar, copies of this manual are extremely rare, and he has generously offered to put his copy online for free, but first he's inviting French/English translators to help him render it into English.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlQPyoMXVqKJAShyphenhyphen5IuDcEipjFNy9G8GgAmvEpSwKou60KOTzSTdWGOWkJgHqiMHHKUXuWMR4uLJTEMu3xhMeliJAtlD8yaO5ck7n9e7b8j_EwPjfctADulFLLk1cRTKIEsUUS5KuXvq6/s1600/Plate+Yvon.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlQPyoMXVqKJAShyphenhyphen5IuDcEipjFNy9G8GgAmvEpSwKou60KOTzSTdWGOWkJgHqiMHHKUXuWMR4uLJTEMu3xhMeliJAtlD8yaO5ck7n9e7b8j_EwPjfctADulFLLk1cRTKIEsUUS5KuXvq6/s1600/Plate+Yvon.sm.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>Here's a preview of one of Yvon's plates. I'm just guessing from the plate, but it seems to be a slightly different process from Bargue. He still uses the straight lines, but rather than bounding the outside of the form in an envelope or polygonal shape, he seems to find the most general big line going through the contour. The vertical line appears to be a record of measurements and alignments, subdivided into smaller measurements, probably made with the plumb line.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXEoA5lZEob_IdA0exm0qj8-WM2oJl4Jhy5jQ1tl5p7FNGbdu9qYaPBjnKyvyi1vAFWeUl0p5brHErbT0LXLxnPB0VqksZY_kxs9nZfGFpXpLyGuO15RKHQk7swFXJ6o3R30QrO61Rz3a/s1600/bargueplate59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXEoA5lZEob_IdA0exm0qj8-WM2oJl4Jhy5jQ1tl5p7FNGbdu9qYaPBjnKyvyi1vAFWeUl0p5brHErbT0LXLxnPB0VqksZY_kxs9nZfGFpXpLyGuO15RKHQk7swFXJ6o3R30QrO61Rz3a/s1600/bargueplate59.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Here's one of Bargue's plates for comparison, with the outside bounding envelope going from the forehead to the tip of the nose and the nose to the chin, with the plumb-line measurements marked on a line drawn inside the form.<br /><br />Sargent said that the plumb line (basically a weight dangling at the end of a string) was essential:<br />"When drawing from the model, never be without the plumb line in the left hand. Everyone has a bias, either to the right hand or the left of the vertical. The use of the plumb line rectifies this error and develops a keen appreciation of the vertical."<br /><br />If you'd like to participate in translating some of first pages (or just read them in French), <a href="http://www.studiorousar.com/2014/05/17/yvons-methode-de-dessin-pages-1-and-2/">here's a link to Darren Rousar's studio blog. </a><br />----<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2867702038/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=2867702038&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=HFJAZKTO34JX2K5L">Charles Bargue's method</a> from Amazon

Yvon's Academic Drawing Manual

Many of you are familiar with the drawing course by Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme . Painter and teacher Darren Rousar has procured a...