Nguyen Drawing v1

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Purchased by Fernando Campos, [email protected] #9795501

introduction realistically, there is no substitute for When it comes to drawing the human face realistically, practice. I can still remember as a boy in Vietnam being told by my art teacher that I needed to practice each part of the face constantly. In my spare time, I used to fill sheets of paper with eye after eye, until I was able to draw eyes realistically from memory. Today, many people seem amazed by the eyes in my artwork, saying that it’s the hardest part of the face to master. master. For me, though, I actually find it to be the easiest part. This is what practice brings. My goal with this book is to give you some guidance in your own practice. Inside, you’ll find many example of each facial feature, depicting different facial characteristics at different angles. I’ve broken each of these down so that you can see each stage of my drawing. In some cases, I’ve shown some guides you can use to get accurate proportions in your drawings. These guides are based on techniques first popularized by illustrator Andrew Loomis. (I highly recommend his book for anyone wanting to improve their drawing skills.) As you continue to practice, however, however, you’ll find that you’ll gain a more intuitive sense for proper proportion, and you’ll be able to skip the use of these guides. Regardless of your preferred artistic medium, a mastery of drawing is the most important foundation for depicting the human form effectively. effectively. There are no shortcuts, but you can get there with time and passion.

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Drawing The Human Face - Cuong Nguyen

introduction realistically, there is no substitute for When it comes to drawing the human face realistically, practice. I can still remember as a boy in Vietnam being told by my art teacher that I needed to practice each part of the face constantly. In my spare time, I used to fill sheets of paper with eye after eye, until I was able to draw eyes realistically from memory. Today, many people seem amazed by the eyes in my artwork, saying that it’s the hardest part of the face to master. master. For me, though, I actually find it to be the easiest part. This is what practice brings. My goal with this book is to give you some guidance in your own practice. Inside, you’ll find many example of each facial feature, depicting different facial characteristics at different angles. I’ve broken each of these down so that you can see each stage of my drawing. In some cases, I’ve shown some guides you can use to get accurate proportions in your drawings. These guides are based on techniques first popularized by illustrator Andrew Loomis. (I highly recommend his book for anyone wanting to improve their drawing skills.) As you continue to practice, however, however, you’ll find that you’ll gain a more intuitive sense for proper proportion, and you’ll be able to skip the use of these guides. Regardless of your preferred artistic medium, a mastery of drawing is the most important foundation for depicting the human form effectively. effectively. There are no shortcuts, but you can get there with time and passion.

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before you start... is time to sharpen your pencils

be careful! Don’t hurt yourself! 3



Materials List

Conte a’Paris Pastel Pencil - Sepia or Sanguine

X-Acto Snap-Off Blade Utility Knife for sharpening your pencils

General’s General’s charcoal pencils (HB, 2B, 3B, 5B, 6B)

Blending stumps

Kneaded eraser White Canson Drawing Paper 4



facial features


DRAWNG THE EYE - FRONT VIEW

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DRAWNG THE EYE - UPWARD LOOKING EYE

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DRAWNG THE EYE - THREE QUARTER VIEW

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DRAWNG THE EYE IN DIFFERENT POSITION

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DRAWNG THE EYE - SIDE VIEW

EYE DIAGRAM

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DRAWNG THE NOSE - FRONT VIEW

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DRAWNG THE NOSE - THREE QUARTER VIEW

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DRAWNG THE NOSE - SIDE VIEW

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DRAWNG THE LIPS - FRONT VIEW

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DRAWNG THE LIPS - THREE QUARTER VIEW

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DRAWNG THE LIPS - SIDE VIEW

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DRAWNG THE EAR - SIDE VIEW

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DRAWNG THE EAR - THREE QUARTER VIEW

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BEGINNING EXERCISES for

human head proportions


FRONT VIEW

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THREE QUARTER VIEW

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SIDE VIEW

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INTERMEDIATE EXERCISES for

human head proportions


MAN FRONT VIEW

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MAN SIDE VIEW

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WOMAN FRONT VIEW

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WOMAN THREE QUARTER VIEW

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WOMAN THREE QUARTER VIEW LOOKING DOWNWARD

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WOMAN THREE QUARTER VIEW LOOKING UPWARD

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MAN IN PROFILE

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YOUNG MAN IN PROFILE

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OLD MAN IN PROFILE

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BEARED MAN, THREE QUARTER VIEW

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BEARED MAN IN PROFILE

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BEARED MAN IN PROFILE

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advanced drawing

the human head

w i h o u t


g u i d e s

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN - GRAPHITE

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PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG LADY GRAPHITE

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EVENING STARS GRAPHITE

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PORTRAIT OF JENNY CHARCOAL PENCIL ON TONED PAPER

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About Cuong Nguyen

Cuong Nguyen’s ability to highlight the beauty in the world around him is something that informs his art as well as his perspective. One might say that he represents the opposite of the tortured artist cliché: despite the fact that his formative years in Vietnam were characterized by significant hardship, his sometimes romantic and sometimes mysterious portraits and still life paintings reflect his positive outlook and determination to persevere. Growing up in poverty after the fall of Saigon, Cuong’s greatest pleasure was finding time to draw. At a young age, he earned extra money for his family by doing street portraits, and he was accepted to Saigon’s Academy of Art while in high school. Even as a child, Cuong was fascinated by the human face, and his single-minded practice of drawing eyes and other features rewards us today with portraits that have a spark of life to them.

His study at the Academy of Art in Saigon was interrupted when he had the opportunity to emigrate to the U.S. in 1991, and the challenge of establishing himself within a new country and culture temporarily distracted him from his love of fine art. He earned a degree in illustration from San Jose State University and established a successful career as an icon designer with a prominent Silicon Valley Web company. Ultimately, though, his passion for fine art resurfaced. It began first as a new hobby—participating as an artist at public street painting festivals, creating ephemeral artworks as large as 16’ x 24’. Cuong soon established a reputation for painting amazingly lifelike portaits on asphalt, and he was invited to participate in festivals around the world. More importantly, though, this activity brought him back to painting, and he was soon back in his studio endlessly refining his technique with more traditional media. Cuong earned status as a Master Pastellist with Pastel Society of America, Distinguished Pastellist with the Pastel Society of the West Coast, and Masters Circle with IAPS. He has had one-man shows at the Triton Museum and the Los Gatos Museum, both in California, and his work has been featured in both national and international competitions exhibiting worldwide. Cuong shares his techniques through workshops taught at his own studio in California as well as those hosted by art institutes and ateliers elsewhere in the U.S. and throughout the world. For more information on Cuong’s teaching schedule, visit his website at icuong.com.

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Nguyen Drawing v1

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