Anatomy stuck, need some advice

Rake

Hi guys!

I learn human head making, but usually at this stage i start to loose the path and the whole process is starting to be just guessing and experimental tweaking, that results a lumpy skull and strange face that i don't feel correct.

For example the zygomatic bone seems to be too big, but if i make it smaller, the whole skull starts to look flat on the side. If i make the back of the head bigger to adjust, the head starts looking like a balloon.

The mouth area looking to be too back from the side view, but if i move it forward, the face looks like a dog-head. Viewing from the bottom, the whole face looks too thin, bit with more volume of fat, it starts looking puffy.

I think i completly can't find the right angles where the frontal area and the eyes meeting, and how the mouth relates to the cheek. Also the back half of the head is something i always tweaking without success...

It's just a generic head. (neck is something i haven't really started to learn, so don't bother with it).

What should I do? Just sculpt more heads and soon they will be correct? Or at this stage, i should move from the generic head form to a specified head? Or i should do more generic heads?

So if you can help me to point out what parts are incorrect (or completly wrong) or what i should watch out, or any excercise advice would be great.

Thanks,

Rake

(sorry for the lot of pictures)

Pav3d

Hello, are you using reference? Because that could be the main problem, otherwise youre just guessing. Also add some eyeballs, temporary hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, this could help you find out whats wrong.

Rake

I'm using bunch of anatomy book pictures and pictures of human heads for reference.
However there are some forms i can't figure out from them. Mabye i have no talent for this or my eyes are not trained enough :S
I also ordered a Human Model Anatomy Skull Head Muscle Replica plastichead from ebay but it will be weeks until it arrives.

carvuliero

Reduce zygomatic arch add basic ears and fix neck volume also look like he doesn't have under chin planes + nose and teeth cylinder looks to short , mouth is too flat you could push it back a little 
I am attaching few references you can practice with + you might want to hunt down loomis and hogarth books + famous artist course 6 book I think all of that is available on the internet for free
Let me know if you don't have digital skull because if you plan to be good and fast at head/faces you have to know skull pretty well 



exercise :
skull studies
blockout studies like pictures above 
head plane studies 
proportions
profile studies :
easy ones in zbrush make a thin slice of any of the primitives(or you can do this in photoshop is pretty much the same thing just in 3d ) and try to match a profile view do this till you are happy with proportion ,angles and likeness
advanced start with basic head (the one from blockout stage) and try to match a profile view
As for reference you can use either Xrays or shaved/short haircut images so you can see the skull

Rake

Hi Carvuliero!

Thank your for your advices!

I really like that 4 stage way you showed of doing a head, that helps me a lot, gives a nice direction and workflow. I usually just jumping back and forth, but now i have a clear path. And thanks for the great reference pictures as well. Lots of them shows the views of the head i was starved for. Profile studies with a slice is something i never tried before, so thanks for the great tip also.

I'll post some new studies as i go, integrating your advices.

And I also post some of my latest studies in this reply just to entertain you

Best regards,
Rake

Pav3d

Just to add to carvuliero's wealth of reference, the anatomy next sketchfab page has a lot of useful models: https://sketchfab.com/a4s

Rake

Pav3d said:

Just to add to carvuliero's wealth of reference, the anatomy next sketchfab page has a lot of useful models: https://sketchfab.com/a4s

Thank you Pav! I use sketchfab also, that 3view brown head was made after that Caucasian adult male head planar model

carvuliero

If this models was downloadable would be even better , alt- tabing all day isn't my type of fun 
Rest of your head have similar problems brow zygomatic relation/depth and lack of masseter volume/plane_change been the most obvious . I think first female have a change to become beauty if you keep working on her 
Image below : 
- nose stick out of face => brow dominant
- nose close to the line => ~ equal
- nose inside the face => cheek dominant 
Now would be a great time for you to do detailed skull study and found out why 
Few more references are in attached rar that I think will be helpful , take special care to back 3/4 view , memorizing this 2 can solve your current problems in no time