Face drawing

[Razzleberry]

Hey Everyone!
I'm new here and having lots of trouble drawing faces. When I try to draw them they always come out either very cartoonish or nothing like the person I'm trying to draw. Any tips or sources of information to help would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks a bunch

[Msegal]

Drawing anything takes time.

For me studying the shape , planes, and light and shadow are important.

Squinting your eyes helps you find the divisions between light and dark. Draw that.

when you draw those shapes ; it helps you relate as to the correct proportions and positioning of the features.

Andrew Loomis has some very good books on the subject.

[Razzleberry]

wow thanks for the quick reply!

I'll take a look at Loomis in that case then

[Nele Klumpe]

It's also important to learn how to see. If you portray a model and it turns out looking cartoonish then you probably interpreted the forms instead of drawing what was really there.
Look up Betty Edwards "Drawing on the right side of the brain". The book offers several exercices that teach you how to draw on the "right side" of the brain.
Another book I found pretty helpful was The Artists complete guide to drawing the head. (http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Complete-Guide-Drawing-Head/dp/0823003590/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274042816&sr=8-1)

[PuppyKitten]

I've found that sometimes we try to exaggerate the pretty parts (consciously or unconsciously) and that can make for an unintentionally cartoony look. For example, minimizing the nose, making eyes large or extra sparkly, making the neck too thin, making the skin too smooth...

[papervampire]

On top of what everyone else said you might consider that the bone-structure is the most distinguishing characteristic of a face. The reason we can recognize our friends from across the street is because of the general structure of a faces: the size of the eye sockets and how far apart they are, the shadow of the nose, etc. We don't have to see their eyelashes to say, hey look, it's sally!

In other words concentrate on the big things, the basics, and don't let the details distract you.

[Hexokinase]

It'd help if you posted up some examples so that we can get a better grasp of the problem here.

To iterate on what's already been said: chances are if your drawings look cartoonish then you are probably drawing symbols - instead of what is actually there.

This tutorial (http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14119) by fredflickstone may be of some use.

[Kamber Parrk]

Hey Everyone!
I'm new here and having lots of trouble drawing faces. When I try to draw them they always come out either very cartoonish or nothing like the person I'm trying to draw. Any tips or sources of information to help would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks a bunch

Could you post an example drawing?

(It's easier to offer advice if you can establish some sort of baseline).

[Razzleberry]

Thanks for all the responses, I really appreciate it. I just ordered "Drawing on the right side of the brain" so I'll get it around Tuesday, and I'll put up a drawing for you guys to rip apart :P

[pretentieuse]

I've found that it's so much easier for me to work in charcoal than it is in pencil also (may I add that this is on newsprint), just because of the size of both materials.

Always use a reference.

And super-practice. Look at anatomy especially.