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Lance Richlin
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Lifelike Heads: Discover Your Inner Artist as You Learn to Draw Portraits in Graphite (Drawing Made Easy) Kindle Edition

by Lance Richlin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 609 ratings
Learn to draw amazingly realistic portraits in seven easy stages—from capturing unique facial features and expressions to different ages and races.
 
This book is the perfect guide for creating lifelike representations of the human head in graphite. Experienced artist Lance Richlin begins by explaining drawing tools and materials, shading techniques, and the important anatomical structures of the head. Following these basics, he shows how to light the subject, block in and render each feature of the face, and address a variety of expressions—from subtle smiles to toothy grins. Then he guides the reader through four impressive projects, showing how to develop a lifelike head drawing in seven simple stages: the lay-in, plumb lines, volume, outline, tonal pattern, value, and finishing. Readers also will find an in-depth troubleshooting section to help them identify and solve any problems that lessen the realism and accuracy of their drawings. In an age full of technological shortcuts, this book emphasizes drawing from life and seeks to preserve the methods of the old masters.

 

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  1. Reading age
    12 - 15 years
  2. Part of series
    Drawing Made Easy
  3. Print length
    66 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    7 - 10
  6. Publisher
    Walter Foster
  7. Publication date
    September 1, 2008
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. ISBN-13
    978-1610598576
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    $39.71
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A master of drawing, painting, and sculpture, Lance Richlin (Los Angeles, CA) has taught every aspect of classical art-from anatomy and perspective to traditional oil painting techniques. He has lectured at several art colleges in southern California, including Art Center College of Design, Otis College of Art and Design, and California Institute of the Arts, and he holds workshops in his atelier. He has shown his work in galleries across California and has exhibited in museums around the USA.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005C72UCW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Walter Foster (September 1, 2008)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 83.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 66 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 609 ratings

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Lance Richlin

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
609 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this drawing book helpful for creating realistic portraits and appreciate its easy-to-understand approach, with one customer noting how it builds lessons step-by-step. The book receives positive feedback for its experienced artist authors, good tips, and sense of humor. While customers consider it good value for money, they note it is shorter than expected.

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38 customers mention "Drawing ability"38 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful for improving their drawing skills, particularly in creating realistic portraits of faces.

"...of supplies, technique, measurement and proportion, shading, anatomy, feature breakdowns, and along with side grabbing humor to keep you going, he..." Read more

"...He guides you through every area from shadows and light to features and expressions...." Read more

"...does have a few cool aspects to it, particularly where it shows you some finished drawings (by skilled amateurs I assume) that are quite good, but..." Read more

"My son wanted this book to help him learn to draw peoples faces...." Read more

38 customers mention "Ease of use"33 positive5 negative

Customers find the book easy to understand and packed with information, making it a great tutorial.

"...step by step drawing lessons leave you feeling confident and knowledgeable of supplies, technique, measurement and proportion, shading, anatomy,..." Read more

"...However, there is very little talking in this book, and it has a ton of examples and tends to explain with it's pictures...." Read more

"...The reading is entertaining, winsome and witty-which helps one get through the fussing with details that we must concentrate upon in order to keep..." Read more

"...Instructions were easy for him to follow and he sent me one of my mother and it was awesome!" Read more

22 customers mention "Advice"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's advice helpful and instructive, with one customer noting how it guides through every area of portrait drawing.

"...lessons leave you feeling confident and knowledgeable of supplies, technique, measurement and proportion, shading, anatomy, feature breakdowns, and..." Read more

"...He guides you through every area from shadows and light to features and expressions...." Read more

"...What is there is sort of instructive and the author is funny, but he seems to take for granted that readers will be able to fill in a lot of gaps..." Read more

"...and friendly narrative and the examples given are clear and have elevated my work...." Read more

6 customers mention "Humor"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's good sense of humor, with one noting its charming way of communicating its message.

"...shading, anatomy, feature breakdowns, and along with side grabbing humor to keep you going, he even step by step shows examples of lifelike heads..." Read more

"...The reading is entertaining, winsome and witty-which helps one get through the fussing with details that we must concentrate upon in order to keep..." Read more

"...What is there is sort of instructive and the author is funny, but he seems to take for granted that readers will be able to fill in a lot of gaps..." Read more

"...received this book is not only informative but has a charming way of communicating its message...." Read more

5 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money.

"...This has undoubtedly been a very good investment. Highly recommended." Read more

"...It is in black and white, but still is good value for money." Read more

"...it came quickly and professionally packaged for a great price" Read more

"...Great buy at a great price! I recommend if you are needing instruction." Read more

4 customers mention "Talent"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's talent and experience as an artist.

"...touched by Masterful Artists through the ages, and to see a living genius is amazing...." Read more

"An excellent book, very well written by a great teacher, undoubtably the best on the subject matter, extremely educational and handy because of its..." Read more

"This is a great read for beginners and experienced artist! I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to take a stab at drawing portraits" Read more

"This is great for more experienced artist's but not right for someone just starting learn. He is very talented though." Read more

6 customers mention "Book length"0 positive6 negative

Customers find the book too short for its content and note that it is smaller and thinner than expected.

"...As some of the reviewers have said, this book is quite short (it IS a Walter Foster book after all)...." Read more

"...This is fine and all but the book is too short for this much (mostly useless) information. Second this book is NOT for beginners...." Read more

"...there is very good but it is lacking information because the book is also too short...." Read more

"...It is smaller/thinner than expected, but that's ok." Read more

He knows all the things I want to forget or neglect
5 out of 5 stars
He knows all the things I want to forget or neglect
I’m an experienced artist returning to portraiture. The author is an experienced teacher who knows what students do wrong. (See the 3 photos.) Artists learn to see. We often don’t notice the obvious until we are shown by an experienced teacher. Or we neglect very important steps, hoping to get away with it. He knows me. It’s almost embarrassing.I don’t draw like the author. But even if you want to draw portraits like Picasso, you need to know what you’re doing.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Brandi Brown
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lance Richlin's book Lifelike Heads is a 5 star review
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    After reading Lifelike Heads by: Lance Richlin I have decided that in our century Lance is the Master of our time. We have been touched by Masterful Artists through the ages, and to see a living genius is amazing. Reading this books allows the reader or beginning artist to feel guided through the steps to bettering themselves. Most informational books leave the reader feeling alone in the process. Lance Richlin's step by step drawing lessons leave you feeling confident and knowledgeable of supplies, technique, measurement and proportion, shading, anatomy, feature breakdowns, and along with side grabbing humor to keep you going, he even step by step shows examples of lifelike heads in detail page by page.
    I am so impressed with this book that I would suggest you not only purchase this book but tell everyone you know that you have witnessed the phenomena of a living Master of our Century.
    The only problem I can see is after reading this book you will compare every artist, teacher, and scholar to Lance Richlin.He is in fact the best.
    See for yourself [...]
    6 people found this helpful
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  • M. E. Convry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lifelike Heads by Lance Richlin
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    I have been looking for a book, and classes online,that cover the areas of portraiture that I don't know. I have been learning on my own and need guidance from a professional portrait artist. I came across Lance Richlins work on DRAW SPACE, a website dedicated to helping artists learn what they need to become the best artist they can become.
    I was impressed by Mr. Richlins work and decided to send for the book that goes along with his classes.
    I am very impressed! He guides you through every area from shadows and light to features and expressions. But he also covers how much time to spend on a drawing with a live model. The differences between the features depending on the race of a person, including drawing different hair types and the skin tones.
    It's not a large Walter Foster book but it has punch!
    I will be taking the classes from beginning to end, because I know that with Mr. Richlins guidance and encouragement, I can only improve as an artist.
    I highly recommend this book for anyone dreaming of a life in portrait drawing!!
    9 people found this helpful
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  • J. FELLA
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good "handbook" on drawing
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I wanted to review this book because I hope I have something to contribute, opinion-wise. As some of the reviewers have said, this book is quite short (it IS a Walter Foster book after all). It doesn't go into anything in a lot of detail or depth. However, there is very little talking in this book, and it has a ton of examples and tends to explain with it's pictures. It does have a few cool aspects to it, particularly where it shows you some finished drawings (by skilled amateurs I assume) that are quite good, but have some problems with them (tone, contrast, etc). So it shows you what the problem is and then how to go about fixing it. Pretty cool, actually.

    So, yes this book is short and sweet, but honestly if you just want a good, down and dirty reference to refresh your memory about certain aspects of drawing, and maybe just want some examples of different kinds of shading, facial features, etc. this book might hit the spot. Keep in mind, I'm giving this book 4 stars for what it is, not what it isn't. It DOES pack a lot of info into 64 pages, and for that, I think it deserves 4 stars.
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Audioampbuilder
    5.0 out of 5 stars cream of the crop
    Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Since it has been years since I worked with portraiture, I knew
    I needed some good books to provide the essential exercises
    required in order to wind up with something approaching
    photographic - with believable and pleasing results. So I bought several and compared them. Actually they will all be useful. This one, however,
    is very well done. He even presents some works from some of his students who, we can gingerly say, are not quite there yet; and describes what it is exactly that doesn't work-or can make your subject/model look just a "bit off" of looking, well, not quite human... with Richlin describing exactly why it doesn't work.
    There aren't so many lines, or "contours" re. the human head and face.
    It is more about a gradual blend of light and shade-with a keen understanding of the relative sizes, and positions of key elements and facial features as they overlie bone and cartilage structure underneath. It is important to cause a portrait to look alive, moist, breathing,natural, etc. before we move on to, say, our "signature" portrait style, which may be done more "shorthand like", e.g Modigliani,( the flat/graphic look ) or painterly, e.g. Sargeant, or Van Gogh ( extremely painterly strokes )
    The reading is entertaining, winsome and witty-which helps one get through the fussing with details that we must concentrate upon in order to keep our portraits from looking just plain 'duh' looking -
    or worse, laughable , or encourage wise cracks from people who can't even draw flies.
    If you're getting close, but can't quite understand what is wrong, this is a superb training exercise that will help you move from unschooled untrained novice to professional...it's a bigger step than one might think. Unschooled draftsmen will often behave as if to say "Look, I can do this without training" ( duh ). The lack of proper exercise and training happens to be noticeable from fifty feet away - sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb. Try to get it right first before we move on to visual shorthand - the kind we see in, say a relaxed stroke Fragonard, or Eduard Manet...both of whom were capable of photo-realism before they developed their signature brushstrokes...lightning like, accurate strokes. It is first accomplished with great pains, self discipline, and working constantly to improve. After all, a concert pianist will have played his performance piece a hundred times or more before he or she steps on to a live stage.
    To quote from the author, "Remember that portraiture requires the most painstaking accuracy of ALL the visual arts". Accomplish this, and everything else will come effortlessly.
    This is a good first one- but do buy more - such as Anthony Ryder's "The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing". Anyone who takes himself seriously as an artist will perfect his drawing skills, ala, J.D. Ingres, before moving on to painting. Only the amateur wants to jump into painting right away. This is the problem today when one goes to a, so called, high end gallery, hoping to see excellence...you will not. Today we champion the haughty, mincing, self congratulatory, delusional, lazy, ignorant, undisciplined, and the profoundly disturbed sociopath as "dah-lings".
    What is needed are more books of nude models in a great variety of ages, and body types, since it is so hard to get someone to pose naked for you. The human body drawn au natural, and then clothed, makes the for most natural looking work. Indeed, in the academy century, the clothing, or drapery was often 'set up' with props or a mannekin, all the folds etc done exquisitely,...and THEN the model is brought in to flesh out those garments. Ideally with some cooperation from the model, for an accurate drawing previously, done au natural, or with scant clothing.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • Debby Ward
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book to Learn
    Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    My son wanted this book to help him learn to draw peoples faces. Instructions were easy for him to follow and he sent me one of my mother and it was awesome!
    Helpful
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  • Reading Addict
    3.0 out of 5 stars There's no "there" there
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    From the description, I expected step-by-step instructions for a series of drawings. This book seems like about 50% of it was edited out. What is there is sort of instructive and the author is funny, but he seems to take for granted that readers will be able to fill in a lot of gaps on their own. For instance, on one page he draws the outline of a head and neck, then puts dots around the outline, which he says are self-explanatory. To him, maybe. If I had to buy it again, I wouldn't.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Trupti
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book
    Reviewed in India on November 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Love the book!!..I got it as I had improved from it lot in my past practices which I did from renting it from friend...glad got it!!
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  • Stefan Sigfried
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone
    Reviewed in Sweden on October 24, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I guess there are at least two major approaches to drawing. One that drawing is to learn to see accurately and then put it down on paper. An approach taken in books like drawing on the right side of the brain by Betty Edwards.
    And the other approach that learning to draw is to learn thousands upon thousands of details. Learning where muscles are, the bones, tricks and technics. If that latter is your idea of drawing this is a book for you.
    If you think a more relaxed approach is what you want I say avoid this book because it will just confuse you, not give you any confidence, no happiness and definitely not teach you to draw on the right side of the brain. So, if you are the type of guy that thrives on details (and there are such people) I say buy this book, it is filled with details, it is overflowing on its small pages with details. If such a flow of details is difficult for you, you will just feel frustrated when you cannot remember - or understand - them all. So then avoid this book. Unless you want to browse through it to find perhaps some gem.

    Butyou will not have fun like when following a book such as Mark Kistlers book "You can draw in 30 days". Which is a book without the depth of Drawing on the right side of the brain, but you learn some and have fun.
    I liked that book by Mark Kistler. But books in the "for the absolute beginner" series such as Drawing nature for the absolute beginner are more inspirational to me. More what the "art" in drawing should be.
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  • Art Book Nook
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have For Any Artist Interested In Portraiture
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book is excellent. It's very detailed workshop in a book and worth at least twice the cover price. It's also a very handy size measuring 16cm by 24cm, so one could easily carry this with them as a useful reference.

    The book contains an Introduction from the author Lance Richlin, who immediately lays down his teaching style, and is both inspiring and motivating. "Here's some good news. There's no such thing as talent. Talent is actually developed by combining good technique and practice. In the 25 years I've been teaching, I've never had a student who didn't learn to draw after following directions and practicing. Of course, regular beatings are also essential." Lance goes on to say as a beginner you are 60 heads away from being a good draftsman and about 100 away from becoming an expert.

    This book is a must have for any aspiring artist who wants to learn to draw and paint portraits.

    The book continues with the same approach with chapters on Materials & Basic Techniques, Shadows and Highlights, How To Light The Model, Anatomy of Faces, Planes of the Head - "I once knew a boy who didn't use Steps A and B, and he was carried away by a troll.", General Proportions, Facial Features - ears, eyes, noses, mouths and hair, and Facial Expressions.

    This is followed by four specific projects - Man, Woman, Young Girl and Young Boy. Further chapters include Improving Your Work, Including a Torso, Working Within a Limited Time, Laying a Profile, Drawing Babies, Drawing Older People and Drawing Different Races, followed by the author's Artistic Philosophy and a section Beyond Portraiture.
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  • Sam B.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of Useful information packed in a small book!
    Reviewed in Canada on March 19, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The book is very good; It has lots of useful portrait, drawing and shading tips and instructions in such a somewhat small book to help an Artist, (Like Me) re-learn and refresh their confidence and skills in pencil portraits and portrait drawing in general.... thank you!
    Report
  • Le Normand
    4.0 out of 5 stars Très beau livre
    Reviewed in France on February 22, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Cet ouvrage est conforme à sa description, les commentaires positifs sont vrais et fiables !
    Je voulais son alter ego en Français mais il n'est plus disponible pour l'instant ! Compte tenu des dessins et d'un niveau de description correcte l'anglais n'est pas forcément un souci ..... Il vous obligera peut être à reprendre votre dico Harap's shorter des familles mais c'est pour la bonne cause ! A mon sens un peu plus de modèles n'auraient pas nuit ..... DONC un peu plus de pages mais bon.... C'est du concentré.... et de bonne facture ! Petit message pour le ou les détenteurs de ce livre qui veulent le vendre d'occas à un prix prohibitif...... J'ai vu 120 euros..... Là je vous dit NON.............. Arpagon sort de ce corps..... Faut quand meme pas exagérer !
    Néanmoins, un bel ouvrage qui vous contentera et vous fera surement progresser !
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