The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head

Maughan begins by explaining his methods and preferred materials. The Carbothello pencils he uses are wonderful to draw with. He moves on to explain chiaroscuro, value, form, shadow and so on, all of which I recommend you read it thoroughly before taking on his extensive chapters on the subject of drawing the head.

He deals with the subject in ample detail, and to his credit he writes very well too. There is a lot to read but every word of it is useful. His examples (and there are very many) are not the unusably rough pieces found in other books, but are in large scale, often in close-up and annotated, so you can really see in detail what he's doing and how he does it. He also rather cleverly provides equally high quality examples of how NOT to draw - for example, showing what happens when the proportions are incorrect or the lighting is poor. You could use this book to merely ape the Maughan style, but I believe it has much more value than that if you take the time to understand his methods and apply them to your work.

Often with such books, the benefit you derive from them depends to some extent on whether you like the artistic style of the author. I happen to like it, but even if you don't, Maughan's tremendous skill and understanding of his subject is such that it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to learn from him. This book has improved my skill greatly.

Even if you don't draw, the book makes an excellent coffee table piece.

I've had my copy from Amazon for while, but at time of writing (21 Mar 2006) the price is an absolute bargain at £12.89.


A consistent and convincing approach   November 11, 2004
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

The value of any book on drawing technique is very much dependent on the experience of the reader, in particular the questions he or she brings to the book, the problems which are seeking solutions. The advantages of a book like this which takes one specific approach and deals with it in moderate depth are firstly that it is a document from which to work, not just a coffee table amusement, and secondly that one can see straight away whether it is addressing one's specific problems. As drawer of four or five years' experience with a preference for accuracy and what is misleadingly termed "realism", and having started drawing from life a little under a year ago, I found Maughan's approach consistent and convincing because it reinforced some of the directions in which I was naturally being led.

The emphasis is on the balancing of light and dark (chiaroscuro) as the fundamental units of composition rather than on line or gesture. These techniques work best with soft pencil or pastel crayon on a slightly toothy surface of intermediate tone. The light and dark are laid in with white and sanguine or sepia. A crucial distinction is drawn between soft and hard edges. The emphasis is on looking and on simplicity and economy.

But I have one caveat. Experience also teaches that there is no one right way to draw, that the technique depends on the material, that what convices the eye is how well the hand has rendered the imagined world. In the end line and gesture are as important as the play of the light on the dark.