Painting the Head from Imagination - Lighting without Reference with Marco Bucci

Summary by Krater

Artist and instructor Marco Bucci demonstrates how to break down a human head into planes and apply light values, half-tones, highlights, and bounce light to create a realistic painting.

From the video

Answers: How do you paint a realistic human head using planes and light values?

• Planes of the head
• Light and shadow values
• Halftones in painting
• Highlights on skin
• Bounce light and ambient occlusion

What it concludes

• Planes and their corresponding light and shadow values do what line drawings do by indicating where form turns away from the light source.
• The light value and shadow value are the two most important values to use because they deliver the most information about planes.
• Half-tones exist in the light family and describe planes beginning to turn away from the light but not yet in shadow.
• Highlights are direct reflections of the light source and their location depends on viewing angle and light position.
• Bounce light is reflected light that illuminates shadows, and its values should be kept grouped within the shadow family.