SCULPTING + DRAWING EXPRESSIONS WORKSHOP
for schools or studios of fine artists, digital artists
or forensic artists
5 Days - 6 hours/day - In-Person
This week-long workshop offers digital, forensic and analog artists - both professional and student - the opportunity to intensively study the expressive mechanics of the human face. The completely hands-on structure maximizes the learning experience, each artist works at their own station, where they are provided with a plastic skull, modeling clay, and a mirror set up next to their easel.
The week begins with Faigin giving an introduction to the structures that underlay facial expressions, and each student drawing their own face with the skull drawn in relation underneath. Following Faigin's demonstrations, students model in clay the key facial muscles which create the various expressions, placing the muscles one at a time on their plastic skull and then drawing the muscles in action on their own face, using mirrors to produce both front and side views.
Building the facial muscles onto the skull using modelling clay
By mid-week, Faigin teaches the six key categories of emotion and how to pose and draw them with sudents drawing from their own faces. Faigin also introduces cartoons, master paintings, and other artistic depictions of the face in action. By week's end, workshop students are well on their way to mastery of facial expression, taking home a worshop notebook and completed clay-model muscular skull for future reference.
Workshop student drawing "SURPRISE"
WORKSHOP SYLLABUS
DAY 1
Facial Expression Overview
Structure of the Skull; Finding the Skull under the Face
Racial Differences in Skull Types
Depicting the Features at Rest
DAY 2
Muscles of Expression | Structure + Effect 1
The Forehead + the Eyes
DAY 3
Muscles of Expression | Structure + Effect 2
The Mouth
Overview of the Six Cardinal Expressions
Posing FEAR, SURPRISE + DISGUST using Self as Model
DAY 4
Drawing Emotional Expressions
Posing JOY, SADNESS + ANGER using Self as Model
DAY 5
Putting It All Together
Non-Emotive Expressions: Pain, Fatigue, Inebriation + Shock
The Effects of Aging on the Face
Final Critique + Workshop Summary