How to Draw the HEAD and FACE - REILLY METHOD - Art Tutorial

Here we cover the Reilly method, aka the Reilly abstraction.
It is an incredibly useful tool to add to your arsenal of knowledge, when it comes to drawing the human head and face. I hope you find this tutorial useful! I know, personally, I LOVE using this method.

DISCORD:

PATREON:

PODCAST:

SOCIAL MEDIA:

TOOLS & SOFTWARE:
Adobe Photoshop CC
Corel Painter 2016
Wacom Cintiq 22hd
Adobe After Effects CC

[algecuscalbra]

0:00 The shape
3:15 Nose
5:05 Mouth
6:40 Cheekbone
7:08 Ears
8:20 Temples
9:12 Eyes
9:45 "Eyebrow" endpoints and Eyebrow line
10:56 Other stuff
12:02 Useage
13:38 Lighting

[arunray]

Anyone watching this in 2021??
I mean since this video came out there have been so many videos describing the method but I always come back to this.
It's just great👍
Thanks a ton.

[FutileGrief]

Watching this video makes me feel like we're witnessing the cracking of the matrix. So many solutions to SO many mass problems are solved here. This method should be the one to be teached, instead of simple porportions. Thsnk you so so so so so much, will implement this in my drawings!

[nightflight]

I have been trying the Loomis method so far, but I feel like it's kinda giving you a sort of dummy head, and it's not precise enough for me. But this seems to make much more sense. And your explanation is quite easy to follow. Gonna give this a go now. Though I suppose there's always something to learn from different approaches. Thanks for posting this 👍

[rw_MM]

Now I know where I was always stuck with Loomis method.
This one (Reilly's) is far way detailed and more logical! 'm so happy to finally have seen it! ☺☺☺☺

[LafayetteLeSaint]

YOUTUBE, where were you forty years ago when I was trying to learn to draw people? I'm thankful that you exist for this generation of would be artists.

[username-jkbo]

Although Reilly's method is longer, I personally find it much simpler and more intuitive than Loomis' or Bridgman's. Beginning artists are not yet experienced with references or deductions, so their face drawings may be disproportionate or flattened.
But the Reilly method approaches face's planes, features, volumes and measurements in a simple way (a lot of the time you're just splitting things into two or three or connecting points) but also in a mathematical and specific way (which helps when placing the face at more extreme angles and foreshortening).

[jade]

Thanks for these two Reilly Tutorials. I never leave comments but really had to this time. I have used and seen this method explained by many many many people. Yours was the first tutorial I have seen that gave the details behind the abstraction lines! You also gave excellent tips like rounding the line at the top of the square to create a more natural curve to the side of the head. I also appreciated how you intuitively modified the order of the abstractions making it all easier to recall and so much more logical. You have a gift for teaching. Thanks so much for sharing your process. Looking forward to seeing how you establish the width of the mouth and how you would personally use this method to create a likeness from a photo. Really really FANTASTIC 👍🏼

[medievalterrence]

By far, the best explanation of drawing the head that I've found on Youtube so far!

[MiserableSpice]

Thanks for making this. I watched once and then went back and watched, with pause button at the ready, with a sketchbook in my hand. I drew something resembling a head. I'll keep coming back to this and, maybe, do 10 more until it starts to sink in. You explain everything so clearly. Thanks again.

[shelly]

Extremely helpful and I greatly appreciate that I can hear you LOUD AND CLEAR! In so many videos I've watched the person speaks very softly and/or mumbles and sometimes it's like they're talking to themselves and they forget that they're filming and we need to hear them! Men with deeper voices especially need to be conscious of this. Thank you so much for an awesome video!

[kingleon]

yo man I was able to follow the steps perfectly on digital and traditional media, thanks for taking the time to teach this

[Aynadht]

Woow this definitely improved my drawing, specifically with proportions. Making it look more 3d rather than just a flat picture that looks more kinda like a potato than an actual person. I used to follow the loomis method but find it kinda hard to visualize the reference whenever doing freehand cos I never really understood the anatomy, but this method makes if easier for me to see where muscles and bone structures should be. Thank you so much for this ❤️

[satishpandurangan]

Thank you. My face drawing always looked flat, this method helps resolve that, makes the face more 3 dimensional, and helps correctly shade the face. Look forward to more such tips.
Satish - Chennai city - India

[PentMin]

Where has this method been all my life? Why have I never been taught this before I got my Art degree? Thank you so much!

[smitty]

I love this Reilly Method. I was able to get a pretty good result after the first time, but I have to repeat it several times so I can do it without having to refer to the video.

[anxietycelery]

Me: **watching first 4 minutes** okay this is very simple. Nice. I think I'll just skip forward.
Also me: oh god

[meandujcko]

This helps a lot i a perfect description. The more you learning the curves, the more you can imagin them while sketching live.Thank you very much from Berlin!

[gabbywilliamson]

This is the best face construction guidelines I've ever seen. Thank you so much!

[flyfishinfilch]

as soon as you mentioned the light source, it was like a switch went on in my brain. i was using the loomis method before (and it was really great!), but i feel like i can actually visualise how light and shadows work with the face now? this was super helpful, thanks for the video