Archive for the 'Pen' Category

How to Draw a Skull: 50 How-to’s, Tutorials, Studies, Photo References, Videos, and Inspirational Skull Illustrations

Ah, the skull. Universal and visceral, fascinating and beautiful. Symbolic of those most basic themes: life and death. We find it in pop culture, occult ritual, on shoulders worldwide; most importantly, we find it in ourselves. No wonder we see it over and over in the world of art. It is mystical… perhaps we look for answers about the life after death in the bony visage of the skull.

Whatever the case, at the end of day, skulls are pretty cool! Which is exactly why I set out to put together of a haphazard list of drawings, photos, tutorials & how-tos, videos, and illustrations dealing with the human skull.

I hope it proves useful to you and inspires you as it has me. So without further ado, categorized by what seemed to make sense, skulls:

Enjoy!

Anatomical Studies of Skulls

Skull Left Lateral Index from Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body

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“Nurse Hypo” and Others by Phillip Jackson

Nurse Hypo by Phillip Jackson

Phillip Jackson, aka Jolly Jack, creator of the memorable “Sequential Art” and other online comic strips, has a great little sketchbook section to find a little inspiration.  His drawings are fresh, sexy, and humerous - not a bad combination.

More below the jump.

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Otis Sketch and Others from Chris Legaspi

Although his site seems to not have been updated recently (I could be wrong), you definitely need to check out the work of Chris Legaspi.  Rarely do you find someone so diverse in talents: from fine art to cartoon, this guy has all styles on the lockdown.  Definitely sick.

More below the fold.

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“Edward Sylvester Morse, pottery collector” and Others by Lauren Nassef

Lauren Nassef, a  Chicago artist, does a great job of conveying a lot of emotion in very simple, minimal drawings.  Sometimes - probably more often than not - simpler is better.  Case in point.

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“Nelly” and Others by Bruno Leyval

Every once in a while you come across art that just really grips you.  This is the case for me when I saw the works of French artist Bruno Leyval.  His brutal inks are a study of human life that punch you in the face: raw emotion, pain, angst.  The broad range of subjects bespeaks his curiosity in that most curious affair we call life.

You can also check out his work-in-progess on his Flickr page.  More pics below the fold.

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Ink Drawing of Baltimore Magazine Illustration by Frank Stockton

Ink Drawing of Baltimore Magazine Illustration by Frank Stockton

I came across the works of Frank Stockton via the newly started “quarterly zine of literature, art, and design” Urban Molecule. I’m glad I did too because Frank Stockton’s work is simply cool. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that I actually recognized one of his drawings from a New York Times article I had read some time ago about the disappearance of bees:

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“Crow Skull” by Kirsti Anne Wakelin

“Crow Skull” by Kirsti Anne Wakelin

All around designer and illustrator Kirsti Anne Wakelin has some superb drawings among various other interesting posts on her blog.  She is also a contributing author on the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (which stands for British Columbia I assume) blog.

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Untitled (2 Eyes 1 Body) by Saara Maria Piispa

Untitled (2 Eyes 1 Body) by Saara Maria Piispa

Although I would argue that Finnish Saara Maria Piispa’s paintings are much stronger than the small collection of drawings she currently displays on her site, I nonetheless feel some of them are quite compelling.  Sometimes the idea and though behind a drawing, simple as it may be, is enough to make you stop and think.

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Untitled (”Voila”) by Isabelle Arsenault

Untitled (”Voila”) by Isabelle Arsenault

The above is from a scene out of a graphic novel by Isabelle Arsenault.  Unfortunately I don’t know what it’s about because it’s in French!  However, I suspect it has something to do with a recipe…  The artist studied graphic design and then moved into the realm of illustration, and counts a children’s book as one of her accomplished, in addition to having won numerous award.  Her illustrations definitely have a signature look to them and, I think, are quite charming.

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Untitled (Neck in Straight Jacket) and Others by Hamid Bahrami

Untitled (Neck in Straight Jacket) by Hamid Bahrami

Iranian Hamid Bahrami (born 1972) is an award-winning cartoonist and graduate from the Art University of Tehran. In addition to creating many hilarious and poignant cartoons, he has created art for children books, novels, commercials, games, and animated films.

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