In this 214 page ebook version of the Farauts' popular hardcover, over 550 photographs of sixty-five different sculptures are used to show a series of exercises Philippe has organized in a progressive manner. This text offers art students; painters, illustrators, forensic artists and sculptors interested in accurately depicting the human face an invaluable source of knowledge. For the beginner, the step-by-step method provides a means to achieve rapid results as well as a solid foundation in the knowledge of anatomy. For the advanced artist, there is a wealth of information on such topics as, the aging process, mechanics of expression, and advanced mold making.
Additional topics include:
Illustrations and exercises for modeling the bones and muscles of the head and shoulders.
Techniques for modeling individual features.
Methods for correcting common mistakes.
Step-by-step demonstrations for working in planes.
A demo on hollowing and firing a clay bust.
A special section on repairing a shattered sculpture.
Book Review
Portrait Sculpting: Anatomy & Expressions in Clay
By Philippe and Charisse Faraut; 214 pp.
Sculpture is at its core the meeting place of two processes, a synthesis of internal vision with hands-on artistic techniques that produces the most physical of all art. Internal appreciation of the form’s fundamentals is insufficient to create without an accompanying ability to translate them into three dimensions, just as skill with the tools of the process has no value without a vision it can be pointed toward realizing. Accomplished New York-based sculptor and instructor Philippe Faraut clearly understands that building knowledge and craft in multiple areas is essential to successful portraiture, and has translated that understanding into a very useful form with an instructional text he and his wife Charisse have co-authored, Portrait Sculpting: Anatomy & Expressions in Clay. Offered as a step-by-step guide to sculpting the human face, as well as an illumination of many essential principles and techniques behind the process, it is a clear, insightful resource of significant value to neophyte sculptors and experts alike.
Faraut’s method takes an inside-out approach to replicating the human face, a forensic approach that begins with understanding the structures of muscle and bone that support the visible surface. The book dedicates chapters to such straightforward considerations as the structures of facial features down to and including the skull, how human features change due to aging, and how to fix the most common mistakes that pop up in the sculpting process, as well as an explanation of how working in curvilinear planes makes for a reliable, strong sculpting technique. Also featured are explanations of how to translate different moods and expressions into facial features, guidance through a variety of finishing techniques, and fundamental directions for preserving clay sculptures in other media. Each section is easy to follow and work with, and they fit together to function as a strong tutorial that opens the door to a rewarding pursuit of portrait sculpture.
The most desirable way to learn any skill or technique is with an instructor present to provide guidance, but Portrait Sculpting is a close second. Its straightforward step-by-step guidance and wealth of helpful explanatory photos and illustrations (more than 550 all told) combine to make it an invaluable reference. Its fundamental concepts provide very solid instruction for people looking to give sculpting a try for the first time, but it goes deep enough into Faraut’s unique methods to satisfy even the most accomplished artist.
- Thomas Kintner
Mr. Kintner is a freelance writer whose work about music, celebrities, books and many other subjects appears frequently in the Hartford Courant. He has also contributed to a wide array of other local and national publications.
