Beginners guide The Loomis Method

Getting Started with the Loomis Method: A Beginner's Real Experience

So you've heard about the famous Loomis method for drawing heads and faces, but where do you actually start? Here's what I learned as a complete beginner trying to tackle this classic technique.

After struggling with wonky proportions in my portrait attempts (seriously, my last drawing looked like the person had been stung by a bee), I kept seeing the same advice everywhere: "Learn the Loomis method." But here's what nobody tells you – Andrew Loomis's technique can feel pretty intimidating when you're just starting out.

Let me share what I've discovered after three weeks of wrestling with circles, lines, and facial proportions. Spoiler alert: it's not as scary as it looks, but it definitely requires patience.

What Is the Loomis Method, Really?

Before I dove in, I had to figure out what this method actually was. The Loomis method is a systematic approach to drawing heads and faces created by artist Andrew Loomis back in the 1940s. It breaks down the complex shape of a human head into simple, manageable steps using basic geometry.

The basic idea: Start with a circle, add some construction lines, and use these guides to place facial features in the right proportions. Sounds simple, right? Well...

The method is famous because it actually works – once you understand the underlying logic, you can draw heads from any angle with much better proportions than just winging it.

My First Attempt (Spoiler: It Was Rough)

Reality check: My first Loomis head looked like a basketball with facial features randomly scattered around it. The "simple circle" wasn't as simple as I thought, and don't get me started on getting those construction lines in the right places.

I spent about two hours on that first attempt, erasing and redrawing the same circle over and over. Turns out, even drawing a decent circle freehand is harder than it looks when you're a beginner. Who knew?

But here's what I learned from that disaster: the method itself wasn't the problem – my expectations were. I was trying to make it perfect right away instead of understanding the process.

Breaking It Down: The Beginner-Friendly Approach

After watching several tutorials and reading through Loomis's original book "Drawing the Head and Hands" (which is free online, by the way), I realized I needed to slow way down. Here's the approach that actually started working for me:

My Step-by-Step Process:

1. Practice circles first – Spend a few days just drawing circles until they look reasonably round
2. Add the center line – One vertical line down the middle of your circle
3. Find the eye line – Draw a horizontal line about halfway down the circle
4. Add the jaw construction – This is where it gets tricky, but start simple
5. Place basic features – Eyes, nose, mouth using the guidelines
6. Refine and adjust – Clean up and add details

What's Actually Working for Me Now

Small wins: After about two weeks of daily practice (15-20 minutes, remember?), my heads started looking less like deflated footballs and more like, well, actual heads. The proportions aren't perfect, but they're so much better than my pre-Loomis attempts.

The Lightbulb Moments

Understanding the "why": Once I realized that the circle represents the cranium (the top part of the skull) and not the whole head, everything clicked better. The jaw and chin extend below the circle – mind blown!

The eye-line revelation: Eyes don't go at the top of the head like I used to draw them. They sit roughly halfway down the entire head. This one tip alone improved my portraits dramatically.

Construction lines are your friend: I used to think construction lines were cheating. Now I realize they're like training wheels – essential while you're learning, and you can remove them once you've built up your visual memory.

Common Beginner Mistakes I Made (So You Don't Have To)

Mistake #1: Trying to make the construction perfect before moving on. Sometimes "good enough" construction leads to better learning than spending an hour on the perfect circle.

Mistake #2: Jumping straight to detailed faces. I should have spent more time on basic head shapes from different angles first.

Mistake #3: Getting frustrated when my drawings didn't look like the examples in books. Professional artists have been doing this for years – of course their construction lines are cleaner!

Resources That Actually Helped

I won't overwhelm you with links, but here are the resources that made the biggest difference for me:

Andrew Loomis's original book "Drawing the Head and Hands" is available free online. The explanations are thorough, though the language feels a bit old-fashioned.

YouTube tutorials that break down the method step-by-step were invaluable. Look for ones specifically labeled "Loomis method for beginners."

Practice sheets with pre-drawn circles and guidelines helped me focus on placement rather than construction when I was starting out.

My Current Progress and Next Steps

Three weeks in, I can now draw a basic head that looks proportionally correct about 70% of the time. My profile views are still wonky, and don't ask me about three-quarter angles yet, but the front view is starting to feel natural.

"The method gives you a framework to hang your observations on." – This quote from one tutorial really stuck with me.

What I'm working on next: I want to get comfortable with the basic head construction from multiple angles before I start worrying about individual facial features or expressions. Baby steps, right?

I'm also planning to share some of my practice sheets here – the good, the questionable, and the "what even is that supposed to be?" attempts. Maybe seeing the messy learning process will help other beginners realize it's normal to struggle with this stuff.

Should You Try the Loomis Method?

If you're tired of drawing faces that look like they were assembled by someone who had never seen a human before, then yes – give it a shot. But go in with realistic expectations:

It will feel awkward at first. You're training your brain to see faces as geometric shapes, which goes against how we naturally perceive them.

Progress is slow but steady. Don't expect to master it in a weekend, but you should see improvement within a few weeks of consistent practice.

It's worth the effort. Even my imperfect Loomis heads look more convincing than my previous "just wing it" approach.

The method isn't magic, but it's a solid foundation. And honestly, having a systematic approach takes away some of the guesswork that used to paralyze me when starting a portrait.

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Are you trying the Loomis method too? What's your biggest struggle with drawing heads and faces? Let's figure this out together!