Drawing Tutorial: Karl Urban
As requested by anon, who wanted a tutorial on AOS!Bones but I figured just Karl Urban would suffice :)
Please note that I won’t be going into basic anatomy, and this tutorial works on the assumption you already know and understand it.
I cannot stress enough the importance of references! The reason why I’m so familiar and comfortable with drawing Karl’s face is not just because he’s my favourite actor in existence, but also because when I first started drawing him I used a lot of references.
Another thing to note is that you’re going to have to memorise just how certain features look like on him. Not everyone has the same shaped eye, nose, mouth, etc. So anon, this may be one of the reasons why when you try to draw AOS!Bones he looks a little too generic.
Here are some little things I’ve memorised about his face that bring me a step closer to capturing his likeness.
Basically, draw things angrily. Angry nose, angry mouth, angry eyes, etc. And when I say angry, I mean they’re more angular than they are flowing lines, because you can still draw angry eyes while conveying sadness/happiness/etc.
Of course, knowing these won’t matter in the end if you can’t place them on his face correctly. One of the most important things to remember is that he has both a short nose and a smaller top lip, so this means the upper lip area is larger than the ‘average’ person. Other than that, his proportions are like the average person.
His hairline is pretty unique to him. He doesn’t just have a widow’s peak, but he also has an extra curve on each side. This can easily been seen when he plays Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy (you can refer to the bottom left image I’ve included, or watch the film. I highly suggest watching the movie because I didn’t know I needed Karl speaking Russian until I heard it).
Something you can add, but don’t have to, is his cheekbones. You’ll see in all of the photos I’ve compiled that his are rather prominent.
One of the things I love about Karl is his ability to be expressive when he’s in character. He’s not like Twilight’s Bella Swan, who is known to be rather… subdued. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate his brows or his mouth. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate anything to convey the emotion you’re trying to portray. Chances are, it’ll look like just how Karl would if he was acting your given scene out.
Or, if you’re still not sure, you can also watch some movies of his and really pay attention to his expressions. I would suggest taking a look at Almost Human, The Truth About Demons, and Hangman for more expressions outside of the Star Trek films.
I also, personally, like to refer to Russell Crowe in Gladiator, because there are some good expressions (like grief) in that film that I like to apply to AOS!Bones or any of Karl’s characters.
I hope this tutorial helped!
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