Assume that we have a pose where the head, arm, and fingers are visible and are in contact.
Very often, the beginning artist will attempt to draw each of these elements separately.
The approach will invariably lead to frustration and ultimately often to failure.
Instead of drawing each element separately, the first step in your drawing should be to strike the "entire" arabesque, i.
e.
, the entire contour of the figure.
The entire arabesque which includes parts other than the head (in this case the head, fingers, and arms) is called the "construct".
For the beginner it is best to reduce the construct to its simplest form thereby ignoring all the details such as the bumps from the fingers and the hair.
With experience, you will be able to add all these bumps without much difficulty as you go along.
A good construct (also known as a complete arabesque) also contains a singular gestural rhythm that subordinates all details.
In other words, this rhythmic gesture exists independent of the details.
When you are drawing a single object or head the checking of the height/width proportion is fairly straightforward.
As a general rule the width of the head is checked against its length using the base of the chin as the primary landmark.
If, for some reason the chin is hidden (e.
g.
, behind the arm or fingers), a different landmark must be found.
The arm, the jaw, or the lines of the fingers are good places to find these new landmarks.
Once you have drawn an acceptable construct it must be checked for accuracy.
To do this, we can, for example, look for vertical and/or horizontal lengths that are supposed to be equal and see if they in fact are equal.
Use all your acquired knowledge of sighting.
Also use your general knowledge of anatomical placing of the ears, eyes, etc.
Once you are satisfied that the construct is correctly drawn you can proceed to block-in the primary light/dark pattern and take your first tentative stab at drawing the facial area, i.
e.
, the placing of the brow, the eyes, the nose and the mouth.
Again, if the usual landmarks for those elements can for some reason not be used you should be creative enough to determine appropriate substitutes.
Keep blocking-in all elements as soon as you draw them.
This includes the fingers, arms, and hair if any of them are visible in the particular pose you are drawing.
Remember to always work from general to specific.
Also, be sure to use a sharp pencil, take into account your knowledge of anatomy, and constantly look for errors and, of course, correct them.
Next, the pencil portrait drawing must now be worked-up tonally by cross-hatching with 8B, 2H, and 4H pencils, by stumping down the graphite with your fingers or a stump, and by using your kneaded eraser to define the lights.
All this should be done in a painterly manner.
Finally, you can decide how much detail you want to put into your drawing or how unfinished you may leave the drawing.
For example, you can leave some parts of the fingers or the arm unfinished.
Or, if you want to emphasize a certain part of the portrait, you can increase the detail in that part and leave the other parts somewhat unfinished.
These are a few of the many considerations that go into drawing a more complex portrait that has a construct or complete arabesque.
One important thing to remember is to draw the construct first so you do not end up drawing one element after another without maintaining cohesion.
Following these rules will surely put you on the right path of drawing more complex portraits.