SK1. 2025, charcoal on paper, 11"x11"

SK2. 2026, charcoal on paper, 24"x18", cropped

SK3. 2026, charcoal on paper, 18"x 24 ", cropped

SK4. 2025, charcoal on paper,  24"x18", cropped

SK5. I use this proko skull all of the time. The 4" skull can be screwed into a sturdy tripod and then set at any tilt.  I use the skull to practice drawing skulls or to "revisit" a drawing I have had difficulty with. 

SK6.  For example,  during a recent pose,  I knew the figure model's head was tilted back. However, when I walked around to the front of the model, I realized that her head was also tilting towards her right shoulder.  Here is my attempt to draw this complicated double tilt of the head. I was lost, and the placement of the ear was a wild guess.  

SK7. Later, using the proko skull, I recreated what had been my side-view of the model. The skull tilting back was clear, but the tilt to the side was not so obvious.

SK8. Without changing the position of the skull, I turned the tripod to show what I had seen when I went around to the front of the model. The distinct tilt to the side was unmistakable. However, the backwards tilt was now less noticeable.  

SK9. I decided to light the skull to help define the planes. Adding a paper ear to the skull helped me to get my bearings. Compared to the browline, the angle of this paper ear is quite a bit lower than it is in my original drawing.

SK10. Next, I drew the skull, taking the time to study, measure, and draw the proportions, shadows, and angles as accurately as I could.  I made some progress and learned a great deal from this exercise. 

SK11. The slope of the brows, the placement of the ear, and the center line running from the forehead, to the crown, to the back of the head, are all key landmarks that I need to  to study further - and practice many times over.

SK12. This is a study of a skull in clay, sculpted in Steve Saxenian's workshop, Sculpting and Drawing the Skull. Here is where I learned to look at the model from all angles, before and during a drawing session.