Having chosen the image you want to create, you must then take the time to observe,
visualize and develop your design, and I guess the most complex canvas in this respect
is the face. For this tutorial I picked a serious challenge: a really dramatic example
of snake face art.
I'm often asked for snakes, but usually for arm or body art. Snakes coil naturally around
arms, and are quite easy to develop on the relatively unobstructed canvas of a back or
shoulder, but the face is a completely different matter. At first sight there doesn't seem
to be a lot of space to work with. Eyes, nose and mouth all get in the way. So I had to
begin by considering snakes and how they relate to a face from first principles.
I try to use references wherever possible, particularly when attempting complex
designs. Books and the Internet can both be useful sources, as can the work of other artists.
