We have a new game, or drawing exercise, at our home nowadays, which we
call Phizo, and a good deal of amusement it causes us. We also find it
excellent practice and discipline in drawing and the study of character.
It is desirable that those engaging in this game should have some little
skill in drawing.
The way we came to try what we call Phizo was in this wise: A party of
us were sitting cosily around the library table, and papa was talking to
a literary friend about the difficulty of conveying any correct idea of
form by mere words, and consequently the almost utter impossibility of
an artist representing pictorially an author's idea by merely reading
his work. The literary gentleman seemed rather inclined to dispute this
statement, when papa said:
"Well, if I can't convince you, suppose that we try a few practical
experiments. I will draw a simple profile of a head of marked character,
and you shall describe it to those present--we can all draw more or
less--and each shall draw a face from your description without seeing
the original, and then we will compare them, and see how nearly they
approach that original."
[Illustration]
Papa then drew the accompanying head, which the literary gentleman--whom
I may as well call Mr. Stylus--described as follows:
"Forehead large and overhanging, the upper part projecting beyond the
lower; eyes severe and deep-set; nose sharply cut, rather small, with a
slight tendency upward; mouth firm and compressed; upper lip short;
lower lip projecting; chin long and prominent; jaw square; hair brushed
back behind the ears, and rather long; head large; the whole character
refined, intellectual, and severe."
"There," said papa, "it has taken you four times as long to write your
description as it took me to make my sketch. Now let us see what idea
you have conveyed to your audience."
We all set to work at once, and made our sketches, and the accompanying
pictures show the result. When we came to compare these ridiculous heads
one with another, and then with the one originally drawn by papa, you
can imagine that we had a hearty laugh.
[Illustration]
Of course he insisted that we had given a brilliant illustration of the
manner in which artists frequently fail in their efforts to portray the
characters that writers describe, and it was quite useless to try and
persuade him that we were not endowed with professional skill in the use
of our pencils.
Now, for the benefit of any of our readers who would like to experiment
with Phizo, I subjoin a description of a profile head which papa made,
and Mr. Stylus described as follows:
"Forehead moderately high and rather full; eyebrows distinctly marked;
eyes large, with heavy eyelids; nose high; mouth full, with corners
slightly drooping; chin full and round; hair curling on forehead, coiled
at back of the head."
Now suppose our artistic subscribers try and see what they can make of
this description.
[Illustration: "JES YOU 'HAVE YERSELF, AND COME 'LONG NOW."]
[Illustration: AND SHE WENT.]