How to Draw James Dean

Description: There has been an actor that I have been watching for the past few weeks and I have to say that this guy really is one of a kind. His name is James Dean and he was one of the most emotional and passionate actors of the fifties and even for today. James Byron Dean was born on February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana. His mother was Mildred Wilson Dean and his father was Winton Dean. He grew up for a while in Indiana but had to move to California because of his fathers work when he was six years old. James was very close to his mother, and when she passed away he was utterly heartbroken. He didn’t have a close relationship with his father and because of that he was always trying to impress him just so he can hear a genuine “good job” response. Unfortunately he never knew what caused his mothers death and still didn’t know till the day he died. Although James was fortunate enough to have a childhood that enabled him to use creative resources to his advantage, he held on to drama and art with all his heart. He had studied the violin, he played in concerts, and he even had the chance to study dance in the form of tap. He even had the opportunity to tap-dance on the theater stage for all to see. After living in California for a while he eventually moved back to Indiana and stayed with his uncle. He no longer studied the violin or the dancing once he moved but, he still held tightly onto his beloved art. The reason why he moved back to his home state was because of his mothers passing. His father didn’t want the responsibility of bringing up his son so he was shipped away like an old rag doll that had no purpose. There he stayed until he finished school and later he moved back to California to attend Santa Monica Junior College and UCLA. It was there in college that he begun his acting career. With the help of his teacher James Whitmore, he acted in a few movies and some commercials and plays. It was advised by Whitmore that he move to New York if he wanted to peruse a serious acting career. So that is what he did in the winter of 1951. When he was finally set up in New York, he got a job as a busboy, and he also earned some extra cash by appearing in a few television commercials. In 1952 he wrote to his family and stated that he was a member of the Actors Studio, and that he lived with a bunch of other actors like Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, Mildred Dunnock and a few other well known actors back in the day. It was a very big deal for him to be a part of the Actors Studio because only a handful of struggling actors get in to the proclaimed studio. In the very same letter he mentioned that he did a play with Arthur Kennedy named “See the Jaguar” and he was set to star with Julie Harris for the movie “East of Eden”. James also mentioned that he is going to be in a television series for an episode that aired on CBS called “Padlocks” which was a popular show back in 1954. It wasn’t until 1955 that he won the role of “Jim Stark” in the intense movie “Rebel Without a Cause”. After the movie was shot and made, he moved to Hollywood and bought himself a brand new Porsche. After the making and premier of Rebel Without a Cause his acting career began for real, even if it was just for a brief period of his life. He only stared in three movies; East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant and all of them were made within a year. He was a role model for the youth of the fifties and an acting legend for us all till this day. He died in a car accident with his Porsche on September 30, 1955, he was only twenty four years old. He completed three movies and was nominated for two academy awards for his roles in East of Eden and Giant. He was the image that kids of his day looked up to as a symbolism for “cool”, he was also captured by the world for his passionate acting and for his rebel attitude. James would walk the streets of New York with a casual style like he was a nobody. To James, he was just a young adult living his dream that he held near to his heart. His beloved art. This tutorial will show you "how to draw James Dean" step by step. The sketch took me almost a whole day to sketch out because I wanted him to come out looking almost perfect. He has recently become an inspiration to me because he never gave up no matter how broke or hungry he was. It was that hunger that made him one of the worlds most influential actors of all time. There a few quotes that had made and I would like to share them with you now. One is “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” The other is “Only the gentle are ever really strong.” and “If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he's dead, then maybe he was a great man.” I hope you guys like this tutorial, it is going to be in the advanced category because it really does take a lot of effort and time to sketch out James Dean. To me this is probably the best sketch I have ever drawn. Peace out peeps and dream on!