Proportions of the Human Head
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Before you can draw a face correctly you must first understand the basic proportions all faces share. All heads are divided into a round skull and an attached jaw. This forms the shape of the head, which can be fat or thin, long or short. The eyes are place half way between the top of the skull and the point of the chin. The nose is half way between the eyes and the chin, and the mouth is half way between the nose and the chin. Another way is to divide the face into six equal squares. The upper line is at mid-forehead, the lower line is at the base of the nose. The eyes are in the center of the middle squares and the mouth is in the center of the lower squares. |
| Now that we know the basic proportions of the head, how do we apply them m to drawing a face? The trick is to take it a step at a time, and to trust your eyes. Keep proportion and perspective in mind, and remember that what you 'know' about the face may be very different from what you see, depending on the angle. Two of the most common faults are placing the eye too high on the face, and making the skull too short. |
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Looking at the photo or model, draw a circle showing the skull and add the jaw line. Draw the line from forehead to chin, and the lines for the main features. The line for the nose shows the base of the nose, not the tip. |
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Draw the
eyes carefully, leaving about one eye width between. Place
the ear, construct the nose using two lines along the length,
and mouth width using lines from the center of the eyes down.
Show the shading for the cheeks, chin and under the eyebrows.
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Erase construction lines. Correct shapes and shading, checking the model constantly, adding detail. Add hair. The drawing of the neck and shoulders are important. |
DRAWING #1
Find a magazine or newspaper photograph of a person looking full forward. The photo should be at least 5" x 8". Cut the photo down the middle. Glue one side down to your sketchbook page. Draw the other side using pencil and full shading.
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