EVOLVE your Art by learning to draw face proportions | Tutorial | DrawlikeaSir, by Draw like a Sir on YouTube. 10 min 59 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 59 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Draw a light circle for the cranium. Add a tapered jaw and a rounded chin below it, so the whole head looks like an egg turned upside down.
Draw a horizontal line straight through the middle of the head. The eyes sit on this line, not above it.
Mark the nose line halfway between the eye line and the chin. Then mark the mouth line halfway between the nose line and the chin.
Set the eye spacing: leave one full eye width between the two eyes. The head is roughly five eye widths wide at the widest point.
Draw the ears between the eyebrow line and the nose line. The top of the ear lines up with the brow, the bottom with the nose.
Make the nose about one eye width wide and centre it on the middle line. Draw the mouth slightly wider than the nose.
Place the hairline about one third of the way down from the top of the head to the eye line. This keeps the forehead from looking too tall or too short.
Check the drawing in a mirror or hold the paper up to the light. Fix any side that sits too high, too low or too wide.
Erase the guide lines, darken the features you are happy with, and add light shading under the chin, nose and eyes.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep every line light until the proportions look right, then press harder on the final lines.
Looking at your drawing in a mirror flips it and makes lopsided features obvious.
Draw several heads at the same size on one page so you can compare proportions quickly.
The most common mistake is placing the eyes too high, so trust the middle line.
Questions
Where exactly do the eyes go on a face?
On the halfway line of the whole head, measured from the top of the skull to the chin. Many beginners place them too high, which makes the forehead look huge.
How wide should the eyes be?
One eye width each, with one more eye width between them. The full head is about five eye widths across at its widest point.
Do I need a ruler?
No, freehand guide lines work fine. A ruler only helps at the start while you get a feel for where the halfway points sit.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
