Download 1 Facial Proportions

Portrait Art
Lesson One
Facial Proportions
Mathematics in Our Faces
•
Throughout history, man
has found beauty in
proportions which can be
derived by simple
mathematical relationships.
•
Perfection in the human
face is mathematically
proportional, too.
•
Although there are very few
“perfect faces”, cultures
value beauty according to
the mathematical model.
•
Most of us have near
perfect facial proportions,
but being unique is about
being who we are. You will
notice that even the top
models do not have
“faultless” faces.
How It Works
• Proportions of the Human Head
Drawing the Structure of the Head
and Face To draw the human head
accurately, first become familiar
with the basic proportions.
Traditional rules of proportion show
the face divided into six equal
squares, two by three. The upper
horizontal division is roughly at the
'third eye' level mid-forehead, the
lower at the base of the nose.
• The eyes sit on the horizontal
center, the mouth on the center of
the lower third.
• This will become clearer as you
work through this tutorial.
•
•
•
Many artists want to make realistic portraits that show how someone looks. To do
this, you have to learn about face proportion.
1. HEAD. Use a large piece of paper, pencil and ruler to assist in your drawing.
Draw a large head shape on your paper.
2a. EYES. Eyes are halfway down the face.
So use your ruler to divide your head in half
with a horizontal line. Draw lightly (you
may want to erase it later).
2b. If you look at someone face on, they
will have room for five eyes across the
front of their face! You can divide the
horizontal line into five equal spaces to
figure out how big to make the eyes.
2c. Now draw the eye shapes—you can
draw five to start with to help you
remember the size and spacing.
Biggest Mistake Revealed
Eyes actually go midway on skull!
3a. NOSE. The size of the nose depends on the
person. The bottom of the nose is often as wide
as the inside corners of the eyes. So you can draw
two lines down from the inside corners of the
eyes.
3b. Usually, the bottom of
the nose is halfway
between the eye line and
the bottom of the chin.
3c. Now you have a "nose box"—draw the nose! A
lightly drawn curve will give the impression of a
nose. Do not draw a hard line on the side of the
nose or at the bottom.
4a. MOUTH. Draw another line half way between the nose and the
chin.
4b. Mouths are right above this line. The width of the
mouth depends on the person’s expression. But the
corners of a relaxed mouth line up with the middle of
the eye. Draw two vertical lines down from the pupils
of the eye.
4c. Now draw the mouth!
Again, draw lightly, the
lower lip will be larger in
height than the upper lip.
5. EARS. Ears are bigger than many people think! They stretch from the eyes to below
the nose. Use the horizontal line you first drew for the eyes to line up the top of
the ears. They will end between the bottom of the nose and the mouth.
6. EYEBROWS. Eyebrows tell a lot about a person’s mood. They come in all different sizes and shapes
(and some people pluck them out!) A gentle arch over the eyes should do for a relaxed face. Be
careful not to draw eyebrows too lightly, or outline only. They are a series of short lines.
One third of the face is the eyebrow line, base of nose, to the bottom of chin.
7. NECK. Most people draw the neck too thin. A head weighs eight pounds so necks
are big and strong! Start at the ears and gently curve in then out again.
8. SHOULDERS. If you have room on your paper you can draw shoulders or part of the
shoulders. We actually have room for three heads on our shoulders!
Make the shoulders wide enough so you could fit another head on each shoulder.
9. HAIR. Last but not least, HAIR! You could stop now if your subject has no hair. But if
he or she does, remember where the hairline is. The hairline is the last 1/3 of the
nose to eyebrow to hairline measurement.
Good work! Now you can use what you have learned on the following page.
Using this face, practice the skills you just learned in the tutorial.
This page is due along with the questions on the following slide.
Lesson 1
Facial Proportions
Name _______________________________
Date ________________________________
Grade you deserve ______,
because
______________________________________
1.
What surprised you about learning the proportions of the face and
shoulders?
2.
Name three [3] different errors that are easy to make when drawing a
face.
a.
b.
c.
3.
How do you think your drawing of people will improve with your new
knowledge?
Attach this page to the back of your drawings, the printout and the original drawing from the tutorial.