Drawing a Face Tutorial

8/10/2019 Drawing a Face Tutorial

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Drawing a Face Tutorial - Part 1 (Face outline)


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Welcome to my insane attempt at an Art Tutorial, (cos I was nagged todo onegod knows why).

OK Im going to sketch a face, Ill be scanning every little stage ofprogression right up to the finished result, try and follow the same stepsas I do. Try not to go to far ahead otherwise youll be giving yourselvesarm aches from rubbing out!

Materials:One piece of A4 Zerox paper orPhoto Quality Inkjet paper(or if you really rich and recently been paid an A4 piece of cartridgepaper!)

A ruler (no not HRH Queen Elizabeth II)

Lead Pencils B, 2B, 4B, 5B, 9B, 5H, 10H, FEraser (better still a kneadable putty rubber if you can get your hands onone)Cup of tea (Earl Grey, white with one sugarmake sure it stands for twominutes in the teapot first)BASIC OUTLINE GRIDI always start off with a Basic Outline Grid; reason being is that it keepsme consistent (plus it great for plotting the head onto the paper). First offusing the 5B, I draw a vertical centre line down the entire length with theruler (just hard enough so you can see it (youll be rubbing it out later).Now about 2" from the top draw a horizontal line, 3.5" from that draw asecond horizontal line and 3.5" down from that draw a third horizontalline. These three horizontals will define the top of the skull, eye line and

jaw line. Then I draw two wee circles 5/16" width (or No.9 on an oldgreen plastic Linex circle templateI kept from my schooldays). Thesetwo circles are approximately 34" from the centre line (thats from eachedge of the circle to the centre line. Then add a couple of horizontal linesfor the nose and mouth, dont worryabout accuracy at this stage, simplelines will suffice. Now if youve followed me you should have a weirdlooking thing like this OK?


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BASIC OUTLINE (Skull top)I now divide the widths of the eyes with slight marks, I use Platos goldenrule (width of head is five eyes widths). I then draw two vertical lines togauge the width of my head (not too long only a couple of inches). Now Ineed to define the top of the skull, starting from the top left left (as Imright handedreverse to top right if your left handed) I draw a roughquarter circle from the centre vertical to the second horizontal (noticethat the quarter circle intersects the width of head line coming in slightly.Repeat for the other side and you should have drawn this:


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BASIC OUTLINE (Jaw line)I now need to add the jaw line. This is dead easy, just pick up either ofthe vertical width of head lines and draw a longer sweeping arc to thebase horizontal line and repeat for the other side. Try not to make your

jaw line too pointed or too flat (we can alter this later when doingportraits, member stick to simple (bit like me really). OK you still keepingup with me?


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BASIC OUTLINE (Eyes, nose and mouth)Now I need to define the Eyes, nose and mouth a little. First I start withthe eyes, I draw two arcs just below the tops of the eyes and thru eacheye and then beyond the centre horizontal (this is where lots of folks losethe eye shape so be carefulTRY NOT TO DRAW EGYPTIAN EYES).Now I draw a very simple (theres that word again) nose nothing exciting,Im still plotting it all out OK) For the mouth I use three lines, top of the lip(the fulcrum?) I draw a bird in flight (remember when you did that atschool, easiest way to draw birds!). The middle of the lips is an invertedbowl or cup line and finished with a squiggle for the width of the bottomlip. Then mark the width of the mouth on the with two marksapproximately in line with the centre of the eyes. Ive seen people spendeons trying to draw the lips trying to get them accurate, dont bother, atthis stage keep it simple (theres that S word again). Finally I define theheight of the ears with two small horizontals. Tops of ears just above theeyes (some would say in line with brows, thats fine except I dont drawthe brows yet), the base of the ears approximately in line with the basenose line. Wow its starting to look like something better than a rag dollnow, yippee!


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BASIC OUTLINE (Ears)This is what stumps loads of folks, they either cover them up or try andshow as little as possible. Ears are wonderful, why without ears wecouldnt wear glasses or fancy hats!. Im going to show you how to drawgeneric ears (generic means simplethey arent perfect but they lookOK). First off I draw two small mountains (Alps, Andes whateverjustdont draw those flat top pillars what you see in the wild west), onebigger than the other (biggest is the top of ear, smaller is the first foldring of your ear). At the base ear horizontal mark, I draw a ladle or cupshape and join this ladle/cup shape to the big mountain (bet you neverthought youd be going hiking this early in the day, did you!). Now fromthe smaller mountains draw a squiggly path coming down from near thetop (squiggly the inner edge of the path whilst leaving the outer edgerelative curved.This is looking so good now; you deserve a pat on the back if youvereached this stage. Now sit back and have a sip of your tea and admireyour fine handiwork. Do not tamper with it; FRED put that pencil downNOW! Do not rub out either, cos I want to see your efforts OK. One lastthing I do not allow smudging OK, in my class we cross hatch and shadeonly.


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BASIC OUTLINE (Tidy up)As you can see I have erased the construction grid (no longer needed)and have strengthened the general outline, including defining the eyes,upper lids, brows (still rough), nose left as is and tidied up the mouth, Ialso redrew the right ear as I felt it was thinner than the left one. This isstill a very simple face; it has no sexuality yet (WILLIAM stop sniggeringor youll be asked to leave the classroom!). At this stage any changesare easily made, any adjustments are quickly redrawn without upsettingthe sketch to much, in reality we havent started any in-depth shading,only drafting up the outline.


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BASIC OUTLINE (Adding Hair)

Hair is always the last feature I tend to draft out, as you can get trappedin getting the hair done first, and then finding it is either too long or tooshort for the face, this way you can easily judge the thickness of the hairas the top of the head is still visible, and it is so much easier to decidewhere the hairline rests on the forehead. Today, Ive decided to stay witha short slightly wavy style (well attempt more styles as you progress Ipromise).


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BASIC OUTLINE (Tidy up hair)

Once your hair is happily seated were you want it, only then do I removethe top of head line, as it is now surplus to requirements. This small stepreally does make the difference between a good proportionate hair styleand those hairstyles you sometimes sketch which are physicallyimpossible, i.e., the top of the hair is below the top head line, (I can onlyrecall one instance where this is permissible, it was in the film Hannibal


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starring Anthony Hopkins where he cut off the top of the victims headand made him eat his own brains, so you see, not too nice).

BASIC OUTLINE (Alternative Hair)Here are a few examples of alternative hairstyles on this same simpleface. As you can see it really is easy to sketch whatever hairstyle youwish upon this generic face.


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BASIC OUTLINE (Alternative face shapes)

Here are a few examples of alternative face shapes, again using thesame generic face we have drawn, only in these instances we haveeither re-drawn beyond the generic shape to produce a fatter face ordrawn within the generic shape to create a thinner older face (not toomuch, remember there is a skull inside that faceyou cannot easily cutinto that!)


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The beauty of this technique, which I used on a daily basis, is that itreally does help me achieve consistency in my drawing skills, even whenIm in a hurry, trying to meet deadlines or even when Im not really in themood to sketch! Another reason I developed this technique was that it


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assists in me in quickly drafting out whatever face I wish to draw, withthe minimum of effort. I really do find that if you need to draw faces in thefull front pose, this is the only tried and tested technique Ive come upwith, well anyway it works for me.

Next lesson we will begin in earnest on forming up and shading thefeatures, so thanks for coming in today and remember after each class Iexpect you all to keep up with me through you home study assignmentsbefore turning up for the next lesson.

HAIR (creating flow lines)This is simply a lines that I sketch into the hair to show the direction thehair is flowing (or brushed) all hairstyles follow certain basic paths ofdirections. Adding these lines makes sure that your hair doesnt look to

unruly (unless of course that is the effect you are seeking) and aids youin filling in and shading in later on. Here in figure 002A I have begun todraw the flow lines, starting from the left hand side corner.


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Figure 002A (planning the flow lines)HAIR (creating flow linescontinued)This hairstyle Im sketching has a centre crown in the front radiating outup and to the sides, so Im making sure that the flow lines follow thispattern, see Figure 002B (completing the flow lines) below.


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Figure 002B (completing the flow lines).HAIR (flow linesforming up)Now I need to form up theses flow lines, this I simply (got to stop usingthat word) do by sketching in-between the flow lines using a 2B or 4B,making sure I follow the general flow of the hairstyle (hope this is makingsense?). See Figure 002C (forming up the flow lines) below.


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Figure 002C (forming up the flow lines)HAIR (finishing off forming up flow lines)Here you can see Ive completed forming up the flow lines, dont worry ifit looks icky, this is just the first undercoat so to speak well make it looknice and neat real soon. See Figure 002D (finished forming up the flowlines) below.


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Figure 002D (finished forming up the flow lines)HAIR (adding texture)Using the 5B pencil (which I keep very sharpconstantly re-sharpening,if you dont want your lines becoming too thick causing them to merge,remember hair is basically very fine strands, this is what I want to show),I begin adding texture to the hair. As usual I start from the left side andadd hatching stokes, but not within the entire flow sections, I leave a fewgaps for natural hi-lights or where the hair is shinier/lighter (each


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hairstyle is unique and where you put these really depends on wherebest they look. See Figure 002E (adding texture) below.

Figure 002E (adding texture)HAIR (adding texture and cross hatching)The more texture I add, the more I begin to lightly cross hatch in theopposite direction. Near the crown or centre of the hair I really begincross hatching in earnest, Im trying to make small propeller blades ofcross hatching radiating out from the centre. See Figure 002F (adding


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texture and cross hatching) below.

Figure 002F (adding texture and cross hatching)HAIR (adding edge cross hatching)I now begin cross-hatching around the inside edge of the hair, workingmy way around the hair edge to only an inch or so, as I want to give thehair more body or thickness. See Figure 002G (adding edge crosshatching) below.


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Figure 002G (adding edge cross hatching)HAIR (adding shading)Using a very sharp7B (remember keep it sharp!), I begin working into thehair and defining the flow lines but now stronger, darker. Remember thatedge cross-hatching I just did? Well Im using that as an undercoat forthe darker shading Im doing now. See Figure 002H (adding shading)below.


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Figure 002H (adding shading)HAIR (finished shading)Ive now shaded the entire hairstyle; Ive also picked out the centrecrown and defined the few wavy locks on the front. Notice how theshading strokes still follow those flow lines we created at the verybeginning, without them folks often loose track of the hair and the styleand direction its supposed to go in. You could if you wanted to, leavethe hairstyle as it is now, but I want to show you how with a little bit more


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effort you can make shiny/greasy or matt looking hair. See Figure 002I(finished shading) below.

Figure 002I (finished shading)HAIR (adding hi-lights)Using my kneadable putty rubber (ordinary erasers just cant do this bit unless you can get your hands on a good retractable pencil eraser),using my forefinger and thumb, I squeeze the putty rubber into a wedgewith a very thin/fine edge and simply cut hi-lights into the hair.


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Remembering to keep within the flow lines (these flow lines, I keep goingon about them, but they really do help you again and again). See Figure002J (adding hi-lights) below.

Figure 002J (adding hi-lights)HAIR (removing hi-lights)To remove the hi-lights, I simply cross hatch them out, this is when crosshatching defeats finger smudging, as all you achieve in doing is create abigger mess. See Figure 002K (removing the hi-lights) below.


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Figure 002K (removing the hi-lights)HAIR (adding matt)To achieve matt or dry looking hair I use a 7H flat side on against thepaper in a sweeping up and down motion disregarding all hi-lights. SeeFigure 002L (adding matt) below.


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Figure 002L (adding matt)HAIR (tidying up)To finish off the hair, Ive gone back a step to adding hi-lights, but thistime only cutting in a few hi-lights, here and there (I dont want too shinya hairstyle. As Im using the putty rubber Im also tidying up the edgesand cutting into the hair edge or creating small nicks. I reinforce thesecuts/nicks by using a sharp 7B to define clean cut edges all way round.See Figure 002M (tidying up) below.


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Figure 002M (tidying up)Class dismissed, Lynda, PLEASEstop scraping the chair as you get up!See you all tommorrow, no absenteeism, Ill only accept notes WRITTENby your parents.

EYES (darkening the iris)The very first thing I do when I draw eyes (after roughing the basicoutlines outsee lesson 002) is to fill in both irises. This is so simple(hmm there thats word creeping in again!) using a 5B, 6B or even a 7B,


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I colour in both irises, and this time Ive created a second hi-light, smallerthan the original and slightly lower. Im trying to get the impression of aplanet and her moon in front of a black hole!

Figure 003A (darkening the iris)EYES (defining shadows)OK, now I need to define the shadows on the eyes, basically the eyeopening consists of two lids, the upper and lower. The upper is generallyalways in shadow and you can use a heavy line to show this. The lowerlid is more often than not at an angle and catches the light and needs notbe defined (yet!). I also draw a thick containing line around the edge ofthe pupil.

Figure 003B (defining shadows)EYES (defining pupil structure)Now I need to define the structure or flow lines of the pupils, this I do byusing an H7 to draw lines radiating out from the black iris. Try not to

disturb the two hi-lights in either eye.

Figure 003C (defining pupil structure)EYES (mid tone pupils)Using the structure I created earlier, I begin shading in the pupils,following the same direction of the structure or flow lines. This gives a

softer mid tone colorization to the eyes. This is a useful stepping offbridge for what comes next.


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Figure 003D (mid tone pupils)EYES (light tone pupils)I now use my kneadable putty rubber by squeezing it into a very finepoint and rubbing out the lower portion of the pupil, but trying to staywithin the outline pupil edge. Dont worry if you rub a bit of the edge out,simply redraw it.

Figure 003E (light tone pupils)EYES (dark tone pupils)This is similar to creating the mid tone pupils, only difference is I pressslightly harder trying to achieve an overall dark matt colour on the pupil.

Figure 003F (dark tone pupils)EYES (tidy up pupils)Here Im using the same technique I did in the light tone pupils section,but being careful not to rub out all the dark matt. Im trying to show thepupils as being darker at the top and lighter at the bottom.

Figure 003G (tidy up pupils)EYES (hatching the whites)Using a sharp H7, I begin hatching strokes on the white parts of theeyes, careful to keep inside the two lids. Im also defining those smallspheres (tear ducts) found in each inner corner of the eye, each with alittle hatching, your pencil really needs to be sharp otherwise youll endup blurring too much. This hatching helps defying the actual sphere ofthe eyeball inside the eye socket.


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Figure 003H (hatching the whites)EYES (hi-lighting the whites)

Again Im using my kneadable putty rubber by squeezing it into a veryfine point and rubbing out the sections of the whites either side of thepupil outlines, in effect giving the whites a hi-light.

Figure 003I (hi-lighting the whites)EYES (shading the lids)Using a 7H, I begin shading or hatching in the lids, first I define the archof the lids, making the arch line stronger at each end of the lid. I thenhatch from the outside corner of the eye (inside the lid) towards thecentre but fade off, and begin on the inner corner and repeat. Ive spilledout from each eyelid line a wee bit out from and below the corners of theeyes. This is OK.

Figure 003J (shading the lids)EYES (hatching the corners)Still using the H7, I begin hatching in earnest now starting from the outercorners of the eye, onto the lower lid, careful not to touch the lower lidedge (see the white edge of the lower lid Ive left?). I also hatch the innercorners of the eyes around the tear duct, again making sure I do nottouch the tear ducts (leaving another clear edge to the ducts). I then add

some basic hatching to the inner corners (up to the small nose curves Idrew earlier) going diagonally down and slight hatching on the topcorners of the lids.


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Figure 003K (hatching the corners)EYES (hatching under brows)Still using the H7, I begin hatching under the brows near the innercorners of the eyes, coming over each lid to the other side of the eye.

Figure 003L (hatching under brows)EYES (brow flow lines)Switching to a 5B, I begin sketching flow lines onto the brows, in asimilar way as I created flow lines for the hairstyle. These flow lines haveto follow the direction of the hairs on the brows.

Figure 003M (brow flow lines)EYES (strengthening the brow flow lines)

Using a 5B, I strengthen up these same flow lines, defining the shape Iwant to give these brows. At this stage its easy to define brow shapesby either sketching thicker or rubbing out to produce thinner brows.

Figure 003N (strengthening the brow flow lines)EYES (tidy up brows)

Still using the 5B, I begin to tidy up the brows by filling them out, trying togive them a fairly soft not too thick appearance.

Figure 003O (tidy up brows)


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EYES (adding lashes)I re-sharpen a 7B to a fine point and add gentle curved lashes startingfrom the outside corners along the top lid (stopping at the black iris) andalong the lower lid (under the white edgestopping just half-way). If youcan, try to make the tips of the eye lashes into pointed arrow heads (youreally need your pencil sharp for this bit!).

Figure 003P (adding lashes)EYES (finishing off the eyes)Using a sharp 6B or 7B, I finish off the eyes by picking out slightshadows on the tear ducts, adding a few more miniscule lashes and

shading thicker on the outer corners of the whites of the eyes.

Figure 003Q (finishing off the eyes)


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Hopefully, you SHOULD have a face that looks something like this!

Arh! their goes the bell! Oh! and Edwards, see me after class!

Class dismissed.

NOSE (first hatching)Using a 7H I begin roughing out with a few strokes the preliminaryshadows of the nose. Basically forming two columns down either side ofthe nose, around the nostrils and along the base of the nose.


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Figure 004A (first hatching)NOSE (reinforcing hatching)Now I simply go over the initial hatching using strokes in the oppositedirection to the first and reinforce the first hatching.

Figure 004B (reinforcing hatching)NOSE (defining shadows)Now using a 2B, I define where the main shadows will be on the nose. Inthis example, I want shadows on each nostril, under the base and joiningup both nostrils. I also want to leave a sphere or ball of no shading onthe tip of the nose.

Figure 004C (defining shadows)NOSE (defining trunk)Still using the 2B, I begin to define the trunk of the nose by a few simpleangle strokes down each of the earlier columns I hatched. I also add afew angle strokes coming from the corners of each eye, travelling down

the sides of the columns of the nose.


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Figure 004D (defining trunk)NOSE (defining wide trunk)Still using the 2B, I draw a few long vertical strokes down each column)including the central trunk) to the nostril and then as if Im sketching theletter H, I add a few strokes across the open bridge but above thesphere of no shading, in fact Im trying to it to an elliptical sphere shape.

Figure 004E (defining wide trunk)NOSE (defining medium trunk)Still using the 2B, I reinforce the trunk hatching and around the nostrils to

the just below the base of the nose.

Figure 004F (defining medium trunk)NOSE (defining thin trunk)

Still using the 2B, I join the two columns with strokes and then using mykneadable putty rubber which I squeeze to a thin wedge I rub out a thinbridge line almost to the sphere of no shading (looks like a rough outlineof an exclamation mark).


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Figure 004G (defining thin trunk)NOSE (adding body)Here Im simply filling in and reinforcing the body of the trunk of the nose(using 2B4B) making sure I retain my exclimation mark. I alsostrengthen the shading on the sides of the nose (helps when I have addthe skinsaves time too).http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/szymcz...

Figure 004H (adding body)NOSE (tidy up)Using both the softer 2B/4B and then the harder 7H, I tidy up the nose,feathering very gently around the sphere and ever so fine across it. I fineshade across the entire trunk and sides of the nose blending it inuniformly (take your time here, the effort is really worth it). Ive alsoadded shading below the baseline and come down slightly from the noseas if to join the lips of the mouth. I also blend in the top cornes of thenose where it meets the eyes.

Figure 004I (tidy up)NOSE (face so far)Here we have the finished nose as it should look so far, I try not to work

it too far as I still have a lot to do.
http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/szymczuk/Tutorial%20Stuff/Lesson004H-Noseaddingbody.jpghttp://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/szymczuk/Tutorial%20Stuff/Lesson004H-Noseaddingbody.jpghttp://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/szymczuk/Tutorial%20Stuff/Lesson004H-Noseaddingbody.jpg


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Figure 004J (face so far)I hope you are getting something that looks familiar, I do not expect it tobe identical to my face, but a close approximation to the dominantprimate on this planet is a step in the right direction!

Class dismissed.

MOUTH (hatching shadows)Using a 7H I begin roughing out the shadows with a few strokes acrossthe upper lip and under the lower, finally add a few hint strokes at eachcorner of the mouth.


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Figure 005A (hatching shadows)MOUTH (reinforcing shadows)Now switching to a softer 2B, I reinforce the initial strokes, adding a fewstich strokes on the edge of the lower lip. I also add a small hammockshade below the lower lip.

Figure 005B (reinforcing shadows)MOUTH (adding body)Still using the 2B, I strengthen the shadows and texture giving the lipsmore body, still rough strokes but stronger definition.

Figure 005C (adding body)MOUTH (flow lines lower lip)Switching to the 7H, I sketch out the lower lip flow lines fanning out fromthe centro of the mouth. You can keep these lines straight or curve themwhich gives a more fuller look to the lower lip.

Figure 005D (flow lines lower lip)


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MOUTH (hatching lower lip)Still using the 7H, I cross hatch along the edge opf the lower lip andacross the lower corners spilling out onto the skin around the mouth.

Figure 005E (hatching lower lip)MOUTH (softening corners)Switching over to the 2B, I soften the shading around the corners and

just below the corners where the lips spill into the skin.

Figure 005F (softening corners)MOUTH (tidy up)Using the softer 2B and then onto the harder 7H, I tidy up the lips,feathering very gently around the edges and again as in the nose, everso fine across it. I fine shade across the whole of the lips blending it inuniformly. I use a sharp 2B to pick out a few cracks coming from the topof the lower lip. I also use the kneadable putty rubber to softly removeshading from the top lip.

Figure 005G (tidy up)MOUTH (face so far)Now we have the face so far, Hair, eyes, nose and mouth. Its reallystarting to take shape, but dont hurry it off just yet, there is still somework to do on the skin and ears.


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Figure 005H (face so far)

Drawing a Face Tutorial

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