Basics of drawing a portrait. Proportions and angles
Neck bones consist of seven cervical vertebrae, which include the upper part of the spine. Large muscles The muscles that influence the shape of the neck are the trapezius muscle in the back and the sternomastoid muscle in the front. They run from the back of the ear down to the inner ends of the collarbones.
Neck capable of movement in all directions: tilt your head forward and backward, to the side towards either shoulder, and rotate it from side to side 180 degrees.
Apart from the sound-conducting structures in the ears, only the jaw moves from the joints of the head. All other bones of the skull are rigidly interlocked and immovable.
Facial muscles can be divided into two types:
Proportions of the human head. Simple construction method
The face is, of course, the most expressive part of the body. Here simple construction method, which will help you see what simple shapes the head consists of. The average proportions of a human head are shown in the figure below. The height of the head is approximately the same as its width when viewed from the side, so in profile it fits into a square. When viewed from the front, the width of the head is much less than its height. 
Start by drawing the head in profile. Draw a circle for the skull and then add two lines on the front of the face to indicate the jaw, as shown in the image above. 
The most common rookie mistake when depicting the head is that head seems flat. Therefore, as soon as possible, try to draw three-quarter view of the head, trying to display the roundness and solidity of the forms. Use light reference lines to indicate the center line of the face and the position of the eyes. 
The picture shows a rather characterless face, but at this stage the main thing is to understand the basic forms. People's faces differ from the average pattern in many ways, how exactly will be discussed in detail in the following lessons. These drawings represent the first step. If you draw hundreds of these simplified heads, you will come to understand all the subtleties of the relief of the human face and will be able to imbue your drawings with life and character.
The most important thing to understand is that the face is not just a flat surface with details superimposed on it. To draw faces successfully, you must understand the three-dimensional shape of the surface - that's why we started with the featureless average face, which can belong to either a man or a woman. 
If you look at the hazy newspaper photograph of the crowd below, you'll see that each face differs from the others only in the way it displays light and shadow, not in the shape of its eyes or lips. If you can imagine face as a template, in this case you will avoid the common mistake of creating lifeless mechanisms of eyes, noses and mouths, indistinguishable from each other. 
That's why practice drawing a face template adding light and shadow until you fully understand its shape. 
The images above show several basic face and head shapes from different angles. Once again, it is important now that you understood the real shape of the surface, not just a plan.
The article used materials from the book “Figure Drawing without a model” by Ron Tiner.
About the proportions of the head.In order to learn how to draw a human head with a pencil, you need to learn the necessary proportions.
Male head: determining proportions
Using a grid to correctly construct the head and clarify proportions is especially useful for beginners. Despite the variety of faces, basic proportions apply to almost any race.
Full-face head - 5 cells horizontally by 7 cells vertically. Central vertical line of symmetry.
Horizontal scale
1. The width of the eye is 1/5 of the entire width of the head and equals 1 square.
2. The distance between the eyes is 1 cell
3. The distance from the edge of the head to the outer corner of the eye is 1 square.
4.The width of the eye is 1 square
5. The distance from the outer corner of the right eye to the outline of the face is 1 cell.
6. The nose, as well as the line of the base of the chin, fits into one central cell vertically
Vertical scale: full face
1.Eyes: located in the middle of the entire height of the head.
2. Hairline: 1 cell from the top border of the head.
3.Nose: 1.5 cells down from eye level.
4.Border of the lower lip: 1 cell up from the bottom point of the chin
5. Ears: from the tip of the nose to the eyebrows - 2 squares.
Horizontal scale: profile
1. Head in profile: length 7 cells and width 7 cells
2. The distance between the anterior border of the eye and the tip of the nose is 1 cell.
3. The ear width is 1 square. Its frontal part is located 5 cells further from the tip of the nose and 2 cells from the border of the head.
4. The nose protrudes half a cell from the main shape of the skull, the size of which is approximately 6.5 cells.
Women's proportions are the same as men's.
Drawing the head and facial features - exercises
Profile view:
The nose protrudes more than other facial features
The jaw protrudes no more than the forehead
The ear is located significantly further than the midline of the profile
In this angle the mouth line is quite short
Study the shape of the eye
Three-quarter view
The far eye has a shortened shape compared to the near one, because we do not see its inner corner.
The far half of the mouth is shorter than the near one
The same observations apply to eyebrows.
Front view
The eyes are located relative to each other at a distance of the length of one eye.
One side of the head is a mirror image of the other.
The widest part of the head is above the ears.
The widest part of the face is at the level of the cheekbones.
With this angle, the shape of the ears is less expressive.
Facial features "close-up"
1.Profile view
The eyelids should be slightly larger than the eyeball - otherwise the eye would not be able to close.
2. Three-quarter view
Note the significant difference in shapes. The shape of the far eye resembles a profile view, while the near one appears more complete due to the fact that the inner corner is clearly visible. The far brow arch appears shorter than the near one.
3.Front view
In this type, the eyes are a mirror image of each other. The distance between them is equal to the length of one eye. Please note that, as a rule, approximately 1/8 or ¼ of the iris is hidden under the upper eyelid, and the lower border of the iris almost touches the lower eyelid.
From different angles, the nose has different shapes.
1. Profile view
Pay attention to the shape of the nostril and determine its distance in relation to the tip of the nose.
2. Three-quarter view.
The profile outline of the nose remains evident; however, notice how the distance from the nostril to the tip of the nose changes.
3.Front view
Only the length of the nose and its tip are expressed here. The nostrils are also defined and emphasized - don't forget to work out the tonal relationships.
1.Profile view
In this angle, the line of lip closure is the shortest.
2. Three-quarter view
The side of the lips closest to us resembles a full-face view of the mouth, while the distant side appears shortened due to perspective contraction.
3.Front view
We are very familiar with this particular perspective. It is very important to accurately and correctly draw the line where the lips close, otherwise you will not achieve an accurate reproduction of the shape of the mouth.
Ears - There are different configurations, just a few are shown here.
Determination of facial features.
Eyes are of paramount importance because very often they are what define a person's facial expression and make it so recognizable to us. The next most important elements are the mouth and nose.
The line where the lips close is strictly straight.
Smile: upward curve of the line.
Sadness: bending the line down
Are your lips thin or full?
Are your eyelids narrow or wide?
Eyebrow arches - curved or straight?
Proportions without a grid
1. Eye level.
2. Central axis and eye level line at right angles to the central axis.
3. The tip of the nose is a little closer to the eyes, at a distance slightly greater than a third, but less than half.
4.Central line of the mouth. Approximately one third of the distance from the tip of the nose to the chin.
5. The distance between the eyes is equal to the width of one eye.
6.Dropping straight lines from the inner corners of the eyes, they will come into contact with the edges of the nostrils.
7. By lowering straight lines from the center of the eye pupils, they will come into contact with the outer corners of the mouth.
8. Move the pencil along a horizontal line at eye level to determine the upper tips of the ears.
9. By drawing a line from the lower tips of the ears, you will find yourself in the space between the nose and mouth. Ears are bigger than you think.
10.Neck width.
The distance from eye level to the chin is equal to the distance from the outer corner of the eye to the back edge of the ear.
Exercises
Well, now let's try to draw a portrait based on the knowledge we have acquired. First, let's make a portrait of a woman - ladies after all)
First, outline the general shape of the head and make sure that it relates correctly to the shape of the neck. The shape of the head can be round, elongated and narrowed. But whatever it is, you must define it at the very beginning of your work.
Visualize and decide how the hair covers the head and how it relates to its overall shape. Just indicate their position.
Now mark the basic shape of the head, starting from the eye line. Their level and size must be adjusted, as well as the location of the eyebrows.
Then proceed to sketch out the general shape of the nose determined by its angle and the degree of protrusion relative to the overall surface of the face.
Determine the length and width of the mouth, make sure that you position it correctly in relation to the chin.
At this stage, draw out the shape of the head and facial features more clearly. Then select a tonal range and outline the shadow areas.
Now work on the chiaroscuro of the face, based on the position of the head relative to the light source and the selected angle. When working, pay attention to the smooth transition of dark values into light ones. Finally, highlight the eyes.
Your portrait is ready! 
Now let's try to draw a man's portrait.
There is also an alternative method of painting a portrait: work should begin with a central line dividing the face into two symmetrical parts. Then, relative to it, facial features are outlined up to the outer boundaries. This method is used by both experienced artists and beginners.
To perform the exercise, we will choose a three-quarter turn position. First, draw a vertical line on a piece of paper, and then use two light marks to mark the overall height of the head.
Check the proportions.
1.Draw the shape of the eyes and eyebrow arches, making sure their relationships are correct. Please note that the eye closest to you will be slightly larger than the far one. Determine the point of intersection of the far brow arch with the contour of the face.
2. Now draw the nose. Using sketchy, light strokes, try to convey shadows in unlit areas as accurately as possible.
3. Check the height of the ear - with the head positioned frontally, it is the same size as the distance between the lines of the eyes and nose. However, when drawing a three-quarter turn portrait, perspective contraction occurs. Therefore, do not forget to shorten your ear a little and place it at a slight angle. Determine the position of the ear relative to the oval of the face and clarify its shape.
4. Outline the shape of the mouth. Due to the same perspective contraction, the far half of the mouth should be smaller than the near one. The nasolabial fold should expand from the nostrils to the middle of the mouth. Show off your pointed chin.
Identify facial features
1.Draw a horizontal line for the location of the eyes - it should be exactly in the middle between the upper and lower marks. Then show the location and shape of the eyes on it.
2. Divide the upper part of the head in half and outline the hairline.
3. Also mark the lower part of the nose - it is located exactly halfway between the line of the eyes and the lower point of the chin. Now schematically, in a few strokes, convey the shape of the nose.
4. Determine the position of the mouth. Note that the mouth is closer to the nose than the chin, so don't make the common mistake of placing your mouth exactly halfway between the two.
Show shadow areas
1.Use a few light strokes to show the shadow areas on the side of the head facing you. Then outline a light shadow contour, drawing a pencil from the forehead along the cheekbone to the lower lip and chin. Mark the area of the neck and the contours of the falling shadows.
2.Use shadows to highlight the volume of the eyes, nose and mouth. Place a soft shadow with light shading along the hairline. Then define the outline of the face more clearly. Finish with zigzag strokes to depict the head shape at the top.
3.Once again work out the contour of the face on the right. Be careful: the chin area should not protrude too much in the frontal direction.
Work on chiaroscuro
1.Start by deepening the tones of the most accentuated areas. Carefully model the shapes with tonal nuances: in some areas, increase the contrast with the depth of tone, in others, soften the transitions, using an eraser if necessary.
2. The most emphasized in the drawing, as a rule, are the contours of the eyes (sometimes the eyebrows), the shadow area between the nose and the eye, as well as the area of the nostrils. The line where the lips close, the area under the lower lip, and the edge of the chin (depending on lighting conditions) are highlighted quite sharply.
3. Define the hair strands more clearly and work out the shape of the ear. Align the position of your head relative to your shoulders.
4. Towards the end, pay attention that on the unlit side, the darker tones visually push the hair mass deeper, and the highlights highlighted with an eraser help bring the face to the foreground.
The portrait is ready.
Every aspiring artist should learn to draw a person in proportion.
The lesson was prepared based on materials from the book by B. Barber.
A portrait conveys not only the external characteristics of a person, but also reflects the inner world of a person, his attitude to reality and emotional state at a certain point in time. In fact, a portrait, like any other genre painting, is an arrangement of lines, shapes and colors on canvas or paper so that their final combination follows the shape of the human face.
Sounds almost like magic? In order to correctly place those same lines, shapes and shades on paper, you must first study the proportions of a person’s face (when drawing a portrait they must be observed) and their dependence on movements, direction and shape of the head.
What is a portrait?
Regardless of skill level, working on it is intimidating for any artist. The remarkable painter John Singer Sargent gave the portrait two characteristics that every artist would agree with:
- “Every time I paint a portrait, especially a commissioned one, I lose a friend.”
- “A portrait is a painting in which the lips end up looking somehow wrong.”
Portrait is one of the most difficult genres of drawing and painting. The reason is that the artist often works to order, and pressure from others interferes with the creative process. The portrait as envisioned by the customer often differs from what the artist creates. In addition, working on the image of a human face requires special knowledge and a fair amount of patience.
Why study proportions
Proportions are needed in order to understand how objects are located relative to each other in size, plane and intermediate relationships. If even a small amount of realism is important for a portrait, this cannot be achieved without knowing the proportions. On the other hand, abstract portraits have not been canceled.
Knowing proportions helps convey not only facial features, but also human emotions and facial expressions. Knowing the dependence of changes in appearance on the position of the head, the emotional state of the model and lighting, the artist can transfer the character and mood of a person to the canvas, thereby creating an object of art. But for this you need to know the correct proportions of the face and be able to build a composition in accordance with the rules.
Ideal proportions
During the High Renaissance, Raphael created paintings that were considered the standard of perfection. In fact, all of today's ideal proportions originate from the oval faces of Raphael's Madonnas.
If you draw a vertical line in the very center of the face and divide it into three parts - from the hairline to the eyebrows, from the eyebrows to the tip of the nose and from the tip of the nose to the chin, then in an ideal face these parts will be equal. The figure below shows the ideal proportions of a person’s face, a diagram for drawing and constructing an ideal oval face, as well as the relationship between the main features. It is worth considering that the ideal male face is characterized by more angular features, but despite this, their basic location corresponds to the presented diagram.
Based on this diagram, the ideal facial proportions when drawing a portrait correspond to the following formula:
- BC = CE = EF.
- AD = DF.
- OR = KL = PK.
Face shape
Correctly constructed proportions of a person’s face when drawing a portrait depend largely on the shape of that face. Raphael created a perfect oval, and nature does not limit perfection to just one geometric shape.
It is probably most convenient to study the construction of proportions and their changes during movement on a perfectly oval face; for this there are many ways and techniques that will be discussed below, but the essence of a portrait is not in creating an ideal, but in depicting a person with all his features and imperfections. That is why it is important to know what the shape of a face can be and how it affects the construction of proportions when drawing portraits.
Rounded face shapes
Long face has rounded hairline and chin shapes. The vertical midline of the face is much longer than the horizontal one. Characteristics of long faces are usually a high forehead and a large distance between the upper lip and the base of the nose. Typically, the width of the forehead is approximately equal to the width of the cheekbones.
Oval face similar in shape to an egg turned upside down. Its widest part is the cheekbones, followed by a slightly less wide forehead and a relatively narrow jaw. The length of an oval face is slightly greater than its width.
Round face characterized by almost equal midlines of the vertical and horizontal sections of the face. Wide cheekbones are smoothed by a smooth, rounded jawline.
Angular face shapes
Rectangular face characterized by a wide jaw, emphasized by an angular chin and a straight hairline. The midline of the vertical section is much longer than the horizontal one. The width of the forehead of a person with a rectangular face is approximately equal to the width of the cheekbones.
Triangular It differs from the heart-shaped one only in the hair growth line; in the triangular one it is straight. A characteristic feature of this face shape is high cheekbones and a very narrow, sharp chin, while the cheekbones are almost as wide as the forehead. The vertical section line of a triangular face is usually slightly longer than the horizontal one.
Square shape typical for faces with low, wide cheekbones and an angular chin. The length of a square face is equal to its width.
Trapezoid defined by a wide jaw, low cheekbones and a narrow forehead. Usually on such a face the chin is angular and wide, and the cheekbones are much wider than the forehead.
Diamond shape The face is given a proportionally narrow forehead and chin, the latter usually being pointed. High cheekbones are the widest part of a diamond-shaped face, and its horizontal section is much smaller than its vertical section.
Correct facial structure
Correct construction when drawing a portrait is based on measuring the model’s facial features and the distance between them. Each portrait is individual, just as no two faces are absolutely identical, with the exception of twins. Formulas for calculating proportions provide only basic advice, following which you can make the drawing process much easier.
To create your own characters or draw faces from memory, it is extremely important to know the correct representation of proportions. It is important to remember here that the shape of the head is much more complex than an inverted egg or an oval, and therefore it is worth following rules to avoid eyes on the forehead or a mouth that is too small.
Face outline
First, draw a circle - this will be the wide part of the skull. As you know, the main facial features take place under the circle. To roughly determine their location, we divide the circle in half vertically and continue the line down so that the lower outline of the circle divides it exactly in half. The bottom of the line will be the chin. From the sides of the circle to the “chin” you need to draw lines that will become the preliminary outlines of the cheekbones and cheeks.
If the portrait is drawn from the model’s face or from memory, then you can use a few light lines to correct the shape, determine the approximate width of the chin and hairline. It is worth noting that the hair in the portrait will occupy some part of the circle that was drawn at the very beginning.
Eyes and eyebrows
At the base of the circle we draw a horizontal line, perpendicular to the first. The eyes are located on this line. Exactly on it, not higher, no matter how much you would like! The horizontal line must be divided into five equal parts - each of them is equal to the width of the eye. The central part may be slightly wider. The eyes are located on the sides of it. To further calculate the proportions, it is best to indicate where the pupils will be located.
To determine how high above the eyes your eyebrows should be, you need to divide the circle into four equal parts, from bottom to top. The eyebrows will be located along a horizontal line passing directly above the eyes.
Nose and lips
The vertical line of the lower part of the face should be divided in half. Mark the middle where the base of the nose should be. The width of the nose can be easily determined by drawing parallel lines down from the inner corners of the eyes.
The remaining part - from the nose to the chin - must be divided in half again. The midline coincides with the line of the mouth, that is, the upper lip is located directly above it, and the lower lip is located below it. The width of the mouth can be calculated by drawing parallel lines down from the middle of the pupils. The width of the chin is usually equal to the width of the nose.
Constructing the proportions of the human face described above is a simplified method and is suitable for ideal faces, of which there are not many in nature.
BASIC FORMS
To draw a head from any angle, you must first understand its basic structure. Look at all the obvious details and draw the basic shapes. You can simplify the details of the face so that they can be easily developed and refined later. But we ignore these little things and prepare the simplest base of the head. I use the Andrew Loomis method described in his book “Drawing the Head & Hands.
The head is formed from two figures: a sphere - the skull, and a polygonal block, imitating the jaw and cheekbones.
SKULL IN THE SHAPE OF A SPHERE
The head is flat on both sides, so you can safely cut off the side parts of the sphere. In profile it will be a perfect circle, but from any other angle the shape will be oval because the perspective changes. Divide this oval into four equal parts. The vertical line is the beginning of the jaw line. The horizontal line runs along the line of the eyebrows. The top and bottom edges of the oval will help you find your hairline and the bottom of your nose.
BLOCK-SHAPED JAW AND CHEEKHOUSES
Attach the jaw shape. The top part will start from the eyebrow line, and the back part will extend from the center of the oval. In the picture you see a three-dimensional representation of the base of the head with the front and side planes (the bottom part is visible from some angles).
TILTING THE HEAD AT AN ANGLE
STEP 1 – SET THE TILT ANGLE
The angle of inclination is set at the very first stage with the ball. We draw three axes:
X axis – the tilt of the head up and down is determined by the angle of inclination of the horizontal and vertical lines of the oval. When bending or lifting too much, the head will be in foreshortening due to perspective.
Y axis– turning the head (left or right) is conveyed by changing the width of the oval. When the head is turned more towards you, you see more of the front and less of the side, so the oval that is on the side of the face will narrow. Also, when the head turns away from you, you see mainly the side part, and the oval becomes much wider.
Z axis– head tilts to the side are determined by the angle of inclination of the center line, the angle of the oval and its position on the sphere.
STEP 2 – FINDING THIRDS
After choosing the angle of the ball, divide the face into thirds. The distance from the hairline to the eyebrow line should be equal to the distance between the eyebrow line and the bottom of the nose. Add the same segment and get a chin line. Note that the hairline and bottom of the nose run parallel to the top and bottom of the oval when drawn around the head. Imagine your head as a box. The thirds should run along both the side and front planes.
STEP 3 – ADDING THE JAW
A common mistake in this area is the jaw being too long in relation to the ball. Make sure you mark all thirds correctly. Notice how the shape of the jaw changes depending on the angle of inclination.
STEP 4 – ADDING FACE DETAILS
When the foundation is laid correctly, it becomes much easier to add facial details in the right places. I will tell you about every detail of the face (eyes, nose, lips, ears) in the following lessons, don’t miss it!
Practice drawing heads from completely different angles. Take your sketchbook and sketch it with little heads. Do not use photo samples for this, then you can easily find your weak points.
In this drawing lesson, I prepared the material so that the key principles of drawing a human head were visible. To learn how to draw a portrait, you need to understand the shape of the head, and this is possible through simplification and generalization of unnecessary details. For this purpose, I used a schematic representation of a head called “chipping,” an academic drawing of a skull, a step-by-step drawing of a human head, and additional schematic drawings to help understand the features of the anatomical structure.
1. Three-dimensional form. Simplification and generalization.
At the initial stage of learning to draw, people most often see the contours of an object instead of its volume. This is exactly how beginners draw a portrait: they draw the contours of the eyes, nose... But a person’s head, eyes, nose, lips - they all have volume, they are not just contours. In addition, they have a rather complex shape. Therefore, at the beginning of training, you need to be able to generalize the secondary and realize the scope of each form.
First, let's try to draw a person's face with a protruding nose and forehead, presented in the form of rectangular geometric shapes.
2. The skull is the basis of the head shape.
There is one important lesson to learn next. All the main curves and contours of the face are formed from the bulges and bends of the skull. After all, it is the skull that is the basis on which the shape of the head in a portrait is built. Try to trace this relationship by comparing the shape of the skull with the pattern of the head. This is a very important point in learning.
Since the skull has a complex shape, it will not be easy to immediately understand this relationship. Therefore, first we will draw a skull in general.
The skull consists of two main sections: the brain and the face.
In addition, the shape of the skull can be roughly represented as a cube. The skull has a frontal side, two lateral sides, an occipital side and the so-called cranial vault or roof.
After the conventional, generalized drawings, I give as an example an academic academic drawing of a skull. With many details, you can see the frontal, occipital, lateral sides and arch. You can also see how the details are grouped into two main sections - the brain and the face.
It should also be noted that the widest part of the skull is located closer to the back of the head. It can be clearly seen in the figure below.
For those learning to draw a portrait, the following anatomical names for the various parts of the skull may be useful:
- brow ridges;
- frontal bone;
- parietal bone;
- occipital bone;
- temporal bone;
- zygomatic process;
- cheekbone;
- maxillary bone;
- mandibular bone;
- nasal bone;
- eye socket or eye socket.
3. “Orubovka” is the key to understanding the shape of the human head.
In addition to the skull, the shape of the head and face is influenced by muscles, cartilage, fat deposits, etc. In order not to get confused in the details, trimming will help you understand the anatomical structure. A cut is a conventional image of a person’s head, consisting of edges. With the help of such planes the volume of the entire head is formed. Thanks to these edges, the main curves of the skull and the main muscle groups of the face are clearly visible. In any portrait, for any person, the shape of the head is built on the basis of these trimming edges. Of course, each person has his own facial features, his own proportions, but the key points in the construction of the head correspond to the cutting. Therefore, when drawing a portrait, the artist always keeps these key facets in mind.
Try to trace the main planes of the cut in the drawing of the skull and in the tonal drawing of the head made in pencil.
4. Formation of volume through light and shade on the front, side and top sides of the head.
To make the head drawing three-dimensional, it needs to be worked out with shading. Hatching creates the desired tone. By changing the tone (lighter-darker) we see volume and shape. According to the law of chiaroscuro, light is distributed on the surface of the form in the following sequence: highlight, light, penumbra, shadow, reflex, falling shadow. If you draw a ball or similar simple geometric shapes, then everything is much simpler. But how to show chiaroscuro in a tonal drawing of a human head? In the portrait, chiaroscuro is also done with shading, as in the drawing of the ball. But with the difference that the artist must trace the light and shadow on each individual fragment of the face in particular and on the entire head as a whole. That is, you need to show light, penumbra, shadow - on the nose, on the forehead, on the eye sockets, on the lips, chin, etc. But besides this, light and shadow need to be shown on the entire head as a whole, that is, on its main large faces or sides. For example, one side of the head may be darker than the other. This is an important point when creating the volume of the head in a portrait.
For a better understanding of this topic, I give as an example visual diagrams and drawings of a plaster stump, a human skull and head. In them you can clearly see the front, side and top edges of the head. The diagrams and pencil drawings are designed in such a way that they can be used to gradually trace the main edges of the head, which will help novice artists see the chiaroscuro on the surface of the head as a whole.
5. Brain and facial sections of the head.
Above I have already given a schematic drawing in which the brain and facial parts of the skull were visible. But how to practically see these areas in drawing a portrait? A number of drawings and diagrams below can help with this. Here you can trace the boundary between the front and brain parts of the head in the usual pencil drawing, plaster casting and training drawing of the skull.
6. Step-by-step tonal pencil drawing.
After studying the basic anatomical features of the structure of the head, you can begin step-by-step pencil drawing. Here you need to learn this sequence. First we draw in general terms. Then we complicate the drawing by adding details.
A) Since the shape of the head resembles the shape of an egg, we first draw the corresponding figure with a line.
b) After this, we construct a drawing of the head. Draw an axis of symmetry that will run through the middle of the head. This is very important because the axis will allow you to compare the left and right sides, which will help to avoid errors and irregularities. Next, we outline the levels at which the eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips are located. We outline them using light lines. I wrote about how to determine these levels in the lesson
V) At the next stage, you can outline the eye sockets, eyes, nose, lips, as well as the cheekbone, frontal lobes, main muscle groups and folds on the face.
G) Let's clarify the details.
d) I use an eraser to lighten the blackness of the auxiliary lines, which will be erased in the end, however, they are needed at the beginning of constructing the head.
e) Let's start with tonal drawing. Enter shading. We designate shadows and light. We “sculpt” the shape of the head using tone. I did not record the intermediate stages of shading, so I am publishing the final stage of the drawing right away.
7. Different manner and technique of drawing.
At the end of this lesson I would like to add that the manner and technique of drawing can be different. The drawing can be linear or tonal. You can draw with a line, or you can draw with a spot. You can work in a free sketch style, allowing for inaccuracies. Or you can make an accurate academic drawing. You can draw in detail, or you can draw in general terms.
But with all the variety of approaches, literacy should be visible in the drawing. The principles of constructing a head are preserved, whether on paper or in the mind of the artist. A professional artist with experience may not draw auxiliary construction lines. He may work in a different sequence. However, whatever the technique of execution, his drawing will show an understanding of the basics of plastic anatomy. Therefore, if you want to learn how to draw a portrait, you need to understand the essence, and not just copy a nature or picture step by step. When a novice artist gains such an understanding and begins to see nature by analyzing, and not just copying, then he will be much more successful in learning. I hope the drawings and diagrams from this lesson will help beginners with this.