How To Draw All Pieces Of A Face Symmetrically And In A Consistent Form

By Author: Ruediger Schmidt
Total Articles: 35
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I'd guess that you have suffered this by yourself: it is definitely tricky to draw the different elements of a person's face. It calls for lots of practice to generate fine and vibrant noses, eyes, lips and wild hair. Even if you learned these necessary skills it is not just about all you need to have for drawing portraits!

Putting together these different portions into a picture of a face is sometimes more tricky. All portions need to be on the correct place. And what can make it sometimes more tricky is proportion: it is not enough to draw one eye on the correct place, the other eye has to be in correct position, as well ... and the two eyes has to be symmetrical.

The very same is correct for the mouth area, the nasal area, the ears and so on. Not meeting to generate proportion (possibly by moderate deviations) can make the face look awkward and distorted.

So how can this be resolved and avoided?

It's just about all about making use of helper lines to generate a first layout to guide you.

When looking frontally at a face or a face you view, you can very easily add some lines to locate the ...
... accurate locations for just about all details:
- One line via the middle of the face - alongside the axis of the nasal area
- One line thru the eyes ... in the mid-height of the face
- On this line in between the eyes has to be enough room so a third eye could fit in
- The nasal area tip is halfway in between the eyeline and the chin or at one third of the head's height
- The mouth's position is roughly 2/3 to halfway in between the nosetip and the chin

Looks easy? Well it is, however only as long as you draw faces in perfect frontal view. And that is definitely the reason for many problems commencing face painters face! Almost certainly you are attempting to draw faces in some sort of non-frontal view.

Once you try out this just about all the basic helper lines I told you about need to have to be adapted to comply with the three dimensional contour of the face. So you better apply these guidelines:

a) You commence having an egg contour for the face. The point will be the chin so it should point to the bottom.
b) Now we bring in the middle line that runs through the point where the nasal area should be. But this time it is a curve adhering to the egg contour of the face
c) Then visualize the egg to be cut horizontally in two elements. That's where the eye-line appears
d) On the eye line add some marks where the eyes ought to be located (remember to leave enough room in between for a third eye). You should not forget to take the distortion into account, the eye that is on the contrary side of the face will appear a great deal smaller.
e) For the nasal area tip and the lips place some small marks on the middle line appropriately
f) Now you know where to add which elements of the face, you just need to have to insert the details
g) To make sure that the details don't appear way too flat, give them a detailed and shaded look and also add some more details for the eye brows, the rim of the nasal area and the lips

Following these steps will aid you dramatically to put the elements together. In addition you can apply this to draw a first design for portraits that you want to look like a certain person. Just draw the details and accurate their position and proportions until the sketch looks like the original. Then and only then it is acceptable to commence completing in the details.
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