How to Draw a Face

Draw a Face

Faces can be incredibly difficult things to draw realistically. There are so many features to think about. Do your faces always have noses the size of an elephant's trunk, or a mouth like a banana? If so, read this article to learn how to draw faces like you've never drawn them before.

Steps

1. 1
   
   
   Make a light outline of a face. Heads are never circular, they are oval shaped, like an egg. So sketch an oval outline that tapers down at the bottom.

2. 2
   
   
   Add dividing lines. The easiest way to start is to use dividing lines to map out the proportions of the face. Firstly, draw a line down the centre of the oval. Then cut the oval in half again, this time horizontally.
3. 3
   
   
   Add the nose. Divide the lower half again with another horizontal line. The point at which this crosses the vertical line is where you should begin to draw the base of the nose. Sketch out the base of the nose and a nostril either side.
4. 4
   
   
   Add the mouth. Divide the bottom quarter in half again. The bottom of the lips will rest on the dividing line you have just drawn. Draw a line for where the lips meet and then draw the top lip. Now fill in the bottom of the lip.
5. 5
   Add the eyes:
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     Draw two big circular balls to make out the eyes across the central horizontal line. These will form the eye sockets. The top of this circle is where the eyebrow is and at the bottom is where the cheek bone sits.
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     Draw the eyeball floating in the centre of the socket.
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     You then need to work on the shape of the eyes. Eyes are almond shaped, so bear this in mind as you sketch them (eyes come in every size and shape, so feel . As a rule of thumb, the distance between the two eyes is the width of another eye.
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     Inside the iris, the color inside the center of the eye, draw the pupil which is the darkest bit of the eye. Fill most of it in black and leave a little white. With your pencil flat, use a bit of shading for the base. Shade variantly medium and light in the iris, using tightly spaced short lines from the edge of the pupil to the white of the eye. Draw lighter in some areas to give it a nice effect. Draw eyebrows above. Now rub out the guidelines below the eye.
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     Next, draw the top of the eyelid over the top of the almond. The base of the eyelid comes down over the top of the iris and covers the top of it slightly.
6. 6
   
   
   Shading under the eyes. Now, add a little shading underneath the eye and where the eye meets the nose to define the socket. for a tired look, add shading and swooped lines at a more acute angle to the bottom eyelid.
7. 7
   
   
   Add the ears. The base of the ear should be drawn in line with the bottom of the nose and the top of the ear in line with the eyebrows. Remember, ears should be flat against the side of the head.
8. 8
   
   
   Add the hair. Make sure that you draw the hair from the parting outwards.
9. 9
   
   
   Draw the neck. Necks are thicker than you imagine. Draw two lines coming down from roughly where the bottom horizontal line meets the edges of the face.
10. 10
    
    
11. 11
    You may want to draw clothes using a style such as cross hatching

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