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In this blog post, we will learn how to draw a face for beginners, including understanding proportions and getting them right.
Drawing portraits can be challenging, whether you are a beginner or have some experience, so getting the right graphs and explanations is highly important.
This ultimate guide will show you exactly how to draw a face and what steps to follow so you won’t have to guess whether you’re doing it correctly or not.
Yes, I went all in and created the resource that I wish I had when I started drawing.
So grab a sketchbook and a pencil. Let’s get started!
Before we get into the how tos of portrait drawing these details are crucial to keep in mind that will help you with the succession of portrait.
There are two types of portraits.
The “formal” ones follow traditional poses and pay attention to composition and setting, often using symbolic decor.
On the other hand, the “casual” portraits capture people in natural, casual poses or while doing regular activities in their normal environment.
When creating a portrait, you can choose to draw only the head or the whole figure.
For a more expressive portrait, consider including the shoulders, torso, and hands along with the head.
Experiment with different poses and compositions. Make sure the composition is well-balanced, with the face and eyes being the main focal point.
Hands can also be very expressive, so include them in your drawing if they add character to the portrait.
To draw a person effectively, it’s not just creating a carbon copy of them in the sketchbook.
You also need to convey their personality and emotions, which is what makes a portrait truly artistic.
Here are some specific tips for drawing different types of subjects:
Children’s heads are proportionally bigger than adults’, with larger eyes and ears but a smaller, upturned nose.
Drawing them can be difficult because they are restless and camera-shy, so sticking to photographs may be the best when you are starting out.
To get better portraits, use soft lighting, as strong light may cause shadows and make them squint.
In women’s portraits, focus on their personality and enhance their aesthetics.
Use informal and spontaneous poses for younger subjects and composed poses for mature women.
Avoid exaggerated or theatrical poses. Drawing the whole figure can help convey their personality through clothing and the background.
Male portraits were traditionally formal, representing both appearance and social status.
Side lighting adds interesting contrasts to their faces.
Most artists have created self-portraits, and you can do the same to enhance your portrait skills. Sit in front of a mirror and study your face, trying various lighting and poses.
Pick the one that feels most natural and shows your true self. It’s a great way to improve your portraiture abilities.
Elderly people’s faces tell life stories through their expressions and unique features, making them interesting subjects to draw.
Capturing their traits and achieving a true likeness is easier than with younger people.
Choose poses that reflect wisdom and tolerance. Avoid strong light that may emphasize skin irregularities.
Note the anatomical changes like wrinkles, thinning hair, and other age-related characteristics.
When drawing a portrait, keep the dimensions of the face to two-thirds of its real size to maintain proper proportions.
For just the head, use a maximum size of 40 x 50cm (16 x 20in) for the drawing surface.
For the whole figure, use 150 x 70cm (20 x 27 1/2in).
Position the face slightly higher and to one side of the drawing surface, not at the very center.
A portrait typically shows the head and shoulders but can include more of the body. When drawing from life, ensure the model is in a comfortable and natural pose, and their face is at your eye level.
Capture the subject’s character and physical likeness. A distance of about 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) helps avoid distortions. Three-quarter view is common, but profile or full face can also work well.
Use softly diffused lighting from a single source, like a window or lamp, placed a bit higher and to the side of the subject.
This gentle lighting will accentuate facial features without creating harsh shadows under the nose, lips, and eyes.
Avoid intense artificial light, such as spotlights, and direct sunlight, as they can emphasize skin creases and affect the natural appearance.
Such lighting can also lead the model to tense their facial muscles, resulting in an unnatural expression.
In a full-figure portrait, clothes are essential both for composition and aesthetics.
They reveal details about the subject’s personality, social status, emotions, and the era they belong to.
Allow the model to choose their clothing and suggest items that improve the drawing’s composition.
Observe how folds differ based on the fabric’s weight and softness, radiating from areas like shoulders and knees.
Focus on drawing the most significant folds and ignore minor ones to avoid confusion.
In certain cases, partial nudity (e.g., shoulders, breast, or back) can enhance portraits of women with vibrant and strong personalities.
Hair is crucial in characterizing a face. For female subjects with thick hair, keep it simple and tidy.
Highlight the significant locks and use soft strokes for unique effects.
Pay attention to the hairline, forehead, and temples.
For a portrait, choose a plain and unobtrusive background with colors that complement the subject.
Decide if a light or dark background works best.
Sometimes, the subject’s surroundings, like their workplace or home, can serve as the background.
Treat it like a landscape or interior, but make sure it doesn’t overshadow the face or figure.
To draw a human subject accurately, consider both their physical features and personality.
Pay attention to the overall head shape and proportions of the face.
Engage in conversation with the model to understand their character and highlight their unique traits in the portrait.
When the time comes to learning how to draw a head, getting the proportions right is the secret to success.
Even though heads can look different, we can simplify them using a special drawing that keeps everything in proportion. This way, we can make the head look three-dimensional and position the details correctly.
When you’re drawing someone’s face, pay attention to how the head is structured and look at its main features.
That’s what makes the drawing look like the person!
Don’t get too caught up in tiny details, even if you draw them perfectly.
If you don’t have the main features right, the whole portrait won’t look accurate. So, focus on the big picture first!
By carefully studying the diagrams provided here, you can learn the basic proportions of a “typical” head as seen from the front and the side.
Compare these diagrams with your model’s features to see if they match or differ.
The height of the face can be divided into three equal portions: the forehead (up to the hairline), the nose, and the lower part of the face.
Also, interestingly, if you draw lines connecting three points – one above the bridge of the nose, one on the chin, and one near the earlobe at the corner of the jaw – you get an equilateral triangle. The same happens when you connect the outer corners of the eyes with the base of the lower lip.
The width of the eye, when viewed from the front, serves as a useful reference for measuring the distance between the eyes (as they say, “between eye and eye there is an eye”) and also for measuring the width of the base of the nose at the nostrils.
If you look at the head from the top, its shape is like an oval, wider at the back. Remembering these simple guidelines can help you create more accurate and proportional drawings of heads.
Perspective is a drawing technique used to show depth on a flat surface. So, when drawing the head (or any other object), it’s essential to keep the rules of perspective in mind.
The diagrams will serve as a helpful reminder of some basic principles like the horizon line, viewpoint, and vanishing points. To draw the head correctly, imagine it fitting inside a cube, where the edges touch the most protruding points of the head. This will help you visualize and draw the head with proper perspective.
For a more accurate representation, you can study the head as if it were made up of two ovals and a cylinder, which are simplified geometric shapes. By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to draw the head with better perspective and proportion.
Drawing the head can be made simpler by comparing it to the shape of an ovoid. This helps with proportions, light, and shadows. The face and skull can be represented by overlapping ovoids.
However, you can also divide the roughly round head into flat areas known as ‘surface planes.’ These planes are useful for defining light and shadow areas more easily.
To improve your skills, try adding surface planes to photos of heads in different positions and recognize similar patterns to the earlier diagrams.
Drawing the head might be challenging initially due to its complexity. A useful approach is to focus on capturing the overall individual characteristics of the model’s head first. Then, study the specific details and how they relate to one another.
In these diagrams, I’ve demonstrated the step-by-step process for constructing a man’s head in front and side views.
Stage 1: Start by outlining a simple oval shape on the page to represent the head’s area.
Stage 2: Use four horizontal lines, evenly spaced, to indicate the proportions and divide the face into three parts.
Stage 3: Carefully position the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears by measuring their relative distances.
Stage 4: Study how the head’s elements relate to each other, considering the planes, hair, and more, gradually approaching natural shapes.
Stage 5: Continue to develop the drawing, assessing light effects (chiaroscuro) to add depth and dimension.
Understanding the anatomy of the head and nearby areas, including the hands if possible, is helpful to grasp the external shapes, although it alone may not ensure a successful drawing.
Regarding the skull, it significantly influences the head’s overall appearance, consisting of the brain case and facial block. The facial block is made up of several tightly connected bones, creating a sturdy structure. The jaw is the only mobile bone in this structure.
Regarding the skull, it significantly influences the head’s overall appearance, consisting of the brain case and facial block. The facial block is made up of several tightly connected bones, creating a sturdy structure. The jaw is the only mobile bone in this structure.
The eyes are especially important because they convey a lot of expression.
Draw them in the right position and shape.
Remember that the white part of the eyeball (sclera) is not pure white; it changes color due to shadows from the eyelid.
Make sure both eyeballs and pupils are looking in the same direction, as the eyes’ expressiveness depends on this.
Step 1: Draw the basic shape of the eye:
Start by sketching an almond shape for the eye.
Make it slightly elongated horizontally.
Step 2: Add the iris and pupil:
Inside the almond shape, draw a smaller circle for the iris.
Then, draw an even smaller circle or oval within the iris for the pupil.
Step 3: Add the details:
Draw the upper and lower eyelids around the iris.
Add eyelashes on the upper eyelid for a more realistic look.
Also, draw the highlight on the iris to make the eye look alive.
Step 4: Shade and refine:
Shade the area around the eye to create depth and dimension.
Pay attention to the shadows and highlights to make the eye appear three-dimensional.
Lastly, refine any lines or details as needed to complete your eye drawing.
Practice drawing eyes from different angles using the examples here.
Female eyes often have long, thick eyelashes and well-outlined, thin eyebrows. In children, the iris appears larger compared to the eyelids.
For elderly people, there are deep wrinkles from the corners of the eyes, ‘baggy’ lower eyelids, and irregularly thick, bushy eyebrows.
This is a video tutorial if you love to follow along and get things done.
The ear is mostly supported by thin cartilage, forming a seashell-like shape, similar in both males and females.
Ears can be partially covered by hair, and their expressiveness depends on their exact position on the sides of the head, as seen in the sketches below.
Step 1: Outline the Ear
Step 2: Add Shading:
Step 3: Refine the Details
Add details like folds, ridges, helix, antihelix, tragus, and ear canal.
Use fine lines and subtle shading to enhance these features.
Step 4: Blend and Adjust
Blend shading for smooth transitions between light and shadow.
Continue refining details and adjust tonal values for a realistic drawing.
Practice regularly and use references to improve your ear drawing skills.
This step-by-step tutorial demonstrates how to draw an ear from a side view and includes shading techniques:
1. Start by sketching the overall shape of the ear.
Draw a curved line resembling the outer ear and an elongated shape for the earlobe.
2. Add details to the ear, such as the helix, antihelix, tragus, and antitragus.
Pay attention to their positions and shapes.
3. Outline the ear’s inner part, including the concha and ear canal.
4. Begin shading the ear. Identify areas of light and shadow, considering the light source direction.
5. Use hatching or cross-hatching techniques to add shading to darker areas, and leave lighter areas unshaded for highlights.
6. Blend the shading for a smooth transition between light and shadow.
7. Continue refining details and adjust tonal values as needed to achieve a realistic drawing of the ear from the side view.
Drawing the nose is tricky due to its varying appearance from different viewpoints.
It has a pyramid-like shape with small bones and cartilages seen on its dorsum.
Practice drawing it from various angles using the sketches and photos.
Note how the dorsum moves away from the bridge to the tip, with sloping sides towards the cheeks.
The nostrils form an oval base, slightly converging towards the tip, bordered by the alae.
Focus on essential light and shadow areas, avoiding a heavy drawing.
Step 1: Outline the Nose Shape
Start by drawing a basic outline of the nose shape.
You can use simple lines or light strokes to indicate the bridge and tip of the nose.
Step 2: Add Shading for Depth
Identify the areas of light and shadow on the nose.
Observe the light source and imagine where the light falls on the nose.
Shade the areas that are in shadow with darker pencil strokes, and leave the areas that catch the light with little or no shading.
Step 3: Create Gradual Transitions:
To make the shading look realistic, create smooth and gradual transitions between the light and shadow areas.
Use different shades of your pencil (e.g., HB, 2B, or 4B) to achieve the desired effect.
Step 4: Refine and Add Details
Carefully refine the shading and add more details to the nose.
Pay attention to the nostrils, the bridge, and the shape of the tip.
Adjust the tones as needed to achieve the desired level of realism and depth.
In this instructional video, you will discover how to draw a nose in five simple steps.
The process begins with the initial lay-in, followed by adding two values to establish the basic structure.
Next, dark accents are introduced to enhance the depth and dimensionality of the nose.
The subsequent steps involve incorporating halftones and highlights to bring out the subtle nuances in the nose’s form.
Finally, intricate details are added to complete the drawing.
Throughout the tutorial, you will also learn how to visualize and render the minor and major planes of the nose, achieving a realistic and three-dimensional appearance using shading techniques.
After the eyes, the mouth is the second most expressive part of the face.
The pinkish color of the lips comes from their tissue, which is between the mucous membrane inside the mouth and the skin.
When drawing the lips, focus on the line that separates them.
It should follow the shape of the jaw bones and perspective rules.
The sketches below show some basic lip characteristics, like the upper lip being thinner and more protruding than the lower one.
Step 1: Outline the lips:
Start by drawing the basic shape of the lips with light lines.
Step 2: Add shading:
Use gentle strokes to shade the darker areas of the lips, such as the corners and lower lip.
Step 3: Define the highlights:
Leave some areas untouched to represent highlights, which add dimension and shine to the lips.
Step 4: Blend and refine:
Smooth out the shading and make adjustments to achieve a realistic and well-blended look.
Drawing hair can be intimidating due to its intricate details and textures.
However, by breaking down the process, it becomes manageable.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to drawing hair:
Preparation: First, ensure the structure of the head is in place as it determines the hair’s flow.
Outer Contour: With the head’s structure ready, sketch the hair’s outer contour, marking where it overlaps the face or lifts off the cranium.
Remember, every individual’s hair contour is unique.
Tip: Your medium influences your approach.
With graphite pencils, lightly sketch contours using a 2H pencil, avoiding excessive pressure.
Hair Clumps: Rather than drawing each strand, focus on smaller clumps of hair. Hair naturally forms such clumps.
While doing so, keep in mind the form and volume which will be developed in the next step.
Value & Texture: Understand how light interacts with hair to depict volume and texture.
Value, the darkness or lightness of a color, helps communicate hair volume.
Hair has areas that catch light (lighter in value) and those that recede or are blocked from light (darker in value).
Use a 2H pencil to establish the darks, mids, and lights.
Gradually use a softer pencil for darker areas.
As you develop value, also introduce texture with directional strokes over hair clumps, occasionally blending with a stump for softness.
Texture isn’t just about value relations; the paper’s surface, the medium, and its application all contribute to the perception of texture.
Tip: Use erasers for strands of lighter hair and to finish, add stray hairs using a sharpened HB pencil.
Despite its complexity, if you understand hair in terms of shapes, lines, and values, it’s similar to drawing any other object.
Practice Tip: Begin by practicing on a single strand of hair. Take a photo of someone’s hair, isolate a section, and focus on that. Practice makes perfect!
Composition in drawing involves arranging the elements of the image we want to represent.
There are principles related to how we see things, like unity, contrast, and balance.
In portrait drawing, we have to make some choices: drawing the full figure or just the head, and if it’s full-face, profile, or three-quarter view.
We also decide on the setting or a neutral background, the size, and whether it should be a portrait or landscape format.
Doing lots of sketches helps evaluate these choices.
Don’t feel bound by traditional formulas; try original and unique compositions.
The sketches below can guide you as you start.
This is a generic workflow of an artist of how to draw a head from start to finish:
STEP 1:
Observe the model carefully and find the relation between the maximum height and width of the face. Sketch an oval shape and draw the median line and horizontal lines based on perspective rules. Use an H pencil for smooth and light strokes to avoid smudging the paper.
STEP 2:
As you work on your sketch, focus on placing facial features like the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears with care.
Remember, dividing the face into three sections is just a guide, so pay attention to each person’s unique proportions to make the drawing look like them.
This stage is important for the rest of the drawing.
Also, lightly sketch the main anatomical structures like bones and muscles.
For example, emphasize cheekbones, front bone, and mouth muscles.
Use an H or HB pencil to make light strokes as you go along.
STEP 3:
At this point, focus on identifying the ‘surface planes’—areas with subtle variations in light.
Briefly mark the illuminated and shadowed regions to create a sense of three-dimensional form in your drawing.
Avoid excessive straight strokes to prevent a harsh, angular appearance.
However, a bit of ‘dryness’ can simplify the tonal planes for later stages. Use an HB pencil for this step.
STEP 4:
In this next step, we address the issue of shadows, which we’ve already considered in the previous stage.
Now, we’ll focus on the larger, more intense, and significant shadows.
Shadows on a face can vary greatly in intensity and complexity.
To simplify things at this point, half-close your eyes until you see just two tones on the model – the lit areas and the shadowed areas.
Use a HB pencil with light and even strokes once again.
STEP 5:
In this stage, start shaping the surface of the face and adding intermediate tones that were left out earlier, blending them with the overall shadow.
Focus on defining important details, such as the eyes and lips, by adjusting the tonal values to make them stand out or appear lighter.
Use an HB pencil, varying the intensity of your strokes by adjusting the pressure on the paper.
You can also use an H pencil for areas with very weak tones.
Head usually is an egg shape. They are not perfect ovals, usually tapered towards the bottom.
It varies from person to person and angle that you see him or her.
There are also different shapes of heads that you need to be aware of.
If you are drawing women’s jawline then the egg shape itself can produce an accurate shape.
Men, on the other hand, have got more angular jaw and flatter chin. You will need to bring the jawline out.
Eyes are the hardest part to draw as people are used to placing them high up on the forehead.
They are actually right in the middle of the face.
Beginners make bad marks here and then messes up the whole face so it’s the best to set everything up first and remember this rule.
A typical head is 5 eyes wide.
An easy way to think about is the gap between the two eyes is the size of the eyes. And it only applies when you draw the head-on portrait.
Draw a straight line from across the face from the eyes all the way to the bottom of the chin.
Each person has different shapes of the ears and some may have them more sticking out than the rest.
The nose sits right above the line that runs from the bottom of one ear.
Noses vary from person to person.
Guys usually tend to have a much wider nose and they extend a little past the inside corner of the eye.
To place it correctly, find the hallway spot between earlobes and the jawline. That is where the bottom lip goes.
The width of the mouth is usually from corner of the mouth extending to the point where it lines up with the iris in the eyes above.
The width of the mouth is usually in corner of the mouth extending to the point where it lines up with the iris in the eyes above.
To place it correctly, find the hallway spot between earlobes and the jawline. That is where the bottom lip goes.
The most common mistake is to place it right at the to of the head. The hairline is typically about a quarter to a third of the way from the top of the head to the eyebrows.
Now you know the basics and it’s the perfect time to give the real person a try. It is indeed very challenging. The only difference is that you got all of the tools to crush it.
Start by sketching an outline oval of the face. It should have an oval egg shape that is usually more narrow towards the bottom.
This will greatly vary from person to person. To make sure that the face is exactly as you wish it to remember this proportion:
The half-width of the face should fit into the face 3 times.
Draw a line down the middle of the face. This will help you with maintaining correct proportions throughout.
Next, let’s divide the face into 4 equal parts.
Each line will represent the hairline, eyes, nose, and mouth.
The eyes are the hardest part to draw. Beginners usually place them high up on the forehead, but actually, they are right in the middle of the face.
How far apart should eyes be?
A typical head is 5 eyes wide. You can measure that place with a ruler and divide it by 5. That will result in you having measurements for 1 eye.
Read more here: How to draw eyes for beginners.
Noses also are challenging. So remember this rule, the width of the nose is from the start of one eye and the other.
Some people have a bit more narrow nose or wider, but this is what applies to most people.
So how to draw eyebrows?
The eyebrows end by the line that was drawn from the end width of the nose till the end of the eye. That way it is very easy to locate the end of the eyebrows.
To find how long the lips should be, draw a line from the middle of the eye downwards.
The width of the chin equals the width of the nose.
From the base of the nose until the chin line you can find where to place the upper lip and lower lip arches.
The middle of the lips is located in ⅓ in the lower bottom of the face.
It’s very easy to imagine that humans have small ears.
They are actually quite big. So this is how you place them correctly:
Ears are located from the brow line till the end of the nose.
The most common mistake is to place it right at the top of the head. The hairline is typically about a quarter to a third of the way from the top of the head to the eyebrows.
Drawing a baby’s face is all about capturing their adorable innocence with a gentle touch. Start by drawing a round shape for the head in profile, keeping it nice and smooth.
Then, add those cute little features – tiny eyes, a button-like nose, and a sweet mouth.
Use light pencil strokes to softly shade the whole face, keeping it soft and cuddly.
Don’t forget to define the features slightly, but keep that cute charm intact.
Add some wispy hair to complete the look.
Lastly, give your drawing a friendly and realistic touch by refining the details and blending the shading.
So grab your pencil and let’s create the most adorable baby face!
Drawing a baby face in profile with shading in pencil can be achieved in six simple steps:
Step 1: Start with the basic outline: Draw the outline of the baby’s head in profile, keeping the shape round and soft.
Step 2: Add facial features: Sketch the eyes, a small button nose, and a simple mouth. Keep the features delicate to capture the baby’s innocence.
Step 3: Shade the face: Use light pencil strokes to add shading to the entire face, keeping the shading subtle to maintain the softness of the baby’s skin.
Step 4: Define the features: Darken the eyes, nose, and mouth slightly to give them more definition.
Step 5: Add hair: Lightly sketch the baby’s hair, keeping it wispy and soft.
Step 6: Refine and blend: Smooth out the shading and refine the details. Use a blending tool or your finger to gently blend the shading for a softer and more realistic look.
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