Constructing the head

When beginners draw a person, they usually start with the face, and because people’s facial expressions are so important, they draw the features too large. Typically, the whole head ends up too big for the body. If we want to work in the realist tradition, we need to overcome these tendencies. The solution is first construct the large basic forms and get those right, and only then to progressively work on the details.

In an earlier post we discussed how to create the illusion of three dimensional form when drawing some simple cartoony heads. For now though we will learn a similar method that represents the next step in complexity, and will enable us to draw accurate heads at any angle we want. The idea is to begin by indicating the whole head as an egg shape, then placing the features upon it. Our anatomical knowledge helps us understand the structures and surface features of the head, and our knowledge of light helps us model it in three dimensions.

Below I’ve drawn step-by-step guides for four sets of heads, each drawn from the front, side and three-quarter views. Of course, there’s nothing clever or original about the instructions and graphics I’m introducing here: you will find them in a hundred ‘How to draw’ books. The point is to learn what you need to know. If you learn these basic views, they can serve as a foundation for drawing heads of any sort.

Sketch everything in simply at first. Once you have the basics blocked in, you can spend as long as you like on the individual features, the personality, the degree of finish, and so on. Later we will look at ways to vary the basic head so we can create a whole variety of types of people.

Front view

Step 1. The best way to draw anything complicated is to reduce it to basic forms. Begin by sketching an egg shape. To help you place the features, divide it with horizontal and vertical lines. The horizontal line is the eye-line.

Step 2. Now sketch in the eyes, an eye’s-width apart, and the eyebrows just above them. Measure halfway between the eyebrows and the bottom of the chin to find the end of the nose. The ears fit in the same space, on either side. Measure halfway between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin to find the bottom of the mouth. Mark the hairline.

Step 3. Use your knowledge of the skull and muscle structure to sketch in the planes of the head. Sketch in the hair, remembering it will be higher than the top of the head, as it has its own thickness.

Step 4. Keep working on the features and modelling, until you are satisfied. Remember the head is a three-dimensional form, defined by the underlying structures.

Side view

Tilt the egg shape and adjust it for the side view so it’s wider at the top and tapers more. Add your vertical and horizontal lines. Locate the features: the eye on the horizontal, the ear just behind the vertical. Think of the neck as a cylinder, attaching to the head at an angle. Notice how the eye is set back a little. Sketch in the features, jawline, hair and so on. Work up the head until you are happy.

Three-quarter front view

Rotate your modified egg and add the horizontal and vertical lines. Remember they will curve around the egg. Again, locate the features: the line marking the ear also marks the jawline, and note how the far eye is slightly hidden by the nose, and is slightly smaller because it’s further away. Mark the side planes of the head and nose and block in the hair. Now finish the picture – note how the turn in the head makes the near eyebrow, eye and corner of the mouth bigger than the far ones.

Three-quarter back view

Tilt the egg and add the neck as a cylinder connecting at an angle. Add your measuring lines, including a centre line down the rear. When you mark the features, note they can only just be seen at this sort of angle. You may need to indicate the sternomastoid in the neck. The ear is not a flat sheet but a chunk of flesh, so give it some thickness.