Faces are where drawings most often go wrong, because we think we know what a face looks like. A few averages, measured the way you learned in Proportion: Comparing Sizes, fix most problems. Real faces vary, so treat these as a starting map, then look at your model.
- The eyes sit about halfway between the top of the head and the chin.
- The head is about five eye-widths wide, with one eye-width between the eyes.
- The bottom of the nose is about halfway between the eyes and the chin.
- The mouth is about one third of the way from the nose to the chin.
- The ears run from about the brow line to the bottom of the nose.
Key idea
On an adult head seen from the front, the eyes are about halfway down, the face is about five eyes wide, and the nose ends about halfway from the eyes to the chin.
Why it works
We pay so much attention to eyes, nose and mouth that we picture them taking up most of the head. In fact the skull above the eyes is large, and the hair hides how tall it is. Measuring shows the eyes sit near the middle.
Worked example: Placing the features
You draw a head 24 cm tall from the top of the skull to the chin. Where do the eyes, the bottom of the nose and the mouth go?
- Eyes: halfway down, so 24 ÷ 2 = 12 cm from the top.
- Nose: halfway from the eyes (12 cm) to the chin (24 cm), so 18 cm from the top.
- Mouth: one third of the way from the nose (18 cm) to the chin (24 cm). That gap is 6 cm, and a third of it is 2 cm, so 20 cm from the top.
Answer: Eyes at 12 cm, nose at 18 cm, mouth at 20 cm.
Common mistake
Almost everyone places the eyes too high at first, which leaves a tiny forehead and a short skull, like a mask pasted on the front of the head. Check: measure from the top of the skull (not the hairline) to the chin. The eyes belong near the middle.