Before you attempt to draw adult faces, it helps to know how to plan a place for everything, sort of like a blueprint. Even though the heads and faces of adults come in many shapes and sizes, the same basic guidelines for proportions apply to almost everyone.

Preview lesson H01 - Horizontal Facial Proportions

Wow this is like totally alwsome! for a nerd like you yea i said nerd wait i love nerds! [font=Arial Black]there totaly awsome to! ok buh bye!~!

skull shapes (or facial shapes ) are missing, making the entire lesson sort of confusing.

Ignore previous post - now I see (upper and lower)

Well,my biggest problem - FACES

Brenda's lessons make me happy!!! I am disabled, and don't have money to throw around on all kinds of crafts. My pencil is my friend! LOL!!! So, when I found these, I fell in love. And, I am surprised how well my pencils do. There's lots of people out there that could benefit from this. Maybe they wouldn't be in gangs if they found art.

Excellent! JanJan

I have your book on Idiot's Guide to Drawing Portraits. One item seems to be missing - the relationship between the head height and the head width. I scaled the drawings in the book to get an idea of the proportions. Is there a normal proportional relationship? Otherwise, excellent info. Thanks, Rick Klein

Hi Rick,

Some art educators subscribe to the notion that the proportions of human heads can be calculated within specific guidelines. Personally, I just haven’t come across a theory that works with my experiences and studies.

After doing thousands of composite sketches during my career as a forensic artist, I recognized that the variations of heights and widths of human heads are far too diverse to fit into a specific formula. Hence, to fabricate and supply such a formula to students, based on one supposedly generic person would be more of a hindrance than a help.

To get an idea of what I mean, examine the proportions of the head of one specific individual at different stages of life in U-06 Facial Aging. Also, take into consideration the infinite number of potential variations in the different shapes (heights and widths) of human heads based on only four very basic top and bottom sections, in Examining Adult Heads and Faces (H-01 Horizontal Facial Proportions of Adults). Then think about the potential variations of the entire human population.

If an accurate formula is discovered, the resulting calculations and applications will be able to fill a whole book!

Thank you for asking this question!

Brenda

I agree, this is a very simple lesson and easy to remember. I will try to keep this in my head to use in the future. Thank you for this lesson.

Great lesson. Thanks once again.

i would reccomend tracing a circle and then drawing on the jaw and erase your lines and go from there! But whatever is easy for you.

I have looked all over the internet for drawing faces and making them look like the person you are trying to draw. OK I did not find anything UNTIL this drawspace site. I just wanted to thank you so much for all the great information and that I could understand what was being taught. U are GREAT! THANK U

I have actually drawn something that looks half human!! But i did draw my lines a bit too heavy and can't rub them out!!

I found this lesson very good
Thank you for this lesson.

Thanks Brenda for Pupil of Iris!!!! Okeefe

Great lesson!

I used to think drawing faces was really hard, but this lesson helped me a lot. Thanks!

This looks WAY to cool! :D

KaylaD

Hi,

I am beginner in drawing and Brenda lessons are invaluable sources for me.
They are simple and sound technicaly.

However, I must say that this particutlar lesson is a bit confusing to me regarding
the proportions of the head.

The lines AB and CD in the illustration don't seem to have any clear anchors
(ex. top of ear, eyebrows, bottom of the nose) on the face. This is confusing to a
beginner specially when the subject may lean backward, forward or sideways.

What I learned in my school is that the distances between the bottom of chin and the bottom
of the nose, the bottom of the nose and eyebrows, the eyebrows and the beginning of hair
on the front are all identical. This may appear slightly different seen in perspectivee
in situations described above.

What do you think ?

Mamadou.

Couldn't wait to get to the "people" drawings but was intimidated just thinking about drawing people. I'm so impressed with myself at how great I drew the face. Instructions make it easy to remember proportions.

This was a Great Lesson. I was looking for just such a break down of where to put what, and you nailed it for me. Thank you so much for making it so easy. I understand that there is much more to learn, but now I think I can actually learn it, step by step. Thank you again.
Gary.

No offence, but that's where graffiti artists come in. Ah well...
Good lessons!

I really enjoyed this lesson. I feel that as I develop human faces will be my strong point. Woohoo!

My nose is further down than it was supposed to be, but I realised that when I had finished shading in the nostrils, so I left it. This was a very informative lesson, hope I remember it!

ArtrA, it's just great. You're right, it's a very informative lesson and you did your best.

Thanks Olesya!

hey frens..thnxx for the lesson.. it's so nice to know that I'll be sketchin' well in the future..through thorough learning of this lesson.[size="5"][/size]

I liked it very much.thanks

Great lesson. Thank you for this lesson.

Cool lesson