Learn draw the human face.
Drawing the human face can be difficult if the artist does not begin with a strong "skeleton," or base. Although the word "skeleton" may remind some of high school biology, when illustrating a human face it means creating a stable base. Some people want to jump into details like eyes, hair and the nose before they sketch out a base, which can lead to unnatural facial features and uneven eyes, eyebrows and ears. Another key to successfully drawing a human face is using quality drawing pencils and paper. Quality materials provide smoother, less smudgy line work.
Instructions
Non-photo Blue Base
1. Non-photo blue pencil is used to sketch a base.
Sketch an oval using the non-photo blue pencil. Non-photo blue pencils allow the artist to quickly sketch basic shapes. If the illustration needs to be scanned, the non-photo blue will not appear on the scanned image.
2. Draw a circle over the oval, starting at the top of the oval and extending the circle about a third of the way down. Make sure to extend the sides of the circle out slightly from the oval. This represents the bulk part of the skull.
3. Use the non-photo pencil to connect the circle and oval into one fluid shape. This is the basic outline of the head. Draw a vertical line down the center of the face.
4. Draw Line 1 horizontally across the center of the head. Then, draw Line 2 below that at the halfway mark between Line 1 and the point of the chin. Draw Line 3 halfway between Line 2 and the point of the chin. These lines will act as guides when creating facial features.
5. Illustrate a "ghost" eye in the center of Line 1. This eye will only be used as a guide to tell the artist how far apart the eyes should be. The "ghost" eye should be centered in the intersection of the vertical line and Line 1. An easy way to create an eye is by drawing a half-circle above Line 1 and another half-circle below Line 1.
Graphite Pencil
6. Draw the ears. The top of the ears should begin at Line 1 and the earlobes should touch the top of Line 2.
7. Pencil in the eye outlines. Each eye should touch the edge of the "ghost" eye created earlier. The eyes also should be the same size as the "ghost" eye. Add the iris outline, but make sure the round iris is cut off at the top and reaches to the bottom or slightly above the eye outline. This is because the eyelid always covers the top part of the iris. Draw a curved line from the inner corner of each eye to the outside end of the eye. This is the eyelid.
8. Sketch a pupil in the center of the iris. Do not fill the pupil in yet; focus on outlining the facial features first to avoid smearing.
9. Lightly pencil in eyebrows. Draw tiny dots to represent the ends of each eyebrow, all of which should be at the same level as the tops of the ears. Begin the thick part of each eyebrow directly above the inner corner of the eye, arch it slightly, then connect it to the end dot.
10. Draw the nose. The bottom of the nose should touch the top of Line 2. Next, draw the nostrils. These should be the same width as the "ghost" eye. Pencil in the nostril holes along the sides of the bottom of the nose. The nostrils should be thin, elliptical and at a slight diagonal, pointing down and in towards Line 2.
11. Add the mouth. Begin with the bottom lip by drawing a curved line that looks like a smiley face smile. The bottom of the curved line should touch the top of Line 3. Then draw the top lip. The top lip should have two rounded peaks in the center. The sides of the mouth should extend to about the center of the irises.
12. Draw the basic outline of the hair. Make sure the hairline starts about a quarter of the way down the top of the head.
Charcoal Pencil
13. Color in the irises and pupils with the charcoal pencil. Use a light hand to fill in the irises and a heavier hand to fill in the black pupils. Charcoal is very textural, so it will give fills more interest.
14. Fill in the eyebrows. Do this by flecking in individual hairs, with more hairs concentrated at the inner part of the eyebrows. Taper the hairs at the ends of the eyebrows.
15. Shade in the nostrils and lips. The bottom lip should be slightly darker than the top lip.
16. Create hair. Charcoal's textural quality makes it unnecessary to draw individual hairs; instead, fill the hair area and add hairs here and there to create the illusion of strands.
17.Shade around the temples, below the eyebrows, along the bridge of the nose and beneath the bottom lip. Use the charcoal to soften the hard lines of the eyelid, nostrils, ears and lips.
