Male and Female Characteristics

Men and women are drawn using the same grid. There's no difference in the methods for drawing their hair. But, obviously, men are drawn different from women. Paying attention to simple details will not only keep your drawings from looking androgynous, it will give your characters a deeper personality.

Male Facial Features

Masculine features are angular. There are very few soft curves to a man's face. The cheekbones, the nose, the mouth, and the eyes are drawn using sharp angles. It is also advisable to draw masculine features with a little additional weight in mind. For example, the end of the nose has a blunt or round edge — almost never pointed or upturned. The eyebrows can be heavier and more prominent. The same applies to the forehead, which can be drawn at a slightly flatter slope and can jut out over the eyes to a greater degree.

Other features are better drawn with fewer lines. For example, a man's eyes are drawn quite simply — with no embellishment around the eyelashes or brows. Also, a man's lips are hardly ever completely drawn in a cartoon. The result is awkward and distracting. Most cartoonists draw a simple line for the mouth and a smaller line underneath that indicates the bottom of the lower lip. The mouth line follows the contour of the bottom of the upper lip, and the lower lip line follows the two muscles under that lip.

Female Facial Features

Women's features are described by their curves. There are very few hard edges or angles on a female face. The cheekbones, eyebrows, and mouth are all drawn with graceful, curved strokes.

Feminine features are usually light and less dramatic. For example, the forehead has more of a curve than a slope — and it rarely is shown as protruding over the eyes. The eyes recede into the skull, but at a less noticeable degree than on men.

In comic books, female noses are almost always thin, pointed, and tilted slightly upward. The nostrils are small and don't flare at the edges. Eyes are more pronounced, due to exaggerated eyelashes and brows. Finally, both upper and lower lips can be drawn completely without an awkward result. Remember, though, the bottom lip is thicker than the upper lip for both sexes.

Drawing male and female features

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