how to draw a face

How to Draw a Face

Step 1.

Before we get to the helpful tips, lets at least get the frames of our faces and torso's drawn out. Begin with a circle for the tops of their heads. You will then sketch out the cheek, and jaw lined shape for the lower half of the face. Next add the guidelines that go in the middle of the heads. Lastly draw the neck shape, line, and torso outline.

Step 2.

This is a very helpful tip that talks about the different eye perspectives that eyes have in different head poses and frames. All you have to do is glance over to the right, and read what I have to say. This information will not only help you draw the eye better, but you will also have a good explanation of the different perspectives.

Step 3.

Back to the tutorial. Begin to sketch in the shapes or lining of the top half of the eye. Next, draw a single line for the top lip of the mouth. You might also want to add the lashes to the ends of the lids.

Step 4.

Now we will explore the different views of the mouth, when the face is drawn in three different poses, front, side, and three fourths. I explain how you should determine the shape of the mouth to be drawn, and how to be sure you position the mouth correctly when drawing your face in different angles.

Step 5.

Finish sketching in the eyes, and then begin sketching out the noses and rest of the mouths. As you can see the face that is a three fourth pose, has the bridge of the nose sketched in to a view to show the the left eye. The mouth on the very same model looks fuller, and more sensual. The forward faces model has just the tip, and sides of the nose sketched in. The mouth seems more serious, and firm.

Step 6.

This is another helpful tip that explains some of the points you need to know when drawing or sketching a nose on different angles. The side, front, and three fourth views. How the shading should look, and the various shapes for the human nose.

Step 7.

Sketch out the eyebrows, and then the eyeballs. Once the eyes are finished, and the brows are in place, you can start sketching in the hairstyle of your choice. I went for a wavy, layered look on both models, but you can choose to sketch in a short, straight, or curly hairstyle too. Proceed to the next step when you are done.

Step 8.

You can now finish off the models for faces by sketching out the rest of their hair styles. Be sure to sketch in strands, highlighting lines, and texture to the hair. Don't forget to sketch out the torso, arms, and collar for each girl. Erase the lines and shapes that you drew in step one.

Step 9.

Here is how your girls look when they are all done. You can choose to color in these pretty faces, but I would just leave them as a sketch if it's a sketched drawing. I hope you had fun drawing faces with me today. Be sure to join me next time for more drawing fun.

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Uploaded: April 14, 2010
Artist: Dawn
Difficulty: Intermediate  Intermediate Skill Level
Steps: 9
Updated: April 14, 2010
P.O.V: Front
Favourited: 20 times
Artist comments

Since I have a new 'portrait' sub-category, I thought it would be helpful to sketch out and submit a tutorial on “how to draw a face", step by step. The human face can be a little tricky when you start your sketch. There are some key factors to keep in mind when drawing faces. The first thing, is to always remember that everyone's face is different, which means the structure of the face can be drawn in several various shapes; oval, round, heart, pear, square, and long face shapes. I know what your thinking, “how do I know what type of face I have?”. I will try and describe the shapes of each face to the best of my knowledge. A heart shaped face is not common. It sort of borders at the forehead, and then the rest of the face looks like it narrows out into a small tapered chin. A pear shaped face looks to be wider with the jaw and cheeks, but then gets skinny or narrow around the forehead. Let's see...a square face is commonly seen on people, especially men. These types of faces are equally shaped at the forehead, cheeks, and jaw line. Round faces are just simply round looking like Miss Piggy. A long face looks very much like an oval face, but the only difference is, a long face has higher cheek bones, and a high or big forehead. Did you know that an oval face is considered to be the perfect shape? It's true, oval faces are what you call very symmetrical. If you think someone has a perfect face, and their eyes, noses and mouths seem perfect sized, have perfect alignment, or are perfect looking in general, chances are that person has an oval face. I hope the information I have talked about with you helped you understand the different structures of the human face. Once you get the shape of the face perfectly drawn, all the other stuff can be aligned easily. This tutorial not only shows you "how to draw a face", you will also get a few extra steps that talk about noses, eyes, and mouths. I had a fun time with you all as we talked about the face. It's now time to try your talent out, and see what type a face you will draw up. Have fun with your art people, and remember that the best mind, is a creative one!