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Basic Construction

Front: Draw a shape similar to an egg with the wide end on top.
3/4: Draw a shape similar to that above.
Side: Draw a shape similar to that above. It should fit roughly into a square; often the left-to-right distance with be just a little less than the top-to-bottom distance.


Front: Divide the shape with a cross, one line dividing the face in half vertically, the other dividing it in half horizontally.
3/4: Divide the shape with a straight line horizontally, and with a curved line as shown.
Side: Divide the shape with a cross, one line dividing the head in half vertically, the other dividing it in half horizontally.


Front: The head should measure five eyes wide. There should be one eye-width between the eyes.
3/4: Sketch the eye-widths similar to what is shown.
Side: Sketch the eye-widths similar to what is shown.
Note: For an average face, put a line for the bottom of the nose 2/5 of the distance from the eyes to the chin, and put a line for the mouth on the 3/5 line. For a more elongated face (which some people prefer), put a line for the bottom of the nose half way between the eyes and the chin; you can also put the mouth half-way between the chin and the bottom of the nose.


Start adding more detail as shown; eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, ears. The ears should connect with the head on the same horizontal lines the eyes and bottom of the nose sit on. The top of the ears can go up as high as the eyebrows. Note that the basic shape of the eyes--for the purposes of laying out a drawing--is a football. However, very, very, few people have eyes this shape, so your drawing will not look natural if you leave the eyes as this shape.
Front: The nose should be one eye-width across at the nostrils, and should line up with the inside corners of the eyes. The mouth should extend no wider than the middle of the eyes.
Side: The eye from the side is shaped differently than the eye from the front. From the side, the eye has a shape similar to a slice of pie.
Note: For cheekbones, sketch a curve from the top of the ear to the outside corner of the mouth. Refer to the picture.

Continue to Female Head
Continue to Male Head

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