Drawing Faces

Learn How to Draw Facial Expressions, Detailed Features, and Lifelike Portraits

Lise Herzog

• Publisher: Ulysses Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781646043200
• eBook ISBN: 9781646043262
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Make your portraits and character drawings even more realistic with these step-by-step instructions and tips.
Grab your sketchbook, pens, and pencils, and follow along as this instructional drawing guide teaches you everything you need to know about creating true-to-life human faces. With more than 150 easy-to-follow illustrations,  Drawing Faces is the perfect guide for aspiring artists looking to develop their portrait skills. Start off simple with learning how to draw basic facial features. By the end of the book, you will have gained the knowledge you need to make your characters' faces as realistic as possible, including learning to draw:
*Various facial expressions
*Side profiles
*Lifelike portraits
*and much more!
Whether you're a beginner or a drawing pro,  Drawing Faces is the perfect book to hone your technical drawing skills and take your illustrations to the next level.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Drawing a face can seem difficult. How do you convey a certain realism? How do you capture the expression of features, faithfully depict your subject, or find a way to accurately draw the nose and eyes?

First of all, you can use a few fairly simple rules of proportion. But you don’t have to apply them to the letter to give your drawing style and expression. Rules of proportion help you put each facial element more or less in its place so that the face does not “break down.” Once you internalize a few of these guidelines, you can free yourself to experiment a little.

Because each face is different, how you draw a person’s face will depend on whether they are real or from your imagination, whether they are a man or woman, or where they are from. All of this information will help you modify the proportions of the face and, of course, change the shape of the different features that make it up.

People often want to draw someone they know. And after the drawing is done, it’s not uncommon to find that the result doesn’t seem to look like the model at all. However, if you look at the drawing without comparing it to the model (a real subject or photo), you may realize that you can still recognize the person in the drawing.

Furthermore, if you show your drawing to someone else, there’s a good chance that person will recognize the subject also. How is this possible? Even if your drawing doesn’t reproduce every detail of a face, it may still capture the model’s characteristic features.

When you draw someone’s face, first try to pinpoint what that person’s identifying features are, such as the shape of the chin, the droop of the eyes, or the length of the forehead. Then focus on these defining elements and build the rest of the face around them. Don’t hesitate to caricature them a bit. Accessories, like a pair of glasses or a beard, are invaluable aids.

To accurately represent expressions or emotions, try observing yourself in a mirror. Smile and watch where your face creases—which part goes up or down, etc. Imagine invisible arrows that show the direction of your facial movements.

There are a thousand ways to represent the nose, mouth, or eyes and to make your drawing realistic. Depending on your perspective, you can simplify or exaggerate certain details.

The more you observe and draw, the more you will refine your perception skills. It may be that one day you think your drawing is perfectly proportioned, but the next day your impression of that same drawing has changed. Consider why and make a new drawing without getting discouraged. Each drawing, easy or difficult, is an essential step along the road of progress.

There are many tools available to help you refine your drawing and achieve your desired look. Some tools, such as regular pencils, graphite drawing pencils, and old felt-tip markers, allow you to make lighter or darker lines depending on the pressure you use. Others, like some pens and India ink, are dark from the start and leave little room for error. However, these darker materials make it easier to erase a base sketch. Ballpoint pens are interesting because they can be very soft and unobtrusive while still providing beautifully dark colors. And indelible ink can allow you to rework a drawing with a wet technique.

As complicated as a face is, it’s made up of simple angles and shapes, including circles, ovals, and straight lines. You can therefore begin by sketching a “frame” of simple shapes, which can then be “dressed” by redrawing the face in more detail and with contours. For these base sketches, it’s best to use graphite pencils, which are forgiving and allow you to easily shade and erase your lines.

Whichever medium you prefer, take time to observe the subject, and embrace mistakes. Each error sharpens your gaze, and each attempt gives you more confidence!

THE BASICS OF THE FACE

To draw a face, follow a few rules of simple proportions. These rules of proportion bring consistency and realism to your drawing.

Start by drawing a large circle.

Then draw a vertical line down the center of the circle.

Draw half of an oval at the bottom of the circle to extend it downward.

Frame the top and bottom of the face with two horizontal lines, then draw a third line halfway between them. Throughout this book, I’ll call this line...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• 1. Before You Begin
• 2. The Basics of the Face
• 3. The Basics of the Face in Profile
• 4. The Basics of the Three-Quarters Perspective
• 5. The Face from Below or Above
• 6. Eyes
• 7. Noses
• 8. Mouths
• 9. Ears
• 10. Masculine Faces
• 11. Feminine Faces
• 12. Elderly Faces
• 13. Young Faces
• 14. Smiles
• 15. Joy
• 16. Sadness
• 17. Anger
• 18. Surprise
• 19. Doubt
• 20. Fear
• 21. Disgust
• About the Author
• Copyright