How to draw a face correctly
A good painting and a good portrait are based on a correct drawing, that is why we must draw correctly.
Let us see now the drawing of a face. A human face is neither round nor square, irrespective being male or female, and each one is unique, all faces however have common analogies in the placement of human characteristics.
If we assume that the head is a hypothetical square we notice that the line of the eyes is in the middle of a square, that is the distance from the line of hair and the line of the mouth, and second the distance between the top of the head and the chin.
The right position of the eyes and the mouth are basic for a balanced portrait. Some of the painters, even famous ones, had the tendency to place the eyes a little higher which had the consequence to lose the balance. A practical way to find the exact position of the eyes is to draw two traverse lines and find the crossing point which separates’ the face and the head in two symmetrical parts. This specifies the middle of the eyes, the vertical line in the middle of the nose, the lips and the chin. You will notice the empty space between the two eyes equals the length of one eye.
Now we will see the drawing of a profile face .Observe again the line of eyes is in the middle distance between the hair line and the middle line of the mouth. The edge of the nose is about the middle distance of the eyes and lips. The middle line of the lips is in the middle distance of the edge of the nose and the chin.
A basic point in the correct drawing of the eyebrow is at the level of the ear. The middle of the eye is in equal distance from the chin and the upper part of the ear in a way that they create a rectangular triangle with equal vertical lines.
It is apparent that there are differences from face to face, and some people have longer noses, but in general lines they are similar. The basic characteristics for a successful portrait are of course the eyes and mouth. Even if we do all the other characteristics well, a failure in the eyes will result in a general failure.
Let’s see now the drawing of eyes. Notice the curve of the eyebrow that initially goes upwards thick .The upper eyelid is much thicker than the lower one. One way to catch the resemblance of the glance is to draw the negative of the eye first, that is the white of the eye.
Let’s see finally the drawing of the mouth and lips. Look at the “V” of the upper lip and the light bent upwards in both edges. The lower lip is much thicker and has a smaller length. It must be drawn symmetrically so that it doesn’t look wrong. The line in the middle of the mouth is darker. The line of the upper lip is thicker and more intense especially at the “V” point. On the contrary the line of the lower lip is soft and lighter because it reflects light.
