Course Highlights

• Learn how to draw
• Drawing Lessons
• Teaching Critique
• Learn to Sketch
• How to Draw People
• Affordable Art Classes
• Personalized Certificate

Facial Features

Although heads and facial features come in many shapes and sizes, basic proportional guidelines apply to almost everyone. The rule of thumb when it comes to the placement of facial features is as follows: The head can be divided into sections with horizontal guidelines. To create the eye line (i.e. the line over top of which the eyes rest), divide the head in two. Many people make the mistake of drawing the eyes too high on the head but the eyes in fact rest approximately halfway down the face with a small portion resting above and below the line. The lower half of the face can now be divided into three equal parts. In doing so, the nose line and the mouth line are established. Finally, draw a line of symmetry vertically down the centre of the head to assist you in drawing each facial feature.

The ears are placed along the side of the head between the eye line and the nose line and generally extend the length of this space. When it comes to eyes, the width of five eyes can fit across the width of the head. The distance between the eyes is the width of one eye. It is also the approximate width of the nose. The lips are generally wider than the nose and the corners tend to rest below the irises of the eyes. If you were to divide the upper half of the head into four equal parts (the top line representing the top of the head and the 5th line being the eye line), the second line from the top would mark the hair line, the third line would establish mid-forehead and the fourth line would guide the placement of the eyebrows.

Below is an illustration of the guidelines for drawing facial features.