nathanaardvark

Tutorial 138 - The Head in Profile

Added 2016-05-23 02:40:52 +0000 UTC

When beginning to work with the head in profile, it pays to memorize a basic pattern to avoid a disproportional design.

By pattern I mean an outline that provides a basic design framework to follow, varying to suit a subject's profile and feature placement.

I've illustrated a simple example. Note the alternating rhythm of left/right lines, red lines leaning left and green lines leaning right. Most faces will follow this rhythm, varying in angle and length to suit the profile, but should follow a basic pattern.

I usually start from the nasal bone, just below the eyebrow ridge. This point is generally near the half way line, between the top of the skull and the bottom of the chin. I'll then move along the profile, recalling the pattern I've come to memorize.After a pattern has been roughly placed I can then fine tune my sketch further and position the features in relation to the outline.

Just to note, I don't normally construct a square/box guide because I'm well practiced by now, but I might "see" the basic framework, sometimes ghosting in a box if needed. The same goes for the rest of the head features. You can do the same but use a box construction to check your design, until you develop a stronger design sense. I've drawn some rough guide lines to demonstrate how features might align in certain places, but this is almost arbitrary as craniofacial traits will vary quite drastically depending on the subject. We'll cover this topic in a future tutorial.