The Human Face: The mouth

Before we start drawing the mouth we need a quick measurement of the whole face.

It's important to note that when you draw out your basic guidelines that you should intend to erase them... especially your initial oval for the face shape. Remember it's what in the inside that counts. So in order to have your final face shape you'll need to draw the eyes, nose, and mouths first.

The measurements above give you basic anatomical guidelines to approaching the face. So far we have learned how to draw the eye and the nose. You cannot find where to draw the mouth until you finish drawing the eyes and nose. The eyes should be one eye apart.

In fact, the eyes can be used as measurement for the entire face. The face is actually 5 eyes wide. The space from the bottom lip to the chin is one eye. So in order to find where to draw the mouth will be dependent on the eyes.  The mouth actually fits between two pupils. So in order to draw the mouth on a face you will need to draw both eyes first.

See how the mouth lines up to the pupil?

Above is a basic drawing tutorial for drawing the mouth. Notice the upper lip is darker than the bottom lip? This is because most light sources such as lamps, ceiling lights, or the sun are above our heads.

An open mouth can be trickier sometimes. It's critical that you find the centerline of the face in order to start drawing the teeth. Also, note that the upper teeth are larger than the bottom teeth.

The mouth can come in a variety of shapes.

Always remember that mouth, eyes, and nose are connected to a skull underneath.

Here are some more sketches that can be helpful for your face studies.

The human face: The Nose

Noses can be problematic.

The nose here looks like it was flattened by a mallet. You don't want a nose like this. So what do I suggest? Grab the end of your nose. You should feel a ball. When you begin drawing a nose my best advice is to start with a ball.

Now what makes drawing a nose so difficult is that are no lines on the face that define the face. What makes us see the nose is value. So how we see a nose on the face is entirely dependent on light. Once we find the cartilage ball we can determine how light is hitting the rest of the face. 

Below are some great nose drawing notes.

Once you get a good understanding through some practice you can start moving the nose around on the face.

Here are some advanced visual nose construction notes. This tutorial focuses on the geometry of the nose. Notice instead of finding the ball first, these notes focus on the planes of the nose.

The human face: The EYE

This week we are furthering our study of the human face. One the first things people are drawn to (excuse the pun) are the eyes on the human face. The eyes tell us a story.

It's important to understand a little bit about the anatomy of the human eye.

The key areas for us to understand as artists are...

• Pupil...This is the part of the eye that allows light in. It is the darkest part of the eye and adjusts based upon the amount of light and emotions. The more scared one feels or angry the smaller the pupil becomes. The more loving or happy someone is the larger the pupil.
• Iris...This is the part of the eye that has color. This will differ from person to person. Typical colors are brown, hazel, blue, and green. However, these colors will very greatly depending on a variety of factors. First, not all colors have the same vibrancy from person to person. Also, metamerism may effect how the color appears. Metamerism is how light effects a color.
• Sclera...This is the not white part of the eye that is a very light flesh tone.         
• Reflected light is how we know the subject is alive. The reflected light gives the subject a soul. The reflected light also is a byproduct of the moisture that eyes naturally have.

Above and below are some good notes for drawing eyes.

Here is a good practice eye that if you draw you can earn extra credit for.