Faces! Part 1- Specifically the ‘circle-thing’
Remember this? If you’ve done any classes or seen any tutorials, you’re bound to see this thing. I personally fell in love with it. It’s very easy to get a feel for the movement of the face & jaw, the general placement of the head and how the character will look.
There’s not too much of a wrong way to do it. Just remember this:
The circle is not the whole head, it only encompasses what would be your skull without the jaw attached (if you wanna draw a skull tho, you need a bit more than the circle. Those things are more complex than you think.)
Add a jaw before placing the guidelines.
The neck connects to the jaw with a small pouch, important for profiles. (See an example below.)
The guidelines, to me, are really for seeing the width of the motion, the placement of the features. Occasionally, I don’t even use the guidelines. Sometimes I put features like the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth to remember the expression later when I go back and finish the linework (which tends to change slightly).
Use the guidelines in whichever way you want. I tend to do one of two things:
Put the eyes on the line, using the end of the triangle to find the end of the nose
Put the eyes under the line, using the triangle more for determining the size of the eyes and expression.
Whatever feels right it what you should do. More you fiddle with it the better you get:
Remember this when making expressions- squash and stretch.
The longer the jawline, the wider the mouth is, the thinner the face is.
Look at references of real people with different expressions. How does their face squash or stretch?
Common expressions with stretch: Gasps, Yawns, Ear-to-Ear Smiles, Any Time They Yell.
Common expressions with squash: Pouts, Frowns, Closed-Mouth Smiles, Clenched Jaws, Furrowed Brows.
The only time I don’t make the circle first is when the head is tilted up and I need to see some of that little area under the jawline.
Reminder: This is my personal shortcut and what works for me might not work for you! Don’t worry if it doesn’t work for you!
I start with the jawline then curve up to the top of the head and make the circle last, just to get a feel for where everything will go and the curve of the head -I usually make the back of the head too small- then you can add the features. I suggest always connect the head to the neck before doing anything else.
(It all gets easier with practice. Look at references- I don’t suggest looking up ‘drawing reference’ or you’ll get a bunch of drawings, which may help for in-style work, but, looking at real humans always beats drawings. look up ‘figure’ ‘face’ ‘head’ and ‘art reference’.)
Children have tall foreheads and a small area for their facial features. I remember one tutorial that helped me with children was that you don’t put the eyes in the circle like you would with an adult/teen, but under it.
Welp, that’s about it. The best teacher is time, and the more you do it the better you get! Have fun and just keep at it!
Want to see more tutorials? Tell me what you’d like to see me cover. This confuse you or you’re stuck on something? Tell me and maybe show me what you’re working on and I can help to the best of my ability!
