2DARTIST MAGAZINE | ISSUE 136101ear lines up with the brow and the bottom of
the ear lines up with the bottom of the nose.
The ears are located on the side of the head, so
perspective becomes more important (actually
perspective is always important when drawing,
just more so for the head). If you have a hard time
lining up the ears correctly, try visualizing the
head as a cylinder with lines wrapping around,
or as a cube with lines going back in space.
Fig.02 – 03 show a collection of head sketches,
drawn from a variety of angles. It’s important to
note that those drawings with the more extreme
perspective show the ears either above or below
where you would normally expect them. Typically
this can be difficult to draw, but understanding
the structure of the head will make it much easier.
Much of the structure of the head is influenced by
the shape of the skull. Fig.04 shows a selection
of skulls from various perspectives. I cannot
recommend enough the importance of studying
and drawing from real-life skulls, as it will make
understanding the head so much easier.
Many of the structure lines I have used here
can also be used when drawing heads as the
skull effectively determines the contours of
the head. Note the domed top, with slightly
concave depressions on the sides of the
dome at the front. This bone then funnels
out a little towards the front to form the eye
sockets and cheekbones. The bottom of the
skull is more angular. The exact shape of the
jaw will largely depend on the gender of your
subject and their natural bone structure.