The Basic Head

Please note that this tutorial covers only the BARE BASICS on the human head. Every head is different, and the one shown here is extremely simplified and generic. It should still give you a good start to base your proportions off of. This is also not a generic anime head, more of a cross between American comics and realisl hence the eyes are not uber large, nor is the chin pointing, and nose and mouth small. I may do an anime style head tutorial in the future, but for now this gives you the basic idea of how to do a general head.

First start with an oval. The oval should be able to hold roughly one and a half circles vertically. Split the head into 4 equal quarters for a frontal view.

You're going to fill in the basic proportions of where the facial features will go. The eyes will fall right on the center line. There should be one eye width between the two of them, and a around 1/2 eyewidth to the edge of the face.

The nose will fall 1 and 1/2 eye widths from the eyeline. The edges of the nose will be as far out as the inner edge of the eyes.

The mouth will be half an eyewidth down from the nose. The edges of the mouth will reach go out as far as the center of each eye (if you were to draw a line down).

Now it's time to fill in the last of the measurements. Your eyebrow line will be 1/2 eye width above the centerline.

The ears will occur between the nose and the eyeline.

The neck fills out to the outer edge of each eye (if you were to draw a line down).

Since I've got my basic measurements in place I'm now going to fill in the facial features with specific details so that it looks like the head I want it to. I generally start with the eyes, being careful to stay within my guides.

I then follow with the nose. Since it is a head on view without a strong light source, there is not a huge line going down the center. Concentrate mainly on the shape of the bottom of the nose.

Then place your mouth, facial shape, and ears within your guides. Please note that different people will have different facial features!

Add your hair in last. Make sure that you don't place your hairline down to far. People do have foreheads, but they are overlooked because they are "blank".

Eyes can come in all shapes and sizes. Feel free to expiriment with style so that you aren't tied into something you don't want to be. Here are some ideas. The way in which the eyebrow is placed is the most important indicator of emotion.

The mouth is the second most important indicator of emotion. Practice drawing it open, closed, and in different expressions.

Noses can seem unimportant, but they help to make a person look unique. There are many different ways to approach this.

Ears are what I consider to be the most generic facial feature. Here are some variations. (sorry I couldn't come up with more, there's really not much I can do!) Remember to include the natural curves and twists present within the ear to give it a sense of realism.

A few basic ideas for head shapes. Every head is unique, so don't limit yourself!