Face Help

[Charkk]

ok, so I have been drawing faces with an anatomy I kinda made up myself, and it looks kinda lame. Eventually I caught on to what everyone else was doing with faces, so i tried it out. i just did the eyes nose and mouth, and there is probably something wrong with it all. So please suggest to me what to do.

[Neondevil]

Not the best reference but it should help. Just keep drawing from reference for now.


http://danjeruskurves.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Jrn-Side%20view-face.JPG

[erebusnight]

Try to zoom out to get the "big picture" at first. Place objects in relation to each other. For example, in that reference picture posted above, I would think to myself:

Lips are straight down from the right eye. The most extruding portion of the nose (where that little ball of light can be seen) is right at the midway between the lips and the right eye. The left eye is 1-eye-measurement-left of the right eye, and placed just a hair lower.

I tend to find that that's the best way to draw from reference; relations of objects to each other by angles and similar measurements.

[PenDiablo]

Try the rule of thirds:) Let me know how it works.

P.D.

[Uziel]

Find some tutorials-study material about drawing the head.
Loomis had a book about heads and hands

Try working with a middle line and do some studies on the planes of the head.

[Forecast]

PD: I don't reccomend him/her using the rule of the thirds for the eye distance. Honestly, for some reason I don't know why, but it pisses me off. There's such a variety of people, and only a very few amount actually have that ratio (whenever I'm on the street and look at people, that's all I think about).

I have to say close head/face studies (ESPECIALLY HEAD STUDIES) are the best way. Don't be too mathematical though, or make random lins or boxes where they don't belong. Start basic first.

Uziel scanned some great stuff on for you. I would print those out and study them and make a few studies yourself... pay attention to how far back the ears go and how thick the shape of the skull is (these are common mistakes). Look alot at yourself int he mirror before doing it from memory so you don't stick to bad habits -- look VERY closely. For eyes, get the general hexagonal shape and then obsess about getting them to look okay (you can check with a mirror to see if anything is off). The more you obsess about how right things are now, the more correct your drawings will look when you do something quick and haphazard... it's all about seeing. Let go of the anatomy you taught yourself (I used to do the same... far apart alien eyes and wierd stuff), but this way is much more rewarding. I hope that helped.

Good luck! :)