Video Tutorial

Click to see the video tutorial, or read below.

 

 

Understanding the Face

For the sake of this tutorial, I prepared a front-view drawing of an original character to help when drawing the side profile.

 

Ignoring the details, draw some guidelines to where the main facial features are.

 

 

Sketching the Profile View

Lower the opacity of your front-facing drawing and use the guidelines to help position the facial features when sketching the side view.

Re-draw and adjust the proportions as needed.

The back of the skull is deeper.

 

The neck does not translate as a skinny cylinder. It connects from the back of the skull and slopes down the back. The front of the next will appear shorter.

If you are using standard lighting, (light from the ceiling or sunlight), upper surfaces will catch the light, and the underside will cast shadows.

 

Sketch in the light and shadows to add dimension. Areas like the cheeks and jaw lines, in particular, can make the face look more 3D

If you have an uneven character design, draw a line down the middle. Depending on which side your character is facing determines which part of the design you will include.

Use the front-facing sketch as a guide, but don’t copy it exactly.

 

Here I drew the left fringe. Some of the middle clump crosses over our middle line. Therefore, we have the hair wrapping around the other side of the face.

Short hair will follow the shape of the skull.

 

If you have a long-haired character (depending on the hairstyle and volume), the hair could drape down without following the shape of the head.

(Pink area). You may feel tempted to include more detail, but don’t. The other side of the face and hair (pink area) is blocked by your side profile.

Adding Accessories

Once the general shape is sketched in add details, such as the earring and shoulder detail.

Once you’re happy, draw the line art on a new layer

Shadow & Light

If colouring in, draw in the shadows and highlights.

Some will be similar to the front view, but some will only be visible from the new angle.

Final Artwork