Hi, I'm V21e, welcome to this new article. I'll talk about how to draw a face from different angles... Of course, with an explanation of how to adapt it to your style!

 

I will cover from simple angles such as the frontal plane to more difficult ones such as the high or low angle shot. I will talk about some useful tools present in Clip Studio Paint to make your character from any angle you want. Let's get started!

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1. Artistic Style and Considerations

The drawing is a representation and/or reproduction of reality. The drawing, being a representation, is subject to deformation and therefore serves as a mode of expression. The artistic style is the way in which an artist handles the elements of the drawing: volume, shape, perspective, colors, line, light and shadow, etc.

 

According to Scott McCloud in his book "Understanding the comic" (1993) to describe artistic styles, use the following diagram.

 

●Realism (Left). It is a style attached to reality and with clear rules in every way: proportion, depth, anatomy, all these matrices are perfectly replicated based on reality itself.

●Simplification and Iconicity (Right). It is to highlight essential characteristics to look for an iconic and recognizable drawing. Its rules are generally based on psychology and appeal to human instinct.

●Abstraction (Up). It is the most artistic style. Every artist has a degree of abstraction. The more artistic whims an artist has in order to express themselves better, the more realistic drawing rules and iconic associations they break! Its purest state is the "no rules" or the pure expression of the artist. So it is not surprising that abstract art is so strange.

 

Why am I mentioning all this? I consider it important to clarify that this article will be really useful for those people who handle a style with reference to the realistic perspective. It does not matter if it alters the colors, if it is cartoonish, manga/anime or semi-realistic, as long as its volume can be represented in a three-dimensional space, this tutorial is for you!

For anyone dealing with an art style that doesn't quite respect realistic perspective... I suggest you write your own rules while following this tutorial. I believe that he has more to create than what I can teach.

2. Canon of human proportion

The human proportion canon is an ideal of how to represent a human being.

 

For beginners, the human proportion canon that is usually taught is the realistic one. Illustrator Andrew Loomis clearly documented canons of realistic proportion in his book Figure Drawing; For all it's worth. It has specific ratios for men and women of various ages.

 

The important thing about the canons is knowing how to accurately locate the elements of a face, both frontally and in profile.

 

Here is an example of realistic proportion in an adult male:

●Eyes go to the middle of the face.

●The ears are the same size as the distance between the eyebrows and the tip of the nose.

●The corner of the lips coincides with the location of the middle of the eye.

●In the middle between the eyebrows and the chin goes the nose.

 

As mentioned above, the proportion can be altered to bring expressive and unique ways of representing the human face.

 

Some famous canons of proportion are the “fashion figurine” (Present in fashion design, 9-10 heads); the “heroic” proportion (Present in American comics 8 -8½ heads); or even chibi ratio (a cute way of representing a character made popular by manga/anime, in which the character's head size varies but approximates the size of their body, with 2-4 heads being the most common) .

 

We could expand more on the subject... but what style of drawing do you handle? How do you draw your character? What unique features does it have? What does it look like from the side and from the front? If you don't have an answer to these questions, we need to make a character sheet first.

 

A character sheet contains the most essential elements of a character. Colors, proportion, peculiar characteristics and some drawings showing how it looks in other angles.

 

For this article, it will only be necessary for you to know how to handle the proportions of your character both from the side and from the front.

In the next section I'll give some tips and tricks on using Clip Studio Paint tools for all those who want to make a character sheet. If you're already familiar with the topic, I recommend you skip to the Perspective section.

 

 

3. Tips for character sheets

In this section I'll talk about some Clip Studio Paint tools that can speed up the drawing process for a character sheet. I will talk about symmetry rules, the grid and many other variants such as 3D models. I will attach other articles to provide you with new tools.

3.1 Symmetry rules

Clip Studio Paint's symmetry ruler allows you to make a symmetrical drawing without much effort. The number of symmetry points can be customized to make front-facing characters or even mandalas! It saves a lot of time and effort when working.

This tool can be found in the [Tools] section, under the [Ruler] icon.

Many types of rules will appear in the rules section. Last in the list in the [Sub Tool [Ruler]] is the Symmetrical Ruler.

 

With this tool selected, simply drag the ruler to draw it on the canvas.

To have a ruler at a 90° angle I suggest holding down the [Shift] key while drawing the ruler. This tool is used to draw both horizontally and vertically.

 

With these steps accomplished, you can draw in symmetry!

 

If you no longer want the mirror ruler to apply to your drawing, go to the [Command Bar] and deselect [Set to Special Ruler]. The [Command Bar] defaults to the canvas display.

To turn it back on, simply turn on [Snap to Spatial Ruler].

 

If you want your ruler to apply on all layers and not just the active layer, go to the layer with your active ruler, go to [Layer Window] → [Set Ruler Display Area] → [Show on All Layers ].

You can hide the ruler by deselecting all the options in the popup window.

 

In case you want to specifically delete a rule, go to the tool palette and select the [Operation] tool. Next, in the Sub tools bar, select the [Object] tool.

Then select the rule to delete. The controllers will appear, meaning that you have successfully selected it. From [right click] → [Delete]

To delete all the rules, select the rule icon present on your active layer, from [Right Click] → [Delete Rule]

If you want to know more about the symmetry rule, I suggest reading the following article. User LizStaley also has more articles on the various rules and their uses in Clip Studio Paint. I recommend them!

3.2 Grid

To make sure that our character will be coherent in both front and profile proportions, it will be necessary to use a special ruler and the grid. In this section we will talk about the grid.

The grid is quite a useful tool to see in quick glances if a character looks proportioned or not.

This can be activated by selecting [View] → [Grid].

To disable it, simply repeat the above steps again.

 

If you want a larger or smaller grid, please go to [View] → [Ruler/Grid Settings]

 

A popup window will appear and there you can alter the number of divisions displayed in the grid. Adjust it according to your needs.

3.3 Special rules

The special rules allow us to draw multiple lines in the same direction. Rulers can be adjusted to generate curves, circles, zig zags, you name it! In this case, we want to generate horizontal parallel lines to know if our character is proportionate.

To access these special rules, we go to the toolbar, select the [Ruler] tool. In the sub tools section we select the [special ruler] tool.

He goes to the [Tool Properties [Special Ruler]] window and in the [Special Ruler] section selects [Parallel Ruler]. Usually this icon is positioned on the Clip Studio Paint color wheel.

With this accomplished, we can add our special rule to get to work.

Hold down [Shift] and draw a horizontal line. In this way we make sure that it has an angle of 0°.

 

 

To delete a rule, it is deleted in the same way as a symmetric rule. Go to the tool palette and select the [Operation] tool. Then in the Sub tools bar I select the [Object] tool. Select the rule to delete, right click and select [Delete]. (To consult it in a more illustrative way, go to the symmetric rule section)

 

I focused on matching the most important elements of my character. the eyebrows, the nose, the base of the eyes, the height of the hair, etc. This ensures that our character has a believable volume when drawn at different angles.

 

If you want to see more on the subject of special rules, I suggest you read the following article.

3.4 3D Models

The 3D models serve as a quick and easy base for drawing your character. Also, they are a strong learning base for drawing characters at difficult angles. It saves time and effort.

To access the 3D models, go to [Material Palette] → [3D] → [Body Type]. Models for men and women will appear.

 

Select the 3D model you want to use and drag it onto your canvas. The 3D model will appear automatically.

You can easily handle the 3D model with the [Object] tool. To access the [Object] tool, go to the tool palette and select the [Operation] tool. Next, in the Sub tools bar, select the [Object] tool.

If the 3D model is selected, you can see 2 menus and a skeleton controller.

The "a" menu is to move the camera angles manually (1) and to move the orientation and position of the 3D model in its entirety (2). The "b" menu is for customizing the 3D model, from poses to light orientation.

This is the basic handling of the camera angle of a 3D model.

If you want to move the character's camera with a few clicks, in the "b" menu of our 3D model, go to [Specify camera angle from preset].

A small menu will appear with many preset positions that can be applied to your 3D model. For a basic character sheet, it is only necessary to have their front and side spatial orientation.

 

If you want to go deeper into the handling of 3D models or have any kind of doubt, you can consult the following tutorial or go to section "5. References" of this article.

4. The Perspective

Perspective is the perception of depth in drawing. It is a property of the drawing, as is light, shadow, volume, shapes, colors, etc.

 

When we think about the use of perspective, most of us must think about vanishing points, rules and methods to maintain the proportionality of objects in a plane.

 

On the Internet, perspective is usually taught by using the plane and vanishing points (1, 2, 3, 4, 5...) since it is the closest to reality.

 

This method is not the only one that allows to perceive a depth. It can also be done by overlapping objects, color differences, environmental gradient, size difference, blur, etc.

 

The important thing is to know how to generate a credible three-dimensional volume perception even if it is not correct. An example is the following drawing.

The hand, height, shoes and background are exaggerated/disproportionate to represent the deformation due to the closeness of the objects according to the camera. Usually these types of strategies are used in the manga and in the comic. It is an artistic mode of expression.

 

Other characteristics of abstraction in the drawing is that my intention was to draw the character in a perspective from top to bottom while the perspective present in the background is a fisheye perspective. This is with the intention of showing the city in the background and not just the ground of the scene.

 

By joining both elements in the scene with the elements of perspective deformation, it results in its fulfillment of narrative function: A scene where the character covers a light while the entire city can be seen in the background.

 

If you are interested in consulting a book on the subject, I recommend "Perspective. Volume 1 and 2. Technique and Visual Narrative" by Marcos Mateu-Mestre and the book "Drawing. How to Create Objects and Environments with Imagination" by Scott Robertson; Thomas Bertling.

 

If you want to go deeper into the subject, books on architecture and technical drawing are quite useful... although honestly, not that much knowledge is required for this tutorial [laughs]

 

If you want to make it easier to use perspective rulers to draw, I suggest the following tutorials from user Nadia.

4.1 Plan and simplification of form

Once we know how to represent simple three-dimensional objects on a plane, we can begin to draw more complex objects, such as a face.

 

It is difficult to draw a highly detailed face in different angles to imagination.

This is why we use simple geometric shapes as support before proceeding to more complex steps. The most common geometric figure that is used as a base is the circle, and then it is supported by others such as pyramids, cylinders, rectangles and cubes, depending on the part of the head that is sought to be portrayed.

 

The reference lines that divide our circles or squares usually coincide with the height of the eyebrows and nose (left) or the height of the eyes and ear (right). This is another reason why simplified three-dimensional figures are used for reference, as they make facial mapping easier for us.

 

This initial mapping allows us to add our own stylistic features. A greater distance between reference points, for example, can be something of an artist's style or even an entire genre of drawing. Have you noticed the difference in jaws or eyes that generally exists between the comic style and the manga style? These differences can start in facial mapping. The technique of using geometric references as a base encompasses all drawing styles, not just one in particular: to understand an object, the first step is to understand its simplest geometric shapes!

Now the question is: What are the most relevant traits of your characters? I invite you to identify what characterizes them and add strokes of simplified objects that are comfortable and functional for you to be able to locate their unique qualities in the limited geometric space that you are designating as a "mold".

 

Below I show you how I think spatial perception through simplified forms.

 

In my particular case I use guide lines and spheres in the draft to know the orientation of the face. A particular stylistic trait of mine is that I define the location of the nose with a circle.

 

While I define the face I imagine the triangular volume of the nose, the slit of the eyes, the prominence of the eyebrows. Lips and ears take a back seat in my drawing style.

 

To finish, I add details until I am satisfied with the result, always making sure that the drawing is proportioned and presentable.

 

With the use of simplified shapes, you can draw anything!

 

If you have doubts about how to simplify a character in shapes, I suggest you look for character sheet references. The highest quality are those present in the animation industry both eastern and western. Try to see examples of what you aspire to draw. Observe what they like and think about how they could integrate it into their drawings.

 

Speaking of references... We're going to take a lot [laughs]

 

5. References

To draw something it is almost always necessary to consult references. By not doing so, we submit to our personal conception of the object, full of errors. Have you noticed how painters need models to make their beautiful portraits and paintings? If professionals like them need references, so do we!

Photos, 3D models, dolls, references from other artists, strokes, other drawings...all of this is necessary to learn!

 

References are not equivalent to plagiarism or artistic theft. There is a fundamental difference between the two: while plagiarism is only morally wrong when used for profit, the use of references is not only not immoral, but also necessary. Everyone at some point needs to learn to draw, everyone at some point needs to be inspired, everyone at some point needs to soak up a style, an artistic method to pursue a goal in their own career.

 

Not counting 3D models: what purpose can they have besides being a free-use tool for artists? Mangakas have always used mannequins and wooden dolls to have references of proportion, foreshortening and anatomy. Condemning plagiarism is fine as long as it is not consented to and is used for profit, but to deny an artist the use of references is to deprive him of growing and working in his field.

 

 

That being said, Clip Studio Paint has a built-in library of 3D models. In his repertoire we can find from basic figures (such as spheres and cubes) to more complex figures (such as 3D human bodies). All these models are customizable according to our needs.

 

I won't go into this tutorial about using and customizing 3D models... it would be too long an article. However, here at Clip Studio Paint TIPS there is a large number of articles to learn how to handle them. The articles that I personally suggest are the following:

 

The Clip Studio Paint ASSETS community has a large number of 3D models with different characteristics. I highly recommend using them!

 

Some of my recommendations are as follows:

 

This head is called "Cabeza de Azaro" (Azaro's Head in English). You can comfort him on the internet if you don't have clippy coins but this version of bramsels user is optimized and easy to use for Clip Studio Paint.

The Clip Studio Paint ASSETS library is not limited to human anatomy models, it also features 3D anthropomorphic animal heads, animal parts like horns, and fantastical elf-like ears. Have fun consulting the contributions of the community!

 

One last 3D tool that I feel is worth mentioning is the perspective grid. It has helped me a lot to casually draw characters in perspective, it is my favorite of the mentioned tools.

 

For photos, you can look for references on Pinterest and Google... Or take them yourself with your cell phone!

 

For those who want to consult books, the book "Head and Neck Shape" by Uldin Zarins can be quite useful specifically on how to draw the face.

 

On general anatomy, the book "Anatomy for sculptors, understanding the human figure" by Uldis Zarins, Sandis Kondrats and the book "Guide to bodybuilding movements" by Frédéric Delavier are my favorites. This last book is a book on how to get in shape [Laughs] but the quality of the illustrations and correct naming of the muscles makes it suitable for use as an anatomical drawing reference.

 

I have given some ideas here, but the fundamental question to answer is what do you want to learn? and find references that help you solve the answer.

6. Types of angles

There are different planes and angles to draw a character:

Angles:

1. overhead

2. Chopped

3. Front

4. Against chopped

5.Nadir

6. Contrapicated Dorsal

7. Bib

8. Chopped back

 

The front angles are the most important, so I'll focus on them in depth. The dorsals and rears, even so, will receive a general tutorial with their respective observations.

 

The face orientations that I will explore will be front, 3/4 and side vision.

The shots are narrative camera frames. They are frequently used in animation and in the preparation of comics/manga. It is not a topic that I will talk about in this article. You can consult about the narrative planes and angles in my article "Photographic composition in your drawings".

6.1 Front Angle

It is characterized by a horizontal camera angle.

Since we already have the front and side view of the character, in this section I will focus exclusively on the ¾ angle.

 

I recommend that you create a new document with the front and side view of the character and, between the two drawings, leave a space large enough to draw the face of your characters in 3/4. Using the special parallel line ruler, make guide lines on the relevant features of the character: the eyebrows, the base of the eyes, the base of the hair, etc.

 

Once the most important features are located, we can start working.

 

First let's focus on the eyes. In 3/4 vision the eyes look different from each other. The most hidden eye looks smaller compared to the one in front. This is due to the spherical shape of the eyes and their position in perspective within the face. The orientation of the eyes determines where the eyelid is directed. The eyelid looks more open where the iris of the eyes is.

 

Depending on the degree of turn that one draws in his character, the nose can cover part of the eyes, keep that in mind!

Let's continue with the nose. The simple geometric figure that makes up the nose is generally pyramidal. In 3/4 vision, one of the nostrils is partially or completely hidden from the naked eye.

To know when a nostril will be partially or completely hidden can be deduced by observing the position of the cheekbones and cheeks.

 

If the cheekbones prevent the eyes from being at the edge of the face on the less visible side, the less conspicuous nostril will be partially covered.

 

If the less visible eye is touching the edge of the face, the less visible nostril will be completely hidden.

Regarding the lips, its base geometric figure is cylinders or ovals, one on top of the other. The mouth is somewhat curved, so that in the 3/4 position one lip is usually partially or completely hidden.

I instinctively place the corners of my lips where they will look prettiest [laughs]. However, you can locate them by following the orange lines in this drawing: from the sides of the chin towards the eyes, you can locate a guide for the corners.

6.2 Plunge Angle

It is a view from above with an approximate inclination of 45 degrees.

The simplest geometric shape of a face from this angle is a cylinder. In the chopped angle, the eyebrows, eyes and lips follow the cylindrical trend of the face. Due to the action of perspective, these areas are deformed, making our character appear to be smiling or upset, even if he has a neutral expression.

The most important details regarding the chopped angle are the following:

 

●The slit of the eyes and the prominence of the eyebrows cause the distance between the eyebrows and the eyes to decrease.

●The nostrils can never be seen from a high angle.

●Ears appear far from the face or above the level of the eyebrows.

●The forehead appears larger than the chin.

 

All these characteristics affect the position of the face from the front, 3/4 and lateral.

 

Drawing a face from the front in this perspective is easy compared to 3/4 and side perspective. It's similar to drawing at a front angle.

 

High angle looks are so much fun. When a character looks up it makes them look intense and even aggressive (even with a neutral expression), while looking down at this angle can look solemn and even angelic.

 

Remember this detail, the upper eyelid always covers the upper part of the iris, regardless of where the gaze is directed. For this reason, also, if our character looks up, the lower eyelid will not touch the pupils. The only cases where the iris is not covered is when the character has an expression of terror or surprise on his face, and even in these cases it depends on the style used.

 

The 3/4 position can be challenging in this perspective. The volume of the eyebrow bone, the spherical shape of the eyes, the cheekbones, the lips and the nose are the main parts of the face in this perspective. I consider that the most challenging thing to portray are the eyes, especially the one that is more hidden. When representing it in the drawing, the elements that cover it (the eyebrow bone, the nose, etc.) and the correct alignment in perspective with the other eye must be considered. His drawing and position is counterintuitive.

 

I suggest that you first draw your character with what knowledge of perspective you have, without references. The idea is that they draw until they finish the drawing or give up, whichever comes first [laughs]. For this section, I drew twice without reference to my character. The first time was a failure, the second time I was more methodical. The second drawing is the image below.

 

This exercise will allow you to make a self-assessment of your artistic abilities and clarity about what you are interested in learning. Did your lips get complicated because it seemed that your character was sad or with a strange grimace? Search on lips and lip anatomy. Was it difficult for you to represent the size of the eyes? Find out about the anatomy of eyes and how they look in 3/4 high angle perspective.

 

With these resolutions, I suggest you make a new drawing. This time using all the references you have found useful and also 3D models.

As a final exercise, put your two drawings in a document and observe their differences. What do you like about your two drawings? What improvements have you noticed? What would you like to improve?

 

My answer to those questions would be the following:

 

"I liked the three-dimensional representation of the most striking eye in my first drawing, it has a lot of personality. With the use of the 3D model, it was easier for me to evaluate the spatial position of the eyes, it also allowed me to have a greater volumetric perception of the character I would like to improve the eyes and the position of the hidden eyebrow, they are difficult to represent."

 

The side of the face in chopped perspective is simple. It is similar to drawing the face at a frontal angle. The lips are almost invisible and the nose and eyebrows take center stage.

6.3 Offset Angle

It is a view from below with an approximate inclination of 45 degrees.

In the low angle, the eyebrows, eyes and lips follow the cylindrical trend of the face. Due to the action of perspective, these areas are deformed, making our character appear sad or relaxed, even if he has a neutral expression.

The most important details regarding the low angle are the following:

 

●The slit of the eyes and the prominence of the eyebrows cause the distance between the eyebrows and the eyes to increase.

●The nostrils can always be seen from a low angle.

●The ears appear too low in the position of the face, as if they are on the neck, at the same height as the level of the mouth.

●The chin appears larger than the forehead.

 

All these characteristics affect the position of the face from the front, 3/4 and lateral.

Low angle looks are powerful. When a character looks up it makes them look intense or pleading, while looking down at this angle can make them look powerful and even arrogant (even with a neutral expression).

In the 3/4 position, it is very likely that the nose partially or completely covers the most hidden eye of the face. The sharper the angle of vision, the more obscured the eye is by the nose and the lower part of the cheekbones.

 

I suggest that you look for references to the jaw and nose in this perspective, since small details can change the physiognomy of the character.

To learn how to draw the lateral position, I suggest using a 3D model that only encompasses the face. Usually, the shoulders or arms of the 3D model cover the character's jaw.

6.4 Zenith Angle

It is characterized by a vertical angle focusing downwards.

Only the top of the character's head is shown.

A slight variation in angle can slightly show the eyes, part of the cheekbones, and even the shape of the mouth. How to draw this variation can be easily explained with the fundamentals of the chopped angle. There's not much to say [laughs].

I omit the explanation of the drawing of the face in a lateral position and 3/4 because in all positions in a zenithal angle the face would look the same. the position would only be rotated. If the angle is varied, the drawing foundation would be more similar to the chopped angle, only more exaggerated.

6.5 Nadir angle

It is characterized by a completely vertical angle focusing upwards.

The lower part of the character's head is shown. Usually only the nose and jaw are visible. It is a difficult position to see.

A variation of angle allows to observe a greater quantity of details of the face. The nature of this variation could easily be explained with the fundamentals of the low angle.

I omit the explanation of the drawing of the face in a lateral and 3/4 position because in all nadir angled positions the face would look the same. The position would only be rotated. If the angle is varied, the drawing foundation would be more similar to the low angle, only more exaggerated.

6.6 Dorsal Angles

These angles are characterized by a back view.

In this section, I will cover the dorsal angle, dorsal angle, and dorsal low angle.

 

Of the 3 angles mentioned, only the dorsal and chopped dorsal angle are the most common to see in the comic. The low angle dorsal angle of a face is naturally hidden by the character's body.

In dorsal angle, the most relevant position is 3/4. In this position, the face can show the facial features (nose, mouth, eyes, eyebrows) or it can only highlight the prominence of the eyebrows, cheekbones and chin.

 

A detail to consider is the following: when the face shows facial features, the front part of the ears will be visible. When face shows no facial features, the back of the ears will be visible.

In chopped dorsal angle, the most relevant position is 3/4. The important facial features in this position are the cheekbones, the cheeks, and the prominence of the eyebrows. The drawing of the eyes or nose depends a lot on the angle. For these occasions, I suggest that you consult reference.

7.0 Acknowledgments and farewell

Thank you very much for reading this tutorial, I had a lot of fun writing it. If you like my work and want to see more of my content, I leave you a link to my social networks.

It was a pleasure and an honor to have somehow facilitated this training in your artistic journey.

 

For my part, it has been everything. Thanks!