The profile is a pose that seems easy to draw, but it can bring some challenges where common mistakes are made, such as small heads, misplaced eyes or strange mouths. To avoid this, it is good to use a base that helps us position the elements of the face correctly.

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Base

To make this support, we will start with an oval, which is divided with a vertical line near the middle, this gives us the space that corresponds to the brain in the drawing.

 

Note: Normally a circle is used instead of an oval, but in my case it is easier to respect that space with an oval.

 

Now we make three horizontal lines in the oval/circle: one at the beginning at 1/6 where the hairline will go, another in the center that will mark the eye, the root of the nose and the tip of the ear, then the last one guide will be made almost at the end of the where they have the ear and the nose.

 

Then, starting from the second horizontal line, we will draw a vertical line on one side of the oval and it will go below it, so we will know the origin of the nose and the end of the chin.

 

From the beginning of the ear and up to before the chin, we will draw a curved line that will represent the cheekbone of our character.

 

Starting from the earlobe, we can create a short diagonal line towards the chin. This will be the angle of the jaw. Also, from the lobe if we mark a diagonal line a little below the second guide line, we will be able to identify the point where the neck begins.

elements of the face

As I mentioned before, the eye is positioned in the second horizontal guide. It is necessary to do it a little behind the nose, this because the eyes, being in a socket, have a certain depth in the face and it is important to respect it.

 

To make the eye, I always remember the symbol for greater and less than (><) or a "v" lying down, keep in mind that the lower part of the minor eyelashes will be shorter than the upper eyelid.

 

The iris will not be round as we usually draw it when the character is facing the front, but as a long and thin oval.

 

The eyebrow is a little higher than the eye and the eye will be further out in relation to it.

 

The nose, will be according to the character, it can start with a visible nasal bone common in men or a soft curve to make it more feminine.

 

For women, the tip of the nose is round and we go down creating the naso-labial groove with not very defined curves, giving way to the slightly pointed upper lip (many use a triangle as a base) followed further back by the lower lip which is rounded.

 

Finally, we make the chin that should be aligned with the beginning of the eyebrow and that also has a rounded shape.

 

The ear is made in the central vertical line, meets the line of the eye, and ends in the third division of the face, also it is slightly reclining.

 

IMPORTANT: The above are rules that are followed hegemonically and it is important to know them, however, you can modify the facial features of your character at will, as long as they are anatomically consistent.

Some guidelines to keep in mind:

The corner of the mouth is usually in line with the start of the eye.

 

Above the hairline, it takes 1/6 of the base oval. We must remember that it is slightly rounded and that it goes up to the front of the ear, however, at the back it visibly separates from its contour.

 

The neck will start at the line where the ear ends, this means that the back where the head connects with the neck should be a little above the chin.

 

Do not forget details such as hearing. there are several ways to draw it, in my case I start with a thin edge around the ear forming a kind of 9 and then a Y, to end with two small bumps near the lobe.

Important tips to keep in mind when drawing male or female gender

female tips:

 

The nasal bone is less marked, the nose is smaller, rounder and tilts upwards.

The cheekbones are a little more prominent.

The eyebrows tend to have more distance from the eyes in relation to men.

The forehead is usually round.

The chin is made on the basis of a round shape.

Full lips.

The jaw line is faint.

 

Tips for men:

 

Flat and sloping forehead.

The root of the nose is deeper (nasal bone).

The cheekbones are more noticeable.

The eyebrows are thicker and set higher over the eyes, which appear smaller than the female's, and the upper eyelid is not particularly noticeable.

Under the nose there is also a visible, almost straight bone structure.

The upper lip is occasionally slightly convex, the lips thinner and less full.

The chin is quite large and defined.

The jaw is clearly marked.

How does this change if my character is young?

A child's head is different in proportions from an adult's, because it grows as it becomes an adult.

 

So:

if it's a baby

The chin will be very small, the cheeks will be noticeable and protruding, so much so that it is possible that they cover his little mouth a little.

 

His forehead will be much larger, so the center line that we usually use as a guide, we can lower it a little more.

 

The nose should be small and rounded, and it will be considerably close to the eyes.

The ear is located between the eyebrows and the eye, ending at the base of the upper lip.

The head will look very large in relation to the neck and will have a double chin, also called "baby fat" on the face.

Child grows (6 years)

The face becomes larger in proportion to the skull, the mouth and nose are better defined, and the neck grows slightly longer.

The eyes are slightly below the center line.

The eyelid reaches to touch this line now.

The ears remain between the center lines as in adults, but extend slightly towards the upper lip.

The bottom of the upper lip rests on the same line as the end of the ear. The double chin is lost a bit.

Pre adolescence (11 years)

The face becomes longer, the mouth is defined, the chin is almost completely lost, making the jaw and chin more noticeable, although they are not developed.

The nose has lengthened and the upper part of the eyes already touches the midline.

The ears start at the eyes and end at the nose, the neck lengthens and begins to develop.

How to draw elderly people in profile?

When profiling your character, keep in mind that the ears and nose have grown (they continue to grow throughout our lives).

 

The skin of the eyelids droops and the eyes appear smaller

 

Due to wear or loss of teeth, your teeth, jaw will move forward and lips will move inward.

 

A forward tilt of the head is common.

 

Wrinkles aside, the skin appears loose and sagging, if the character is very skinny, the cheekbones and chin will be very noticeable due to the loss of meat, in the case of the obese the cheekbones are not visible and the cheekbones remain plump and drooping .

 

Women have more fat than men, so they have slightly more fine wrinkles.

How to draw the overweight profile?

Having already the previous bases, we can understand how the face changes with an increase in fat. As in the case of babies, the cheeks become fuller and the jowls more noticeable, which hides the definition of the jaw bones and cheekbones. It can also be noticed in the thickness of the neck.

 

Draw other styles?

Once all the above details have been taken into account, we can start playing with this knowledge. Stylized proportions are derived from realistic ones, so the pointers can still be applied and deformed to whatever style you want to apply.

 

We can change the width of the guides or the base circle. By moving the horizontal lines up or down, you drastically change the way you draw the head and facial features. This will also depend on your drawing style.

 

If all the horizontal guides are changed to the bottom, this gives us a more cartoon style.

 

If we bring the eyes, nose and mouth closer together, we will have a slightly chibi style.

 

If we enlarge the eyes and stylize the features, we will obtain an anime style.

Don't have time to make these bases? A super tool

You can always help yourself with 3D models in Studio Paint clip, you will find several models that even give you the possibility to modify them according to the characteristics you are looking for.

You just have to drag them to your work area and click on the tool symbol, there you will find several options to modify, such as the nose, eyes, jaw, etc.

 

So...

 

You accommodate the profile model.

Set the layer to 50% opacity.

You draw your character on a top layer.