PROFILE

Drawing a profile can sometimes be a challenge, no matter how hard we try, not everything seems to fall into place. Let's try to figure out what we can do to make drawing a profile easier ;).

All we need is to have a method that can help us, and guidelines that show us where to put all the pieces in place. What do I mean by pieces? all those parts that characterize a face, namely eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and of course the head.

 

 

REALISTIC FACE

STRUCTURE

Let's start with the complete structure of the head. Let us first draw a circle, which we are going to divide into four equal segments. After choosing which direction our face will face and direct, we draw three lines in that direction, one starting from the top of the circle, one from the bottom, and the third will be an extension of the center line (the center line will indicate the height of the eyebrows).

Let's then go and draw a vertical line next to the circle, what we will do next is go and divide this line into six equal parts and add a seventh part just below the line at the base of the circle we drew earlier (that seventh part will be where we will draw the chin). Let us now focus on the part of the vertical line that goes from the middle of the circle to the seventh portion that we added earlier, and divide this part of the line in half (that half will be the base in the nose, immediately below we will have the mouth in the sixth portion that we got earlier by dividing the vertical line).

Thus we will have a general structure for our head.

Let us now see how to draw the elements that make up a face.

 

 

EYE

One of the most common mistakes when drawing an outline is to draw the eye as if it were a frontal view. the eye in profile has a very different structure from the frontal view, let's go and see what it looks like.

the basic shape of the eye in profile is actually very simple, it will be similar to a "v" tilted to the side and inside it we will have a curve, which indicates our eyeball. another feature of the eyes in profile is to draw the eyebrows slightly arched and not as a straight line.

Immediately above the eye we will have the upper eyelid and below the lower eyelid, which we can outline with two simple, slightly angled lines.

In my drawing you can see how I have indicated some main parts of the eye with different colors. These areas indicate the eyelids, the structure just below the eyebrows, part of the cheek and the upper part of the nose. Playing with the shape and size of these areas will lead you to different structures of your eye.

EAR

To draw the ear correctly we will just need to combine three simple shapes. First we will draw an arc similar to the number 9 (that arc will be the shape of the ear and lobe). Inside this arc we will draw another one, this time similar to a "Y." To finish, next to the lines drawn earlier we will draw a triangle. This will be the basic structure of the ear.

As with the eye, the ear can also be divided into parts in such a way as to make it clearer and easier to make, and just as with the eye, changing the shape and size of these areas will give you the ability to create different types of ears.

MOUTH

For the mouth, it will suffice to draw the shape of the lips, which will be similar to a slanted "Y" formed by slightly curved lines. Lips can be of very different shapes and sizes, with lower lips larger and more pronounced than upper lips or vice versa, we can have very full lips or very thin lips. It will be up to you to decide which lip characteristics best suit your character's profile.

NOSE

The structure of the nose can be divided into three simple shapes. A trapezoid to indicate the back of the nose, a teardrop shape for the nostril, and a curved line that will delineate the base of the nose and the tip.

By combining these three elements, we will have the structure of our nose, which can also be of a wide variety of shapes and sizes, just by changing the size and shape of these three elements. You can see some examples in the drawing.

POSITIONS

Now that we know how to draw each element individually, let's go over where they should be placed in our outline.

The eye is located at the height of the upper curve of the nose and in the direction of the end of the mouth, so we only need to draw two lines from these points, and the eye will be located where these two lines meet.

The ear, on the other hand, is first located in the quarter of the structural circle, opposite to that of the face. It will then suffice to draw a line from the height of the eye and one from that of the base of the nose; the ear's hairline will be within these two lines.

Drawing the neck is not difficult, again simple lines can help us here. Let us draw a triangle, one side of the triangle will be the line of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (it will start from the base of the ear and end at the height of the clavicle).Another side of the triangle will be the front part of the neck, and it will be slightly tilted forward.The last side of the triangle is not structural, we will only need it to better delineate the other two lines.

The back part of the neck is indicated by another line from shoulder height to the nape of the neck, that is, in the direction of the lower height of the ears. this line will also be sloping forward and not perfectly vertical.

 

 

Playing with the different characteristics of these elements will help us to have different kinds of faces. Some somatic features are specific to certain ethnicities or genders.

ANIME FACE

Anime-style profiles do not differ much from realistic-style profiles. The structure will be more or less the same.

We will draw a circle and divide it into 4 segments. On the bottom and dieth wedge, relative to the character's face, we will draw the ear, from the base of which we will outline the shape of the jaw. On the segment opposite the ear, there will be the face, which will follow almost the same structure as the realistic face. We are then going to do the same kind of subdivision of proportions (in the anime style the freedoms in the size and shape of the face are obviously many more than in a real face, everything will be related to your style).

 

 

You will have slight freedom in shaping especially the shape of your character's face, such as the shape of the nose, and lips which can be more defined and similar to real lips, or made with a single line. The eyes can be much larger in size than normal, or keep a more natural look. The lines should still be reduced and stylized, following the stylistic choice you prefer.

Generally, for male characters, we will use sharper lines and a larger face; the jaw shape may be slightly more angular. For female characters, the lines will be more delicate, a more curved jaw, and slightly larger eyes, with a slightly more compact face in proportion.

CHIBI FACE

This is one method by which you can properly draw an outline. But the most important advice remains to practice drawing as much as possible, try different shapes and features for your characters and that way you will also define your own style ;)

Have fun on this wonderful journey that is drawing.