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shingworks ā Face Tutorial
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Published: 2009-01-18 18:09:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 664537; Favourites: 20181; Downloads: 14942
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Oh damn, oh shit
Its tutorial time 8D Cuz I have nothing else on my plate, obviously (I'm lying). Anyways I was feeling like not working on comics so I did this. As always, feel free to trace or whatever you need to do. Sorry if it is less in depth, this is more about the shapes and how to arrange them on the face vs an exhaustive listing of a bunch of details. Hopefully this will give you a place to begin so you can make your own variety, instead of having to rely on others and reffing (if you even need the help).
I'd like to add, this is exactly how I draw faces. If you like that and want to emulate it for some godawful reason, go ahead, I guess (though I strongly advise you to develop your own style). But hopefully the principles are basic enough to be applied to any style you like.
*edit* Oop, almost forgot! my fav nose tutorial, by mimm :mimm.deviantart.com/art/Nose-dā¦
Ok back to work D:
Pose tutorial
Expression tutorial
Hand tutorial
Foot tutorial
Ladies tutorial
Fellas tutorial
Commission Tutorial
Coloring Walkthrough
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Comments: 1101
AHA! I'm not the only one who feels underwhelmed by anime!
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Very interesting. Thank you.
I don't understand your method completely, and I'd love to sit beside you and see you draw some faces and ask you about it. I can't, but maybe, if you have the time, I'd like to ask a few questions here.
(1) Your circles vary in size for the same character. For example, in the three views of the skull and the head below it, in the front view the circle cuts through the middle of the nose, while in the side view it reaches below the nose. Most of the time (here at least) you seem to have the circle about half the height of the head.
How do you keep your proportions constant, if you vary the size of the basic circle so much?
(2) Do you actually calculate the position and size of the facial features from the size of the circle? Loomis has this system where the nose is one third of the face etc., so do you "measure" (even if only visually) your construction lines against the circle? Or do you position them by experience?
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Those are both good questions. For 1) I tend not to draw the lines precisely where the facial features are. I use a equilateral triangle to figure out the relative positions of the eyes and nose... if I can get the eyes down okay then everything else falls into place. The lines more help me for figuring out the planes of the face or the perspectives and emotions. I keep my proportions constant by just being vigilant... my characters have different facial shapes and proportions so I just have to pay attention and make sure I'm drawing them correctly.
2) Nah, I've never been a good constructor. Which is bad, and I urge that people do use good construction here. For myself though, I just eyeball it! I think I've drawn long enough that I have a pretty good sense of where things ought to go.
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Thank you for that reply. I appreciate it.
I'm pretty good at drawing from a model (drawing what I see), but I have no idea how to go about drawing from my imagination. I'm currently going through different books (Loomis etc.) and trying to understand and maybe learn their methods. I'm just beginning, so I may have to do this some time for it to work, but still I find it extremely difficult to construct a face or body, they always come out wrong, and I don't quite know what it is that makes them so, because I do follow the instructions. But I begin to suspect that the art instructors creating these instructions didn't completely follow their own instructions themselves, at least not in all details. For example I took some drawing classes, and the teacher explained all this perspective stuff to us, and then, when we had questions about some details of it, she said to just forget it and draw how we feel is good. That's an extreme example, but not untypical in tendency.
And now your comment is a real eye-opener for me. Because in fact I feel that while some artists do use some kind of construction lines or stick figure skeleton, basically they draw the figure from their experience -- an exerience gained not by learning a method of construction, but by drawing a lot, analyzing the faults of the drawing, looking at reference, and drawing again. It is, in my imagination, much like walking: you do (and learn to do) it, not by following an instruction. You just do it and fall down often, until you figure it out.
Contrary to you, I do not believe that people should use construction to draw. Sure, learn some proportion so you can easily measure the length of the arm against some other body part, but other than that, the idea of construction appeals mostly to those that are tired or afraid of the work that has to go into learning to draw. Drawing is an unconscious process, just like walking, but sometimes we want to be able to use our reason and do it like maths. Because, sure, if we approach drawing in that way, it is quickly learned and easy to learn: just memorize a set of construction rules and apply them. We would like not to have to fall and hurt ourselves, we are impatient and want the ability NOW. But that is not how it works.
I feel that if I approached life figure drawing from the model differently, it would easily enable me to draw from my mind: just draw from the model, and then redraw the same pose from my mind a few hours later or the next day. That will make me memorize the body and the drawing I made of it, and in fact that is an instruction that one of my figure drawing teachers has given us. I did not then understand (or did not care, because it is work and I was lazy), but now, struggling with construction, the merit of this natural and immediate knowledge slowly becomes clear to me. Especially after seeing your method and reading your explanation.
So, thank you again. It was more help than you can possibly imagine. And I don't mean to throw away and forget Loomis. I just understand that construction is not the path. It can be a map or signpost, but the path is drawing from the object itself -- or from master artists.
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Aw, thanks. I'm glad you found it useful. Since you're obviously giving this topic some thought, I wanted to elucidate on my drawing process a bit more.
You don't really need to 'memorize' anything, thankfully. It sounds like you're learning drawing on your own to some degree, using books and such, which is really great. I did not go to art school myself, I got my degree in Biology. In some ways I think that was more useful because it taught me to think more in terms of process and function rather than initial observations. To draw the human body perfectly every time, you simply need to understand how it works. For example, look how the femur attaches to the pelvis. Its not up and down, it goes into a socket and then descends at a slight angle. However, your legs look straight from a head-on view. You don't need to construct a skeleton every time, but if you realize that the underlying structure of the leg only makes sense in one way, they you won't ever be drawing an incorrect leg. Understanding anatomy will help you so much more than just drawing a picture over and over until you think you get it. Everything you see around you, not just people, have been designed (for the most part) to function. Once you understand just what the function is and how that object carries it out you will have the kind of understanding you need to render it any way you want.
To summarize: you should absolutely know construction. Once you know it, you won't need it any more XD
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Super helpful and descriptive! Thank you!
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Thank you very much for this really helpful tutorial! It helped me a lot! I hope more people would be creating such great tuts for noobs like me! ^^
thanks again!
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No problem... you'll be out of noobdom in no time XD
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Thanks! Glad you liked it
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Your tutorials are always helpful and humorous, and this is no exception. It pisses me off as well how little face shapes differentiate in anime.. its all that pointy little heart.. at least in shojo.. shonen has a bit more, at least the good ones do, but on average, not very diverse.
These tutorials are great!
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the tutorial XD One of my favorite things to start learning was how to do facial shape variety
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I like drawing head shapes as well. It lets you draw more people well. Its really a good topic. When i see my friends at school draw the same shape head all the time i cringe on the inside D:
I'l have to mention that to them if i catch them in a good mood.. people can be so sensitive at times..
Youre welcome, as well. THis is a really nice tutorial, and it's funny!
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your pictures of the skull are the cutest, happiest skulls i have ever seen!
i hope i'd look so content were the skin flayed from my face...
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Haha, so do I XD Well, I guess I hope I'm dead first too...
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ahah love the note nĀ°5!!! xD thanks, great tutorial
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ohmuhgawsh thank you sooo much! i undersand faces and how to draw them at angles now!
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Yayy! I'm glad the tut was helpful for you
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Thank you so much of this tutorial.
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Glad it was helpful X3
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Great Tutorial! Very helpful and well done. =shannanigan ^^ i'd buy it as well
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Aw, thanks X3 Glad you liked it!
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Its going to make me a much cleaner drawer, thankyou.
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very good job on this. I'm sure it'll help me out a lot 8D. thanks!
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No problem! Thanks for reading :3
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hah hah hah it's shoop-da-whoop...
rly you visit that strange places on the internet?? >D
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YES. your tutorials are ALWAYS just the bestest and most usefulest
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aaaahahahah "some ugly shovel"
very very nicely done, hehe
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i don't think it's fair that you're a really good artist AND funny. it's like when super hot people also know how to sing, or read, or something.
great tutorials
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Thanks! lol, unfortunately the tradeoff for honing all of these extremely useful skills is having no life! Then again what did my life ever do for me anyhow?
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just think of it as method of staying off the streets and off 'the drugs'. it's this or being a coked out hooligan who draws stick figures.
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Yikes! Its a hard old world out there...
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see? aren't you glad you stuck to art and humor?
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haha that was awesome, it was very helpfull,and so funny at most parts,which made it a wonderfull tutorial!
Faving this (:
thankyou for making this too,your style is very nice :3
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Awesome, glad you found it useful X3
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I am absolutely in love with your style.. its so unique! I would so draw in this style if you didn't already use it! XD
This tutorial is extremely helpful! Most are all "Draw a circle, eyes, nose DONE!" but this gives you tips and whatnot. I love it!
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Yay X3 Glad you liked it!
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Really appriciated your faces tutorial. Picked up some good tips!
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Yay! Glad you found it helpful :3
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This is very helpful. Thank you
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Really glad you found it helpful!
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Thank you, this helped me quite a bit.
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Glad you found it useful
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I love all of your tutes. So informative and helpful
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Thank you! Glad you liked them
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