Drawing Faces: Eyes

In previous posts we looked at the general contours and proportions of the face, particularly female faces. Now we will begin looking at some features in more detail. Today has EYES.

Eyes in the Skull

Eyes are not almond-shaped papers glued to flat surfaces. They are relatively round balls set in hollow spaces, and to be convincing, must be drawn to indicate such hollows and protrusions.
When you start a face drawing, always indicate the hole in the skull in which the eyeball fits. This will give you your placement for the lids and brows, also. Very handy.

(Yep, I reworked some sections. Doesn't she have a pretty grin? And that should say "hollow" and not "hallow.") Anyway, the main thing to notice here is the cheek bone wrapping around the side of the head below the eye socket and the hollows under the cheek bone (that fill in when one gets older).

Face Muscles

To understand the contours of the face, and thus to draw it convincingly, it is helpful to have a general idea of the direction of the facial muscles. This will set the "hollows" and "bumps" of the face to get your shadows and highlights right.

Notice the indentations of the face make sort of a cross shape of the higher areas.

Eye Shape

The eyes themselves are made up of two pieces of skin stretched over a ball. The upper lid protrudes out and is rounded above the eye, further out than the lower lid.

The visible eye shape between the lids is somewhat of a rectangular parallelogram. Think of it in thirds to find the highest and lowest parts. Note also (to repeat from before) that the inner point of the eye is a little lower on the face than the outer point of the eye.

Always think of the whole eyeball when drawing, so it doesn't get too big (to long) for its socket, and does bulge nicely, and isn't flat on the face.

Rounding

A crucial factor in making convincing faces is to remember to keep your planes rounded. Go ahead and use marking lines to help set your placings and then draw your features on those lines. Then if you decide to draw a face that is not straight forward, it will still be properly aligned and foreshortened.

We all remember Rule One of drawing lines, don't we? God likes S - CURVES. Almost everything in God's creation is made up of S-curves to a greater or lesser degree. We know something is man-made when it has straight lines. Keep the curves on your faces!

Next: Noses