To make drawing the side view of the face easier, follow the arc of the oval’s curve. This provides a guideline for the nose and chin placement. The eye is challenging at this angle. Remember that it’s a ball in a socket, and you see the front curve of the ball from this angle.
blending stump (optional)
kneaded eraser
drawing/sketching paper
pencils
Draw a circle. Then draw an oval to one side or the other, covering roughly half of the circle.
Draw a vertical midline dividing the oval in half (1). Next draw a horizontal midline dividing the circle in half to form the eye midline (2). Draw another horizontal line below the midline, dividing the bottom two-thirds of the oval in half (3). This is the nose line. Divide the face in half again below the nose line for the placement of the lower lip (4). Draw a vertical line dividing the oval in half again, marking where the side view of the eye starts and where the corner of the mouth begins (5). Using light, feathery pencil strokes, begin connecting the ball of the head to the oval, bridging the gap and continuing to cut down into the top of the oval, forming the forehead (6).
At the eye midline, indent the contour of the face to form the bridge of the nose, then continue outward to form the nose as you draw down to the nose midline. Note: the nose size can vary, but a good place to start is to have it touch the line of the oval.
Form the philtrum and the upper and lower lips, curving inward under the lower lip and back out again to form the chin. The ear placement falls between the eye and nose midlines, on the opposite side of the oval from the nose. The chin line continues up to the earlobe. The neck lines form behind the ear starting at the ball of the head and under the chin.
Use crosshatching to add shading to the inside corner of the eye, the side of the nose, around the nostril, the philtrum area, the upper lip, below the lower lip and under the chin. You’ll also want to shade inside the ear folds. (See the Ears mini-demonstration in this chapter for more details.)
If desired, you can use the blending stump to blend out the crosshatching and continue to work the shading of the face. Use the kneaded eraser to lift the guideline marks as needed.