As with all of the features of the figure, the head and shoulders rely on correct proportions to look realistic. Remember that you can use a proportioning device to achieve correct proportions for your drawings.
Adult head proportions are similar with slight variations that display individuality. Eye width can be used as a unit of measurement to work out the overall proportions of the head, with the head being about seven eye widths high and five eye widths wide.
The distance between the eyes is equal to the width of one eye. Eyes are located approximately halfway between the distance of the top of the head to the chin. The top of the ears line up with the eyebrows, and the bottom of the ears line up with the end of the nose.
The base of the nose is about the same width as the width of the eyes. The width of the mouth can be drawn as the same width as the center of the left eye to the center of the right eye.
Men typically have larger heads than women, as well as larger noses, ears and eyebrows and squarer jaws. Women typically have thicker lips, but otherwise they are generally smaller and have more delicate features than men.
Children’s heads are smaller than adults’; however, an adolescent male may have the same size head as an adult female. Very young children have wide heads that are proportionally larger at the top with eyes that are placed well below the centerline. The size of the eyes changes little, though they seem bigger on children because their heads are smaller.
When viewed from the side, notice that the size of the head doesn’t change much from young child to adult, although the placement and size of the features do change.
Structural lines for the placement of the features are the same for the front and side views as well as the three-quarter view. When drawing views such as these, it is important to be conscious of whether you, the viewer, are looking up, down or straight at the subject.
As with the rest of the human body, the neck and shoulders are made up of muscles and bones that work together to flex and move.
There are two prominent sets of muscles in the neck and shoulder region. One set attaches the back of the head to the top of the shoulders. The other set extends from the sides of the head, behind the ears, wrapping down to the top of the front center of the chest, near the pit of the neck. Two horizontal bones extend outward in opposite directions from the pit of the neck to the shoulders above the upper arm sockets.
A man’s neck, at the front and sides, can generally appear thick and muscular with visible muscles.
A woman’s neck is typically slender with less visible muscles.
A man’s neck when viewed from the side angles the head forward with a visible Adam’s apple.
A woman’s neck when viewed from the side may be more angled than the male neck.