Linda's Voice: Lesson: How To Draw Proportion & How To Draw The Chin And Neck

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Lesson: How To Draw Proportion & How To Draw The Chin And Neck

How To Draw Proportion

Today we'll show you how to draw proportion.

Every feature of the face and body follows its own rules of proportion, or, measurement in comparison to the features around it.

While these rules may be broken or bent from person to person, the general guidelines will apply to most, and so are extremely helpful to keep in mind when drawing realistic faces and figures.

The adult body is approximately eight head lengths long, with the legs joining the body at the halfway point.

The shoulders begin a little less than halfway between the first head length, and by drawing a double triangle between the shoulders and hips, you can easily see the waist.

Every other head length represents a different start, stop, or midpoint of the rest of the body as shown here.
The head is about five eye lengths across, so you can begin to draw a proportional head by drawing a straight line divided into five equal sections.

Draw a circle around the line to represent the top of the head, and mark off two more eye lengths going down from the bottom of the circle.

Draw a second circle around these lengths, and you now have two circles which, connected with rounded lines, form a head.
If you draw a line straight across the head from the points where the lines join the two circles together, you have a guideline for the top of the eyes.

The line that marks the bottom of the uppermost circle becomes a guide for the bottom of the nose, and the lips fall half an eye length below that point.

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Warm Regards

Chris Elmore
Drawing Made Easy

How To Draw The Chin And Neck

Today we'll show you how to draw the chin and neck.

When drawing the neck, it's important to remember that the lines are not parallel, even though they seem to be.

The neck is not a pole that attaches the head to the body, it is a movable column that tapers and curves.

There are also differences between male and female necks; males have a more pronounced adam's apple and are generally more heavily muscled, while female necks are more slender and graceful.

Begin by lightly drawing the main shape of the neck and chin, including both the outside lines and lines that indicate flexed tendons or muscles and the collarbone.

Draw carefully to make sure that the angle of the neck is correct; even in the relaxed, forward looking position, the neck is not straight up and down, but tilts forward slightly.

Erase guidelines and begin to replace lines with shading that will show the curves of the neck and chin, always being careful that your strokes follow the curves of the neck and chin.

You may also need to make adjustments to the line of the chin. Try to envision the bones and muscles under the skin as you work; this will help remind you where the lights and darks should fall.

Finish the drawing by blending tones with a stomp or tortillon, picking out highlights with the kneaded eraser and dropping in deeper shadow areas as necessary.

Experiment by drawing the neck from forward, side, and back views, and improve your understanding of the area by drawing from life.

Have your model turn the neck, look up, and look down to see how different movements affect the neck and chin.

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