PAINTING THE NOSE/FACIAL PROPORTIONS

DRAWING FACIAL PROPORTIONS

This first picture shows how to "grid" the face. The picture on the left is 1" graph paper.

The picture on the right shows a rather mathematical way to place facial features. I put a piece of tracing paper over the line graph.

A. Starts with a circle 5 squares in diameter (see, math), with A as the radius. B is the right side of the radius. C. is the bottom of the circle--also the bottom of the nose. Below C are lines D and E, each an additional square down. F. cuts C and D in half. LineJK is the halfway point of the head, 3 1/2 squares from the top or bottom. If you set a compass on point J and make an arc from K to E (and also set on point K making an arc from J to E) you will makethe cheeks of the face and general chin line.

Here is a close up of this. The eyes are one square wide with a square in between. Generally, people's eyes are an eye width apart. 

I set another sheet of tracing paper over this grid and redraw the oval with eyes placed in the center.

The bottom of the nose is on line c. The mouth is placed between F and D. (1/2 square) Here are some proportions to observe. A triangle drawn from the outer part of one eye to the outer part of the other eye and then to the center of the bottom lip is an equilateral triangle. A square can be drawn from the pupil to pupil down to the corner of the mouth, and across the mouth. Generally there will be an eye width from the corner of the mouth to the edge of the jaw and all around the chin. 

The nostrils of the nose are generall straight down from the inner eye. And you can generally divide the face in thirds from hairline to eyebrow ridge; from eyebrow ridge to bottom of nose; and from bottom of nose to chin. (about 2 eye widths each) 

Lay another clean tracing paper over your basic face pattern and draw in the individual features. Ears generally go from the bottom of the eyebrow to the bottom of the nose. (I think I made my nose a little longer than I wanted to)After you have one oval pattern drawn, you can produce many faces just by putting tracing paper over it and making it individualized.

In drawing the nose, you can think of it as three balls. Face on, you can just draw around the bottom of the three balls to make the curves of the bottom nose. There is a trapezoid shaped part of the skull that comes between the eyes, making the V-shape of the nose. The smallest part of that is often across the pupils. Shade the bottom of the nose. The nostrils are more comma shaped than circles. They are shaded darker at the top than at the bottom. 

I've put my sketch onto paper and tinted it with a light flesh color. I am trying to find a value about 40% darker to create my first shadows. It's pretty dark in the upper part between the eye and nose at the V shape. I give the left (my left) plane of the nose a little shading, and give the ball beneath the nose some shading. Shade the little V above the lip. The nose almost always casts a shadow, and that is a little darker than the shade under the ball of the nose. Strengthen the curve around the nostrils, fading the shadow onto the cheek. Darken the nostrils at the top, allowing a little lighter at the bottom of the nostril. Go gently on the nose shading especially if it is a child or young woman.