Portrait drawing is often considered one of the most challenging subjects in art. Creating a likeness that captures not just the physical features but also the essence of a person requires both technical skill and artistic sensitivity. In this guide, we'll focus on the technical foundation of portrait drawing: understanding and accurately rendering facial proportions.

Whether you're a beginner intimidated by drawing faces or an intermediate artist looking to refine your skills, mastering these fundamental proportions will dramatically improve your portrait work.

Why Proportions Matter

Even slight inaccuracies in facial proportions can drastically affect likeness. Our brains are exquisitely tuned to recognize human faces, which means viewers will immediately notice when something is "off" in a portrait, even if they can't articulate exactly what's wrong.

Learning standard proportions gives you:

• A reliable starting point for any portrait
• The ability to identify what makes an individual face unique
• A framework to check your work against
• The confidence to tackle challenging angles and expressions

The Proportional Framework

Let's establish a basic proportional framework for a frontal view of an adult face. Remember that these are averages—individual faces will vary, and understanding these variations is key to capturing likeness.

Dividing the Face into Units

A helpful approach is to divide the face into equal units. For a standard adult face:

• The face can be divided into three roughly equal sections vertically:
  1. Hairline to eyebrows
  2. Eyebrows to bottom of nose
  3. Bottom of nose to bottom of chin
• The width of the face at its widest point (usually at the temples or cheekbones) is approximately five eye-widths.
• The distance between the eyes is approximately one eye-width.

Setting Up Your Drawing

When beginning a portrait, start with these steps:

1. Draw a vertical centerline - This helps ensure symmetry and provides a reference for aligning features.
2. Establish the overall shape of the head - Typically an oval or egg shape, but pay attention to the individual's head shape.
3. Mark your three main horizontal divisions - Hairline, eyebrows, bottom of nose, and chin.
4. Add a horizontal line halfway between the eyebrows and chin - This is where the bottom of the lower lip will sit.

Detailed Facial Proportions

Eyes

The eyes are often considered the focal point of a portrait and their placement is crucial:

• Eyes sit approximately halfway between the top and bottom of the head.
• The distance between the eyes is equal to one eye width.
• The outer corners of the eyes typically line up with the widest part of the cheeks.
• The inner corners of the eyes typically align with the edges of the nostrils.
• The eye itself is roughly the shape of an almond, with the tear duct slightly lower than the outer corner.
• The iris is partially covered by the upper eyelid when the eye is open in a neutral position.

Common mistake: Placing the eyes too high on the face. Remember, they're at the halfway point of the head, not the face.

Nose

The nose creates a central anchor for the face:

• The width of the nose at its widest point (the nostrils) is approximately the same as the distance between the eyes.
• The bottom of the nose falls at the lower third division of the face.
• The bridge of the nose typically aligns with the inner corners of the eyes.
• In profile, the nose extends approximately one eye-width from the face.

Common mistake: Drawing the nose too narrow or too wide can dramatically affect likeness.

Mouth

The mouth is highly expressive and varies significantly between individuals:

• The corners of the mouth typically align with the pupils or the centers of the eyes when looking straight ahead.
• The mouth sits approximately one-third of the way between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin.
• The lower lip is usually fuller than the upper lip.
• The center of the upper lip forms an "M" shape called the Cupid's bow.
• The line where the lips meet is typically not flat but slightly curved upward.

Common mistake: Placing the mouth too close to the nose or making it too small relative to other features.

Ears

Ears are often overlooked but important for a complete portrait:

• The top of the ear typically aligns with the eyebrows.
• The bottom of the ear typically aligns with the bottom of the nose.
• The ears tilt slightly backward, following the angle of the jaw.
• In profile, ears sit approximately in the middle third of the head.

Common mistake: Drawing ears too small or placing them too high or low on the head.

Eyebrows

Eyebrows frame the eyes and contribute significantly to expression:

• Eyebrows sit on the supraorbital ridge (the bony prominence above the eye socket).
• They typically begin above the inner corner of the eye and extend beyond the outer corner.
• The highest point of the eyebrow arc is usually above the outer third of the eye.

Common mistake: Drawing eyebrows as simple curved lines rather than following their natural shape and direction of hair growth.

Variations in Facial Proportions

While the proportions above provide a useful starting point, understanding how faces deviate from these standards is crucial for capturing likeness and character.

Age-Related Proportions

Facial proportions change significantly with age:

Children:

• Eyes appear larger and are positioned lower on the face.
• The head is larger in proportion to the body.
• The face is rounder and shorter.
• The forehead is proportionally larger.
• The chin is smaller and less defined.
• The nose and ears are smaller in proportion to the face.

Elderly Individuals:

• The face often becomes more angular as fat is lost.
• The ears and nose may appear larger due to continued cartilage growth.
• The lips become thinner.
• The distance between the nose and upper lip increases.
• The eyes may appear smaller as the skin loses elasticity.

Gender Differences

While individual variation is vast, there are some general differences between typical male and female faces:

Typical Male Features:

• More prominent brow ridge
• Squarer jaw and chin
• Wider nose
• Thinner lips (on average)
• Larger facial features relative to face size

Typical Female Features:

• Higher eyebrows with a more pronounced arch
• Rounder or more pointed chin
• Fuller lips (on average)
• More pronounced cheekbones
• Smaller nose

Remember that these are generalizations and there is enormous variation within genders.

Measuring Techniques for Accurate Proportions

Beyond understanding standard proportions, artists need reliable techniques to measure the unique proportions of their specific subject:

1. Comparative Measurement

Use a consistent unit of measurement (like the eye width or nose length) to measure other features. For example, "the face is five eye-widths wide" or "the distance from chin to bottom of nose equals the distance from bottom of nose to eyebrows."

2. Sighting with a Pencil

Hold your pencil at arm's length, aligning it with your subject. Use your thumb to mark distances on the pencil. This allows you to compare proportions (e.g., "Is the face wider than it is tall?").

3. Plumb Lines and Angle Checking

Use your pencil as a vertical or horizontal reference to check alignments. For example, do the corners of the mouth align with the pupils? Does the bottom of the ear align with the bottom of the nose?

4. Negative Space Observation

Look at the spaces between features rather than the features themselves. This can provide a fresh perspective and help you see proportional relationships more accurately.

Common Proportional Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced artists can fall into these traps:

• Eyes too high on the face - Remember they're at the halfway point of the head.
• Features too small for the face - Double-check that your features take up appropriate space within your face outline.
• Asymmetry - Use your centerline and horizontal guidelines to maintain symmetry where appropriate.
• Mouth too close to nose - Check that the distance between mouth and chin is appropriate.
• Ears too small or misplaced - Remember ears typically extend from eyebrow to bottom of nose.

Beyond Proportions: Bringing Your Portrait to Life

While accurate proportions are essential, they're just the foundation. To create compelling portraits:

• Observe subtle contours - The face isn't flat; study how light reveals its three-dimensional form.
• Pay attention to value relationships - The relative lightness and darkness of different areas create the illusion of form.
• Capture individual character - Once you understand standard proportions, you can better recognize and render what makes each face unique.
• Study expression - How do the proportional relationships change when someone smiles, frowns, or looks surprised?

Practice Exercises

Improve your understanding of facial proportions with these exercises:

1. Draw the proportional framework - Practice drawing the basic proportional divisions until you can do it from memory.
2. Self-portrait studies - Use a mirror to create quick studies focusing only on accurate proportions.
3. Master copy exercises - Copy portraits by master artists, focusing on understanding their proportional choices.
4. Feature isolation practice - Spend time drawing only eyes, only noses, etc., to understand each feature thoroughly.
5. Timed gesture portraits - Practice capturing the basic proportional relationships in 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes.

Conclusion

Mastering facial proportions is a foundational skill that will dramatically improve your portrait drawing. While it may seem technical at first, understanding these relationships will eventually become intuitive, allowing you to focus more on expression, character, and the artistic aspects of your portraits.

Remember that these guidelines are just starting points. The most compelling portraits often come from artists who understand the rules well enough to know when and how to break them for artistic effect or to capture a subject's unique characteristics.

With practice and patience, you'll develop the ability to see and render the subtle proportional relationships that make each face uniquely human.