Z Axis - The twist is established by the angle of the center line, the angle of the oval and the placement of the oval on the ball.

Y Axis - The direction the head is turning (left or right) is established by the width of the oval. As the head turns towards you, you can see more of the front of the face and less of the side, so the oval representing the side will get narrower. Similarly, when the head turns away from you, more of the side plane is revealed and the oval will appear wider.

The angle of the head is established at the very beginning of the drawing with the ball. All three axes must be addressed:

X Axis - The up and down tilt is established by the angles of the horizontal and vertical lines in the oval. Also, on extreme up tilts and down tilts, the thirds will be foreshortened because of perspective.

Step 2 - Find the thirds

After establishing the angle of the ball, divide the face into thirds. The distance between the hairline and brow-line should be the same as the distance between the brow-line and bottom of the nose. Add that same distance to find the chin. Notice how the hairline and nose-line align with the top and bottom bottom of the oval when wrapped around the face. Imagine the head as a box. The thirds must be wrapped around the side plane and front plane.


Step 3 - Add the jaw

A common mistake at this point is to make the jaw too long in comparison to the ball. Make sure to measure your thirds correctly and that they relate correctly to the ball. Notice how the shape of the jaw changes from various angles.



Step 4 - Add the features

With this basic structure properly established, it becomes much easier to add the features in the right place. Check back for more information about specific features in a later post.