Monday, November 23, 2009

Portrait Basics













Organized my "books of knowledge" that I have
put together over the years and came across
this page on basic portrait proportions and how
the structures on the face line up with other
parts of the face. I took a picture out of a
magazine and drew lines through it to remember
how the basic structures of the face line up
with each other and the measurements of one
as compared to another. The first picture helps
me remember the three dimensional curve of the
face. Sure, not everyone has a perfect face,
but this is the basics and adjustments are
always made for age, nationality, and angle
of the face.
Points to remember:
-The outside corners of the mouth lines up with
the inside of the eye. (Except big smile).
-The widest part of the nose lines up with the
inside corner of the eye.
-The length of the ear equals the bottom of the
nose to the chin.
-Eyes are at the center of the head (top of head
to the chin).
-When drawing/painting the face, always add the
sparkle of light in the eyes, top of nose or lips.
This adds "life" to the portrait.

2 comments:

jyothisethu said...

the description is useful and fantastic...
thank you...

Susan Liles said...

jyothisethu...thanks, glad it is helpful.