# how do you draw faces?



## xjrfang (Dec 8, 2008)

i am trying to learn how to draw better faces, my faces always come out appearing uneven, what are some tips that you can give me to help me draw faces better? an example of a face i drew is this pict.


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## Grimfang (Dec 8, 2008)

When I first started, I found drawfurry.com's guide extremely helpful.

http://www.drawfurry.com/?p=5

I'd recommend trying what they lay out there. I don't use that exact technique now, but that's what I started with. That site's helped me a lot.


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## xjrfang (Dec 8, 2008)

thanks for the link, im going to try it out tommrow, i never really considerd it to be a 3d object like in the diagrams


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## Tiarhlu (Dec 9, 2008)

I started out drawing from screen grabs until I got the hang of it. It gave good results, the problem was, if I wanted to draw some pose or expression apart from what I had been doing I was completely lost.


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## Anbessa (Dec 19, 2008)

first of all, you must keep in mind that all heads are made of shapes: a ball for the cranium, and things like cones for muzzles, or the rest of the head (lizards, horses, and so on). so, if you turn the head in, all features like eyes, ears, and the muzzle, move around the cranium's ball.
in your example, the head is a ball alright, but the face is flat like a board, and the muzzle looks like a rectangular cardboard box glued on. (part of that look is the line on the right of the muzzle leading back from the nosetip; in nature there ain't no sharp edge there which would justify that line. just leave these lines off)
always remember that in nature there are rarely sharp edges on animals.
also, use helping lines to bring lips, nostrils, and eyebrows into alignment. an uneven nose ruins it all by making the face look out-of-line, for example.
and since you're at it, learn anatomy. the body of your example is flat, featureless, disproportioned, and appears to be a bag filled with beans. there are no joints visible and hands and feet need lots of work. the shading is wrong, too, and the tail looks like a bean-filled bag, too.
grab paper and a pencil, and practise on. what you can't accomplish on paper you won't be able to create on the screen.

I'm sorry if this sounds like a bashing; I don't mean to bash you. but complimenting you on things that aren't right is outright lying, and doesn't help you in the least. and I don't want to lie to you; you need to learn the basics first.

so, practise as much as possible, and have fun.


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## Monoth (Dec 30, 2008)

Use guidelines. Lines across the face, atop both eyes, under both eyes, down the middle of the face from top to bottom, etc.


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## Shin Ji Ka Mi (Dec 30, 2008)

Practice. Try using geometrical shapes first. The move on to the details.


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## felixir (Dec 30, 2008)

For me, the best way to learn is to try tracing over other's people art style. Or if you absolutely refuse to trace because you think it's "cheating" (which is silly ^_^), just try copying a certain face until you understand how the lines are drawn.

I'm not saying to plagiarize other artists, but to just practice imitating their styles until you figure out what makes the face look "right" to you :3


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## Shin Ji Ka Mi (Dec 30, 2008)

felixir said:


> For me, the best way to learn is to try tracing over other's people art style. Or if you absolutely refuse to trace because you think it's "cheating" (which is silly ^_^), just try copying a certain face until you understand how the lines are drawn.
> 
> I'm not saying to plagiarize other artists, but to just practice imitating their styles until you figure out what makes the face look "right" to you :3



I don't find this way of practicing very appealing not because of "plagarisim" but because all you will learn is to imitate how a face is drawn by any other person.

You gotta understand how a head is to properly draw it.

I agree with a comment made in another post that you gotta start with the basics first, and for me the basics are geometrical shapes.

Well it's just my 2 cents.


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## Thunder_pants (Dec 30, 2008)

I've known people who just studied an animal's head and then mixed it with an anime shape and molded the aftermath until it looked good. I just kind of learned by trial and error (mostly error) by what looked good to me. My stuff isn't the most detailed, but that's why I like it. I didn't want to draw a detailed dog head with the long snout and all that jazz. So I just lowered the detail level.Messed with it until I got a good look. Alot of people say that's the worst way to do it. But I don't care.

Good luck!!


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## Thorfax Goldwings (Dec 30, 2008)

this would probably fit in more in the tutorials and critiques forum.

And, i find that how to books and rulers used as a straight edge can help


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