Page:Drawing for Beginners.djvu/84

 CHAPTER VI

Drawing Head, Face, Features, and Hair

REMEMBER, years ago, poring over an old-fashioned drawing-book which contained&mdash;among many other things&mdash;diagrams that reduced head, face, and features to the very simplest of problems.

The author began by comparing the head to an oval or egg-shaped substance.

Full face presented a simple oval.

Sideways (or profile) presented a deeper oval, with the forepart flatter than the back, which thickened a little at the base.

On this egg-shaped form were traced curving lines, following, of course, the curves of the surface, one central line, and three transverse lines. The central line marked the centre of the brow, the angle and the tip of the nose, and ran through the upper and lower lips to the point of the chin.

The cross, or transverse, lines marked the angle of the brow above the eyes, then the angle of the nostrils, and lastly the angle of the mouth.

When the head tilted and sank forward the lines of the face curved downward.

When the head was thrown up and backward the lines of the features curved in a like matter.

Seen in profile (or sideways) the line of the brow, carried to the back of the head with the line of the nostril, gave the position of the ear.

This is a valuable little key to the quick placing of the features. In a word, it helps with the perspective of features.