When drawing a face where do most artist commence? I start at the nose am i wrong?

Question

I sometimes have trouble with eyes so I wonder if there is a starting point most artist use to draw a face...thanks

Answer 1

i start drawing at the chin or sometimes the eyes or forehead

Answer 2

you must start with the circle of the head and shape, then go to ears cuz thats whats keeping everything in place. then go to eyes then nose, then mouth.  

Answer 3

draw where you are most comfortable starting with, it depends on the face and position.

Answer 4

If you have trouble with eyes, you should start there. If you don't get it right the first time, you can change them around that way you don't mess up the rest of the face. I, myself start with the eyes. There really is no wrong way, whichever works for you is best, but if I were to recommend anything, I'd say start on the eyes first.

Answer 5

i dont think there is an actual right or wrong way, just what works better for the individuals, I know a sketch artist who starts with the overall shape (ie. the whole head) but then again....its more of an art than a science isnt it?

Answer 6

Yes, drawing a skull a few hundred times sure can help.

There are plenty of formulas for drawing a head.  Some of them are written right here in these answers.  Formulas can be great as long as you don't become formulaic.  That is, as long as you can still see the quirkiness of each head you draw.

But really I believe you can start a head at any point AS LONG AS you are able to be aware of the whole even while working on a part.  You kind of have to have a constant back and forth between the parts and the whole.  Otherwise you will lose the unity of the drawing.

As it happens, I often start a head with the nose.  I think it is because the nose is usually the closest thing to me and I am trying to establish/figure out the distance between me and the person I am drawing because I usually want some sense of that space in the drawing itself.  So, I find it helpful to sometimes start with the nose.

Answer 7

Technically, you should start at the nose and work your way outwards, so no, you are doing it absolutely right :D

I know I should do it this way, but I always block out the face first (shapes, etc) draw the lines for guidelines on the face, then start with the hair and then leave the eyes til last :S

Answer 8

well it doesn't really matter where you start...i start with the chin to get basic shape of the head then go from the ears to the eyes but as long as everything is consistant

Answer 9

I don't know about "most" artists, but, I will tell you how most pros do it.  Whether working from memory, a live model, or a photogrphic reference, we tend to work from geting a resonable outline of the person's head.  Then, we use the old standby technique of sketching in the midlines, top to bottom, and around the side.  This establishes the rough location of the nose and center of the mouth, and the eyes.  These centerlines are VERY standard on human beings.

After than, we establish how far apart the eyes are, how far down the centerline the end of the nose is and the mouth and ears.  Up to this point, only a few seconds have gone by.  No more than a minute.

In other words, the ROUGH locations (proportions) of ALL the features are worked in, pretty much at the same time.  This is because ALL the features are located in RELATION to each other.  Once this placement is done, THEN the rough shapes of the individual features are sketchen in, THEN we go back to the detail.

Answer 10

1.  Don't follow formulas.  Do what works for you.

2.  Draw from the inside out.  Technically that means start with the skull.  Maybe don't go that far, but think about it -- as does the gentleman above who blocks it in.  The nose, short of that, is a good place to start.

As long as you think about structure, and don't follow formulas, you should be fine.

"Don't follow leaders.

Watch the Parking Meters"

-- Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues

Answer 11

well I'm learning how to draw from my sister. She tells me to start at the eye's then do the nose, and then the shading around the eye's making it really cool looking. Well that's  what I do.

Answer 12

No I don't think so. It all must be proportional, thus the eyes are good.  

Answer 13

A beautifully drawn nose (or eyes) in the wrong place are as useless as a chocolate teapot, unless you're doing it on purpose.

The overall head shape is important. The eyes are halfway down – yes, really – and the lower part is divided into thirds, with the bottom of the nose and the middle of the lips evenly distributed. The ears sit midway between the eyes and the mouth.

Of course there are individual variations; that's where you get a likeness.

Most common mistakes: ears too far forward (they sit behind and above the hinge of the jaw) and eyes too high up on the head.

The type of drawing where you start on one feature or shape and work outwards is known as "organic," the more structured approach, with some guidelines and attention to the basic structure, followed by placing the features, is called "diagrammatic." Both work, and they're good in combination, as you can use the guidelines to check on the growth of your organic or intuitive drawing even if you haven't started out with a structure or framework.

More on eyes: They're generally one eye width apart, and one half eye width from the temple, seen full face. When drawing them, consider that they're set into sockets and not just painted on. If you draw a skull a few hundred times you'll never go wrong again.