How to draw the face of a girl, man, girl or boy

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Step-by-step instructions for realistic and anime-style images.

How to draw a realistic girl face

What is needed

• Paper;
• pencil;
• ruler;
• eraser.

How to draw

Draw a straight vertical line with a dot in the middle. At an equal distance from it, make marks above and below, these are the boundaries of the future face. Divide the resulting vertical line segment into three equal parts. Set aside lines equal to the length of these thirds to the right and left of the center of the picture. These are the lateral borders of the face.

Draw an oval along the points outlined at the top, bottom, right and left. Draw thin horizontal guides through the marks that divide the middle line into three. Divide the top into four equal parts with vertical strokes.

Divide each of these parts in half. Using the points obtained, outline the almond-shaped contours of the eyes, as shown in the figure. Draw the vertical guides down from their inner corners.

Mark where they intersect with the lower horizontal guide. The nose will be here. Draw the outline of the eyebrows above the eyes. Then divide the lower third of the face in half, the resulting point becomes the middle of the lower lip.

Measure the distance from your eyebrows to your chin and divide it into three sections. At the point where the lower third begins, there is the border between the upper and lower lip. Mentally divide each eye into three parts and lower the perpendiculars from the thirds closest to the bridge of the nose to the lip line. The corners of the mouth are located here.

Sketch the ears, they start at the level of the eyebrows and end at the lower border of the nose.

This completes the markup.

Run the eraser lightly over the drawing so that the guides remain visible, but not too bright or get in the way. Draw the tip of the nose with a wavy line. Mark its wings with brackets.

Draw the outline of the lips. The bottom should be about twice as wide as the top. Draw over the last two lines up to the nose.

Draw one eye. It is slightly asymmetrical, closer to the middle of the face, its contours are narrower and more elongated than at the outer edge. Draw the inside of the eyeball with the pupil, and above it the upper eyelid.

Draw the second eye in the same way as the first.

Trace the previously outlined eyebrow contours. Extend the edges of the nose up towards the eyes.

Refine the contours of the face. Draw a line for the chin, tapering from the level of the mouth. Draw the neck with two lines going down smoothly.

Add guidelines for the hair.

The sketch is ready, it's time to add details.

Outline the eyes, adding emphasis and shadows.

Draw shadows in the nostrils and behind the wings of the nose. Add darkening under the lower lip and between the lips.

Lightly tint the lips with a pencil and draw folds on them with short strokes from the edges to the middle of the mouth. Draw the upper and lower lashes, make them different lengths for more realism. Tinted the eyeball.

Work out the details of the eyes. Short strokes on the eyeball, diverging from the pupil, look good, they add volume. Eyelashes can be directed to the sides at different angles, this is how they look in reality. Add shadows under the cheekbones.

Draw individual strokes of the eyebrow hairs.

Lightly shade the sides of the nose and the space under the lower eyelids.

Watch the video if something remains unclear:

What other options are there

Here's a slightly less geometric approach to drawing:

This video explains the basic proportions of faces and the principles of shading well:

This portrait is as realistic as possible, but requires good drawing skills:

How to draw a realistic man's face

What is needed

• Paper;
• pencil;
• ruler;
• eraser;
• blending stump.

How to draw

Set aside a vertical segment 11 cm long. On it, mark points at a distance of 4, 7 cm, 7, 5 cm, 8, 5 cm from the top. Draw a line 8, 3 cm long through the first.

Draw two more lines at an angle to the vertical.

Draw a face outline that starts at the edges of the slanted lines and runs through the bottom of the vertical.

Draw the contours of the eyebrows on the slanted lines.

Draw the eyes under the eyebrows.

Add pupils to the inside of the eyes. They are not completely visible, they are partially covered by the upper eyelid.

Draw the tip of the nose in an arc at the 7.5 cm mark. Bend the ends of the line down and draw a shadow under them, indicating the nostrils. They should be at about eye level.

Draw the outer contours of the nostrils in two arcs.

Draw the lip line at the 8, 5 cm mark. It is not perfectly straight, but curves slightly downward in the middle. Add the upper lip above it.

Draw the lower lip, which is about twice as wide as the upper lip.

Draw the ears. Their middle should be at the level of the 4, 7 cm mark. Above them, sketch out the upper border of the hairstyle.

As a rule, hair grows in different directions from the same part of the head, and this is how it should be painted. From the parting above the left (in relation to you) eye, draw several lines to the left, depicting hair.

Draw a few lines from the parting to the right. Draw the bangs sticking out down and to the right in several movements.

Use the eraser to remove the guides. Draw lines for the neck and around them draw the inner border of the collar.

Draw the outer border of the collar with arcs, and draw the lines of the shoulders from it to the right and left. Add sketchy outlines inside the ears.

Draw an arched upper eyelid above each eye. Paint over the pupils, leaving a white point-flare in them. Add shadow to the eyeball under the upper eyelid.

Tinted eyeballs. Draw the eyebrows in short strokes. From the inner corners of the eyebrows to the nostrils, draw the borders of the nose and add shadows along them.

Add shadows on the sides of the face, under the lower jaw, under the lower lip and on the neck. Blend thoroughly.

Use a soft pencil to carefully hatch each strand of hair.

Draw stripes on the shirt and paint over them.

See the entire work progress here:

What other options are there

This video shows in detail how to build a face based on geometric proportions:

And here is the easiest way to draw a male profile:

Very realistic but difficult drawing:

How to draw a realistic face of a girl from a photo from your phone

What is needed

• Mobile phone with a photo;
• paper;
• pencil;
• ruler;
• eraser.

How to draw

Turn on the display of the grid on your smartphone. If you can adjust the number of cells in the settings of your camera, then choose the maximum one. This way you can more accurately transfer the image to the paper.

Using a ruler, trace a piece of paper into as many squares as there are cells in the grid.

Transfer the picture to the paper in squares, focusing on the grid lines and their intersections. Start with general outlines, such as the outline of the head.

Draw the eyes. This is one of the most important parts of the face, so try to keep the proportions and sizes as accurate as possible.

Don't go into details: instead of drawing each lash, do light shading on the upper eyelid in the direction of their growth.

Go to the nose. Its contours, out of habit, can be difficult to define clearly, so it makes sense not to draw it with a continuous line, but to be guided by the shadows on the model's face and indicate only the most obvious features.

Draw the lips. Do some shading under the bottom to emphasize the volume.

Add guidelines for the hairstyle. If you are confident in your abilities, add some shadow on the face along the edges of the face, along the nose and under the hair.

For an example of such a picture from a smartphone, see this video:

How to draw an anime girl's face

What is needed

• Paper;
• pencil;
• eraser;
• ruler.

How to draw

Anime characters tend to have large eyes, sharp facial features, and long bangs.

To depict such a cartoonish face, first sketch out the guide lines. To do this, draw a T-shaped shape that is split in half by a horizontal line.

From the upper edges of the shape, lower the oblique lines to the middle horizontal, and from it - down to the base.

Above the figure, set aside a segment equal to its height. Draw a downward arc that rests on this point.

Finish the outline of the head, based on the previously drawn lines.

Draw two arcs inside the shape - blanks for the eyes. Divide the area between the two horizontal lines in half. The resulting line will serve as the lower border of the eyes.

Draw round eyes with dotted pupils and small circles at the top. Check the center of the T-shape for the nose and below the mouth.

Cover your eyes for eyelids. To do this, draw the rounded lines just above the pupils and paint over them without touching the circles drawn earlier. Lightly tint the eyeballs with sparse shading.

Draw separate pointed strands that extend from the upper outline of the face to the girl's eyes. Draw a line around the head to indicate the volume of the hair.

Draw long hair hanging in separate strands. Draw two parallel lines for the neck. Draw eyebrow arches over your eyes. Mark the upper lashes with a few dots.

Draw the lower eyelashes with a couple of three strokes. Outline the eyes, making them clearer and more expressive. Add some shadow on the upper eyelid. Round off the corners of the face a little.

Draw the shoulders. Circle individual strands, they should be pronounced and textured.

Remove construction lines. If necessary, check the video instructions:

What other options are there

Another way to draw an anime girl:

And here's a more romantic look:

How to draw an anime boy face

What is needed

• Paper;
• simple pencils;
• eraser;
• black liner;
• coal (optional).

How to draw

Draw a circle. If difficult, you can trace around a plate or other object of a suitable size.

Measure the bottom third of the circle and mark a thin horizontal guideline. Draw a small segment from it to the left. At the border with the outline of the figure, bend it slightly upward, depicting the bridge of the nose.

From the tip of the drawn segment at an obtuse angle down and to the right, draw another line of about the same length. Make a nose. Draw the outline of the upper lip under it with a curved line.

Add a separate short stroke, as if continuing the direction of the upper lip - this is the corner of the mouth. Draw the lower lip and chin as shown in the picture. Continue the line of the lower jaw inward of the circle, until it intersects with the horizontal guide. Above, sketch out another auxiliary line. Draw a couple of lines for the neck.

Thin horizontal guides serve as the upper and lower borders of the eye. Draw the outline of the eye using these lines. Don't be too small.

Draw the eyeball between the upper and lower borders of the eye in a rounded stroke. Add the pupil in the upper left corner. Draw an eyebrow over the eye with a couple of lines.

Draw the ear at the intersection of the upper guideline and the line of the lower jaw. The ear is tilted to the right and tapers slightly downward. The lobe forms a small corner.

Draw the outlines of the ear inside. Anatomical precision is not required, you can simply outline them with approximate lines.

Draw a fringe made up of separate, slightly curved strands. Anime characters have distinctive hairstyles: typically angular, well-defined lines.

In a similar style, paint hair all over the character's head.

Draw the neck in more detail. Around it, add the angular outlines of the shirt collar.

Draw a shirt if desired. We concentrate on the face, so we will not go into detail about the features of the clothes.

Draw a black liner around the eye and paint over the pupil, but not completely. You can just leave a white point, although a complex flare looks more interesting.

Trace the whole picture with a black liner and erase with a simple pencil.

If desired, use charcoal or a very soft pencil to add shadows to the drawing, paying particular attention to the hair and the space underneath.

See the whole process here:

What other options are there

Similar boy in profile:

Another interesting portrait of a young man: