Draw Faces in 5 Simple Steps with Jake Spicer

If you've taken up drawing for the first time, it can often be hard to know which subject matter to start with. Thankfully we have author and illustrator Jake Spicer to help out in that department, as he shares his second drawing tutorial with us.

Jake is well-known for drawing portraits, faces and animals fluidly and accurately within 15 minutes. His drawing tutorials will cover several subject matters exclusively for Cass Art customers - so you'll be drawing with confidence in no time!

This time, Jake is going to show us how to draw faces in five simple steps. The proportions are difficult, and because we see faces every day a mistake in a drawing is easy to recognise. But don't worry - Jake's tutorial with have you drawing faces with confidence today.

What you'll need:

Cass Art Heavyweight Cartridge Pad

Faber-Castell 9000 Pencils Set of 6

Staedtler Eraser and Sharpener

How to start drawing faces:

1. Establish head before the shoulders

In pencil, quickly and loosely establish the mass of the head with an underlying circle for the top of the head and jaw shape. You can then add two lines following the muscles running from behind the ear to the collarbone and the ‘coat hanger’ shape of the shoulders.

2. Scaffolding for the features

Once you have your head a shoulders, draw a line across the eyebrows, a line crossing through the centerline of the eye (about halfway through the head as it is facing you), the underside of the nose and the centerline of the lips. These will provide you with scaffolding onto which you can hang the shapes of the features.

3. Features

Draw in the shape of the features, looking for dark shapes of shadow. The eyebrow shape is important and expressive; the shape of the eyelash and the dark shape of the pupil and iris can be drawn as a single mass. Then look for the shape of shadow in the nostril and the dark, rhythmic centerline of the lips.

4. Outline of the head

Move down to the chin and up the jaw, using the features to judge the shape of the outside of the face. Use the features to help you see the position of the ears and the beginning of the hairline. Draw the outline of the mass of the hair, creating the shape of the forehead in negative, between hairline and eyebrows.

 5. Tone and texture

Elaborate on the shadows sculpting the head, drawing in shapes of shadow with parallel, diagonal marks. Draw the directional flows of hair, building up tone with textural marks.

 
Feeling inspired? 
Jake Spicer's book, Draw Faces in 15 Minutes, is published by Ilex Press and is available here.

Check out Jake's first drawing tutorial, Draw Cats in 5 Simple Steps.

Visit Jake's website here or follow him on Twitter @BrightonDrawing