Question

human face anatomy references for art

Answer 1

faces are very difficult to get right, so study their proportions very carefully

starting from the bottom of the hairline, divide the head in three parts. the forehead takes up about 1/3 (a common mistake is to under-estimate the amount of forehead because many people have hair/hair accessories, etc. that obscure this distance)
the next third extends from the top of the eye down to the bottom of the nose
last third extends from the bottom of nose to the chin

note that these are just "average" proportions, for a young-looking (but not a child) face. facial proportions are affected by genetics, age, race/ethnicity, and deliberate manipulation of proportions

Answer 2

some notable differences between the male+female faces
> a woman's head is generally a bit smaller than the male head
> the jawline/chin are both a bit more square in the male face
> a woman's eyes are usually drawn with a slight inward (canthal) tilt; this type of tilt is considered a feminine feature
> narrower eyebrows are also a more feminine feature
> cheekbones tend to be more pronounced in men
> in real life, men actually have longer eyelashes, but longer eyelashes are generally considered a feminine feature

this site has some good reference pics for the differences between the male/female face

https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/the-differences-between-male-and-female-portraits--vector-14954

Answer 3

i don't have a lot of experience drawing young/child characters but generally the forehead is even more pronounced and the eyes occupy a larger proportion with respect to the rest of the face

this is probably the reason why large eyes/chubby cheeks/etc. are considered cute even when these features are present in animals

Answer 4

generally the eyes are slightly closer to the midline of the face, then they are from the side. after measuring out the distance from one eye, make sure the other eye is reflected on the other side. you might find that one eye looks ok but when the other eye is drawn it suddenly doesn't look right (storyofmyliferightthere)

putting them slightly closer together indicates youth, and placing them farther apart can indicate age. of course, there are limitations to this before your drawing starts to look like an alien

Answer 5

IMO the human side view is an absolute nightmare to draw but generally you would start with a slightly flattened circle (since the human skull is slightly flat at the top)

make a cross that intersects at the ear (below the center of the circle)