How To Draw A Portrait in Three Quarter View

How to Draw a Portrait in Three
Quarter View
Drawing Tips
By Vladimir London in Art Tutorials > Drawing Tips
When drawing from life, I often see art students do their best to
depict the eyes, nose and mouth as they see them on a model. . .
forgetting, however, to first draw the overall construction of the head.
This is like decorating walls before ever building the house—and just
like building a house, “building” the head in a portrait drawing
requires some crucial knowledge of proportions and measurements.
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So today I’m going to share with you the step-by-step method of

drawing the head’s proportions as it’s taught in one of the World’s
best art institutions—Repin Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. I also
describe it in my book on portrait drawing which is available on
Amazon.
Here’s how the finished sketch looks:

:
If you follow along with each of the tutorials in this series, you’ll be
able to draw your own three quarter view portrait, just like this one.
NOTE: This quick drawing was done in red pastel pencil, but feel free
to use any drawing medium of your choice. Today we’re focusing on
constructive drawing principles, rules of perspective, head
proportions and anatomy, which won’t change whether you draw in
graphite pencil, charcoal or with your finger on sand.
Before you begin drawing:

:
I would suggest getting a model or drawing a self-portrait looking in
a mirror. It’s always easier to draw accurately from life, rather than
from your memory or imagination.
Analyze the head and choose a viewing angle. (For the purposes of
this series, find a three quarter view similar to the one in the sketch
above.) Fix your paper to a drawing board and get your pencil
sharpened—you’re now ready to begin.
1. Marking the proportions of the head
Begin by measuring the main proportion of the model’s head—in

other words, its width-to-height ratio—using a pencil, or by eye.
NOTE: Many art students ask me how to measure with a pencil. To

answer, I created this article: http://drawingacademy.com/how-to-
measure-with-a-pencil
The proportion of a head varies depending on the viewing angle, so

take your time and make sure to get it as accurate as you can. When
you know its ratio (how tall the head is compared to how wide it is)
draw your first four strokes on your paper.
These four strokes will indicate the top, bottom, left, and right edges
of the head. Make sure there is enough space in front of the head—
what we call “nose room”—and that the head is not too close to the
top edge of paper. It is also good to have more space below the head
than above.
:
You can train your eyes to judge proportions by first marking those
edges freehand and then, if necessary, double-check the proportion
using your pencil as explained in my article above.
2. Dividing the face into three parts
The next step requires some knowledge of the universal proportion

of the face—all adult faces (regardless of individual appearances)
can be divided into three equal parts:
:
• From the hair line to the eyebrow line
• From the eyebrow line to the base of the nose
• From the base of the nose to the bottom of the chin.
Observe on the model (or your own face in the mirror) where the hair
line is and mark this line on the drawing. Divide the distance from
that line to the bottom of the head into three equal parts by eye or
using a pencil as a measuring stick.
Do this as accurate as you can—precise location of these three lines

will help you to place each facial feature correctly.
:
As you may notice, if the model’s head is at the same level as yours,
each of those lines will be exactly horizontal. When the model’s head
is located higher than yours, those lines will curve upward. The
opposite is also true—those lines will curve downward when a
model’s head is located lower. The curvature depends on your
viewing angle.
To keep things simple for this exercise, try to draw your portrait at
eye-level so the lines are all exactly horizontal.
:
3. Placing the eye line
Placement of the eyes is another universal truth for all portraits—the

eye line always divides the height of the head in half. So you can
place this line with confidence, marking it freehand or using a pencil
to measure where the middle of the head is.
This line, of course, will be located below the eyebrow line that we
marked in the previous step.
:
I should make a disclaimer that the eye-line can be tilted or curved,
again depending on your viewing angle. This can foreshorten the
distance between the eyeline and the top or bottom of the head,
which in some cases will make the eye line appear lower than the
actual mid-point of the head.
In our drawing, however, the subject’s head is at the same level as

our own, so the eye line will be horizontal and exactly half-way
between the top and bottom of the head.
4. Locating the base of the skull
Locating the skull base will help us to connect the head, neck, and
shoulders correctly. Even if you can’t see the back of the head, the
base of the skull should be on the same level as the base of the
nose, which is one of the original 3 lines we drew to divide the face
into 3 even sections.
:
I’ve emphasized that line in red, above. As you draw this line from the
base of the nose to the back of the head, you’ll be drawing right
along the bottom edge of the cheekbone.
5. Drawing the curve of the cranium
In this step we’re simply marking the location and curve of the lower
part of the cranium. Although it might be hidden by long hair or a tall
collar, we draw it anyway, to help us build the shape of the head
:
before drawing the features on top.
Just imagine that the head is transparent, in the meantime.
Later on, we will connect the neck muscles to this part of the skull,
so knowing where it is will be very helpful.
Check out Part 2 in this series, also on EmptyEasel!
Special thanks to Vladimir London for sharing his drawing expertise

:
and this tutorial. Vladimir is a published author and founder of the
Drawing Academy, an online class for learning traditional drawing
techniques from home—make sure to click through for full tutorials,
drawing tips, and more!
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How to Draw a Portrait in Three

By Vladimir London in Art Tutorials > Drawing Tips

Quick announcement - EmptyEasel has created a quicker, easier

So today I’m going to share with you the step-by-step method of

Here’s how the finished sketch looks:

Before you begin drawing:

1. Marking the proportions of the head

Begin by measuring the main proportion of the model’s head—in

NOTE: Many art students ask me how to measure with a pencil. To

The proportion of a head varies depending on the viewing angle, so

2. Dividing the face into three parts

The next step requires some knowledge of the universal proportion

Do this as accurate as you can—precise location of these three lines

Placement of the eyes is another universal truth for all portraits—the

In our drawing, however, the subject’s head is at the same level as

4. Locating the base of the skull

5. Drawing the curve of the cranium

Just imagine that the head is transparent, in the meantime.

Check out Part 2 in this series, also on EmptyEasel!

Special thanks to Vladimir London for sharing his drawing expertise

GET EMPTYEASEL IN YOUR INBOX

NOTE: You may also be interested in EE's step-by-step drawing

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