Anatomy Checklist:
Skull
– Cranium: egg shape
– Orbital brow like stretched “m”
– Glabella: depression centre brow
– Brow bolder in males
– Occipital bone (back of head) protrudes, centre line to atlas
– Temporal area: slender zygomatic arch, note ear hole and mastoid process
– Face hangs like mask
– Prominent cheek bones, creates balcony above lower jaw
– Nasal bone inverted heart shape, creates slanting roof
– Maxillae: upper jaw
– Mandibula: lower jaw, lower teeth take root
– Note: small bumps either side chin midline
– Base skull level with mid ear
Eye
– Corners of eye, outer corner sits higher and further back, inner corner with pink island (caruncula) separated from white by pink slip
– Eyeball in eye socket
– Proportion of coloured to white
– Pupil, black spot centre cornea, dilates
– Cornea is a circle on sphere
– Dark rim around cornea
– Give eyelids thickness: top lid with dark down plane, lower lid with light up plane, top lid moves and sits further in front
– Light patch between inner corner and dark accent of eye socket
– Don’t underestimate space between eye and nose
– Don’t underestimate sausage of eye
– Measure eyebrows and highpoint where tone changes
Mouth
– Philtrum: shallow plane breaks, does not join top lip
– Centre line through philtrum for nose–mouth alignment
– Check corners, show furrows
– Top lip down plane, sharp centre line
– Emphasize line between lips
– Bottom lip: egg shapes either side centre line, plane breaks on side
– Check down plane between bottom lip and chin
– Chin is embedded egg shape
– Light margin around lips
Nose
– Four planes, two side planes, front and down plane with nostrils
– Valley highlight where nose protrudes from brow
– Break where bone meets cartilage
– Tip of nose larger, look for dividing line with protruding points
– Nasal wings embedded ball shapes which wrap around nostrils
– Furrow between wings and cheeks
Ear
– Space between ear and sidelever
– Space between ear and hairline
– Check angle ear (follows jaw line)
– Don’t place ear too close to face
– Helix: curved outer rim
– Anti-helix: inner rim forms a y-shape
– Concha: deep ear cavity
– Tragus: small lump in front of concha, hairs grow here
– Anti-tragus: small lump opposite tragus
– Lobe: soft, oval
General Head
– Big shape first always, then subdivide into next largest shapes (this is the most important principle in drawing and painting)
– Large plane breaks are: 1. Temporal line to chin (forms triangle of face, separates front and side of head, cheek is embedded egg shape on this line; 2. Hair line; 3. Triangle of neck.
– Centre line, three types: 1. Straight, pencil glued to nose, gives perpendicular lines of features 2. Curved; 3. Contour lines.
– Eyes are halfway point on skull
– Head has three equal divisions: 1. Hairline and brow; 2. Brow to nose base; 3. Base nose to base chin
– Ear on same line with eyes and base nose
Facial hair
– 1. Moustache; 2. Goatee; 3. Centre chin; 4. Cheek; 5. Sideburns; 6. Neck