I only use the cross to know where my characters are facing doesn’t really help me decide where the eyes are going or whatever but I have found it helps to know how the eyes will curve on the face at different perspectives
As a traditional artist, I don't like using the cross in styles like anime, because I have to erase it. Which is why I start with the eyes, but that probably isn't very professional 😂
I have a semi realistic/anime(?) Artstyle so that really helps. I use the horizontal line (cut the circle in half) to know where the top of the ears + brows are. It's helped me a lot to make the face more realistic at the cost of having to make the eyes a bit smaller
The cross only really helps me with perspective and not placement of the facial features like if I’m drawing the head at an angle, I’m definitely gonna start using this method instead
Having a curved vertical line can help you track where the cheek and the jaws bend which can give better form to your heads. This only works if you know what you’re doing, though.
THIS WAS SO HELPFUL I always wondered why the placed the cross there in the first place because in how to draw books it always looked so unnecessary because half the time it wasn’t even placed right and the proportions were so off it’s like the artists only put the cross their and didn’t actually understand what they were using it for
THATS how I do it too! It’s honestly SO HELPFUL. If I didn’t find out the trick were you put eyes in the middle of face and nose in middle of eyes to chin etc, I WOULD BE LOSTT
By the way. I just finished both Unfamiliar books & loved them! It was my 1st ever comic & now I'm really enjoying indie comics. I bought both a hard copy & a Kindle version of your book as I want to keep my paperbacks in pristine condition. I would have never even known about or imagined that comics encompass more than straight White male superheroes if it weren't for you & I'll always be grateful for that. Funny how supporting artists makes ones own word brighter.
I never considered varying up the construction lines to better suit how someone interprets the portions/placements of the features on the face before. I've always just stuck to the usual cross example (although I do occasionally add curvature to the lines for different facial angles). This makes a lot of sense.
I typically just use it for perspective angling, nothing else. as it helps determine where the little lines would meet for the chin if the generic placement would be a certain angle.
Personally, learning the planes of the face is the thing that helped me the most, especially when you need to draw a foreshortened head. Treating the head like the torso or another anatomy part was way more helpful than treating it like one big flat plane.
The cross is a similar thjng to parting the face. Using the horizontal line, you can part the face into two, and that's where the eyes are usually. And with the vertical intersecting line, you can part the face which helps in showing us the center , kind of- and with these two linesm drawing a hear from different angles becomes easier. The technique is similar to yours, excluding the last two steps, for the placement of the nose and mouth. It is quie helpful too. But it depends on preferences, ofcourse.
I still use the cross and ill continue to use it. Personally it helps more with drawing where the face is positioned. Idk if it's something that benefits beginner artists but it works for me.
I draw the cross along the centre of head sphere. The sphere represents the cranium, and the eyebrow line usually lies around that line. Useful, for sure!
I used to just do the cross but recently I’ve started adding another line for the eye. It’s really helped me keeping the eyes the same size or it’ll help with perception
To add onto this as an artist myself, another thing I've learned, especially for drawing faces from other perspectives (like for comics, for example) is to draw the face guidelines as a triangle. The basic cross technique is still used to cut down the middle and the horizontal line is in the middle of the eyes, like in the video, but the outer corners of the eyes are marked (I draw the eyes first) and you draw lines that come down to a point where the mouth would be. Then you draw a line through the centre and then a shape where that line and the vertical centre line meet for the nose (I do circles, but it depends on the nose type). And you can imagine that triangle as bending across the head to turn it in basically any direction :)
The basic cross is always helpful, tho I use a varian of the basic cross, a cross with two horizontal lines instead of one, the top line indicates the top of the eyes and the bottom one the bottom part (duh). The eyes are the feature that wanders the most in my drawings if i have no guide so that's why i use the cross, it helps me with the mouth and nose a bit too but i use it mostly to center the eyes
I definitely find the Loomis Method helpful. Thanks for clarification on the eye placement. I always heard that they belong in the center but I was never clear if that meant above, below or directly on the line.
Ooh this is helpful. I’ve been going off the Loomis method for general placement, but I’ve been struggling with drawing chins. This is a nice way to break the planes of the face down. 😮
I like using that cross not to see where the facial features will go but to see how I’m going to draw the body. I’m talking about perspective btw. Sorry I don’t think this comment made sense 😅
I used to use these all the time, but have been using them less and less lately. Mostly cause I've been entering a much more "toon" phase in my art, and pushing the floating facial features for expressions. Like, lately I've been falling somewhere between Scott Pilgrim, DCAU, and Adventure Time.
This is because these are ACTUAL face proportions. That's why it works so well. The face shape and feature size it what defines the artstyle most of time c:
for me just use it as a guide as to which way they're facing, i also like to cut off where the hairline starts on the forehead and cheeks so the face looks like a mask, it help for more trickier perspectives
this is really helpful! I actually do use that cross (I find it much easier than going with multiple lines actually, but that's personal) but I do use the horizontal line of the cross for the middle of the eyes and it (that cross) does help with perspective - even when I do side view or 3/4, I find it helpful for making sure I don't have the nose for example in the middle of the face (in angel perspectives), or too far off from the centre of the face
it’s honestly all just preference. i use the cross because i have a pretty good idea of where the facial features should go anyways, even without the help. i believe that how you do art doesn’t matter, just that you enjoy it.
The technique you use is what's taught in schools. The simple cross is what experienced artists use after they've drawn faces for years and don't really need all the lines anymore. It's better to start with the full guidelines, not just the simple cross when you're learning.
I use other kinds of guidelines, but are very similar to the ones in this video! I make two horizontal lines to define where the eyes will be, it's like the limits of the eyes, but it also helps me to draw the eyebrows. For the nose, I do the same guideline you did, which shows where it ends, and for the mouth, I kind of imitate the bone structure of the face, using the "maxilla" as a reference to where the lips should be. I use the upper eye guideline and the nose guideline as a reference to where I should draw the ears. Basically, there are many ways to draw guidelines, and the ones you use are up to you, some might work better than others depending on your style! It's the magic of artstylie diversity ✨
the cross is rlly helpful when drawing the head shape for me so that the features stay aligned, and then you can layer these guidelines to get the rest right :DD
Seeing that Christopher Hart art style has dragged me kicking and screaming back to parts of my childhood art journey that I had prayed to be lost from my memory forever
So I've seen suggestions of the guidelines you've proposed, but surprisingly I've never seen anyone describe it as "half the face for the eyes, half THAT bottom half for the nose, and then half again for the mouth". That helps SO MUCH with visualizing how to get the lines placed correctly. And getting those positions correct can also help with the positions of other features, eg. The jaw line, ears (top and bottom), etc. I'm quite happy to see this short :3
the cross is helpful for me in the same way that starting a drawing on lined paper is less scary than one on a blank page. it helps me estimate things better and also align things, even if I don't want them perfectly placed.
The eye line isn't cutting the circle in half, just if anyone is struggling, I know it's obvious but still. It's more of like the bottom third of the circle as shown.
I personally do the cross just to find out the head angle and where I want the person to look. The vertical helps with how low the face is going to be, while the horizontal helps with the eye’s level and angle.
I never realized the lines were divided in mid sections like 💀 I saw them each as separate sections that were in approximate sizes.. this helps and explains a lot
I have never really seemed to use these cross technique since my art style is more relaxed and facial features float more, but if you are an artist I can definitely anyone using this technique.
I always use that cross, I don't follow it, I just use it as a slight guide. If I use yours my draws would be 20% more to the south... Would look horrible.
The cross is to tell where the head is looking at, but if its in the front it's most likely so you have equal sides. I believe the reason you would see a cross in the middle most of the time is because a lot of guides have the head facing forward.
Strongly depends on the art style. In your art style the eyes are bigger and noses are very small. But for an artist who for example draws semi realism those same guides might not work. So then the simple cross in the middle might work better once you remember to make it curve to the direction you want the eyes and the nose to point to.
I always wrap the cross around the face like a string around a 3d object. It helps the features from looking flat or 2d even if you've properly drawn a 3d face.
I use a thing I learned in art school which is the hair line-brow line-nose line-bottom of jaw split, because the distances between each of these points on the face/head are mostly even on most faces. (Sometimes it isn't but it helps to draw proportions more realistically). You can test it in a mirror and put your fingers between each of those features to see that the gap between your pointer and thumb most likely wont change much. Or just take a straight on pic and red line over your face. After that you can work on using the lines to stylize and not just draw realistically (probably won't work for super cartoony styles tho)
I feel like its because most young or inexperienced artists see other artists drawing "a cross" and dont really understand what its actually supposed to be doing or what its for, they just see other artists doing it and saying "it helps", so they replicate it by drawing a random cross that has no purpose. Essentially its not supposed to be a random cross its supposed to be a guidline of the angles and rough placement of the major structures of the face, in fact the only time a cross like the first example would ever be at all relavent is drawing a face that has no angle and is fully forward, the way you describe it is great and its how these lines are actually supposed to work.
I use the cross to help see a general area of where to put the eyes. It's the bare bones guide. I have a more chibi art style so the head is just a circle, the nose doesn't exist and the mouth will be very simplistic so the eyes will sell the most emotion based on how they're shaped, where they are on the face and the angle the eyes are in.
I used to do essentially this type of cross, but all of the facial features would be too low/various sizes. What I find most helpful is the simple cross from before but with an extra line above the eye portion like Haley’s. Hope this was helpful!
What I also like to do is when facing my characters in a different direction make the cross more of a curve. T helps when having to get the character’s eyes to look in the right direction as well as being in the right spot
I do the basic cross but more so for the perspective of the head, which helps with the face! And I use the middle cross section for the eyes most of the time! It helps a lot for me even though I've been drawing all my life
oh the cross is just fir head directiin, i use it to place those orher lines! also; that centerline is actually to place the eyes but in realism average peoportion it will be the midpoint of the eye. However, moving them from this point can actually helo you change the age if your character! When i make a turnaround or expressions sheet i make a point if how far frim the midpoint line the eye is. now this is my method; a super badic and absolutely winderful version is this video! Love the tutorial!
I do a strange map of triangles and parallelograms to plan my faces! Upside down triangle = top of the nose, right side up triangle for bottom of the nose, one more larger triangle underneath that for lip corners, two parallelograms for the eye socket
I often use the cross to know where the character is facing and to balance the face The eyes is always either near or between the horizontal line, nose always near the center of the cross and mouth is always below the noise
I learned some AWESOME tips for faces throughout last year. I can now draw face pretty well, semi-realistically. I’ll walk you through it!! First, you draw a circle for the skull, like most people do. THEN, you draw a rectangle right over that circle, with the top of it flush with the top of the circle, the other end coming out where the jaw would be (this is how you keep everything from looking too round). After that, you can do a couple of different things. Usually I’ll use the cross method that LavenderTowne uses here, then add the ears and sometimes I’ll put in the neck this early. Now you’re trying to map out the features over this weird ass mess!! 😊 I put two large circles where I want the eyes to be, (doesn’t really have to be perfect, it’s just for placement purposes), and I draw the general shape I want for the nose. Most commonly, I use another rectangle going from between the brows to where I want the bottom of the nose to be, but you can use really any shapes. For the lips, I will use a method where the top lip is comprised of three ellipses like this ooo (with the outer two more oval shaped) and the bottom lip with two more ellipses like this oo (once again, two ovals). It looks absolutely horrendous, but it will look better later. NOW, I will start blocking out the face shape!!! This is one of my favorite parts, actually! Before you go trying to make it look like a gigachad or a disproportionate anime girl, i COMPLETELY recommend having a reference photo. However, you can still draw the face shape without one, if you’re playing it a little risk-ay 😏. The main parts to keep in mind are the cheekbones, the very back of the jaw (the bit right under the ears), and the chin. Any of these things can be more or less pronounced, and everyone’s face is different, so don’t go slapping the same parts on all your faces. A big tip I have is that the chin is usually big enough to fit two fingers on horizontally, and the space above the lip usually only fits one (but in many cases, it also fits two!!). This will keep the lower face from looking too squished (unless you’re going for a childish face, in which the features ARE usually squished on the lower face). If you’re wondering how in the hell it keeps looking like a rat vomited on some card-board, you might also be over-eventuating some other features. 1. The eyes can be used a proportion reference for literally everything. They’re usually pretty small, so if you’ve drawn them large, you might be drawing some other things too large as well. (Don’t let this deter you from making the eyes large, though, everyone has a style.) The eyes are usually about an eye’s width apart, but that space can be larger or smaller. 2. Noses are usually anywhere from 3 inches to 4 inches long (the human eye is about 1 inch long horizontally). 3. The lips are about the size of the eye, give or take some. Some ethnicities have winders mouths, some have less wide. (Always keep ethnicity in mind, it’s actually a good guideline) Now that you have some basic proportions on your head, what the hell do you do to actually make it look like a person instead of a Halloween decoration? Okay! I know this sucks, but I actually just recommend watching RUclips videos, studying faces, and going off your reference. However, I can give you some more tips, and a better understanding of the parts of each facial feature. Eyes!! They are spheres. They have four main visual components; the eyelid, the sclera (white part), the iris (colored part), and the pupil (black part). Eyelids and pupils change the most. Eyelids are affected by expressions, pupils are affected by emotions and physical stimuli. The eyelids wraps around the (spherical!!) eyeball, meaning it isn’t ever really a flat plane. Eyebrows come in many shapes and sizes, all of which can be spaced differently. They are directly on the brow bone, though, which is right above the eyeball. Noses!! Noses come in even more shapes and sizes than eyes. You absolutely need to study faces and references to master them. The four main visual parts of the nose are the nose bridge, the nostrils/ala, the tip (or bulb), and the dorsum (the length down the nose). These parts are also affected by ethnicity, but don’t be too stressed, because even siblings can have very different noses. When drawing the nose, think about what parts of it are most pronounced. If the dorsum of the nose is flattened against the face, you would typically only draw the nostrils and tip of the nose in a front-facing view (this is more of an East Asian and African feature, but anyone can have it, and it is also common in small children). If you find your nose looking strange, too shape-y, or not shape-y enough, I would recommend using shading/lighting to bring out the planes. Lips!! lips are also hard. They, too, come in a variety, but it is by far the easiest to master! You can usually get this down pat just by studying references. The four main visual parts of the lips are the Cupid’s bow, the upper and lower tubercles (represented by the circles and ovals, the parts making up the actual lips), philtral columns (the indent and protruding bit above the Cupid’s bow), and the oral commissures (the little indents on the outside of the mouth that “connect” the upper and lower lips; where the muscles pull at when we smile). This sounds like a lot, but it’s very easy! RUclips is helpful in this area. Face shape!! This isn’t a feature on its own, but rather made up of all the bones and fat in your skull. The jaw, cheekbones, and chin are what define it the most at a front angle. At a side-view, it’s the jaw, chin, nose, and brow bone. A face can be square, triangular, oblong, round, etc. Study faces and your reference to master this one. It’s quite easy!! But, some things to reminder are also: 1. The cheek bones can be high or low, giving them more or less pronouncement, respectfully. 2. The brow bone separates the forehead from the cheeks, and can also be more or less pronounced. The nose comes from between the brows. 3. The jaw can be softer or sharper, both depending on ethnicity, sex, etc. The shape of the jaw affects both the front and side profile. 4. Ears are actually at a slant! They are slanted in the same direction as the jaw. 5. Even though I’ve given you all of this information, you still might struggle, and that’s okay!!! If you just read all of that, thank you very much. It was probably very confusing, so I’m sorry if you still don’t understand. If you want to know where I got all of this stuff, I… We’ll, let’s just say it was from wayyyy too many places. But!! An artist I REALLY recommend looking at is @Chommang_drawing on RUclips. Their work does have a lot of limits, and doesn’t experiment much, but their videos are what first made everything start clicking together for me. They have amazing understanding of proportions, shape, and structure. I hope this all helped!!!
I usually use the cross as more of a way to help keep track of the head angle
I do the same thing. It’s to help me figure out my angling and where things roughly should be in terms of perspective
Same, its kinda like drawing the contours of a sphere so you know its not a circle.
@@thelingeringartistagreed
Same, and reminds me where I want them to look.
Me too. I usually use it to see where the character is facing
I only use the cross to know where my characters are facing doesn’t really help me decide where the eyes are going or whatever but I have found it helps to know how the eyes will curve on the face at different perspectives
Yeah same. Mostly I just eyeball the features (literally), sometimes even drawing them in before the outline of the face.
Yeah for me it feels so hard to draw the head even just looking forward without the cross
Yeah I also eyeball the features 😂
FR SAME LOL
Lavender town in pokemon red and blue is dangerous
i usually do the basic cross but it doesn't really work for me... this is actually really helpful though, thank you!
As a traditional artist, I don't like using the cross in styles like anime, because I have to erase it. Which is why I start with the eyes, but that probably isn't very professional 😂
I have a semi realistic/anime(?) Artstyle so that really helps. I use the horizontal line (cut the circle in half) to know where the top of the ears + brows are. It's helped me a lot to make the face more realistic at the cost of having to make the eyes a bit smaller
Itl help with the angling thou for me
Gosh, tell me about it
Simple answer to why I use it: ✨perspective✨
The cross only really helps me with perspective and not placement of the facial features like if I’m drawing the head at an angle, I’m definitely gonna start using this method instead
Having a curved vertical line can help you track where the cheek and the jaws bend which can give better form to your heads. This only works if you know what you’re doing, though.
the cross just helps me keep track of what direction the character is facing, what angle the head is at and sometimes facial expression.
THIS WAS SO HELPFUL I always wondered why the placed the cross there in the first place because in how to draw books it always looked so unnecessary because half the time it wasn’t even placed right and the proportions were so off it’s like the artists only put the cross their and didn’t actually understand what they were using it for
Lavender is actually one of the best art tips people she’s helped my art so much
THATS how I do it too! It’s honestly SO HELPFUL. If I didn’t find out the trick were you put eyes in the middle of face and nose in middle of eyes to chin etc, I WOULD BE LOSTT
What's how I was taught how to draw faces back when I did portraiture on art class. I've never had such a small tip help me so much for my art.
@@MAOSAKA_ honestly facts bro :)
Your tutorials are always helpful, you're a very good teacher
I don't even use the cross anymore but I'm so used to drawing it 😞
By the way. I just finished both Unfamiliar books & loved them! It was my 1st ever comic & now I'm really enjoying indie comics. I bought both a hard copy & a Kindle version of your book as I want to keep my paperbacks in pristine condition. I would have never even known about or imagined that comics encompass more than straight White male superheroes if it weren't for you & I'll always be grateful for that. Funny how supporting artists makes ones own word brighter.
I never considered varying up the construction lines to better suit how someone interprets the portions/placements of the features on the face before. I've always just stuck to the usual cross example (although I do occasionally add curvature to the lines for different facial angles). This makes a lot of sense.
i do it the way you do! ever since switching to that versus the simple cross ive found that my proportions look a LOT more real
For me the cross really works as just a basic guide line to approximate where the features should be, it doesn’t have to be exact
Using the cross is easier for me since using more complex guidelines just makes me mess up more- I’m glad other people found this helpful though :)
I do draw the cross but not to help me measure anything it just makes imagining the face and angles alot easier
The cross is amazing for me since I do a ton of weird perspectives, and I don’t tend to use a lot of guidelines
Honestly I don’t rlly use the cross for anything but it’s just a habit I mostly use the cross for my drawings so I can draw the head base ❤❤
The more detailed version is how I was taught to draw back in school, it has always really helped ❤
I typically just use it for perspective angling, nothing else. as it helps determine where the little lines would meet for the chin if the generic placement would be a certain angle.
Personally, learning the planes of the face is the thing that helped me the most, especially when you need to draw a foreshortened head. Treating the head like the torso or another anatomy part was way more helpful than treating it like one big flat plane.
Tbh I use that guide line, not for symmetry but for helping to draw which angle the characters at and which angle it’s looking
The cross is a similar thjng to parting the face. Using the horizontal line, you can part the face into two, and that's where the eyes are usually. And with the vertical intersecting line, you can part the face which helps in showing us the center , kind of- and with these two linesm drawing a hear from different angles becomes easier. The technique is similar to yours, excluding the last two steps, for the placement of the nose and mouth. It is quie helpful too. But it depends on preferences, ofcourse.
I still use the cross and ill continue to use it. Personally it helps more with drawing where the face is positioned. Idk if it's something that benefits beginner artists but it works for me.
The strategy you use, I use too!
I draw the cross along the centre of head sphere. The sphere represents the cranium, and the eyebrow line usually lies around that line. Useful, for sure!
I also use 3 line guidelines and that is by far the best thing I discovered, and lips and chin are more proportional and help with character design
I used to just do the cross but recently I’ve started adding another line for the eye. It’s really helped me keeping the eyes the same size or it’ll help with perception
To add onto this as an artist myself, another thing I've learned, especially for drawing faces from other perspectives (like for comics, for example) is to draw the face guidelines as a triangle. The basic cross technique is still used to cut down the middle and the horizontal line is in the middle of the eyes, like in the video, but the outer corners of the eyes are marked (I draw the eyes first) and you draw lines that come down to a point where the mouth would be. Then you draw a line through the centre and then a shape where that line and the vertical centre line meet for the nose (I do circles, but it depends on the nose type).
And you can imagine that triangle as bending across the head to turn it in basically any direction :)
The basic cross is always helpful, tho I use a varian of the basic cross, a cross with two horizontal lines instead of one, the top line indicates the top of the eyes and the bottom one the bottom part (duh). The eyes are the feature that wanders the most in my drawings if i have no guide so that's why i use the cross, it helps me with the mouth and nose a bit too but i use it mostly to center the eyes
I definitely find the Loomis Method helpful. Thanks for clarification on the eye placement. I always heard that they belong in the center but I was never clear if that meant above, below or directly on the line.
Ooh this is helpful. I’ve been going off the Loomis method for general placement, but I’ve been struggling with drawing chins. This is a nice way to break the planes of the face down. 😮
it helps draw fascial features
I like using that cross not to see where the facial features will go but to see how I’m going to draw the body. I’m talking about perspective btw. Sorry I don’t think this comment made sense 😅
I use both tbh, the cross to keep track of the angle and the other one to put the features in
Thankyou! I find your videos very useful! (;
I used to use these all the time, but have been using them less and less lately.
Mostly cause I've been entering a much more "toon" phase in my art, and pushing the floating facial features for expressions.
Like, lately I've been falling somewhere between Scott Pilgrim, DCAU, and Adventure Time.
This is because these are ACTUAL face proportions. That's why it works so well. The face shape and feature size it what defines the artstyle most of time c:
they help you to remember what direction the face is looking and how to keep facial features proportionate. Next
for me just use it as a guide as to which way they're facing, i also like to cut off where the hairline starts on the forehead and cheeks so the face looks like a mask, it help for more trickier perspectives
Helps with perspective too. Like, if a character is looking down then the center of the face will be placed differently.
I found out this also helps me more in my style tbh. I think the cross works for a very simplified style but more complex ones need more guidelines!
this is really helpful! I actually do use that cross (I find it much easier than going with multiple lines actually, but that's personal) but I do use the horizontal line of the cross for the middle of the eyes and it (that cross) does help with perspective - even when I do side view or 3/4, I find it helpful for making sure I don't have the nose for example in the middle of the face (in angel perspectives), or too far off from the centre of the face
it’s honestly all just preference. i use the cross because i have a pretty good idea of where the facial features should go anyways, even without the help. i believe that how you do art doesn’t matter, just that you enjoy it.
The technique you use is what's taught in schools. The simple cross is what experienced artists use after they've drawn faces for years and don't really need all the lines anymore. It's better to start with the full guidelines, not just the simple cross when you're learning.
Definitely gonna have to give this a try!
I use other kinds of guidelines, but are very similar to the ones in this video! I make two horizontal lines to define where the eyes will be, it's like the limits of the eyes, but it also helps me to draw the eyebrows.
For the nose, I do the same guideline you did, which shows where it ends, and for the mouth, I kind of imitate the bone structure of the face, using the "maxilla" as a reference to where the lips should be.
I use the upper eye guideline and the nose guideline as a reference to where I should draw the ears.
Basically, there are many ways to draw guidelines, and the ones you use are up to you, some might work better than others depending on your style! It's the magic of artstylie diversity ✨
the cross is rlly helpful when drawing the head shape for me so that the features stay aligned, and then you can layer these guidelines to get the rest right :DD
I do two lines and a cross just for eyes that way i dont have one eye bigger than the other, or tilted weird, etc etc
Seeing that Christopher Hart art style has dragged me kicking and screaming back to parts of my childhood art journey that I had prayed to be lost from my memory forever
So I've seen suggestions of the guidelines you've proposed, but surprisingly I've never seen anyone describe it as "half the face for the eyes, half THAT bottom half for the nose, and then half again for the mouth". That helps SO MUCH with visualizing how to get the lines placed correctly. And getting those positions correct can also help with the positions of other features, eg. The jaw line, ears (top and bottom), etc. I'm quite happy to see this short :3
the cross is helpful for me in the same way that starting a drawing on lined paper is less scary than one on a blank page. it helps me estimate things better and also align things, even if I don't want them perfectly placed.
The eye line isn't cutting the circle in half, just if anyone is struggling, I know it's obvious but still. It's more of like the bottom third of the circle as shown.
I personally do the cross just to find out the head angle and where I want the person to look. The vertical helps with how low the face is going to be, while the horizontal helps with the eye’s level and angle.
its also easy to wrap around the head to get the dimensions right since its like a circle and those are pretty easy!
The cross for me is for perspective
i just put a cross cause it feels good. completely ignore it, Ive just gotten got at drawing faces lined up mostly without it
I never realized the lines were divided in mid sections like 💀 I saw them each as separate sections that were in approximate sizes.. this helps and explains a lot
Beautiful as an angel💫.
I’ma be honest I just do this so I know where the character is looking and then use the middle one to determine the face axis
Real tho
Yes because I draw a circle and a cross and make the bottom longer to draw the chin
This is actually really helpful…..
Random tip: the center of the circle bit of the head is usually where the eyebrow is ^^
Actually good explanation!!!
I have never really seemed to use these cross technique since my art style is more relaxed and facial features float more, but if you are an artist I can definitely anyone using this technique.
I always draw a skull under the face without other guidelines. Idk why
i don’t really use it for placements, but it helps me visualize how the face is tilted
I always use that cross, I don't follow it, I just use it as a slight guide. If I use yours my draws would be 20% more to the south... Would look horrible.
you have just permanently changed the way i draw. thank you
The cross is to tell where the head is looking at, but if its in the front it's most likely so you have equal sides. I believe the reason you would see a cross in the middle most of the time is because a lot of guides have the head facing forward.
Strongly depends on the art style. In your art style the eyes are bigger and noses are very small. But for an artist who for example draws semi realism those same guides might not work. So then the simple cross in the middle might work better once you remember to make it curve to the direction you want the eyes and the nose to point to.
I always wrap the cross around the face like a string around a 3d object. It helps the features from looking flat or 2d even if you've properly drawn a 3d face.
Tbh, a circle and then the cross inside of the head feels like it would help too.
The cross is useful when you're drawing a head with weird angles, at least with the methods I use. It's easier to angle just two lines
I use a thing I learned in art school which is the hair line-brow line-nose line-bottom of jaw split, because the distances between each of these points on the face/head are mostly even on most faces. (Sometimes it isn't but it helps to draw proportions more realistically). You can test it in a mirror and put your fingers between each of those features to see that the gap between your pointer and thumb most likely wont change much. Or just take a straight on pic and red line over your face. After that you can work on using the lines to stylize and not just draw realistically (probably won't work for super cartoony styles tho)
I use the cross to keep track of the head and, it doesn't help decide where eyes and mouth go, I use the ears to help with the placement of things! :3
I feel like its because most young or inexperienced artists see other artists drawing "a cross" and dont really understand what its actually supposed to be doing or what its for, they just see other artists doing it and saying "it helps", so they replicate it by drawing a random cross that has no purpose. Essentially its not supposed to be a random cross its supposed to be a guidline of the angles and rough placement of the major structures of the face, in fact the only time a cross like the first example would ever be at all relavent is drawing a face that has no angle and is fully forward, the way you describe it is great and its how these lines are actually supposed to work.
I use the cross to help see a general area of where to put the eyes. It's the bare bones guide. I have a more chibi art style so the head is just a circle, the nose doesn't exist and the mouth will be very simplistic so the eyes will sell the most emotion based on how they're shaped, where they are on the face and the angle the eyes are in.
I mainly just use it as a general reference for the direction the character is looking more so than placing features
i use the cross bc it makes the sketch look good
I use the basic cross because it makes the starting circle seem less empty and terrifying
I do the basic cross just to map the eyes. Kinda wing it from there 🤷
I used to do essentially this type of cross, but all of the facial features would be too low/various sizes. What I find most helpful is the simple cross from before but with an extra line above the eye portion like Haley’s. Hope this was helpful!
What I also like to do is when facing my characters in a different direction make the cross more of a curve. T helps when having to get the character’s eyes to look in the right direction as well as being in the right spot
I use it to help me think of the head as a 3D object, and it helps me with direction
I do the basic cross but more so for the perspective of the head, which helps with the face! And I use the middle cross section for the eyes most of the time! It helps a lot for me even though I've been drawing all my life
I still prefer the cross because I'm lazy but yes, for accuracy and learning placement, this is the better thing to do.
Your way helped me a lot better than the cross. Thank you 😊
oh the cross is just fir head directiin, i use it to place those orher lines!
also; that centerline is actually to place the eyes but in realism average peoportion it will be the midpoint of the eye. However, moving them from this point can actually helo you change the age if your character! When i make a turnaround or expressions sheet i make a point if how far frim the midpoint line the eye is.
now this is my method; a super badic and absolutely winderful version is this video! Love the tutorial!
I use the line as a mid point to! Once you learn how to use the guide lines it helps so much
I do a strange map of triangles and parallelograms to plan my faces! Upside down triangle = top of the nose, right side up triangle for bottom of the nose, one more larger triangle underneath that for lip corners, two parallelograms for the eye socket
i would say this is still the cross but more precise. i usually see the horizontal line used as the eye midpoint so i think this book is an outlier!
I personally do a circle with the vertical line, it helps me know which way the face is facing and stuff like that
The cross helps me understand where is the character looking
Studying the human skull helps too. Before I had no idea why I was using the cross but now that I've studied the skull i know why
I often use the cross to know where the character is facing and to balance the face
The eyes is always either near or between the horizontal line, nose always near the center of the cross and mouth is always below the noise
I do use the cross, but I also draw a square that matches the angle of the face which makes drawing faces at different angles or perspectives easier
I learned some AWESOME tips for faces throughout last year. I can now draw face pretty well, semi-realistically. I’ll walk you through it!!
First, you draw a circle for the skull, like most people do. THEN, you draw a rectangle right over that circle, with the top of it flush with the top of the circle, the other end coming out where the jaw would be (this is how you keep everything from looking too round).
After that, you can do a couple of different things. Usually I’ll use the cross method that LavenderTowne uses here, then add the ears and sometimes I’ll put in the neck this early. Now you’re trying to map out the features over this weird ass mess!! 😊
I put two large circles where I want the eyes to be, (doesn’t really have to be perfect, it’s just for placement purposes), and I draw the general shape I want for the nose. Most commonly, I use another rectangle going from between the brows to where I want the bottom of the nose to be, but you can use really any shapes.
For the lips, I will use a method where the top lip is comprised of three ellipses like this ooo (with the outer two more oval shaped) and the bottom lip with two more ellipses like this oo (once again, two ovals). It looks absolutely horrendous, but it will look better later. NOW, I will start blocking out the face shape!!! This is one of my favorite parts, actually! Before you go trying to make it look like a gigachad or a disproportionate anime girl, i COMPLETELY recommend having a reference photo. However, you can still draw the face shape without one, if you’re playing it a little risk-ay 😏.
The main parts to keep in mind are the cheekbones, the very back of the jaw (the bit right under the ears), and the chin. Any of these things can be more or less pronounced, and everyone’s face is different, so don’t go slapping the same parts on all your faces.
A big tip I have is that the chin is usually big enough to fit two fingers on horizontally, and the space above the lip usually only fits one (but in many cases, it also fits two!!). This will keep the lower face from looking too squished (unless you’re going for a childish face, in which the features ARE usually squished on the lower face).
If you’re wondering how in the hell it keeps looking like a rat vomited on some card-board, you might also be over-eventuating some other features.
1. The eyes can be used a proportion reference for literally everything. They’re usually pretty small, so if you’ve drawn them large, you might be drawing some other things too large as well. (Don’t let this deter you from making the eyes large, though, everyone has a style.) The eyes are usually about an eye’s width apart, but that space can be larger or smaller.
2. Noses are usually anywhere from 3 inches to 4 inches long (the human eye is about 1 inch long horizontally).
3. The lips are about the size of the eye, give or take some. Some ethnicities have winders mouths, some have less wide. (Always keep ethnicity in mind, it’s actually a good guideline)
Now that you have some basic proportions on your head, what the hell do you do to actually make it look like a person instead of a Halloween decoration?
Okay! I know this sucks, but I actually just recommend watching RUclips videos, studying faces, and going off your reference.
However, I can give you some more tips, and a better understanding of the parts of each facial feature.
Eyes!! They are spheres. They have four main visual components; the eyelid, the sclera (white part), the iris (colored part), and the pupil (black part). Eyelids and pupils change the most. Eyelids are affected by expressions, pupils are affected by emotions and physical stimuli. The eyelids wraps around the (spherical!!) eyeball, meaning it isn’t ever really a flat plane. Eyebrows come in many shapes and sizes, all of which can be spaced differently. They are directly on the brow bone, though, which is right above the eyeball.
Noses!! Noses come in even more shapes and sizes than eyes. You absolutely need to study faces and references to master them. The four main visual parts of the nose are the nose bridge, the nostrils/ala, the tip (or bulb), and the dorsum (the length down the nose). These parts are also affected by ethnicity, but don’t be too stressed, because even siblings can have very different noses. When drawing the nose, think about what parts of it are most pronounced. If the dorsum of the nose is flattened against the face, you would typically only draw the nostrils and tip of the nose in a front-facing view (this is more of an East Asian and African feature, but anyone can have it, and it is also common in small children). If you find your nose looking strange, too shape-y, or not shape-y enough, I would recommend using shading/lighting to bring out the planes.
Lips!! lips are also hard. They, too, come in a variety, but it is by far the easiest to master! You can usually get this down pat just by studying references. The four main visual parts of the lips are the Cupid’s bow, the upper and lower tubercles (represented by the circles and ovals, the parts making up the actual lips), philtral columns (the indent and protruding bit above the Cupid’s bow), and the oral commissures (the little indents on the outside of the mouth that “connect” the upper and lower lips; where the muscles pull at when we smile). This sounds like a lot, but it’s very easy! RUclips is helpful in this area.
Face shape!! This isn’t a feature on its own, but rather made up of all the bones and fat in your skull. The jaw, cheekbones, and chin are what define it the most at a front angle. At a side-view, it’s the jaw, chin, nose, and brow bone. A face can be square, triangular, oblong, round, etc. Study faces and your reference to master this one. It’s quite easy!! But, some things to reminder are also:
1. The cheek bones can be high or low, giving them more or less pronouncement, respectfully.
2. The brow bone separates the forehead from the cheeks, and can also be more or less pronounced. The nose comes from between the brows.
3. The jaw can be softer or sharper, both depending on ethnicity, sex, etc. The shape of the jaw affects both the front and side profile.
4. Ears are actually at a slant! They are slanted in the same direction as the jaw.
5. Even though I’ve given you all of this information, you still might struggle, and that’s okay!!!
If you just read all of that, thank you very much. It was probably very confusing, so I’m sorry if you still don’t understand. If you want to know where I got all of this stuff, I… We’ll, let’s just say it was from wayyyy too many places. But!! An artist I REALLY recommend looking at is @Chommang_drawing on RUclips. Their work does have a lot of limits, and doesn’t experiment much, but their videos are what first made everything start clicking together for me. They have amazing understanding of proportions, shape, and structure.
I hope this all helped!!!