IN A CHILD, THE EYES ARE LOCATED LOWER THAN THE EXACT CENTER OF THE HEIGHT OF THEIR HEAD
If we draw a slightly flattened sphere on the sides, if we place the eyes lower than the center, wide and large eyes, if we draw a small round face, we have the head of a child. (See page 26, figure 37, several examples of children’s heads which illustrate this definition of their facial characters.)
All that remains for us is to first see the position of each element always in this two-year-old head, then the variations that occur during the development and growth of this head.
CANON OF THE HUMAN HEAD AT DIFFERENT AGES
At two years old:
Let us draw this head with a special canon, different from the one we use for the adult head. The general proportion of the head seen from the front corresponds, as you can see, to a rectangle that measures three large units by four units of length. The unit of measurement — the module — is given, in this case, by the height that exists between the lower edge of the nose and the tip of the chin. The position of the eyes can be found by the secondary line (A), which divides the unit or module in two where they are located.
Growth of the Human Head
Study, on this two-year-old head, the following facial characteristics, compared to those of the adult head:
At six years old:
We can use the previous canon, even if its measurements do not allow us to establish the dimensions, proportions, and overall placement of the facial elements as precisely. They must be determined somewhat by eye, following this framework, while studying and taking into account the following modifications due to head growth:
At twelve years old:
The shape of the head gets closer and closer to that of the adult, and we can draw it using the same canon since the dimensions and proportions are beginning to be similar.
At twenty-five years old:
No comment on the canon, which you already know too well.
Simply note the anatomical characteristics of the face by comparing it to the previous ones: the eyes are more oblong, closer together (note that the twelve-year-old child still retains this characteristic spacing of childhood); the nose, cheekbones, and jaw, all elements conditioned by the shape of the bones, make the whole less angular in the child than in the adult. They cannot be confused.
…And at eighty years old…
In general, at this advanced age, fat disappears and the skin becomes dehydrated; consequently — without going into details — the shape of the face is entirely dependent on that of the skeleton. This gives, overall, the following appearance:
There is also one important factor that can significantly modify the distance between the nose and the chin; then, the latter recedes slightly inward as it lifts, giving it a “nutcracker” appearance. This is due to the absence of teeth. Of course, you may say: “What if this person wears dentures?” In that case, the structure of the face will show a notable difference compared to that of a younger person. Because, with or without teeth, the elderly person’s jaw will always tend to protrude, and the chin to lift.