CONSTRUCTION OF THE HUMAN HEAD

(I take the liberty of warning you that if you have not studied and thoroughly practiced what came before, it is useless to try to continue. Forgive me for insisting, but… I believe so strongly in these rules that they will help you definitively solve this difficult problem: drawing a head or a face!)

As if we were starting over, but while knowing and remembering everything we have already studied, let’s now look at the method to follow in order to construct a head in any position.

Let us first imagine the sphere that forms the cranium, pierced through its center by an axis A. In this illustration and the others, I present you with different examples corresponding to a head in various positions. Thus, the sphere indicated by an A corresponds to a three-quarter view of a head looking slightly downward; the one indicated by B corresponds to a head looking upward, also in three-quarter view; in C, it is looking downward (fig. 16).

Divide the sphere starting from axis A with two circles E and F placed vertically in relation to this axis, and another circle G placed horizontally in relation to the same axis. On this last one, draw the two straight lines H and I, which intersect and form a right angle in perspective with axis A. Note that we consider the sphere as a transparent body in order to better study these different operations. Make sure that these divisions are exact in perspective (2).

Then imagine that you slightly flatten the sphere on each side…

…on each side, with the aim of drawing a slightly flattened sphere. On these planes or sections, draw the straight lines that extend the trace of the circles (they are indicated by an arrow). At the same time, starting from point J, draw the axis of symmetry of the face and extend it downward parallel to axis A (fig. 18).

We thus arrive at the division of the axis of symmetry of the face into three and a half units (or modules). Here, it is best to stop in order to study how to carry out these divisions, taking into account the difficulty of foreshortening; indeed, we are looking at a head whose face is looking upward, from one side, downward, etc.

Start by calculating on this axis-line A the three and a half divisions, as if it were the axis of symmetry of the face. To do this, first divide the upper half into one and a half units — one module and a half — and then carry down to the bottom, twice, the same length as the full module a’ (fig. 21).

Once these divisions are made, transfer the corresponding points — careful, this is where the whole secret of the operation lies —, transfer these points, I repeat, while maintaining the perspective orientation given by line I, that is to say, draw the other lines parallel to I (fig. 22).

Once this is done, we obtain on the axis of symmetry of the face the famous canon of proportions, seen in foreshortening, whatever the position of the face may be.

Perhaps you are now wondering: “But does a professional really have to do all this to draw a head?”; to which one can reply: “Yes and no”; it depends. If the professional draws or paints with the model in front of him, it is possible that he does not need these formulas; if he draws from memory, without referring to the model, he may need them; and if the position of the head presents a very pronounced foreshortening, they will be more or less indispensable to him. And I say “more or less” because, in each case, it will always depend on the skill and experience of the professional. But what you can be sure of is that every professional who truly knows his craft knows and applies these rules, at least mentally; he imagines them and represents them to himself, even if he does not apply them completely in reality.