Loomis Head Construction: Sphere, Planes, and Feature Placement

Object Drawing Lessons

The Loomis head construction starts with a sphere for the cranium, a middle line through the sphere, and an equator that becomes the brow line. Loomis describes slicing a narrow section from each side, then using the jaw line to define the face plane. This lesson keeps those construction steps distinct from a custom vertical ear-position marker used only as a placement aid; Loomis does not define that marker as a plane cut. Eyes sit on either side of the face axis, while the nose base and mouth are centered on it. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and tools.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Reference illustration

Use the stated measurements and conventions for each exercise.

The Sphere, Brow Line, and Side Slices

Start with a circle for the cranium. Draw a vertical middle line through the sphere and a horizontal line at its equator; in this front-view convention, the equator becomes the brow line. The vertical middle line is the face axis. To suggest the cranium’s side planes, draw the two side-slice arcs as construction cues; the arcs are not themselves extra face planes. Extend the jaw line below the sphere to define the face plane, as described in Andrew Loomis’s Drawing the Head and Hands, Plate 1. For this worksheet only, a separate short vertical ear-position marker indicates where to place the ear horizontally on the side plane; it is a drawing aid, not a Loomis plane cut. Ear height alignment is a simplified worksheet convention.

In the front view, the brow guide crosses the horizontal center of the sphere, the side-slice arcs flatten its left and right edges, and the face axis keeps the nose and mouth centered. The jaw line, rather than the brow or ear-position marker, outlines the face plane below the cranium. Treat the brow, axis, and ear-position marker as guides, not physical slices through the cranium.

1. Draw a circle with a vertical and horizontal center line.
2. Mark the brow line on the horizontal center.
3. Draw two vertical arcs for the side planes, each about one-third of the radius in from the edge.
4. Mark a separate vertical ear-position marker on the side plane near its outer edge; this is a worksheet placement aid.
5. Extend the vertical center line below the circle to locate the chin.

Placing eyes, nose, and mouth on the constructed head

Use the brow line for the eyes. Place the eye line slightly below the brow line, about one-tenth of the sphere diameter down. The nose base sits halfway between the brow line and the chin, measured vertically along the face axis. The mouth line sits one-third of the way from the nose base to the chin, also measured vertically along the face axis. These are hypothetical proportions for practice; adjust only after checking the construction.

The eyes sit within the front plane, not on the side planes. The nose runs along the vertical face axis. The mouth is centered on the same face axis. In this worksheet convention, ear tops align with the brow guide and ear bottoms with the nose-base guide; the vertical ear-position marker only indicates horizontal placement on the side plane. This gives checkable relationships without claiming a single universal face.

1. Draw the eye line just below the brow line.
2. Mark the nose base halfway from brow line to chin.
3. Mark the mouth line one-third from nose base to chin.
4. Place eyes inside the front plane, centered left and right of the vertical axis.
5. Align ear tops with the brow guide and ear bottoms with the nose-base guide; keep the vertical ear-position marker separate from the face axis.

Checking the construction with simple arithmetic

Choose a sphere diameter of 8 cm as a hypothetical example. The radius is 4 cm. The side planes sit about 1.3 cm in from each edge (one-third of the radius, rounded). The brow line is at the horizontal center. The face axis is at the vertical center. The custom vertical ear-position marker is separate from the face axis and sits on the side plane near its outer edge. The chin sits below the circle by about one radius, so 4 cm down from the bottom of the sphere.

Check that the nose base is halfway between brow line and chin. With an 8 cm sphere, the brow line is 4 cm from the top and 4 cm above the sphere bottom, and the chin is 4 cm below the sphere bottom, so the brow-to-chin distance is 4 + 4 = 8 cm. The midpoint is 4 cm below the brow line, which is where the nose base belongs. Measure with a ruler and confirm the mouth line is one-third from nose base to chin. These checks catch placement errors before rendering features.

1. Measure the sphere diameter and record it.
2. Confirm side planes are equal distances from each edge.
3. Check brow line is horizontal and centered.
4. Check that the face axis is vertical and centered, and that the custom ear-position marker is separate from it on the side plane.
5. Verify nose base and mouth line using the stated fractions.

Worked example

A learner draws a sphere of 10 cm diameter. The brow line is at the horizontal center. The chin is 5 cm below the sphere bottom. Find the nose base height from the brow line and the mouth line height from the nose base.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing the side planes too close to the center, collapsing the front plane. Keep each side plane about one-third of the radius in from the edge and check both sides are equal.
• Placing the eyes on the brow line instead of slightly below it. Use a separate eye line about one-tenth of the sphere diameter below the brow line.
• Putting the nose base at the vertical ear-position marker instead of halfway to the chin. Measure from brow line to chin and mark the midpoint for the nose base; keep the custom vertical ear-position marker separate from the face axis and on the side plane near its outer edge.
• Letting the mouth drift off the vertical center line. Re-draw the vertical axis after the plane cuts and center the mouth on it.

Self-check rubric

• Sphere is circular and centered on the page.
• Vertical and horizontal center lines are present and cross at the sphere center.
• Brow line is horizontal and at the center.
• A custom vertical ear-position marker is separate from the face axis and placed near the outer edge of the side plane.
• Two side planes are drawn as vertical arcs, balanced left and right.
• Eye line is slightly below the brow line.
• Nose base is halfway between brow line and chin.
• Mouth line is one-third from nose base to chin.
• Eyes straddle the face axis; the nose base and mouth center on it.
• Ear tops align with brow line and ear bottoms with nose base.
• Valid alternatives are accepted if the checks above hold.

Questions and answers