Head Proportion Plate: Guided Feature Placement Practice

Object Drawing Lessons

This lesson teaches a repeatable method for placing facial features on a drawn head using proportion guides. You will work from a head outline and add horizontal and vertical reference lines that mark where the eyes, nose, and mouth typically sit. The method uses a defined convention: the head is divided into equal vertical bands from the top of the skull to the chin, and features are placed at band boundaries or midpoints. Because real heads vary, the guides are starting points, not rules. You will learn to measure your own drawing, adjust guides to match the head shape you have drawn, and check placement with simple arithmetic. All practice uses a plate you can plan and print later; for now, draw the guides directly on paper. The lesson excludes full-body proportion and facial expression drills, focusing only on feature placement on a single head.

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

Setting Up the Head Outline and Guide Convention

Begin with a head outline: an oval or egg shape that is wider at the top and narrows toward the chin. Mark the top of the skull and the bottom of the chin. The vertical distance between these two points is the head height. Using a ruler, divide this height into four equal bands by drawing three horizontal lines: one at 25 percent, one at 50 percent, and one at 75 percent of the head height measured from the top. These are your horizontal guide lines. Label them H1, H2, and H3 from top to bottom.

Next, draw a vertical center line from the top of the skull to the chin. This line divides the head into left and right halves. For feature placement, the convention places the eye line at H2 (the halfway line), the nose base at H3 (the 75 percent line), and the mouth line halfway between H3 and the chin. The ear line runs from H2 to H3 on each side. These positions are a starting convention; you will adjust them after checking the head shape you drew.

1. Draw a head outline and mark the top of the skull and the bottom of the chin.
2. Measure the head height with a ruler and record it in centimeters.
3. Calculate 25, 50, and 75 percent of the head height and mark those heights from the top.
4. Draw horizontal guide lines H1, H2, and H3 at those marks.
5. Draw a vertical center line from top to chin.
6. Label the eye line at H2, the nose base at H3, and the mouth line halfway between H3 and the chin.

Placing Eyes, Nose, and Mouth with Vertical and Horizontal Guides

The eye line at H2 is the primary horizontal guide for both eyes. Place the eyes so their centers sit on H2. In the five-eye convention, the head width at H2 is about five eye widths: one eye width as the outer margin on the left, one eye width for the left eye, one eye width as the gap between the eyes, one eye width for the right eye, and one eye width as the outer margin on the right. With this layout, the distance between the two eye centers is about two eye widths: half an eye width from each eye center to its inner edge (two halves make one eye width), plus the one-eye-width gap between the eyes. To check, measure the head width at H2, divide by five to estimate one eye width, and compare that number to the eye width you drew. Then check that the distance between the eye centers is about twice that eye width. If your drawn values differ, adjust the eye size or spacing, or accept the difference as a valid style choice and note it.

The nose base sits at H3. The nose width is about one eye width, centered on the vertical center line. The mouth line sits halfway between H3 and the chin. The mouth width is about one and a half eye widths, centered on the vertical center line. Use the vertical center line to keep the nose and mouth symmetrical. For the ears, draw them between H2 and H3 on each side, with the top of the ear near H2 and the bottom near H3. These placements are conventions; a valid alternative is to shift the eye line slightly up or down if the head outline has a very short or very long forehead, as long as you record the shift and keep the other features consistent with it.

1. Mark the eye centers on H2, spaced about two eye widths apart (one eye width between the inner edges plus half an eye width on each side).
2. Measure the head width at H2 and divide by five to estimate one eye width; compare with your drawn eye width.
3. Mark the nose base on H3 and center the nose width (about one eye width) on the vertical center line.
4. Mark the mouth line halfway between H3 and the chin and center the mouth width (about one and a half eye widths).
5. Draw ears between H2 and H3 on both sides.
6. Check symmetry by measuring distances from the vertical center line to each feature.

Checking Placement with Simple Arithmetic and Adjusting Guides

Use arithmetic to check your guide placement. Suppose the head height is 12 centimeters. Then H1 is at 3 centimeters from the top, H2 at 6 centimeters, and H3 at 9 centimeters. The mouth line is halfway between 9 centimeters and 12 centimeters, so it sits at 10.5 centimeters from the top. If you measure your drawn eye line and find it at 7 centimeters instead of 6, you have shifted the eye line down by 1 centimeter. That is a valid adjustment if you also move the nose and mouth down by the same amount to keep the spacing consistent, or you can redraw the eye line at 6 centimeters.

For horizontal checks, measure the head width at H2. If it is 10 centimeters, one eye width is 2 centimeters by the five-eye convention. If your drawn eye width is 2.5 centimeters, the eyes are wider than the convention. You can either redraw them at 2 centimeters or keep them and note that the style uses larger eyes. The key is consistency: if you change one feature, check that the spacing between features still follows the guide lines you set. Record all measurements in centimeters and keep units consistent.

1. Measure the head height and calculate the 25, 50, and 75 percent marks.
2. Measure the actual height of each guide line from the top and compare with the calculated values.
3. Measure the head width at H2 and divide by five to estimate one eye width.
4. Measure your drawn eye width and compare with the estimate.
5. If you shift a guide, shift related features by the same amount and recheck spacing.
6. Record all measurements with units in centimeters.

Worked example

A head outline has a height of 16 centimeters from the top of the skull to the chin. Calculate the heights of H1, H2, and H3 from the top, and the height of the mouth line. Then state where the eye line and nose base sit.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Placing the eye line at the top of the head instead of at the halfway line. Measure the head height and mark the 50 percent point from the top; place the eye centers on that line.
• Making the nose and mouth different widths on the left and right sides of the center line. Measure from the vertical center line to each side of the nose and mouth; adjust so the distances match.
• Using different units for head height and feature spacing, such as centimeters and inches. Choose one unit, such as centimeters, and convert all measurements before comparing.
• Shifting the eye line without shifting the nose and mouth, which breaks the spacing between features. If you move one guide, move the related features by the same amount and recheck the distances between them.

Self-check rubric

• Head outline is drawn and the top of the skull and bottom of the chin are marked.
• Head height is measured in centimeters and recorded.
• H1, H2, and H3 are calculated at 25, 50, and 75 percent of the head height and drawn as horizontal guide lines.
• A vertical center line is drawn from the top of the skull to the chin.
• Eye centers are placed on H2 and spaced using a stated eye width, with the choice recorded.
• Nose base is placed on H3 and centered on the vertical center line.
• Mouth line is placed halfway between H3 and the chin and centered on the vertical center line.
• Ears are drawn between H2 and H3 on both sides.
• Symmetry is checked by measuring distances from the vertical center line to each feature.
• Any adjustment to the convention is recorded and related features are shifted consistently.

Questions and answers