Drawing Old and Young Woman Faces: Proportion and Feature Contrast

Object Drawing Lessons

This lesson teaches you to draw an old woman and a young woman side by side, focusing on how aging changes facial proportions and feature contrast. You will use a simple convention: the face is divided into three horizontal zones from chin (baseline) to hairline, with the eye line marked separately as a reference midline. Because individual faces vary, the rubric accepts valid alternatives rather than a single correct drawing. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own reference or drawing. No downloads or files exist yet; the resource plan describes what is planned.

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.

Defining the proportion convention

Use a chin-to-hairline convention: mark the chin as baseline and the hairline as the top. Divide the vertical distance into three equal zones: chin to nose base, nose base to brow, brow to hairline. This is a teaching convention, not a universal rule. Mark the eye line separately as a reference midline; it usually falls inside the nose-base-to-brow zone. For a young woman, the eye line typically sits near the vertical midpoint of the whole face; for an old woman, the eye line may appear slightly lower relative to the hairline because forehead height and hairline position change. Record your own reference measurements in centimeters or arbitrary units, and label any chosen numbers as hypothetical.

Feature contrast means differences in edge sharpness, value contrast, and spacing. Young faces often show smoother transitions and tighter spacing between features; old faces may show looser spacing, deeper creases, and more contrast at the jaw and neck. These are tendencies, not requirements.

1. Draw two vertical axes 10 cm apart on a blank sheet; label left 'old' and right 'young'.
2. Mark baseline (chin) and hairline on each axis using your reference, then mark the eye line as a separate reference midline.
3. Divide each axis into three equal zones and label them.
4. Lightly sketch an oval face outline for each, adjusting width by observation.

Placing features by zone

Place the nose base at the lower zone boundary and the brow at the upper zone boundary. The eye line is marked separately and usually falls inside the nose-base-to-brow zone. The mouth sits roughly one-third of the way from nose base to chin; this is a hypothetical example. For the old woman, allow the jaw to appear slightly wider or softer and the neck to show more vertical creases. For the young woman, keep the jaw line smoother and the neck shorter in appearance. Check symmetry by folding the paper vertically through each axis; adjust until left and right halves are acceptably balanced.

1. Mark nose base and brow on both axes.
2. Mark the eye line on each axis inside the nose-base-to-brow zone, spaced about one eye-width apart (hypothetical).
3. Draw the mouth one-third down from nose base to chin.
4. Add ears between brow and nose base, then check fold symmetry.

Adding age-specific contrast

Use line weight and value to show contrast. For the old woman, add short crease lines at the outer eye, nasolabial fold, and neck; keep them broken rather than continuous. For the young woman, use fewer creases and smoother shading. Hair can differ in volume and texture, but avoid stereotyping: an old woman may have dark hair and a young woman may have gray. The goal is proportion contrast, not a single correct look.

1. Add three to five crease marks on the old face only where your reference shows them.
2. Shade the young face with soft gradients and the old face with slightly sharper value changes.
3. Compare the two drawings side by side and adjust spacing so differences are visible but not exaggerated.

Checking and refining

Use the rubric to check zone equality, feature placement, contrast, and symmetry. Measure actual distances on your drawing with a ruler; do not assume printer tolerances. If a zone is more than 10 percent different from the others, adjust. Keep all units consistent (centimeters or arbitrary units). Valid alternatives include different hair styles, face shapes, and crease patterns as long as the proportion logic is explained.

1. Measure each zone and record values.
2. Fold-check symmetry and note any offset.
3. Compare old and young contrast using the rubric descriptors.
4. Make one refinement pass and re-check.

Worked example

On a blank sheet, draw two vertical axes 10 cm apart. Using the chin-to-hairline convention, mark chin, nose base, brow, and hairline for an old woman and a young woman, and mark the eye line separately as a reference midline. Use hypothetical zone heights of 3 cm each. Add one crease mark on the old face and none on the young face. Check symmetry by folding.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Making the old face identical to the young face except for added wrinkles. Adjust zone heights and feature spacing first, then add creases; compare jaw and neck proportions.
• Assuming the eye line is always exactly at the midpoint. Measure your own reference and label the value as a hypothetical example; allow variation.
• Using continuous dark lines for every crease. Use broken, lighter marks and reserve strong contrast for a few key folds.
• Ignoring symmetry check. Fold the paper through each axis and adjust until halves are acceptably balanced.

Self-check rubric

• Zones are equal within 10 percent or differences are explained.
• Features sit on or near the marked zone boundaries.
• Old and young faces show visible proportion or contrast differences.
• Symmetry fold check is performed and noted.
• Valid alternatives (hair, face shape, crease pattern) are accepted if reasoning is given.
• Units are consistent and numerical values are labeled hypothetical.

Questions and answers