Figure Drawing Portrait and Head Drawing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to standard portrait proportions, where do the eyes sit on the head?
- At the top third of the head
- Roughly at the midpoint of the total head height (Correct answer)
- Just above the nose
- At the top quarter of the head
Correct answer: Roughly at the midpoint of the total head height
The eyes typically sit near the midpoint of the total head height (from crown to chin), a fact that surprises many beginners who place them too high.
Question 2: What is the width of one eye in relation to the total width of the face at eye level?
- The face is three eye-widths wide
- The face is five eye-widths wide at the eye level (Correct answer)
- The face is two eye-widths wide
- Eye width is unrelated to face width
Correct answer: The face is five eye-widths wide at the eye level
A common proportional guideline is that the face is approximately five eye-widths wide: two eyes plus three intervals (outer corners and between the eyes).
Question 3: Where does the base of the nose typically fall on the head?
- Halfway between the eyebrows and the chin (Correct answer)
- At the exact midpoint of the whole head
- Level with the ears
- At three-quarters down the face
Correct answer: Halfway between the eyebrows and the chin
The base of the nose typically falls roughly halfway between the brow line and the chin.
Question 4: What is the Loomis Method used for in head drawing?
- Shading techniques
- Constructing the head in three-quarter view using a sphere and a plane (Correct answer)
- Mapping facial muscles
- Drawing hair only
Correct answer: Constructing the head in three-quarter view using a sphere and a plane
The Loomis Method uses a sphere for the cranial mass with a cut-away plane for the side of the face, creating a structured 3D construction of the head at any angle.
Question 5: In portrait drawing, the ear typically aligns between which two horizontal landmarks?
- Eye level and the bottom of the chin
- The eyebrow and the base of the nose (Correct answer)
- The hairline and eye level
- The top of the head and the eye
Correct answer: The eyebrow and the base of the nose
The ear typically aligns vertically between the eyebrow and the base of the nose in a standard front or three-quarter view.
Question 6: What is the 'brow ridge' and how does it affect light in portrait drawing?
- It has no visual effect
- It is a bony shelf above the eye socket that casts a shadow over the eyes in most lighting (Correct answer)
- It is the term for the eyebrow hair only
- It reflects light upward toward the forehead
Correct answer: It is a bony shelf above the eye socket that casts a shadow over the eyes in most lighting
The brow ridge (supraorbital margin) projects forward over the eye socket, casting a strong shadow over the eyes in typical above-source lighting.
Figure Drawing Portrait and Head Drawing 1
According to standard portrait proportions, where do the eyes sit on the head?