Why this is an article: I thought I should make this an article for all the #artgirlies out there who also struggle to draw faces.

Why you should read: I've loved drawing human characters since I was 13. Drawing fanart for Homestuck (ew), Hetalia (super ew), Gravity Falls (acceptable), TAZ (acceptable), and eventually progressing to ttrpg stuff means that I've just been drawing random twinks for however the fuck long it's been. Here's a summary of what I've cobbled together:

How I think about drawing faces

Kim Jung Gi Drawing Faces in perspective

I used to do the circle – jawline – fill in thing but I've seen the light for doing Kim Jung Gi (awesome, awesome fucking artist) where he does forehead-eyebrows-nose ridge- eyes- nose- etc. (watch the youtube video for specifics). I believe the main thing is 3D space. The references I use below are 3D models. The head is a 3D object you're trying to capture in 2D (the same thing also applies to fingers (and everything else, but fingers is a big example), which look INCOMPREHENSIBLY BAD usually until you do some shading to 'pop them' into 3D). By doing Kim Jung Gi's method, you're 'forced' to think in 3D at the first step by thinking about how the forehead line should look.

No, but actually how do you think about drawing faces

I don't. And it's not in the like haha funny oo I don't think but it's more like. I have a reference, or what I know it should look like (vaguely), and focus on things like the ratios of distances between eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, etc.

References for practice and actually drawing

When drawing something I've fully committed to or doing studies, I always gather a bunch of references. Especially for faces, because faces are REALLY goddamn difficult.

Here are the ones that I find very very useful:

Reference Angle

You can modify the 3d head to look through their database of faces. Extremely useful if you're trying to find a certain face angle + expression combo. usage: Solely for irl face angles and diverse faces. The expressions aren't that prominent, and the search function for some angles isn't 100% accurate. However, there's a good variety of races if you need to practice that.

3D head model with lighting

This is a 3d model with 1) Movable primary and secondary lighting 2) Very, very extensible for any angle you can think of. 3) Flat planes so the face parts are simplified, making face stuff easier to draw. usage: When I can't find the face angle I need on Reference Angle I go here. If I'm drawing something that focuses on lighting I also go here because the movable lights are REALLY convenient.

My Art Reference Tumblr :)

This is more of a general art thing, but I have a huge trove of references I use when making up character stuff. These are all tailored to my taste, but I think you, the reader, can find some interesting Tumblrs to find images from the blogs the posts are from.

Closing Words

I have a huge /visual library/ (visual library is a library of things that you've drawn before and know how they should look like) because I'm a NEET. Think while you draw and don't burn out. I have complete faith that you can do it!!! Also read this if you're a creative: https://bato.to/chapter/1729292