Search for relationships of size, shape and position.

It is important to

• Look at the work from many different points of view.

• Look at the work in different lighting conditions.

Notice how the ears appear to be at

different levels when the viewer’s position is changed only slightly.

Notice

The inner corner of the eye is the deepest part of the face.

The face looks pretty flat from

the front.

But it is very curved.

The eye can look sideways because there is

a dent in the skull as it wraps around the eye.

From the front, the widest part of the face seems to be across the

cheekbones.

But the cheekbones are a lot more narrow.

What you see as widest from the front is the

distance between the ears.

The face also looks much wider by the

mouth than it really is.

That perceived width is actually at the back of

the jaw.

Beginners tend to make the forehead very square

and vertical.

But it is curved.

Beginners make the mouth very flat.

But the corners go way back.

Beginners often make the area

under the center of the nose

concave and flat.But it is not.

Highest here.

And slants towards the corners and edges of the nostrils.

The change of angle defines the edges of the lips.

The “two front teeth” area descends from a point

about midway from the tip of the nose to the edge of

the nostril.

The jaw ends at the ear.

Beginners often don’t leave

enough room for skin and

sideburns before placing the ear.

They also make pinheads or Easter Island

heads.

But there is a lot of brain case back there.

Now that you know what to look for, feel free to distort to your

heart’s content.

Distortion is the basis of creative and expressive

work as well as caricatures.