Step 1
I started with a sheet of INGRAM 12 Field Size Bond Paper and a Prismacolor® Col-Erase® Carmine Red Pencil, not to mention my ever faithful Staedtler® Mars® Plastic Eraser to help me out.
Once I had my supplies set up, I drew a rough sphere, and devided it into fourths. This automaticially gives me an idea of the angle the head is going to be pointed.
Keep in mind that since I'm drawing in red, I don't have to be clean with my lines. Thanks to PhotoShop, I have the ability to pull out anything in red, leaving just my black cleanup lines I will place in step 8. Some people choose to use non photo blue which will work as well, but I personally enjoy red because it's easier to see the lines I place.
Step 2
I place another line underneath and parallel to the horizontal split line. This line is placed roughly 1/3 up from the bottom of the sphere. I then draw the eyes on top of the lower horizontal line, and on each side of the vertical split line. When I draw the eyes, I take perspective into account by making the eye closer to the viewer more circular while the eye further away from the viewer is more of an ellipse. I also draw the nose in. Knowing that the nose is projected away from the sphere, we need to take that perspective into account when sketching it onto the head.
Step 3
In my opinion, this is the most important step. This is what makes or breaks the drawing entirely. If I'm not happy with this step, I crumple up the paper, and try again. Fortunately, this is an early step so I'm not set back too much. In this step we place the irises, pupils, eyelids, and eyebrows. Keep in mind that generally the eyebrows are projected away from our initial sphere, so you have to take perspective into account when placing your eyebrows. Placing your eyebrows also helps sink the eyes into proper "sockets". The eyelids follow the contours of the eyeballs, and the irises and pupils share the perspectives of the overall eyeballs. Really try your hardest to get an appealing expression and emotion in this step. We should have a REALLY good sense of your character "thinking" once this step is over.
Step 4
Now we place the jaw, completing the overall shape of the head and face. The chin generally falls straight down from the sides of the nose. As a basic rule, the distance of the bottom of the chin to the bottom of the nose is equal to the distance of the bottom of the nose to the top of the eyebrows. Draw the jaw line coming back and out away from the chin, then up to meet the cross-lines of the initial sphere's horizontal and vertical split lines. This is also a good time to define the cheekbones, which emphasize the eye sockets. As always, take perspective into account when drawing the jawline.
Step 5
Now we draw in the mouth. Adding the mouth will complete the facial expression of your character, so this step is very important. The mouth is so flexible that it's difficult to set any rule to how to place it. Just try to always consider that it will be placed along the contour of the jaw, therefore whatever expression the mouth takes, it adheres to the perspective of the jaw. The teeth are set into the jaw and should always follow the jaw's contour.
Step 6
We're almost done! Now we set the hairline. Hairlines are always different with everyone. Some have prominant sideburns, some have prominant widow's peaks, while some have receding hairlines. It's really up to you what kind of hairline you wish to give your character. If there is any kind of widow's peak, the tip of it will fall along the vertical sphere split line. Be sure to give your character enough forehead room to utilize the eyebrows.
Step 7
Now we draw in the hair. If you observe people around you, you'll notice that hair tends to "clump" together. I always try to avoid just scribbling in hair. Instead I "clump" the hair into simple shapes, then use those shapes to "style" the hair. Even messy-haired people have a certain way their hair looks. Once you have the hair the way you like it, viola! You have officially created the underdrawing of your character's head! Good job! Give yourself a pat on the back!Give your drawing a second look, perhaps from far away, if there's any detail you feel needs to be sketched in, then do it. This is your drawing after all.
Step 8
What? It's all scribbly and messy you say? Well then I suppose we'll have to move on to cleanup! Now if you're going to stick to your trusty pencil and paper, there are two ways we can do this. One, you can take a new sheet of paper, overlay it on top of your underdrawing, tape them together so the new sheet doesn't shift along the underdrawing, and then take a BLACK pencil. A nicely sharpened number 2 pencil works fine. And start drawing on your new sheet over the top of your underdrawing, tracing only the "GOOD" lines that you like. It really helps if you use a light box, or draw on a glass/plastic surface with a light underneath. If you're feeling confident enough, you can just draw on the same paper as your underdrawing with black like I did. Don't be afraid to stop and grab that red pencil again to sketch out any special details that you might have forgotton, but if you're confident enough, it's also okay to draw in the details in the cleanup phase. Again, this is your drawing. Your process is up to you.
