Advice for Drawing Female Faces Consistently

Jabbernewt

Hiya!

After a long Schoolwork-induced hiatus I'm back on the forum! This time with a plea for some tips and advice; How can I best think about how to draw ladie's heads and faces? I'm trying to expand my skillset during Inktober (maybe not the best time) and I've got a story that I've had to put on hold for the past... whew, five days due to my school's finals week. Now that I'm on break I'm able to get back on the forums and ask for help-- and able to catch up for the rest of inktober.

Sorry if this was a bit jumbled, but if you have any tips or tricks please let me know!

NessIllustration

Hi Jabbernewt! I think it would help if you posted a few images of your ladies' faces here so we can better see what you're struggling with!

chrisaakins

Use photo references. Magazines are great for studies. As is social media. Draw every kind of face, young, old, different emotions, races, ethnicities, etc. And on a side note where are you posting your inktober sketches? We would love to see them.

rcartwright

The first thing you need to learn is what specific characteristics create female forms. Anatomy lessons cover this and you will probably find videos on youtube that will help

Jabbernewt

@nessillustration Yes! Well, if you'd like to see what I've got so far, would you be able to check my instagram at @jabbernewt? For day 4 of inktober I've included a witch into the little story I continued from last year and the face I'd like to replicate consistently is there. Day 6 I came back and did a caricature for the sake of humor... but the caricature was easy because I have no clue how to do things still.

NessIllustration

@jabbernewt You know, the witch is really quite good! But looking over your instagram I think what you need most of all is confidence that you can do it consistently, and that'll come only by practicing doing them. I suggest the "draw 100 of something" challenge! Challenge yourself to draw 100 girls, and by the end of it you'll know you can do it

Jabbernewt

@nessillustration Whew... okay, well maybe I divert my efforts for a little while then! Thanks for the advice!

Jabbernewt

@chrisaakins My inktober stuff is @Jabbernewt on Instagram!

LauraA

Hi! Welcome back! Observe real people. Draw from models, but also draw from memory. When you mean consistency, you mean you want to draw the same character doing different things, right? I'm sort of doing the same thing and I try to think about what my character would look like in real life and imagine her from all angles. I even look for children who remind me of what I think she should look like! Good luck!

chrisaakins

@jabbernewt thanks!