How to measure and draw the face in 5 steps

Today I’m deep diving on an approach for measuring and capturing accurate likeness when drawing from a photo reference. I’m working from general, blocky shapes through to detail whilst using measurement to help ensure you are drawing accurately.

The method I’m going to describe starts with something that is often referred to as a visual bloc in. It’s one way of capturing likeness but not the only way. But recommend giving this a whirl and seeing if it works for you!

Intro: 00:00
Step 1 - Reference line: 00:36
Step 2 - Envelope shape of head: 01:19
Step 3 - Envelope shape of features: 04:10
Step 4 - Plot in the facial features: 07:54
Step 5 - Detailed Sketch: 10:40
Step 6 (optional) - Tonal block in: 14:03
Moment of truth: 19:06