Head Anatomy for Artists!

What the best way to get started on portraits? By looking at the head anatomy, of course! As an artist, learning the anatomy of the head is a must because so much is depending on it to be successful!

Being able to draw anything comes from a deep understanding of your subject. In fact, a lot of simple cartoons that you see today are a result of translating what we already know about the face into manageable expressions that are easy to animate (and relaxes the studio's budget)!

Don't be fooled with the simplicity of it all!

Through these sections, feel free to dive into depth using other anatomy books as it is always a good idea to look at multiple sources of information!

So without further ado, here is a primer on learning the anatomy of the head

1. Head anatomy: the skull

The first thing you need to know about head is the skull itself! There are about 22 bones on the skull whereby it is joined together by sutures (rigid articulations permitting very little movement).

Think of each suture as anchor points for measuring the head! For the diagram, see how the front and the side views match up to one another using the sutures.

Memorize the overall form as best as possible. This is because any bumps on the face will be attributed to how the skin hugs the skull.

Learning this can really help you out as an artist for drawing different variations of the face! This leads me to the second part of this lesson…

2. Head anatomy: the face

How does the face hug the skull and how can it help you draw the face? Well, the first sign is to look at the cavities of the skull!

Within the eye sockets and the nose bridge, you can infer a lot about how the curvature of the eyes and nose affect the overall form of the face.

You can also see just how the pivot points of the jaw matches the ears as well as how the mouth curves around the chin of the skull. What proportions are you able to determine from this diagram?

What types of dynamic variations are you able to mentally picture in regards to how wide the eyes, lips, and nose openings are in relationship to a constant feature like the skull? This is exactly what I mean by studying your subject!

3. Head anatomy: face muscles

From learning about proportions to understanding variations in the face, the next step is to learn about the face muscles!

Think about which face muscles do what on top of the general placement of the muscles. You can logically see just how the face behaves based on the muscle groups!

While we won't see the muscles when we start drawing, it's always a good idea to understand how the muscles flex. That way, we are confident that we are drawing the correct placement of muscles needed to create emotion!

Furthermore, you will have a good foundation for rendering the head should you decide to do 3d rendering in digital art (as the polygon mesh will resemble very closely to the face muscles)!

4. Head anatomy: the neck

The last part of the head will be focused on learning the muscle groups in the neck. While you may not necessarily memorize all the muscle groups, do try to memorize the overall position of the neck muscles!

That way, you can see all the curvature of the neck and how to draw it! Look at a lot of simple drawings and how artists draw the neck. You will discover that they are aware of these muscle groups!

Also, picture how the neck muscles connect to the rest of the body. For example, how do the neck muscles connect to the collar bones at the front? How do the back of the neck muscles connect to the rest of the back?

The head anatomy that you will learn in this stage is a fundamental foundation that all artists should learn well. Take some time and build on your artistic foundations and you will go far!

Besides, it's not about struggling about the most basic things but rather enjoying creating complex things because you have a strong foundation!

I hope you enjoyed this little head anatomy introduction. In the next few lessons, we will be going over each section in depth.

I look forward to your growth as an artist as you learn with me. Make sure to submit any artworks to the site galleries that you have so I can see your progress!

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