ZBrushCentral

Realistic Head Proportions Guide

ZBrush Artworks
#1

The human head based on frontal view.

First let me say that this guide isn’t concrete. The rules are broken all the time by mother nature. This is just a blueprint to some sense of proper proportions. Cartoons and comics throw this out the window…but then again…they follow it also.

Here we go…

[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1032303829jbj.jpg[/img]

The red bracket from the top to the bottom of the head is divided in half at the big red dot. This is where the eyes go…in the middle of the head. Now I know what you are saying…‘No they are not!..It doesn’t look like that!’…but that is the point…it is an optical illusion. Especially because of the hair…so trust me…thats where they go. Which reminds me. If you divide the top half in the middle (red dot to just past the top of the head)…thats where the hair can start!

Starting at that dot and examining the bottom half, we divide this in half also. In the middle is where the nose ends…as you can see…I am off a little. This just proves the point that the guide isn’t definate.
Now, the bracket from the base of the nose to the bottom of the chin is divided into thirds. 1/3 down from the nose is the where the two lips meet (white line). The rest of the 2/3 is he chin.
The bottom of the ears, nose, and cheek bone are all aligned (green line).
The ears start at the brow ridge (purple line) and drop down to the bottom of the nose (green line).
The mouth it between the center of both eye sockets (black circle…right side isn’t drawn) The yellow line shows how the corners are under the centers of the eye sockets.

The head is usually five eye-lengths wide. The center three ‘eyes’ out of those five eyes are drawn out by the blue brackets. You can see how the eyes are and ‘eye’ apart. Also the nose is usually an eye wide. Something that isn’t illustrated is from the bottom-center of the eye to the center-edge of the nostral is also an eye. The same center-edge of the nostral to the tips of the mouth is also an eye wide.

Now like I said, none of this is golden. Some of the most familiar faces break these rules. Samuel L. Jackson has eyes wide apart, a smaller mouth, and a huge cranium. These out-of-proportion features are offen used by comicbook artists to draw villians just like as they draw big, dominate chins and jaws with slightly smaller eyes for heros. But once again…the rules are broken all the time.

I plan on making more proportion guides but I am going to wait till I can get my hands on some ZSpheres.

I hope this helps some of you.
Read it…follow it…break it when you want…the point is too have fun!

Enjoy!..and Pleasant ZBrushin!

#2

VERY useful information Michael, and a great addition to the knowledge base here…There are a lot of users who ask questions about this sort of thing all the time, and my suggestion to those people is to bookmark this post…It will be a big help to you as you learn modelling techniques…

:slight_smile: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:

#3

Mr. Black:

I might as well add that these proportions are based on someone’s idea of the ideal human proportions. They would only be accurate if your name begins with “Herr”.

Bruce Gregory

#4

Great info! I so often fail at this kind of stuff… getting the proportions right. This should be a great help for me! :slight_smile:

#5

I am glad it helps. Like I said before…If I help one person…I have accomplished what I set out to do with this.

Bruce - Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t rules…they’re parameters. But like I say in life there are exceptions to everything…even the exceptions sometimes…hehe. There are many a famous people…shoot!..even everyday people…who break these parameters all the time. In otherwordst the guide isn’t to make the Ideal…it is a flashlight to the shortcuts of the human face. I hope that clears it up for everybody.

Here is that same gentalman…but disproportionate…in some areas…other are not…so see he doesn’t look ideal but still kinda follows the guide.

[img]http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1032312368puw.jpg[/img]

Hehe…kinda lurch like…hehe

so have fun people!

#6

Mr. Black:

I simply couldn’t help noticing the monacle. And the dual lightning bolts.

Bruce Gregory

#7

HAHA! You know whats funny…I am working on some frankie thumbnails for a halloween series right now! I am maknig a half dozen monsters and i plan on breaking the rules ALOT! :wink:

#8

I think almost every sketching didactic starts off with a series of proportion gage drawings? I think these should be of great value to the beginning ZSculpter. One of the sketch books I have run across also showed ‘heroic’ proportions. (Until then, I did not realize that the term ‘heroic proportions’ may have originated in the art world.) The heroic proportions are unrealistic if you are trying to find them in the actual population. But knowing them is fairly important if you want a large, but ‘attractive’ looking body, male or female.

I think proportions, as guides, and as a ‘starting point from which to depart from’ are very useful. Thanks. :+1:

#9

Hi Mahlikus
What are your masters ?
Classic, modern or autodidact?
It’s not an investigation just for the knowledge of art thought processes :slight_smile:
Pilou
Ps Go there : Loomis books are great and in Zoom 1/1 !!! http://www.pixolator.com/zbc-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000489

#10

Well I am not too sure what you mean. I think you mean autodidactic…even then I have to look it up blush but I will try to tell you a little about myself and maybe you will find your answer. I guess you can say classic and modern. I practice traditional drawing such as pencil and canté, acrylics, watercolor, prisma, and airbrush (my wife also prefers pastel and oil…2 things I don’t much prefer). I also work with ceramics, a potters wheel, and some small scale sculpture. Then there is the graphic side. I have been working with adobe PS and Illustrator since it’s debut release (makes me feel old). I have also trained in advertising design, life drawing, and photography. Now, I haven’t had any college training save advertising design. Other then that, I am self educated. Having a fine arts professor for a mother helps though…hehe. I am a full time graphic artist…actual I AM the art department here at work. Right now I am holding down the fort with my pay while my wife works on her masters. Once she has done this, then I plan on going to school for CGI, animation, and game development. I am 24. :wink:

WOW that was little more then a little…blush…sorry yall!..but I hope that answers your question frenchy.
BTW - I have a couple of Loomis books.
:wink:

#11

Hi Mahlikus
Thx for those all informations :slight_smile:
You are an all-round artist indeed :slight_smile:
I just want to know from what artist you give the proportions : old Greecs, Italians, Durer, Leonard de Vinci, Michel Ange, Burn Hogarth, Loomis etc… :slight_smile:
Ps I Have not “autodidactic” in my English-French dictionary :slight_smile:
Have fun Zbrushing or others paintings
Pilou

#12

You know what my real name is…blushes…again

Michael Angelo Hernandez…hence the MAH initials and the letters in my handle MAHlikus :wink:

#13

Thanks. Great info here!

#14

Thanks so much :), Hope you don’t mind :)I saved your picture in a utility folder, so can just toss it on a 3d plane as a texture on a different layer for reference :smiley:

#15

HEY COOL!..Thats the way to utilize it!..hhhehehe
Excellent…I am so happy that its helping.
:smiley: :smiley: :smiley: