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How to Draw Ears

Jul 9, 2009 Drawing

This is the last in my series on drawing the various facial features. I’ve covered the eyes, mouth and nose, now it’s time for the ears! I don’t have a huge amount to say about drawing ears, but they can’t be over looked. Ears are quite delicate, complicated shapes, and it can be easy to try to oversimplify them rather than work through the complexities. Ears, though, are essential to drawing a portrait. Here are some things to consider:

1. Ears are like small discs; they have edges that can be seen from the front and back.
2. When drawing ears from the front, we often see only the front edge and part of the inside folds.
3. The ears are made of up fold of skin, kind of like a rumpled blanket. Each fold has its own shadow and highlight.
4. The inside of the ears are sometimes shinier than the rest of the skin, so the highlights may have a harder edge.
5. On the other hand, make sure the shadows are soft. Even though you’re working in a small space, the shadows should blend out smoothly.
6. Pay close attention to the shadows around the ear as these are what tell us how the ear is attached to the rest of the face.
7. Ears are bigger than you might think. The tops of the ears line up with the eyes, and the bottoms of the ears line up with the bottom of the nose.

On the Web

Again, Stan Prokopenko has an amazing tutorial about drawing ears.

Related posts:

1. How to Draw a Portrait
2. Drawing Portraits: Proportions of the Head
3. How to Draw the Nose
4. How to Grid a Reference Image and Draw From It
5. How to Draw from a Gridded Reference – Tutorial

Tags: better drawings, draw ears, drawing tips, getting started, portraits