How to Draw the Ear - Tutorial
Sep 16, 2009 Drawing, Tutorials
Here is the long awaited tutorial on how to draw the ear! This follows the basic structure of my other tutorials, which include the eyes, nose, and mouth. For further reading, I also have a post that outlines some general tips for drawing ears. For clarification on any of the terms or techniques you see in this tutorial, click on the links!
Here is the reference we will be using. You’ll notice that the photo is crisp, and that there is a good range of lights and darks. I’ve used CorelDraw to make the grid lines, but you can also do it by hand.
Start by drawing your grid and transfering your image. Use a harder pencil at this stage so it’s easier to erase later. The ear is a delicate structure and it requires delicate drawing. Pay close attention to the lines and curves. Remember to outline not only the contours of the ear, but also the major shadows and highlights. Make your highlights bigger than you want them to be so that you can blend into them without disturbing the white of the paper.
Carefully erase your gridlines and use your B pencil to shade in the midtone values. This is everything but the darkest shadows and the highlights. With ears, it’s especially important to be aware of your edges. Some edges are very sharp and others are very soft.
Go back in with your B pencil again and build up another layer of darker midtones. You don’t really need to press any harder, just gradually add graphite until it becomes darker. Don’t worry about the hair at this point; leave it for the last.
Next, use a 2B pencil to shade in the darkest shadows. Make sure you blend the shadows into the midtones. You don’t want a hard line where one meets the other. On the other hand, areas where there is a cast shadow will have a hard edge. Look closely at your reference to find the hard and soft edges. At this point you can shade in the hair, but before you do, use an H pencil (or harder) to draw a few highlights. This will indent the paper and you won’t be able to shade over top.
Now get out your blending stick and start smoothing out your shading. Work from light to dark and make sure that you blend out any hard edges that shouldn’t be there.
The last step is the finishing touches. These include using your kneaded eraser to re-define highlights. Make sure they’re the right shape, in the right place, and blended properly. Some highlights are very sharp while others fade off gradually. You may also need to use your 2B again to define some edges and deepen shadows. For the hair, use a very sharp 4B and draw with quick flicks of your wrist. The lines you made with the hard pencil show through as highlights on single strands of hair.
Voila! There you have your ear! Don’t forget to check out some of my other tutorials… have a great day!
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:
- Ears are like small discs; they have edges that can be seen from the front and back.
- When drawing ears from the front, we often see only the front edge and part of the inside folds.
- The ears are made of up fold of skin, kind of like a rumpled blanket. Each fold has its own shadow and highlight.
- The inside of the ears are sometimes shinier than the rest of the skin, so the highlights may have a harder edge.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Tags: better drawings, draw ears, drawing tips, getting started, portraits
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