B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Faces: Proportion, Expression and Exaggeration

D1.1 D1.3 D2.3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can use basic facial proportions to draw a face from the front and from the side.
I can change the eyebrows, eyes and mouth to show different expressions.
I can exaggerate proportions on purpose to show a feeling, a personality or an idea.
I can read and interpret exaggeration and style as signs in art works such as cartoons and masks.

Words to know

facial proportions
The usual size relationships and positions of the features of a face, such as the eyes being about halfway down the head.

profile
A view of a face from the side.

expression
The look on a face that shows a feeling.

exaggerate
To make something bigger, smaller or stronger than it really is, on purpose.

caricature
A drawing of a person that exaggerates their most noticeable features, often in a funny way.

style
The particular way an artist or a tradition makes art, such as realistic, cartoon or abstract.

portrait
An art work that shows a person, especially the face.

Remember from Grade 5

You measured figures in "heads," learned the guidelines for the front of a face (eyes halfway down!), and saw how artists break proportion on purpose, like in kind caricatures.

In Grade 6 you will use facial proportions with more control: draw faces from the side too, show expressions, and exaggerate on purpose to communicate personality and ideas.

Same face, different message

Think of a favourite cartoon character. Their eyes might be huge, their head round, their nose a tiny dot. Nobody looks like that in real life, but we understand them instantly. Now think of a realistic portrait in a museum, every feature just right.

Both start from facial proportions. The cartoonist knows the rules and chooses which ones to stretch. That choice is part of the artist's style, and it sends a message.

Front-view face guidelines. The eyes sit on a line halfway down the head. The bottom of the nose is halfway between the eyes and the chin. The mouth is about one third of the way from the nose to the chin. The ears fit between the eye line and the nose line, and the space between the eyes is about one eye wide.

Front view: quick review

Eyes: about halfway between the top of the head and the chin.
The face is about five eyes wide; the space between the eyes is about one eye wide.
Nose: the bottom is about halfway between the eyes and the chin.
Mouth: about one-third of the way from the nose to the chin. The corners of the mouth line up roughly with the centres of the eyes.
Ears: between the eye line and the bottom of the nose.

Side view (profile)

The head from the side is wider than from the front, almost as wide as it is tall, because you see the back of the skull.
The eye is still halfway down. In profile, it looks like a sideways triangle or arrowhead, set back a little from the bridge of the nose.
The ear sits just behind the middle of the head, between the eye line and the nose line.
The nose, lips and chin stick out from the face line; look carefully at their shapes, since every person is different.

These are guidelines, not laws. Real faces are wonderfully varied.

Four simple faces show how eyebrows, eyes and mouth create expressions: happy (curved eyes and a wide smile), surprised (raised eyebrows, round eyes, round open mouth), angry (eyebrows slanting down toward the middle, mouth turned down) and sad (eyebrows slanting up in the middle, mouth turned down).

Expressions: eyebrows, eyes and mouth

Small changes make big differences:

Happy: cheeks lift, eyes crinkle, the mouth curves up.
Surprised: eyebrows lift high, eyes open wide, the mouth drops open.
Angry: eyebrows pull down and together, the mouth tightens or turns down.
Sad: the inner ends of the eyebrows lift, the mouth corners turn down.
Worried: like sad, plus a tight mouth.

Try it in a mirror! Notice what your own eyebrows do.

Exaggeration on purpose

Artists exaggerate proportions to send messages:

Caricature: stretching a person's most noticeable features (a wide grin, bushy eyebrows) to show their personality. Kind caricatures make people smile; they shouldn't make fun of someone in a hurtful way.
Editorial (political) cartoons in newspapers often exaggerate the features of well-known leaders so readers recognize them, and to make a point about an issue.
Masks in many traditions exaggerate features so the audience can read a character or feeling from far away, like the masks you met in drama.
Cartoon style: huge eyes and round faces can make characters look young, friendly or innocent.

When you see exaggeration, ask: What is the artist trying to tell me? Exaggeration and style are signs we can learn to read.

Worked example

Example: Drawing a face from the front, step by step

Let's draw a portrait of a family member from the front.

Draw a light egg shape for the head, narrower at the chin.
Draw a light vertical line down the middle, and a horizontal line halfway down for the eyes.
Divide the eye line into five equal eye-widths. Draw the eyes in the second and fourth spaces.
Mark the bottom of the nose halfway between the eye line and the chin. Mark the mouth about a third of the way down from the nose to the chin.
Add the ears between the eye line and the nose line, and the hairline a little below the top of the head (hair adds height on top, so don't make the forehead too small!).
Look at your model and adjust: is their face longer? Are their eyes closer together? Draw the real person, using the guidelines as a starting point. Erase guidelines last.

The guidelines give a believable face; careful observation makes it look like a specific person.

Worked example

Example: Exaggerating to show personality

Your little cousin is full of energy and laughs all the time. Let's make a kind caricature.

Start with the normal proportions above.
Choose the feature that shows personality: her huge grin. Exaggerate it: make the smile wider, the cheeks rounder.
Make the eyes crinkle into happy curves.
Add movement: curly hair bouncing out in all directions, drawn with curved lines.
Shrink less important parts (the nose, the ears) so the grin stands out more.
Explain it: "I exaggerated her smile and bouncing hair to show she is energetic and joyful. The style is cartoon-like and kind."

Exaggerating one or two features on purpose communicates personality; shrinking others makes them stand out more.

Just for fun

Try this in a mirror: say "I'm SO happy!" while making angry eyebrows. Your face is sending two messages at once, and nobody knows which one to believe! 😄

Kind caricature

Exaggerate features to show personality and joy, never to make fun of how someone looks, their culture, their body or a disability. A good test: would the person laugh with you when they see it? Drawing yourself first is a great way to practise.

Hands-on activity

Mirror portraits

You need: a mirror, paper, a pencil, an eraser, and (optional) coloured pencils.

Guidelines: draw four light egg shapes. Add the guidelines from the diagram to each.
Four expressions: look in the mirror and make a happy, a surprised, an angry and a sad face. Draw each one, paying attention to your eyebrows and mouth. (Use one egg shape for each expression.)
Profile: ask a family member to sit sideways. Draw their profile. Check: is the eye halfway down? Is the ear just behind the middle of the head?
Self-caricature: draw yourself, then exaggerate one feature that shows your personality (a big smile, glasses, curly hair, a favourite toque).
Read the signs: find a cartoon or comic in a newspaper, book or flyer. What is exaggerated? What message or feeling does it send?
Explain it: write two sentences about the choices you made in your self-caricature.

Your turn

Where are the eyes on a face, from the front?

About how many eye-widths wide is a face?

What is a profile?

In profile, where does the ear sit?

What do the eyebrows do in a surprised face?

What is a caricature?

Why do masks often have exaggerated features?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: Most beginners draw the eyes too high on the head.

What does exaggerate mean?

Name one feeling shown by eyebrows pulled down and together.

What is a portrait?

Where are the ears from the front?

More practice: on your own

How is the head shape different in profile compared with the front view?

A drawing of a sad character doesn't look sad. The mouth turns down, but the eyebrows are flat. What would you change?

Why might a cartoon artist draw a character with huge eyes and a round face?

Editorial cartoons often exaggerate leaders' features. What two jobs does the exaggeration do?

Explain the difference between a kind caricature and a hurtful one.

Challenge

Plan a portrait of a community helper (for example, a crossing guard, a nurse or a snowplough driver) that uses exaggerated proportions to show their importance or personality. Explain your choices.

Two artists draw the same person: one realistic, one in a cartoon style. How might each style change what the viewer thinks or feels about the person?

Why do you think the mouth corners line up roughly with the centres of the eyes? How could you check this?

Check your understanding

Quiz

From the front, the eyes are about ___.

In a surprised face, the eyebrows ___.

A profile shows the face ___.

A caricature ___.

Why do theatre masks often exaggerate features?

Which is a kind way to exaggerate in a caricature?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The Grade 6 focus for space includes basic facial proportions, and for shape and form, exaggerated proportions. Students create art works that explore feelings and ideas (D1.1), use elements of design to communicate (D1.3) and demonstrate an understanding of how to read and interpret signs, symbols and style in art works (D2.3), such as the exaggeration in cartoons, caricatures and masks.

How to help:

Be a willing model! Sit still for a profile drawing, and make silly expressions for the mirror exercise.
Look at comics, editorial cartoons and portraits together and ask, "What's exaggerated? Why?"
Praise careful looking over "perfect" results.

Common difficulties:

Eyes too high. Measure: the eyes go halfway down the head.
Expressions that don't read. Focus on the eyebrows.
Caricatures that turn mean. Talk about the "laugh with, not at" test.