lesson #4 secrets to drawing realistic ears · much detail. if you ask me the most important part...

Lesson #4 Secrets To Drawing Realistic Ears

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Ears can be one of the most complicated features of the face to draw, but luckily there are three simple secrets that make drawing them a lot easier.

Secret Number One: The first secret is simply learning how to see the main ridges of an ear. When you look at an ear it can seem kind of confusing with ridges running in every direction, and no real simple shape. However if you break it down there is in fact only two shapes you need to worry about. The first once can be identified as the outer ridge of the ear, and is outlined in red below.



The second shape is what I call the inner ear, and consists of the antihelix and down to the ear lobe. I like to think of this shape as a bit like a “Y”, and is outlined in blue below.



Secret Number Two: The second secret is learning how to properly identify the highlights and shadows of the ear. This is another reason why breaking an ear down into the parts indicated above makes it so much easier to draw. If you look at the photo below you will notice that the skin inside each shape is brighter than the skin outside the shape. This is because the shapes indicate where the ridges of the ear are. Next, if you look at the position of the shadow you will notice that they fall just outside the shapes.

The other thing that you will notice about these shadows is the edges of the shadow are crisp, but inside the shapes there is a smooth transition from the highlight in the center to the slightly darker section around the edge. If you remember the position of the shadow in this photo, and the smooth gradient from shadow to highlight within the shapes, I guarantee that just about all ears will look very similar.



Secret Number 3: The third secret to ear drawing is to learn the order in which I draw my ears. Basically the first thing I do is I determine the outside edge of the ear, and to do this I just focus on getting the turning points in the correct spot.

Next I determine the inside of the inverted “C” shape that we were talking about before. To do this I use the line I just drew for the outside as a bit of a guide, to help me get the inside edge in the correct spot.



Once I have the inverted “C” shape in the correct spot the next stage is to start to build the inside “Y” shape. Again I focus on the turning points to help make this task easier.



Vital Mistakes: Ironically the major mistake I see artists make is they try and draw an ear in too much detail. If you ask me the most important part of any portrait drawing is the center of it, which is usually the eye. By drawing the ear in too much detail, you start to pull the attention away from the center and out towards the edge of the image. The second mistake I see artists make is they try and put too sharp edges on the ridges within the ear. You need to remember that an ear is made up of folds of skin gently rolling over. What that means is the transition from shadow to highlights needs to be gradual. The final mistake I see artists make is the edges of the shadow are too sharp. Like I said just before, an ear is made up by folds of skin gently rolling over. Because the transition from the peak of the ridge to the bottom of the valley is so gentle, there should not be any sharp edges to the shadows. Take a close look at the image below to see exactly what I mean.



Step By Step Examples: When you are drawing ears the first thing you need to do is determine the outside edge. To do this we are going to be using straight lines and focusing on the turning points. To make it easier I have labeled the turning points that we will be focusing on, in the next image. But in the meantime I recommend that you take a couple of seconds to see if you can find them on this photo on the right.

As you can see we have six major turning points that we will be focusing on, as it is ultimately these six points that give the outside edge its shape. Finding turning points is a skill you will get better at, but a good way to help at the beginning is to simply lay a ruler across the photo and find the point where the photo starts to leave the line of the ruler. Now we have found our turning points, the next step is to simply connect them with straight lines, and then use the outer edge to help us find the inner edge of the ear.

In the next image you will see this process completed.



So what I have done is used the turning points identified above to help me find the outside edge of the ear.

Then using that edge as a bit of a guide, I found the inside edge of the ear.

The next stage after this is to define the shape of the inner ear.

To find the shape of the inner ear all we have done is added three important shadows.

The first shadow is just under the top ridge of the ear, and forms the gap between the top two prongs of the “Y” shape we were talking about earlier.

The second shadow is just under the bottom prong of the “Y” shape, defining the edge of the prong.

The last shadow is right down the bottom and defines the edge of the ear lobe.



Now we have a simple single toned shadow in place, the last stage is to start adding more detail by breaking the shadow down into its smaller tones. In the next image you will see exactly how that is done.

What you will notice if you compare the image on the right with the image above is I have come back and made the important shadows darker. I have also added a slight shadow around the outside ridge of the ear to indicate the skin rolling away. And then I have blended the shadows using my smudger so they sit back on the page instead of jumping forward.



Here is example of an ear facing the other way. But the same process still applies;

1. Identify the turning points on your image 2. Using straight lines and the turning points

sketch the outside edge of the ear, or what I refer to as the inverted “C” before

3. Then using the outside edge as a reference, sketch the inside edge of the ear, or inverted “C” shape

4. Once you have the outside edge in place the next step is to identify the inner, or the “Y” shape by adding the important shadows

5. Finally complete the drawing by adding the final details

Once again I have marked the turning point in the photo below so you follow along with me.



So once again I have sketched the outside edge of the ear first, using the turning points identified above as the key reference point. Then once I had a rough sketch of the outside edge, I used it as a reference to help me find the inner edge, which is labeled on the image on the left.

Now we have the outer edge of the ear in place the next stage is to identify the inner ear. If you look at the reference photo above you will notice that there is a really strong shadow just under the edge of the outer ear, and under the inner ear. Simply by adding these two shadows, as marked in the image on the right we clearly give the impression of the inner ear.



Now that we have the basic outline in place the next step is to start to bring more detail into the image. To do this I simply focus on the three important shadows, as identified in the previous example. Now because of the way the light is falling the bottom shadow is not visible in this case, but the top two are really strong. So I simply focus on those two.

Finally the last stage is to simply take out our smudger and blend the shadows so they lie flat instead of jumping forward off the page. Essentially what you are trying to do is to fill in the white spots within the shadow, without distorting the edge of the shadow. A prime example of that are the shadows either side of the inner ear. If you compare the image above and the image on the left, you will see exactly what I mean.



Remember all drawings are going to be slightly different. But if you follow the steps laid out above you will notice amazing improvements in your drawing ability. So practice hard, and remember to have fun. To your drawing success,

lesson #4 secrets to drawing realistic ears · much detail. if you ask me the most important part...

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