Today we get to think about where to put the eyes on our drawing. This is just the first bit, so keep checking back for more! It’s probably best that you don’t draw anything until I tell you, although if you want to practice you could make a photocopy, or copy of your drawing and have a little practice.
If you want the eyes on your drawing to move then it is important not to draw straight onto the piece of paper with a pen.
Later on, we will be making cut-outs, or stencils of our eyes.
Where do I draw my eye-shape?
Eyes come roughly half way down our head.
We have to leave plenty of room for our hair! Hair takes up a surprising amount of room on cartoon faces, and it is important because it helps them to look round.
You can vary where you put your eyes and get away with it to a certain extent, but it will change how your cartoon man looks. One of the reasons we will be making cut-out eyes is so you can move them around on your page and see what difference it makes.
Two basic rules:
- If you put your cartoon eyes below the middle of the face your cartoon man will look much younger. This is what you do when you want to draw babies.
- If you put your cartoon eyes too high, above the middle line of the face, then there won’t be any room to draw in the hair and the face will probably look out of proportion.
How far apart do I draw my eyes?
You will have to look at your face and notice how far apart your own eyes are.
Some basic rules:
- It’s important that you put both your eyes the same distance away from the middle line of your face (which we will be drawing on to help you).
- If I was to say this in mathematical language, I would say ‘your eyes must be equidistant (the same way away) from the middle line of your face’
- Some people naturally have close set eyes. If this is you, then try and position your eyes in a middle position and then move them slightly closer to where the nose would be. You don’t want your cartoon character to look permanently cross eyed!
- Some people naturally have eyes that are wide apart. If this is you, be careful. Drawings of aliens traditionally have wide-set eyes, and you don’t want your cartoon character to look like an alien! So position your cut-out eye in a middle position and then move it slightly towards your ear.
- If you do decide to go moving your eyes about you will still have to make sure they are equidistant from the middle line. You can do this by measuring them.
So, unless you have decided you are an exception and have eyes that are far apart or close together then your eyes will be in the middle of the middle of the middle. And because there are two of them, they will be spaced equally apart.
Got it?
Good, well done! I will see you here later today for instructions on how to draw guidelines…
