How To Draw Detailed Hair

Gvaat'due south drawing the ear – studies

A proper drawing of the ear is often neglected by artists. The ear takes picayune office in facial expression and is ofttimes blocked out of view by pilus. However, cartoon the ear properly provides for completeness to your drawing as well as demonstrates a college level of artistic cognition and skill.

In this tutorial nosotros will get over a two-step approach to learning to depict ears well, so we will go through my drawing of an ear, pace-by-stride.

For those of yous looking for a brusk reply on how to describe the ear, here is my summary:

To draw an ear, commencement, break down the form of an ear into bones anatomical features, then create a proportionate construction, and so starting with the outline of the helix, brainstorm to place features, and draw in the anti-helix, the tragus, and anti-tragus sections.

Two step approach for cartoon the ear

Nosotros will utilise a two-step approach to breaking down the ear in an effort to brand it easier to draw. I, for 1, ever had problems drawing ears. Once I applied this two-stride approach to learning to describe the ear, my drawings improved significantly.

Y'all tin encounter my results in the ear drawings I made for this tutorial. Here is what I did, and what I recommend you lot do to outset drawing ears well:

Pace one to learning to drawing the ear:

Offset, let's become familiar with the main features and landmarks of the ear. There are six in total to keep in heed, four of which are the main cartilage sections and have opposing names (example: helix and anti-helix) and therefore are easy to remember.

We volition become over each one together below.

Step two to learning to describe the ear:

Once you are familiar with the landmarks generally (and you volition be, past the cease of this tutorial), information technology is time to look at reference and identify these landmarks on every bit many unlike ears equally possible.

Ears vary profoundly by person. There are small-scale ears and large, more curved and less curved, and each landmark will have unlike shapes from one person to another.

However, in general all of the landmarks we volition discuss volition exist present and are easily identifiable.

In 1 way, ears are similar chairs. There are many kinds of chairs, but all take the iv legs and a place to rest on. Same with ears, each specific feature of an ear can modify in shape and design, only each characteristic volition still be there, waiting to be identified properly and indicated in your drawing.

It is proficient to see the variation in reference. This procedure volition help identify what resembles an ear mostly, which in turn will help united states draw the ear properly.

Later on seeing variation in features, pay attention to the shape of each feature. We demand to learn the actual concrete masses of each landmark.

Things like: what curves in, and what curves out, which section folds into which other department, what is located closer to the head, and what function is further out.

All of this is important. The best way to acquire is to discover in real life from different angles. Or take pictures from different angles and learn from that.

Don't learn to draw the ear from just i case of an ear. There is enough variation that when you see another example it may be difficult to figure out what-is-what at first. I suggest looking at to the lowest degree three different references to learn.

That's it. Now it'due south time to draw. Describe many ears, draw at different angles, and notice how the shapes change when the bending changes. The changes in shape will, I have no doubt, surprise you, equally they surprised me.

As always, let'south go over both of these steps together!

Ear anatomy for cartoon

Although ears vary widely, like other areas of the trunk, they have sure definite areas. We need to remember only 6 anatomical features of the ear to draw it well.

The Ear Lobe
The Helix
The Anti-Helix
The Targus
The Anti-Targus
The Concha

The Lobe, or Lobule

Lobule – anatomy of the ear for cartoon. Studies by Gvaat

The lobe is an appended fatty tissue at the bottom of the ear. It changes greatly from person to person, from an area that is larger and looks like a flap, to ane that is reseeding into the mass of the ear and connecting to the head in a swift curve.

This is 1 feature of the ear, and probably one you already knew well-nigh, 5 more to go.

It is important to note that four of the main cartilages of the ear that we volition study for cartoon the ear are raised off the surface of the ear. They in essence, announced on the surface as elevated bumps or flaps.

Let'south look at them at present:

Helix

The helix is the prominent outer rim of the ear. Note the shape and also annotation that at the tiptop information technology is further away from the caput. The helix moves closer to the head as it descends into the ear lobe.

Anti-helix

The anti-helix is a visible part of the inner ear (notwithstanding external ear, since nosotros are merely looking at the visible masses for drawing) that largely follows the helix in its curvature.

You can call back of the anti-helix as a form of a curved mountain ridge.

Anti-helix – anatomy of the ear for cartoon. Studies by Gvaat

As its ridge moves towards the top, it flattens, then splits into 2. This summit part of the anti-helix tucks in under the helix.

The lesser section moves downward and somewhen morphs into the anti-tragus.

Tragus

The tragus is the flap-like slice of cartilage that protects the ear canal from the front of the ear.

Anti-tragus

The anti-tragus, true to its proper noun, sits across or opposing the tragus at the bottom of the ear.

Concha

The concha is the 'lesser of the bowl' of the ear. Surrounded past the anti-helix, the tragus, and the anti-tragus.

The concha is the area that the helix divides every bit it moves down into the bowl of the ear.

The helix divides the concha it into two parts (cymba and cavum). The names of these ii sections are non important for drawing. Still, it is essential to call back that those areas are there and that the helix does non just stop at the outer rim, but does indeed descend down into the concha.

Proportions of the ear for drawing

The ear tin can be divided into 3 equal sections from top to bottom. This will provide for continuity of proportions in drawing the ear, regardless of bending (when accounting for perspective and foreshortening).

I don't focus on proportions in my tutorials often, because I believe that equally you lot go along cartoon, your sense of proportion will better, and will eventually go second nature to your drawing procedure. When things are off, you will know it instantly.

At first, however, it is a adept idea to mensurate out proportions. Therefore, here are very basic guidelines to keep in mind, when practical to a drawing, they should yield an ear . . . that looks similar an ear.

You can encounter on the diagram above, if nosotros depict a line at the top of the helix, then another where anti-helix wedges into the front of the ear, and so some other line correct through the anti-tragus, and finally a line at the cease of the lobe, we can dissever the ear into something resembling 3 equal parts.

Another way to retrieve nigh these proportion guides is to mark the height and bottom of the concha with two lines, besides as marking the top and bottom of the ear with 2 more than lines, thus yielding the same outcome.

Physical features of the ear

Now that we covered anatomy and proportion, let's take a moment to observe the ear from dissimilar angles and make notes on concrete features.

Same ear at different angles. Studies by Gvaat

The lower office of the ear is closer to the face than the upper part.
At the ear, the jaw steps away from the rest of the head just a bit, creating a surface dip that is filled past the bowl of the ear
From the front end view, the ears slope inwards from higher up
The ear is shaped like a bowl, with the rim (helix) tucked in.
The ear canal opening protected in forepart by a flap known every bit the tragus.

Drawing an ear – backview. Written report by Gvaat

Cartoon the Ear, Step-by-Step

Let's now go over drawing the ear, with the knowledge that we gained so far.

I definitely felt like it got much easier as soon every bit I reviewed the anatomical features involved, and began to place the landmarks in different examples, equally well as studied the shapes of those anatomical features.

From outline to return – Gvaat's report.

Here is a process video of the step-by-step ear drawings that you will find below.

How to Draw an Ear – Footstep-by-Stride 1

I started this drawing by blocking in the helix outline. At this early on phase, I began to gauge proportions and angles.

With the helix blocked in, I marked downwards where I idea the tragus and anti-tragus envelop the section leading upward to the ear culvert.

The location of the tragus and the helix, basically dictate the rest of the ear drawing in this case.

In this footstep, I identified the remaining features, the width of the helix and the location of the anti helix.

To provide a little fleck of depth to this ear drawing, I began to shade in areas that are receding and are hidden from the light.

In this stride, I began to place the darker darks in the concha area, equally well as the terminator at the ear lobe. (For more on shading, light and shadows, visit my tutorial at this link.)

At this step, I focused on shading-in the anti-helix as it ascends to the meridian of the ear. Since the low-cal is coming from the top in this example, I know that some of it will be in the shadow, covered past the helix arching over it.

This is true since the helix at the apex (top of the ear) stands out farther from the head, creating a cast shadow that lands on the peak office of the anti-helix.

More shading in this step to indicate the areas of light verses shadow.

Concluding drawing. In this step, I tried to tidy-up the outline, focusing on a readable silhouette.

How to Depict an Ear – Step-by-Step 2

Let's wait at 1 more step-by-stride example of an ear drawing. In this initial step, I outlined all prominent features: the helix, the anti-helix, tragus, and the anti-tragus.

Next, I focused on the shape of the ear, and farther defined the outline, likewise as began to shade-in the areas in the shadow.

Cast shadows created by the helix are defined equally they autumn on the anti-helix at the acme. Some areas of the anti-helix remain lit due to its shape. (It is shaped liked a mountain ridge).

In this step, I further separated the light side from the shadow side, in an try to show some depth in the drawing.

I added more separation between light and dark, and farther separating the nighttime areas between the darks and the darkest darks.

In this final return, I refocus on defining the shape of the lobe which shifts planes from the anti-tragus, besides as further detailing the shadow sections of the drawing.

Let'south summarize what we covered together: nosotros get-go discussed the ii-pace approach to drawing ears: (1) learning the anatomical features involved and (2) observing and learning the shapes by drawing. We then took a hands-on approach to this method, by going over the anatomy and going over the drawing process together.

I hope y'all found my drawing guide on how to describe ears helpful. If and then, It is now time to put your new knowledge to use, and draw some ears on your own!