As a traditional artist, I don't like using the cross in styles like anime, because I have to erase it. Which is why I start with the eyes, but that probably isn't very professional 😂
I have a semi realistic/anime(?) Artstyle so that really helps. I use the horizontal line (cut the circle in half) to know where the top of the ears + brows are. It's helped me a lot to make the face more realistic at the cost of having to make the eyes a bit smaller
I only use the cross to know where my characters are facing doesn’t really help me decide where the eyes are going or whatever but I have found it helps to know how the eyes will curve on the face at different perspectives
The cross only really helps me with perspective and not placement of the facial features like if I’m drawing the head at an angle, I’m definitely gonna start using this method instead
THIS WAS SO HELPFUL I always wondered why the placed the cross there in the first place because in how to draw books it always looked so unnecessary because half the time it wasn’t even placed right and the proportions were so off it’s like the artists only put the cross their and didn’t actually understand what they were using it for
Having a curved vertical line can help you track where the cheek and the jaws bend which can give better form to your heads. This only works if you know what you’re doing, though.
I never considered varying up the construction lines to better suit how someone interprets the portions/placements of the features on the face before. I've always just stuck to the usual cross example (although I do occasionally add curvature to the lines for different facial angles). This makes a lot of sense.
Personally, learning the planes of the face is the thing that helped me the most, especially when you need to draw a foreshortened head. Treating the head like the torso or another anatomy part was way more helpful than treating it like one big flat plane.
THATS how I do it too! It’s honestly SO HELPFUL. If I didn’t find out the trick were you put eyes in the middle of face and nose in middle of eyes to chin etc, I WOULD BE LOSTT
I definitely find the Loomis Method helpful. Thanks for clarification on the eye placement. I always heard that they belong in the center but I was never clear if that meant above, below or directly on the line.
To add onto this as an artist myself, another thing I've learned, especially for drawing faces from other perspectives (like for comics, for example) is to draw the face guidelines as a triangle. The basic cross technique is still used to cut down the middle and the horizontal line is in the middle of the eyes, like in the video, but the outer corners of the eyes are marked (I draw the eyes first) and you draw lines that come down to a point where the mouth would be. Then you draw a line through the centre and then a shape where that line and the vertical centre line meet for the nose (I do circles, but it depends on the nose type). And you can imagine that triangle as bending across the head to turn it in basically any direction :)
Ooh this is helpful. I’ve been going off the Loomis method for general placement, but I’ve been struggling with drawing chins. This is a nice way to break the planes of the face down. 😮
By the way. I just finished both Unfamiliar books & loved them! It was my 1st ever comic & now I'm really enjoying indie comics. I bought both a hard copy & a Kindle version of your book as I want to keep my paperbacks in pristine condition. I would have never even known about or imagined that comics encompass more than straight White male superheroes if it weren't for you & I'll always be grateful for that. Funny how supporting artists makes ones own word brighter.
for me just use it as a guide as to which way they're facing, i also like to cut off where the hairline starts on the forehead and cheeks so the face looks like a mask, it help for more trickier perspectives
In my opinion, too many lines are too messy. Maybe because I have Extropia, which make looking at messy things like novels is already hard enough. And now I’m telling myself to look at lines… when they become too much, adding on with my chicken lineart and all that… they just started making x2 of themselves… so 2 lines is enough for me
this is really helpful! I actually do use that cross (I find it much easier than going with multiple lines actually, but that's personal) but I do use the horizontal line of the cross for the middle of the eyes and it (that cross) does help with perspective - even when I do side view or 3/4, I find it helpful for making sure I don't have the nose for example in the middle of the face (in angel perspectives), or too far off from the centre of the face
The basic cross is always helpful, tho I use a varian of the basic cross, a cross with two horizontal lines instead of one, the top line indicates the top of the eyes and the bottom one the bottom part (duh). The eyes are the feature that wanders the most in my drawings if i have no guide so that's why i use the cross, it helps me with the mouth and nose a bit too but i use it mostly to center the eyes
I draw the cross along the centre of head sphere. The sphere represents the cranium, and the eyebrow line usually lies around that line. Useful, for sure!
Seeing that Christopher Hart art style has dragged me kicking and screaming back to parts of my childhood art journey that I had prayed to be lost from my memory forever
the cross is helpful for me in the same way that starting a drawing on lined paper is less scary than one on a blank page. it helps me estimate things better and also align things, even if I don't want them perfectly placed.
The cross is a similar thjng to parting the face. Using the horizontal line, you can part the face into two, and that's where the eyes are usually. And with the vertical intersecting line, you can part the face which helps in showing us the center , kind of- and with these two linesm drawing a hear from different angles becomes easier. The technique is similar to yours, excluding the last two steps, for the placement of the nose and mouth. It is quie helpful too. But it depends on preferences, ofcourse.
This is because these are ACTUAL face proportions. That's why it works so well. The face shape and feature size it what defines the artstyle most of time c:
The technique you use is what's taught in schools. The simple cross is what experienced artists use after they've drawn faces for years and don't really need all the lines anymore. It's better to start with the full guidelines, not just the simple cross when you're learning.
I still use the cross and ill continue to use it. Personally it helps more with drawing where the face is positioned. Idk if it's something that benefits beginner artists but it works for me.
I never realized the lines were divided in mid sections like 💀 I saw them each as separate sections that were in approximate sizes.. this helps and explains a lot
it’s honestly all just preference. i use the cross because i have a pretty good idea of where the facial features should go anyways, even without the help. i believe that how you do art doesn’t matter, just that you enjoy it.
i used to do the basic one when i was a lot younger because i thought it made me look professional 😭 i do use it now though, and it helps when im actually TRYING to use it right lol
I typically just use it for perspective angling, nothing else. as it helps determine where the little lines would meet for the chin if the generic placement would be a certain angle.
The cross is to tell where the head is looking at, but if its in the front it's most likely so you have equal sides. I believe the reason you would see a cross in the middle most of the time is because a lot of guides have the head facing forward.
the cross is rlly helpful when drawing the head shape for me so that the features stay aligned, and then you can layer these guidelines to get the rest right :DD
The eye line isn't cutting the circle in half, just if anyone is struggling, I know it's obvious but still. It's more of like the bottom third of the circle as shown.
I have never really seemed to use these cross technique since my art style is more relaxed and facial features float more, but if you are an artist I can definitely anyone using this technique.
I personally do the cross just to find out the head angle and where I want the person to look. The vertical helps with how low the face is going to be, while the horizontal helps with the eye’s level and angle.
I used to use these all the time, but have been using them less and less lately. Mostly cause I've been entering a much more "toon" phase in my art, and pushing the floating facial features for expressions. Like, lately I've been falling somewhere between Scott Pilgrim, DCAU, and Adventure Time.
I used to just do the cross but recently I’ve started adding another line for the eye. It’s really helped me keeping the eyes the same size or it’ll help with perception
I feel like its because most young or inexperienced artists see other artists drawing "a cross" and dont really understand what its actually supposed to be doing or what its for, they just see other artists doing it and saying "it helps", so they replicate it by drawing a random cross that has no purpose. Essentially its not supposed to be a random cross its supposed to be a guidline of the angles and rough placement of the major structures of the face, in fact the only time a cross like the first example would ever be at all relavent is drawing a face that has no angle and is fully forward, the way you describe it is great and its how these lines are actually supposed to work.
Strongly depends on the art style. In your art style the eyes are bigger and noses are very small. But for an artist who for example draws semi realism those same guides might not work. So then the simple cross in the middle might work better once you remember to make it curve to the direction you want the eyes and the nose to point to.
I think the cross is actually left over from the one you use. I learned my favorite from Marc Burnet. His is nearly the same except where you put the eyes, he puts the eyebrows.
I use other kinds of guidelines, but are very similar to the ones in this video! I make two horizontal lines to define where the eyes will be, it's like the limits of the eyes, but it also helps me to draw the eyebrows. For the nose, I do the same guideline you did, which shows where it ends, and for the mouth, I kind of imitate the bone structure of the face, using the "maxilla" as a reference to where the lips should be. I use the upper eye guideline and the nose guideline as a reference to where I should draw the ears. Basically, there are many ways to draw guidelines, and the ones you use are up to you, some might work better than others depending on your style! It's the magic of artstylie diversity ✨