The Head at Every Angle

The face sequence works at every angle — front, three-quarter, profile, looking up, looking down. The sequence never changes; only the shape of each element adapts to the viewing angle.

KEY CONCEPTS

Frontal view: everything is symmetrical — easier but less dynamic
Three-quarter: the most used view in comics — shows dimension and expression simultaneously
Profile: reveals the nose's true form and the jaw's true character
Looking up: underside of nose visible; forehead appears smaller; chin more prominent
Looking down: more cranium is visible; features compress toward the chin

The three-quarter view is the most important view in all of comic and heroic figure drawing. It shows enough of the front face for full emotional read, while also showing three-dimensional depth from the side. The vast majority of character close-ups in professional comics use a three-quarter view. Master this angle above all others.

When the head is looking up (worm's eye), the center of the face's features is pushed upward — the nostrils are visible from below, the forehead shrinks, and the chin appears more prominent. When looking down (bird's eye), the cranium dominates — more scalp is visible, and the features appear compressed toward the chin from above.

TRY THIS — 10 MINUTESDraw the same character's head in five orientations using the full face sequence for each: (1) straight front, (2) three-quarter right, (3) full profile, (4) tilted up (worm's eye feeling), (5) tilted down (bird's eye feeling). Notice how the same character reads completely differently at each angle — and how the face sequence never changes, only the shapes adapt.