How the Head Changes with Age by Katherine Courtney

There are many measurements to be considered when drawing or painting a portrait. Before you start you will need to learn how to construct the heads and establish the proportions within the heads of children, adults and senior citizens. The head changes very quickly as a child grows, while the changes become more gradual in adulthood until major changes again show when aging into a senior citizen.

In a child the features are small in relationship to the size of the head. However the eyes are the same size as the adult. This is one feature that does not change regardless of age. There is an inward slant to the head from the forehead to the tiny chin. Often when you are drawing children and they seem to look older than they should, it is because the forehead is not large enough and the chin too long.

Kevin, Joey and Karin Roberts posed for these photos. Kevin is 5 years old. Joey is 9 and Karin is 35.BABIES
This little girl is about a year old. Notice the high forehead and the tiny chin. The nose is not well defined and looks almost like a little button. The cheeks are nice and fat and she still has a roll of fat for a neck. Drawing small children is a challenge. They are never still and it is usually best to paint them from a photograph. If you are going to paint them from life, I suggest that you keep a couple of small toys or hand puppets close by that you can use to attract their attention. I have even smudged my nose with red pastel and made funny faces at them. Often I place a chair for one of the parents next to me and have them tell them a story.

ADULTS

This portrait was done from a photo. No one can hold a smile like this without the cheeks becoming very painful. I learned this while I was taking life drawing class and we had to model for each other. We would have 7 minute sittings and sometimes would be asked to have a smile. After 7 minutes of smiling the face is in agony. Often the sitter wants a smile in the portrait so I tell them to watch me the whole time and when I smile at them to return the smile and I will quickly make a note of the changes in the face. The eyes will close a little, the nose flares and the chin will become longer. I suggest a “Mona Lisa” type smile as it is easier to hold. A big toothy smile is impossible to hold for any length of time.

At this age the features in profile are straight up and down and the nose has become well defined. The eyes are in the middle of the head and the chin is usually in line with the forehead. Adults are able to hold a pose for about half an hour. Then I suggest that they stand up and walk around and stretch for several minutes before we start again.
SENIOR ADULTS

This is a quick pastel sketch of my father in his eighties. He lived to be 94. He was from Sweden and had a delightful accent. I thought he was the most handsome man in the world in addition to being a great father.

The two parts of the body that continue to grow all of your life are the nose and the ears. The hair line recedes and the forehead is higher. The chin gets longer as the joints in the jaw relax and drop. Please note in the sketches at the top of the page how the profile now takes an outward slant from the top of the head to the chin. Good hairdressers know how to create hair styles to make the older woman look younger by having the hair cover the big ears and having curled bangs on the forehead. Men usually start wearing hats.

Get out your drawing materials and have your friends or relatives sit for you. I started out drawing my children. In revolt one of my daughters once agreed only if she could read a book or watch television. This was fine with me and it gave me a new angle to work from. My teacher (Albert Handell) always told us not to do straight on portraits. He said they only belonged in the post office and the police station. I suggest that you have your sitter sit at an angle from you with their head turned in your direction so that you get a 3/4 view. I like to have the eye contact with the sitter but it is not necessary for a good portrait. Most artists do not keep eye contact, but suggest to the sitter that they pick an object to look at.

Learn more with: "QUICK SKETCH PASTEL PORTRAIT", "Cutting Freehand Silhouettes"