If you are drawing fashion figures just for design purposes it is not even necessary to draw a detailed face. You can leave it blank or add a signature detail like huge eyelashes and nothing else or just big bold red lips and cover the rest of the face with hair.
But when it comes to fashion illustration it really is important to learn to draw faces properly. A beautiful face will complement an outfit greatly and can even evoke different emotions with viewers.
Step by Step Drawing a Fashion Face
The first thing you have to have in mind is that the face is actualllly an oval or egg shape. In fashion it is common to draw a simplified face that will complement the clothing your fashion figure is wearing. You can convey moods, attitudes or other expressions with your face drawing but it should be pretty much simple and straight forward.
The main thing to pay attention to is the symmetry of the face and you can achieve that easily with some practice. The features of the face are approximately similar in size.
I would usually draw face first but after reading some useful educational books, I came to a conclusion that it is better to leave the face for the end of your illustration so you can put much needed attention into making it flattering and seductive.
Start With an Oval and Marks
Begin your drawing by sketching an oval and divide it in half vertically and horizontally. Ad the face is not flat your divider lines will slightly bend toward the side of the face.
The horizontal line represents the eye level and the distance between the eyes will be exactly one eye-width.
Divide the distance between the eyes and the bottom in half again and that line will represent the bottom of the nose.
If you divide the distance between the nose and bottom of the head you will have the bottom of the mouth on that line.
Add Details to Your Fashion Face
The bottom of the ear is placed on the line where your bottom of the nose is an the top of the ear will be in the eye level.
The jaw starts below ears and tapers in both sides until it meets the chin. The chin and mouth should be approximately the same size.
Your hairline will be approximately 1/8 head length.
If you want to work more on drawing fashion faces, take a fashion magazine and choose 5-10 face views and practice drawing and shading them.
Drawing Side View
The easiest way to draw a side view of a fashion face is to start with drawing a rectangle.
Divide the rectangle in half horizontally and divide the bottom half in half again. You should also divide the rectangle in half vertically. Add an arc where the upper back of the head will be and mark where your chin will be elongated in the front.
The slope of the nose goes halfway down the head and it has a triangular shape, curving round into the upper lip. In the side view mouth will have a heart shape an the corner of the mouth aligns with the front of the eye.
The eye will sit halfway down the head and has a shape of a wedge with eyelid and eyelashes visible.
I find the side view to be more difficult than the front view but practice makes things much easier and after 10-20 sketches you will get into it without a problem.