The design of the head and its basic proportions. The design of the human head and its basic proportions

Teacher fine arts Malyukova Elena Alexandrovna

Goals: introduce students to the patterns in the design of the human head, the proportions of the human face; give the concept of midline and facial symmetry; learn to depict a person’s head with variously correlated facial details; develop observation skills; cultivate aesthetic taste; to develop the ability to find beauty, harmony, beauty in the internal and external appearance of a person; activate cognitive interest in the world around us and interest in the learning process.

Demonstration material and equipment: reproductions of paintings depicting portraits from different eras; reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “La Gioconda”, methodological tables “Proportions of the human figure”, “Proportions of the face”.

Lesson progress

I.Organizational moment.

Greeting students. Checking readiness for the lesson.

II.Repetition.

Teacher. Listen to the poem. Explain what “trace” the poet is talking about. What mark would you like to leave on earth?

They say talent comes from God

This is given, but this is not...

But everyone is given a way

Who will leave which mark?

S. Vikulov.

Questions for students.


  • What genre did we talk about in the last lesson?(About the portrait)

  • What is a portrait?(A portrait is an image of a person or group of people who actually exists or existed in reality.)

  • What is the meaning of a portrait?(The meaning of a portrait is to convey not only external resemblance, but also to depict the inner world of a person, conveying internal similarity.)

  • When did the “portrait” genre appear in Russia? ( In the 17th century.)

  • What were the names of the first portraits? ( Parsuns from the word “person”)

  • What did the first Russian portraits resemble? ( They resembled icons; they were painted on wooden boards using the same method as icons).

  • Name the types of portraits.(Front, chamber, characteristic, psychological, self-portrait).

II. Main part.

Learning new material.

1. Proportions of the human head.

Teacher: When we see a person - in life or in a picture, we first of all pay attention to his head. The head is the most expressive part of the human figure. An educational image of a person’s head differs significantly from a drawing or portrait.

In order for us to learn how to draw a person, we need to learn the technique of drawing a head.

First, let's define the shape of a person's head. Look at each other and say: what shape does a person’s head have? (Oval or egg shape).

Now take a closer look at the proportions of the person’s head and face.

The head is always individual in its structure and proportions for each person. Familiarity with the “averaged” diagram of the proportions of the human face will help you find and emphasize this individuality in a particular person. It turns out that the horizontal line - the axis of the eyes - runs exactly at half the total height of the head, that is, everything that is above the eyes takes up the same amount of space as what is below them. At first this seems unlikely: it seems that the lower part, where the nose, mouth, and chin are located, takes up much more space than the upper part, that is, the forehead and crown. But it only seems so. The lower part of the face seems larger than the upper because it is more “developed”, more saturated with various details, while the upper is devoid of them.

Look at these proportions of the human head on the poster.

Fig. 1. Proportions of the human head.

It’s not for nothing that they say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. It is very important to correctly determine their place in the drawing. The distance between the eyes is approximately equal to the length of the eye or the width of the nose. The human nose is shaped like a prism, we see its upper side. The mouth is located midway between the base of the nose and the jawline. The shape of the cheekbones plays an important role. The length of the ears coincides with the distance from the eyebrows to the base of the nose.

All the given measurements are, of course, schematic, approximate, and in life each person will have their own individual deviations from the considered scheme. However, it will always be a good starting point when studying the specific features of each individual head.

2. Individual features of facial details.

teacher. Leonardo da Vinci, classifying the shapes of the nose, divided them into "three varieties": straight, concave (snub-nosed) and convex (hump-nosed). The nature of the nostrils and wings of the nose in people is also different. The nostrils can be rounded or narrow, the wings of the nose - flat, convex, short, elongated. The noses are also varied in front: both wide and narrow...

The illumination of its surfaces depends on the type of nose a person has. Thus, surfaces facing the light source are illuminated more strongly, therefore, for example, a humped nose in upper lighting will reflect more light with its upper part, while a concave (snub) nose is more illuminated in the lower part.

Lips, like eyes, are the most expressive parts of the face. They can be very diverse in form, so it is necessary to catch and strive to convey them characteristic feature: their size, completeness; the lower lip can protrude strongly, and the upper lip hang over it, etc.

The chin prominence and especially the lower edge of the jaw, which forms the border with the neck, are of great importance.

The nature of the eyes and their placement can be varied: there are large and small eyes, more or less convex; they can be planted so that their internal and external corners are located in a horizontal straight line; sometimes the internal corners are significantly lower than the external ones, etc.


III. Updating knowledge. Creative task.

Teacher. Today we will learn how to depict a portrait using the appliqué technique. First you need to cut out the shape of a person's head, taking it in the correct proportions. In educational work, you should not cut out a head of natural size; half an A-4 sheet is enough. A person can keep their head straight or tilt it. In appliqué it also makes sense to give lively movement of the head relative to the neck. To make the head symmetrical, the sheet must be folded in half and cut out half of the oval, unfolding it - we get a whole oval. (All stages of work are demonstrated by the teacher). The fold is the middle line passing through the middle of the forehead, the middle of the base of the nose, lips and chin. It will help you correctly position the details of your face: nose, mouth, chin. Next, cut out individual parts of the face to the appropriate scale. The paper should be different in color and texture. For greater clarity, the teacher demonstrates a dynamic model of a human head on which, using a magnetic board, cut out parts of the face are placed, taking into account the basic proportions.

After this, students begin to do the work independently. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that it is necessary to glue the details of the face onto the shape of the head after all the details have been cut out and the main composition of the portrait has been formed.

Physical education minute.

1. Exercise to train the eye muscles: slowly move your gaze from right to left and back; repeat 8-10 times.

2. Starting position - sitting on a chair, legs bent, feet parallel. Raise your heels simultaneously and alternately,

spreading the feet to the sides.

3. Starting position - standing. “3amochek” - lead one hand behind

head, the second - by the shoulder blades. “Saw” several times, changing the position of your hands.

IV.Independent work of students.

Students complete the task, the teacher conducts individual and frontal work with students, understanding that completing this task is the most important stage in learning to understand the design of the shape and expressiveness of the proportions of the human head.

V. Conclusion.

1. Exhibition of student works.

2. Reflection.

Students are asked to continue the sentences:

“Today in class I...”

3. 3final word.

teacher. It is clear from your works that today you have taken the first step in mastering the technique of depicting a person. And although you didn’t get everything right at once quite clearly and proportionally, only by trying, constantly sketching any individual facial features of people, can you learn how to correctly portray a person and achieve similarities in portraits.

Homework: repeat the proportions of the human head. Prepare a report about a Russian portrait. Select portrait reproductions

VI. Organized end of the lesson.

Cleaning workplaces.

Literature.


  1. N.N. Rostovtsev"Training drawing." Moscow Enlightenment 1985.

  2. L. A. Nemenskaya “Fine arts. Art in human life” Moscow Enlightenment 2009.

  3. A. S. Shchipanov “For young lovers of brushes and chisels.” Moscow Enlightenment 1981.

  4. William F. Powell"Drawing. Step by step” Moscow AST-Astrel 2004.

See also:

We work according to the program of B.M. Nemensky.

Second lesson in 3rd quarter. 6th grade.

Lesson type: lesson on mastering new material.

Conducted by Marina O.N.

Lesson type: lesson in mastering new material.

Objective of the lesson:


  1. Introduce students to the genre of portraiture. To inform about portraits in different eras. To teach how to reflect the proportions and facial expressions in a portrait. Show compliance with the proportions of facial expressions.

  2. Develop imagination, creative imagination, graphic skills; carry out interdisciplinary connections (literature, art, history, music).

  3. To instill in people a love of art.

Lesson plan.


  1. Organizational moment. Theme formulation.

  2. Explanation of the topic. Explanations for performing practical work.

  3. Practical part of the lesson.

  4. Exhibition of works and self-esteem. Summing up.
Equipment: for the teacher - a presentation on the topic of a portrait, music, a layout of a person’s image, 25 templates on the topic; for students – graphic materials, album.

Visual range: reproductions of paintings by Vasily Pukirev “Unequal Marriage”, Alexey Antropov “Portrait of Peter II” I, Vladimir Borovikovsky “Portrait of Princess Anna Gavrilovna Gagarina and Princess Varvara Gavrilovna Gagarina”, etc.

Literary series: Nikolai Gumilyov “She”, Anna Akhmatova “Inscription on an unfinished portrait”.
Lesson progress:


  1. Organizational moment
Good afternoon, dear friends!

I'm glad to meet you again.

Waiting for you today

A tale about Russian portraits.

Guys, today we went to an art gallery (showing paintings of different landscapes, several works depicting animals and portraits).

Let's remember what the artists who paint such paintings are called? (Landscape painters) What are the names of artists who paint animals? (Animal painters) And what are the names of the artists who paint portraits? (Portrait painters)

Attention, I am reading a poem, after finishing it you will say what topic our lesson today is devoted to. (Reading a poem).

If you see what's in the picture

Is anyone looking at us?

Or a prince in an old cloak,

Or like a steeplejack,

Pilot or ballerina,

Or Kolka is your neighbor,

Required picture

It's called a portrait. (in chorus)

So this is the topic we will work on

In ancient times before our era, there were no computers, cameras, television, video cameras, but man always wanted to leave a memory of himself. Man also thought about this, and the result of this realization was the birth of creative incarnations of rock paintings. Sculptures, architectural structures, works of painting and drawing, etc.

Artists of all times conveyed, first of all, the character of a person, through facial expressions, through the height of the statue, to convey the position of a person in society, conveying the beauty of a person through the classical proportions of the human structure.

We go to the hall where the works of portrait painters are located.

What type of portraits are shown on the slides?

Answers: family, ceremonial, group, self-portrait.

Explanations for the game part of the lesson.

Guess what I feel? (task using cards) (I feel joy, pain, I’m surprised, I’m sad, I think, I’m angry.)

What did the guys change in their faces to convey their mood? (Answers)


  1. Practical part. Human facial proportions

Teacher. The head, especially the human face, is the object of close attention in portraiture.

Many generations of artists have studied the proportions of the human body. Their conclusions differ in detail, but in general they are similar. Proportions human body are as follows: the height of the head is 1/7-1/8 of the total height of a person.

When drawing, in order to establish by eye the correct proportions of the human figure, it is customary to take some part of it as a unit of measurement - a module that fits the height of the entire figure and its individual parts a certain number of times.

Michelangelo took the height of the head as such a module, which fit 8% of the time in the entire figure.

But professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts A. Sapozhnikov (19th century) proposed a more detailed proportional division of the human figure using a smaller module. As a unit of reference, he took the height of the foot or neck, which, according to his conclusions, fit into the height of the ideal figure exactly 30 times. In this case, the head occupies 4 such units in height and, therefore, fits 7.5 times in the height of the entire figure.

Look at these proportions of the human figure on the poster.

The artist needs all these general, approximate data on the “ideal” human figure in order to compare the proportions of a specific human figure with them, and always easily and accurately find its individual characteristics. Now take a closer look at the proportions of the person’s face.



The main method of our study of new material will be drawing up a portrait.

Open the envelopes located on your tables; in them you see blanks: ovals of the head, eyes, hair, hats.

I suggest you make a portrait filled with facial proportions and conveying emotions. The work will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1) accuracy when performing work.

2) compliance with facial proportions.

3) conveying the mood of your hero.


  1. Summing up the lesson
I ask you to arrange your works in this way: under the sun, works where all the requirements are met. Under the sun with a cloud of work, where there are comments. If you didn’t have time or for other reasons, then place your work under the criteria.

Summing up. Homework: select pictures-illustrations depicting various images of a person, try to describe the condition, inner world, features, experiences of the person depicted in the portrait




For artists, man has always been and remains the main object of the image. In order to depict a person, to convey his correct appearance, it is necessary to clearly understand the structure of the forms of the human body, the patterns of their formation. When working on the image of the human figure, the artist’s faithful assistant is anatomy.

The section of anatomy needed by artists is called plastic anatomy and studies what forms the external forms of the body - the skeleton, muscles and skin.

1. Proportions of a person’s face.

The head, especially the human face, is the object of close attention in portraiture.

Many generations of artists have studied the proportions of the human body. Their conclusions differ in detail, but in general they are similar. The proportions of the human body are as follows: the height of the head is 1/7 -1/8 of the total height of a person

Now take a closer look at the proportions of the person’s face.

The head is always individual in its structure and proportions for each person. Familiarity with the “averaged” diagram of the proportions of the human face will help you find and emphasize this individuality in a particular person. It turns out that the horizontal line - the axis of the eyes - passes exactly half the total height of the head, that is, everything that is above the eyes takes up the same amount of space as what is below them. At first this seems unlikely: it seems that the lower part, where the nose, mouth, and chin are located, takes up much more space than the upper part, that is, the forehead and crown. But it only seems so. The lower part of the face seems larger than the upper because it is more “developed”, more saturated with various details, while the upper is devoid of them.

Having established that the line of the eyes runs exactly in the middle of the head, let's consider the placement of the remaining details of the face. If the entire height of the head is taken as one, then it turns out that the crown will occupy 1/7 of this value, the forehead, nose and the distance from the nose to the lower point of the chin - 2/7 each. The mouth line is located approximately 1/3 of this distance. This value - 1/7 the height of the head - turns out to be a modulus for the width of the head. It is laid 5 times in width. The distance between the eyes, as well as between the extreme points of the wings of the nose, the length of the eyes, the distance from the extreme points of the eyes to the extreme points of the temples is still one.

All the given measurements are, of course, schematic, approximate, and in life, each person will have their own individual deviations from the considered scheme. However, it will always be a good starting point when studying the specific features of each individual head.

2. Individual features of facial details.

Leonardo da Vinci, classifying the shapes of the nose, divided them into “three varieties”: straight, concave (snub-nosed) and convex (hump-nosed).. The noses are also varied in front: both wide and narrow...

Lips, like eyes, are the most expressive parts of the face. They are very diverse in shape, so it is necessary to capture and strive to convey their characteristic feature: their size, fullness; the lower lip can protrude strongly, and the upper lip hang over it, etc.

The chin prominence and especially the lower edge of the jaw, which forms the border with the neck, are of great importance.

"Proportions in Life"- F. Reshetnikov. Golden spiral. Application method. Correlation of body parts in a child. Leonardo Pigano Fibonacci. Ratio. Composition of human proportions. Examination. Continue the sequence of numbers. Parthenon. Divide each number in the Fibonacci sequence by the previous one. Leonardo da Vinci.

“Problems on proportions” - Check the solution. Cheburashka and the crocodile Gena. One day the Tsokotukha Fly walked across the field and found some money. Problems on proportions. Vehicle speed. Physical education minute. The two quantities are inversely proportional. Farm cat Matroskin from Prostokvashino. Somewhere there is a spruce in the forest, under the spruce there is a squirrel. Solve the problem.

"Proportion" mathematics- 90 people. Solve the equations. For “olympiads”: The simplest transformations of proportions: There are 80 people in the fifth grade of the school. Proportions. Proportion: There are 90 people in sixth grade. Basic property of proportion: Create new proportions from the given ones. Excellent students make up 20%. In which classes are there more excellent students and by how many?

““Ratios and proportions” 6th grade” - In 1794, Legendre gave a more rigorous proof of the irrationality of numbers? and?2. 45% of the total area was sown with corn. Ratio 2:10=0.2 Ratio 2k10 equals 0.2 39:3=13 Ratio 39k3 equals 13. And among the first place rightfully belongs to the Parthenon. The scale can be: numerical, linear. 80/100 * 0.45 = 0.36 - that is, 36 hectares are sown with corn.

““Proportions” mathematics grade 6” - We write the same relations in the form of equality. Average members. Make 4 correct proportions. Lesson topic. The main property of proportion. From the relationship, select equal. Guess the rebus. The equality of two ratios is called proportion. Proportions. Fill out the table. What is proportion?

"Whole and Part"- Relationships between parts and the whole in the surrounding world and in mathematics. Authors: Atamanova Liza Nekhoroshkova Nadya. Observation of objects in the surrounding world and numerical equations. Objectives of the study. Let's take a look around... Materials used. Progress of the study. Conclusions. Parts and wholes exist in objects of the surrounding world and in numerical equalities.

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