How to Draw a Man's Face Step by Step (Easy Graphite Portrait)

This lesson draws a man in his twenties with wavy, tousled hair, a three-quarter turn of the head, a slight half-smile and a crew-neck T-shirt, in 12 small steps that take about 12 minutes. If you want to learn how to draw a man’s face that looks adult and masculine rather than generic, this subject teaches the features that create that look. You’ll work on a defined jaw, a heavier brow and a strong neck, all built up with layered graphite shading.

What makes a face read as male

Adult male proportions are the standard reference. The eyes sit about halfway down the head, and the bottom of the nose sits about halfway between the eyes and the chin. The mouth sits about a third of the way down from the nose to the chin. What makes a face read as male is the bone structure. The brow ridge is more prominent, so the eyebrows are thick, fairly straight, and sit low and close to the eyes, putting the eye sockets in shadow. The nose is longer with a more defined bridge. The jaw has a clear corner below the ear before it runs forward to a wide, squarish chin.

The three-quarter view shifts everything. The centre line of the face curves around toward the far side, so the far eye looks narrower, the nose overlaps the far cheek, and the far half of the mouth looks shorter. The near ear and the near corner of the jaw are fully visible.

In graphite, don’t outline the lips. The upper lip faces down, so it’s darker; the lower lip catches the light, and a small shadow under it defines its shape. The half-smile lives mostly in one corner of the mouth and the cheek above it, so keep that side soft and slightly raised rather than drawing a curved line.

The neck is almost as wide as the jaw, with a muscle that runs from behind the ear to the collarbone. The wavy hair has height on top, breaks into loose curls over the forehead, and holds the darkest values in the drawing — group it into a few large clumps before adding any loose strands.