Planes of the Face

The face as you can see by the sketch below is not a flat surface.  Even if you are wanting to animate a flat faced doll, you must use shading techniques to give the illusion of planes in the face.  They are akin to hills and valleys.  The parts of the face that are the valleys in the sketch are shaded in.  These shaded areas indicate where the skin of the face, not supported by bone, cartilidge or muscles, tends to form itself to the bone structure of the individual face.

__________the area under the eye

the area under the mouth________________

the smile lines__________

__________the area at the center of the upper lip

The areas indicated are the parts of the face that are considered the valleys of the face. The blue X es are the high points of the face, or the hills of the face.  With a bit of practice, you can learn where to enter and exit your needle and sculpt in these areas subtly to create the dimensions you desire.

X

the eye socket_________

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

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