CHAPTER 1 Facial Anatomy

The first step in preparing to study makeup is to examine the structure of bone, muscle, and cartilage that lies beneath the skin. In remodeling a face to fit a particular character, you should know how the face is constructed. Even when you are merely trying to make your own face look its best, you need to be aware of which features you wish to emphasize and those you wish to minimize. Thus, actors or makeup artists, before they ever open their kit, should familiarize themselves not only with the basic structure of a human face but also with the particular structure of any face they make up, whether it be their own or someone else’s.

Bones of the Face

A thorough and highly technical knowledge of anatomy is not really essential to the actor or to the makeup artist. It is not even necessary to remember the technical names of bones and muscles as long as you know where they are. There is, for example, no particular virtue in referring to the zygomatic arch when the term cheekbone is simpler and more generally understood. In a few instances, however, when the precise location of shadows and highlights is to be discussed, it is certainly advantageous to be able to refer to the exact area. The term forehead is useful only if we really mean the entire forehead. And in makeup we seldom do. There are two separate and distinct eminences, the frontal and the superciliary, which must ordinarily be considered separately in highlighting. In this case, then, the technical terms are useful.

Familiarity with the bones of the face becomes increasingly important with the advancing of the character’s apparent age since muscles may lose their tone and begin to sag, flesh may no longer be firm, and the face, in extreme old age, may sometimes take on the effect of a skull draped with skin. This is an effect impossible to achieve unless you know exactly where the bones of the skull are located.

FIGURE 1-1 illustrates a skull stripped of all cartilage, muscle, and skin. This is the basic structure of all faces, though there are, naturally, variations in exact shapes of bones.

FIGURE 1-2 is a diagrammatic representation of a skull indicating the names of the various bones and hollows (or fossae). The maxilla and the mandible are the upper and lower jaws, and the nasal bone is simply the bony part of the nose. But observe that only the upper section of the nose is part of the bony structure of the skull. The lower, more movable part is constructed of cartilage attached to the nasal bone.

FIGURE 1-1 A human skull. From Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy.

FIGURE 1-2 Diagram of prominences and depressions in the human skull.

The importance of distinguishing between the two eminences of the forehead has already been mentioned. In some individuals these are very clearly defined, especially when the source of light is directly overhead, forming a slight shadow between the two. In other individuals the whole forehead may be smoothly rounded with no hint of a depression.

The cheekbone or zygomatic arch is one of the most important bones of the face for the makeup artist, and familiarity with its location and conformation is essential for accurate modeling. Some people have prominent cheekbones, easily observed, but others may need to prod the flesh with the fingers in order to find them. In studying the bones of your own face, you should locate them by feel as well as by sight. To feel the cheekbone, prod the flesh along the entire length, beginning in front of the ear, until you know its exact shape. Start with the top of the bone, then feel how it curves around underneath. Keep prodding along the bottom until you reach the enlargement of the bone under the eye. Familiarize yourself with the general shape and exact location of the bone. Observe, also, the angle of the cheekbone as it slopes gently down from the ear toward the center of the face.

Then there are the hollows in the skull. The orbital hollows (or eye sockets) are clear-cut (see FIGURE 1-3) and easy to feel with your finger. The temporal hollows are what are normally referred to as the temples. These are not deep, but there is a slight depression that tends to show up increasingly with age. The infratemporal hollows you will have already found in the process of prodding the cheekbone. The lack of bony support here allows the flesh to sink in underneath the cheekbone, resulting in the familiar hollow-cheeked effect. In extreme old age or starvation this sinking-in can be considerable.

FIGURE 1-3 Head of a man in late middle age.

Study the bone structure of your own face thoroughly. Then, if possible, study several different types both visually and tactually.

The skull is, as you know, covered with various muscles, which operate the mandible (the only movable part of the skull) and the mouth, eyelids, and eyebrows. In order that the study of these may be made more immediately applicable, they will be noted in Chapter 11 in connection with the individual features that they affect.

Construction of a Head

The best way to arrive at a practical understanding of the structure of the head is actually to construct one. This should be done with artists’ modeling clay (such as Plastolene) on a thin but sturdy board. A piece of Masonite about 12 × 16 inches will do very well. Only the front half of the head (from the ears forward) need be done. FIGURE 1-4 shows such a head being modeled.

In addition to familiarizing yourself with the construction of a human head, there are two additional advantages in working with clay. One is the actual practice in modeling features—an essential step in making most three-dimensional additions to the face. The other is having available a head that can be remodeled indefinitely. This makes it possible to study the three-dimensional form of sagging flesh, such as wrinkles or pouches, that you are trying to reproduce with paint, as well as to experiment with various shapes of noses, eyebrows, or chins in planning a makeup for a specific character.

FIGURE 1-4 Modeling a head in clay.
A. Clay being pressed against the board to make certain that it sticks. B. Head shaped and nose begun. C. Completed head being aged with a modeling tool.

Modeling a Head in Clay

To model a face of approximately life size, you will need about nine pounds of an oil-base clay (see Appendix A), in a medium-soft to medium-hard consistency (#2 or #3 in Roma Plastelina). The area to be developed can be bounded by the hairline, the chin, and a point immediately in front of the ears. (See FIGURE 1-4.) The clay can be purchased at most art and pottery supply stores in two-pound blocks. Water-based modeling clays, which are considerably less expensive, are often packaged in twenty-five pound blocks and come in sealable plastic bags. For easy working, the clay can be cut into half- or quarter-pound cubes. These cubes should be kneaded and worked with the hands until the mass is soft and pliable. As each piece is softened, it should be pressed to the board with the thumbs, as shown in FIGURE 1-4A, and additional pieces mashed onto it in the same way. If this is done properly, the completed face can be carried about or hung on the wall with no danger that the clay will pull away from the board. (FIGURE 1-5A shows a whole head being modeled in clay.)

As each piece of clay is added, the general facial area to be developed should be kept in mind. A face about 7 to 9 inches long and about 5 or 6 inches wide works very well. The softened clay (except for about half a pound, which will be used later) should be molded into a mound resembling half an egg sliced lengthwise. It is by cutting away and building up the various areas in this mound that the face is developed.

FIGURE 1-6A shows a stylized head construction, emphasizing its three-dimensional quality. In 1-6B you can see how this is related to a real head. In many ways the head, especially the front half, is closer to a cube than to an egg. Although you will probably prefer to use the basic egg shape for your clay model, it is frequently helpful to visualize the cube in order to be sure that your head is really three-dimensional. It is important to be aware that the forehead, for example, has a front plane and two side planes (the temples). The depression for the eyes actually forms a sort of bottom to the forehead box, and the top of the head makes a rounded top.

The nose forms a smaller, elongated box with a definite front, sides, and bottom. The front, sides, and bottom of the jaw should be clear-cut, with the lips following the rounded arch of the teeth.

FIGURE 1-5 A. Clay sculpture for prosthetic age makeup for the A&E mini-series, “Barnum.” B. Detail. Sculpture by Stephan Tessier of TEXA FX Group, Montreal, Canada.

The classic face is divided into three equal parts horizontally, and that division should be your first step. The forehead occupies the top third, the eyes and nose the middle third, and the upper and lower jaws (including the mouth, of course) the lower third. It is a good idea to model the larger areas and develop the general shape of the head, defining the forehead, the jaw, and the eye sockets before starting on any detailed modeling.

NOSE This is usually the simplest single feature to model because its size and location can easily be changed without seriously disturbing the rest of the modeling. This is where you will use the extra bit of clay that was left over. In adding the clay here or elsewhere, it is best to add more than seems necessary, for it tends to be easier to cut away excess clay than to add on to a feature that has been carefully modeled and then found to be too small.

FIGURE 1-6 Planes of the face. A, C, and E show planes of the head, nose, and eye flattened to clarify the construction.

FIGURE 1-6C shows a breakdown of the nose into its component parts. Plane 1 represents the slender nasal bone, and 2 and 3 show the two planes of the cartilage that forms the tip. In 4 we see the roughly cylindrical flesh of the nostrils, with 5 representing the side planes. D shows the nose as it actually looks to the observer. But notice in both C and D the subtleties of shape.

The front plane of the nose (1 and 2) is not of even width all the way down. It is narrow at the bridge, then widens and narrows again slightly as it fits into the still wider cartilage of the tip (2). Examine a number of noses carefully to observe this construction. In some noses (FIGURE 1-3, for example) it will be quite obvious. In others the change will be so subtle that it will be difficult to distinguish it. On your clay head, model these planes carefully to give the feeling of bone and cartilage beneath the skin. Since you will use this particular bit of modeling frequently in your makeup work, it is especially important to become proficient at it now.

MOUTH Modeling the mouth is a process of shaping and carving, working for the rounded fleshiness of the lips as opposed to a straight, thin gash in the clay. Start with a cylindrical shape, and model the mouth on that. (Refer to FIGURE 1-6A.) It is usually helpful in laying out the mouth to establish its exact center by means of the small indentation or cleft that extends from the nose down to the cupid’s bow of the upper lip.

EYES Before beginning on the eyes, be sure the superciliary arch and the cheekbones are carefully modeled since these, along with the nose, will form the eye socket. It is usually wise to model an eye socket before building up an eye. This can be done quite simply by pressing firmly with both thumbs where the eyes are to be. Bear in mind that the space between the eyes is approximately the width of one eye. In other words, the eyes are normally the same width as the space between them.

As with the nose, the eyes are modeled with extra clay. A piece about the size of a walnut, set into each socket, should prove more than sufficient. This should give you a good start in laying out the correct planes.

FIGURE 1-6E shows a schematic of the planes of the eye, and 1-6F shows the normal eye for comparison. Planes 1, 2, and 3 represent the slope from the upper edge of the orbital fossa downward and inward to the eyeball—a slope that lies in three planes blending gently and imperceptibly into each other. Plane 1 is the deepest part of the eye socket, formed by the meeting of the nasal bone and the superciliary arch. Plane 2 is the most prominent part of the upper socket, pushed forward by the bone of the superciliary arch. This is in essentially the same horizontal plane as the forehead. Plane 3 curves backward into the plane of the temple.

Plane 4 represents the upper lid, which comes forward over the eyeball and follows it around so that it is actually in three planes, only two of which are visible in this three-quarter view. Plane 5 represents the lower lid, which, though much less extensive than the upper, follows the same general pattern. Plane 6 represents the eyeball itself.

On your clay head it would probably be well to model the eye as if it were closed, as it is in FIGURE 1-3. If, however, you prefer the eyes to be open, you can carefully cut away a section of the lid in order to reveal the eyeball itself and give the lid thickness, or you can lay on thin pieces of clay to create the lids. The important thing is to have a three-dimensional eye, correctly placed in the face, well shaped, and set properly into the eye sockets. As with all other features, avoid flatness.

Next, smooth out rough edges and carefully check all planes of the face and of each feature. If the result lacks conviction, analyze it to find your missteps, and redo any problem areas.

But the best way to avoid major problems is first to lay out the proportions with great care, following the measurements of your own features, if you like. Then make sure that the basic head is three-dimensional. Avoid the tendency of some beginners to make heads that are either excessively egg-shaped or very flat. Develop a feeling for both roundness and squareness in the head. Be sure that your individual features are carefully constructed with all of their component parts. Relate the size and placement of features to the head and to each other. A careful modeling of each feature will then result in a three-dimensional head.

The important thing is to follow through each step logically and carefully, progressing from large areas to small ones, taking whatever time is necessary to do the work correctly.