HOW TO DRAW BLACK GIRLS

Not all fashion designs look their best on pale skin models. Sometimes a darker skin tone is what it takes to make the design idea pop. When you want to draw an African woman face in your fashion sketches, simply coloring the skin in a darker shade isn’t the best. To draw an African or African-American model correctly you need to pay attention to the specifics of the face also. In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw the facial features of a black model step-by-step.

7/10

12 min

drawing paper

pencil

eraser

Step 1: Draw the face guidelines

Start by drawing a vertical Centerline and place two overlapping circles on it. The bottom circle overlaps the top one right at the center.

TRY TO DRAW THE CIRCLES ABOUT THE SAME SIZE. IF THEY HAVE ANY DIFFERENCE IN SIZE MAKE SURE THAT THE BOTTOM ONE IS THE SMALLER CIRCLE.

Step 2: Eyes and nose guidelines

This step is very important. Firstly you draw an ellipse covering the very bottom of the top circle. The nose in the African models is wider compared to Caucasians. Make sure the shape of the ellipse reflects that.

Next draw two ellipses for the eyes. Notice how uplifted and wide-set the eyes are. African faces tend to have eyes that are wider set. Leave enough space from the outer corner of the eye to the face guideline!

Step 3: The face shape

Black skin models usually have very beautiful face shape with pronounced cheekbones. The cheekbones are the highest point of the face outline and finish right under the nose level.

To draw the jawline connect soft curves to the horizontal line marking the chin. Use the face guidelines to help you with the symmetry.

Step 4: Draw the eyes and the nose

Using the guidelines draw the eyes. They are almond-shaped and somehow rounded in the middle. Don’t forget the uplifted outer corner.

Black girls’ noses a typically a bit wider than Caucasians. To draw the nose start with a very opened “V” with curved corners. Next, draw a bracket on each side.

Step 5: Lips guideline

It is time to mark a guideline for the lips. Place an ellipse with almost round shape in the middle of the nose-to-chin area. Notice that the ellipse is slightly closer to the nose than to the chin.

TO AVOID MAKING THE LIPS TOO WIDE STOP AT ABOUT 1/3 OF THE EYE WIDTH.

Step 6: Draw the lips

The key to drawing a black girl’s lips is in the shape of the top half. Make sure the line goes up immediately after the corner as opposed to the gradual increase towards the center in Caucasian models. “How to draw the lips” and “How to draw sexy lips” are tutorials that might help also.

Step 7: Add the face details

Clean up the unnecessary lines with an eraser. Gently mark the bridge of the nose which is rather small compared to the nose tip. Then add the eyebrows. Short, thick and curved eyebrows work best for drawing an African-American woman. You can also sketch some lip lines and a cupid bow if you wish.

ALL ETHNICITIES HAVE DETAILS UNIQUE TO THE RACE. IN MY ONLINE COURSE ON HOW TO DRAW FACES YOU WILL FIND TIPS ON THAT AND BECOME AN EXPERT IN DRAWING MODELS THAT ARE ASIAN, INDIANS, NATIVE AMERICANS, LATINAS AND MORE.

Step 8: Finishing touches

Finish the eyes, draw the neck and ears of your dark-skinned model. The last touch is to draw an afro hairstyle for your gorgeous model or black shiny hair and she’s ready to go!

Hopefully, this tutorial has helped you draw African and African-American women and now you only need to dress her up with amazing clothes. For an easy to follow step by step tutorial on a white girl’s face go ahead and check my How to draw faces tutorial.

Happy drawing!