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Rule

rules://32-heads-and-faces

Heads and faces

Heads fail at sprite scale in three ways: features on the wrong lines (eyes too high, mouth glued to the chin), a flat front-on mask where a turned head was wanted, and features drawn before the shape that holds them. This file fixes the geometry — where each feature sits at 8, 12, 16, 24 and 32 px in front, 3/4 and side view. Eyes, brows and emotion: rules://33-eyes-and-expressions. Bust portraits from 48 px: rules://38-portraits. Head size against the body: rules://30-proportions-by-size.

6 pixel templates rules/32-heads-and-faces.md
On this page

Rules

#
  1. Shape before features. Block one filled egg or rounded square, then a centre axis and the eye line (guide layer, deleted last), then features, hair, shade, outline. Features placed first float.
  2. H = hair top to chin, outline included. All landmarks are fractions of H from row 0.
  3. Eye line at 50–56% of H for game heads (templates: 12 px 50%, 16 px 56%, 24/32 px 52–53%); 56–65% for cute heads — low eyes under a high forehead is the baby cue. Realistic 8-head faces sit at 50%. Sources counting from the hairline (Loomis quarters, st0ven) land 3–4% lower; we count from the hair top because that is what the grid shows.
  4. Front landmarks (derived by fitting the Loomis/Hampton/Slynyrd divisions to the grid): hairline 25–33%, brow 38–42%, nose base halfway from brow to chin (63–74%), mouth 77–83% (about a third of the way from nose base to chin), chin 100%. Rows are in the table.
  5. Width. Realistic W ≈ 0.7–0.75 H (Loomis' drawings; an estimate, not a printed figure); 3–4-head game figures 0.85–0.9 H (the templates are 0.86–0.88); chibi 1.0. Side depth ≈ H plus the nose.
  6. Odd or even width, decided first. Odd (11, 21, 27) has a centre column: 1-px nose, 1- or 3-px mouth. Even (8, 14) has none: 2-px mouth, no nose. Never a 1-px feature on an even head or a 2-px feature on an odd one.
  7. Features never touch. ≥1 px skin between mouth and nose/chin, brow and eye, eye and contour; ≥2 px between the eyes (1 px fuses them into a brow). Spacing is letter-spacing.
  8. Eye gap 1–2 eye widths for adults, ≤1 eye width for cute faces with enlarged eyes. Blair and Saint11 both want wide-set cute eyes but Saint11's ratios shrink the gap; both hold when the eye grows and the absolute gap stays ≥2 px.
  9. Nose. None at ≤16 px (blush instead). 24 px: 1 px one skin step darker. ≥32 px: bridge shade on the shadow side plus 2–3 px at the base. Never outline-dark (reads as a smudge). In profile it is the silhouette bump: +1 px at 12–16, +2 at 24, +3 at 32.
  10. Mouth. Width ≈ distance between pupils, two thirds of that if cute: 2 px at 16, 3–4 at 24, 5–9 at 32. Seam darkest, lower lip lighter, no separate upper lip below 24 px.
  11. Ears. Front: top at the brow line, bottom at the nose base, height ≈ nose length. ≤16 px hide under hair; 24 px a 1-px bump; 32 px 2 wide × 4–5 tall. Side: just behind the vertical midline, lower-back quarter of the side plane.
  12. 3/4 view. Axis moves 1–2 px toward the turn at 16 px, 2–3 at 32. Far eye one notch narrower (16 px 2→1, 24 px 3→2, 32 px 5→3), ≥1 px off the far contour. Far cheek in 1–2 px; the nose breaks the far contour; near ear shows, far ear hides; chin shifts toward the turn. Equal eyes in a turned head is the tell. At ≤12 px a 1-px eye cannot narrow: shift nose and mouth, break the contour, show the near ear.
  13. Tilt. Head up bows the eye line up in the middle; down bows it down. Move the whole eye+nose+mouth block 1 row (2 at 32) and bend the mouth 1 px. Never nudge single features.
  14. A profile needs a profile: forehead out, eye in, nose out, lips, chin — ≥3 bumps on the front contour. The eye is a wedge 1–3 px behind the contour. A straight front edge is the weakest silhouette (Bancroft).
  15. Hair is the face at ≤16 px. ≥2 px of hair at the sides, hairline 1–2 px above the eyes, hair split from skin by colour, never one black line across the forehead (rules://35-hair-and-clothing).
  16. Skin: three tones — base, light (forehead, cheek apple), shadow turned 10–22° toward red and cooler, 15–25% darker; shadow away from the light, under the hair edge and chin (rules://20-color-for-pixel-art). Face contrast below the rest of the sprite so it stays one unit; eyes the highest contrast on the head. A mirrored head flips its light: re-shade.
  17. When pixels run out cut: ears → nose → brow → mouth → jaw shape → hair silhouette. Eyes and hair are never cut.
  18. Shape is character. Square jaw = jaw width held near skull width to the chin; pointed = taper from mid-height; round = the templates. Younger = lower eyes, bigger cranium, smaller nose; older = eyes a notch higher, bigger nose and ears (rules://36-character-design).

By size

#

Rows count from 0 at the top (outline row); x from 0 at the template's left edge. Front:

8 px 12 px 16 px 24 px 32 px
Head W×H 8×8 11×12 14×16 21×24 (+ears: 23) 27×32 (+ears: 31)
Hair rows 1–2 1–4 1–5 1–7 1–10
Brow — — row 6 row 9, 3 px row 13, 5 px
Eyes 1×1, row 4, x 2, 5 1×2, rows 5–6, x 3, 7 2×2, rows 8–9, x 3–4, 9–10 3×3, rows 11–13, x 6–8, 14–16 5×4, rows 15–18, x 7–11, 19–23
Nose — 1 px, row 8 — 1 px, row 15 bridge + 3 px, rows 19–21
Mouth 2 px, row 6 3 px, row 9 2 px, row 12 3 px, row 18 7 px, row 25, lip row 26
Chin row 7 11 15 23 31

3/4 and side, both facing right:

12 px 16 px 24 px 32 px
3/4 eyes near / far 1×2 / 1×2, front x 2×2 x 4–5 / 1×2 x 10 3×3 x 7–9 / 2×3 x 15–16 5×4 x 9–13 / 3×4 x 21–23
3/4 nose bump, mouth +1 row 7; x 6–7 row 8 +1 row 10; x 8–9 row 12 +2 row 15; x 11–14 row 18 +2–3 rows 19–22; x 14–21 row 25
3/4 near ear 1 px x 1 2×2 x 1–2 2×2 x 0–1 3×4 x 0–2
Side eye 1×2 x 7 wedge x 10–11 3×4 x 16–18 4×3 x 24–27, rows 15–17
Side nose tip, mouth +1 row 7; x 7–8 row 8 +1 row 10; x 11–12 row 12 +2 rows 14–16; x 17–20 row 18 nose +3 rows 19–22; mouth x 27–30 rows 24–25
Side ear 2×2 x 4–5 2×3 x 5–6 4×5 x 8–11 5×6 x 13–17, rows 14–19

At 48–64 px use the 32 px recipe with eyes ≥7 px wide and planes in the cheeks. Below 8 px there is no face: two dark pixels or one shadow row.

Templates

#

Lit from the upper left; hair is a short cap so hairline and brow rows stay visible — swap the hair, keep the rows. Each strip holds self-contained heads side by side.

Front 8 / 12 / 16 px (left edges x = 0, 9, 21). 8 px: dots only; 12 px: odd width, centre nose; 16 px: catch-lit 2×2 eyes, blush.

heads-front-small · 35×16
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • L skin-light
  • D skin-shadow
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
L = skin-light #f7d2ac
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
..OOOO......OOOOO........OOOOOO....
.OHHHHO...OOHHHHHOO....OOHHHHHHOO..
OHhHHHHO.OHHhhHHHHHO..OHHhhHHHHHHO.
OLLSSSDO.OHHHHHHHHHO.OHHhhHHHHHHHHO
OSESSEDO.OHHHDDDHHHO.OHHHHHHHHHHHHO
OSSSSSDO.OSSESSSESSO.OHHDDDDDDDDHHO
.OSMMDO..OSSESSSESDO.OHSLLLSSSSSDHO
..OOOO...OSLSSSSSSDO.OSSLSSSSSSSDDO
..........OSSSNSSSO..OSSWESSSSWEDDO
..........OSSMMMSSO..OSSEESSSSEEDDO
...........OSDDDDO....OSSSSSSSSSDO.
............OOOOO.....OSRSSSSSSRDO.
.......................OSSSMMSSSO..
.......................OSSSSSSSSO..
........................OSDDDDSO...
.........................OOOOOO....

Front 24 / 32 px (x = 0, 24). 24 px: brows, 3×3 eyes, 1-px nose; 32 px: full features, ears, bridge shade.

heads-front-large · 55×32
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • L skin-light
  • D skin-shadow
  • k hair-dark
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • I iris
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • w highlight
  • e ear-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
L = skin-light #f7d2ac
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
k = hair-dark #3d2318
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
I = iris #4f86b8
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
w = highlight #ffffff
e = ear-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
.......OOOOOOOOO..................OOOOOOOOOOO..........
.....OOHHHHHHHHHOO..............OOHHHHHHHHHHHOO........
...OOHHHhhhhHHHHHHOO..........OOHHHhhhhhhhHHHHHOO......
..OHHHhhhHHHHHHHHHHHO........OHHhhhHhhhHHHHHHHHHHO.....
.OHHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......OHHhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
.OHHhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....OHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO...
.OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....OHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO...
.OHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDHHHHO....OHHhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO..
.OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO..
.OHSSSkkkSSSSSkkkSSSHO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO..
.OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHO....OHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDHHHHHHHO..
.OSSSSOOOSSSSSOOOSSSDO....OHHHHSSSLLSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHO..
OeSSSSwEESSSSSwEESSDDeO...OHSSSSSSLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHO..
OeSSLLWEESSSSSWEESSDDeO...OHSSSkkkkkSSSSSSSkkkkkSSSHO..
.OOSLLSSSSSSSSSSSSSDOO....OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHO..
..OSSSSSSSSNSSSSSSSDO....OOHSSSOOOOOSSSSSSSOOOOOSSSHOO.
...OSRRSSSSSSSSSRRSO....OeSSSSSWwEIWSSSSSSSWwEIWSSDDSeO
...OSSSSSDSSSDSSSSSO....OeSSSSSWIEIWSSSSSSSWIEIWSSDDSeO
....OSSSSSMMMSSSSSO.....OeSSSSSSWWWSSSSSSSSSWWWSSSDDSeO
....OSSSSSSSSSSSSSO.....OeSSSSSSSSSSSSSSNSSSSSSSSSDDSeO
.....OSSSSSSSSSSSO.......O.OSSSSLLSSSSSSNSSSSSSSSSDO.O.
......OSSDDDDDSSO..........OSSSLLSSSSSNNNSSSSSSSSDDO...
.......OSSSSSSSO............OSSSRRRSSSSSSSSSRRRSSDO....
........OOOOOOO.............OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSDO....
.............................OSSSSSDSSSSSSSDSSSSSO.....
.............................OSSSSSSMMMMMMMSSSSSSO.....
..............................OSSSSSSRRRRRSSSSSSO......
...............................OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO.......
................................OSSSSSSSSSSSSSO........
.................................OSSDDDDDDDSSO.........
..................................OSSSSSSSSSO..........
...................................OOOOOOOOO...........

3/4 right 12 / 16 px (x = 0, 12). 12 px: only nose, mouth and ear move; 16 px: near eye 2 px, far eye 1 px.

heads-tq-small · 26×16
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • L skin-light
  • D skin-shadow
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • e ear-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
L = skin-light #f7d2ac
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
e = ear-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
...OOOOOO.......OOOOOO....
.OOHHHHHHO....OOHHHHHHOO..
OHHhhHHHHHO..OHHhhHHHHHHO.
OHHHHHHHHHO.OHHhhhHHHHHHHO
OHHHDDDHHHO.OHHHHHHHHHHHHO
OHSESSSESO..OHHHHHDDDDDHHO
OHSESSSESO..OHHSSSSSSSSHSO
OeLSSSSSNDO.OHSSSSSSSSSDO.
.OSSSSMMSO..OeeSWESSSSEDO.
.OSSDDDSSO..OeeSEESSSSEDO.
..OOSSSOO....OSSSSSSSSSDNO
....OOO......OSRSSSSSSSDO.
..............OSSSSSMMSO..
...............OSSSSSSSO..
................OSDDDDO...
.................OOOOO....

3/4 right 24 / 32 px (x = 0, 25). Far eye narrower, nose breaks the far contour, chin shifted toward the turn.

heads-tq-large · 57×32
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • L skin-light
  • D skin-shadow
  • k hair-dark
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • I iris
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • w highlight
  • e ear-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
L = skin-light #f7d2ac
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
k = hair-dark #3d2318
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
I = iris #4f86b8
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
w = highlight #ffffff
e = ear-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
.......OOOOOOOOO...................OOOOOOOOOOO...........
.....OOHHHHHHHHHOO...............OOHHHHHHHHHHHOO.........
...OOHHHhhhhHHHHHHOO...........OOHHHhhhhhHHHHHHHOO.......
..OHHHhhhHHHHHHHHHHHO.........OHHhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......
.OHHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.......OHHhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....
.OHHhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......OHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
.OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......OHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
.OHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDHHO......OHHhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO...
.OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHO......OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOO...
.OHSSSSkkkSSSSSkkkSHO......OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....
.OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSDO......OHHHHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDDHHO.....
.OSSSSSOOOSSSSSOOSSDO......OHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO.....
OeSSSSSwEESSSSSEESSDO......OHSSSSSSSLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSO.....
OeSSLLSWEESSSSSEESDDO......OHSSSSSkkkkkSSSSSSSkkkkSO.....
.OOSLSSSSSSSSSSSSSDDO......OHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSDO.....
..OSSSSSSSSSSNSSSSDOOO....OOSSSSSSOOOOOSSSSSSSOOOSDO.....
...OSRRSSSSSSSSRRSO......OeSSSSSSSWwEIWSSSSSSSWIESDO.....
....OSSSSSDSSSSDSSDO.....OeSSSSSSSWIEIWSSSSSSSWIESDO.....
.....OSSSSSMMMMSSSO......OeSSSSSSSSWWWSSSSSSSSSWSDDO.....
.....OSSSSSSSSSSSSO......OeSSSSSSLLSSSSSSSSNSSSSSDDO.....
......OSSSSSSSSSSO........O.OSSSLLSSSSSSSSSNSSSSSDDO.....
.......OSSDDDDDSO...........OSSSSSSSSSSSSSNNSSSSSDDSO....
........OSSSSSSO.............OSSSSRRRSSSSSSSSSSRRRDO.....
.........OOOOOO..............OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOO......
..............................OSSSSSSSDSSSSSSSSDO........
..............................OOOSSSSSSMMMMMMMMSO........
.................................OSSSSSSRRRRRRSSSO.......
..................................OSSSSSSSSSSSSSO........
...................................OSSSSSSSSSSSO.........
....................................OSSDDDDDDDO..........
.....................................OSSSSSSSO...........
......................................OOOOOOO............

Profile right 12 / 16 px (x = 0, 12). One wedge eye, 1-px nose bump, ear behind the midline.

heads-side-small · 27×16
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • D skin-shadow
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • e ear-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
e = ear-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
...OOOOO........OOOOOO.....
.OOHHHHHOO....OOHHHHHHOO...
OHHhhHHHHO...OHHhhhHHHHHO..
OHhHHHHHHO..OHHhhHHHHHHHHO.
OHHHHHHHHO..OHhHHHHHHHHHHO.
OHHHDDDESO..OHHHHHHHHHHHHO.
OHHHeeSESO..OHHHHDDDDDHHHO.
OSSSeSSSNSO.OHHHHSSSSSSSSO.
.OSSSSSMMO..OHHHHeeSSSWESO.
..OSSSSSO...OSSSSeOSSSEESO.
...OSSSOO....OSSSeeSSRSSNSO
....OOO......OSSSSSSSSSSSO.
..............OSSSSSSSSMMO.
...............OSSSDDDSSO..
................OOSSSSSOO..
..................OOOOO....

Profile right 24 / 32 px (x = 0, 25). Hair swept back off the forehead, 2–3 px nose, lips and chin on the contour.

heads-side-large · 60×32
  • O outline
  • S skin
  • L skin-light
  • D skin-shadow
  • k hair-dark
  • h hair-light
  • H hair-mid
  • E eye-dark
  • W eye-white
  • I iris
  • M lip
  • N nose-shade
  • w highlight
  • e ear-shade
  • R blush
Grid source
O = outline #2b1d2e
S = skin #e8a77c
L = skin-light #f7d2ac
D = skin-shadow #b9695a
k = hair-dark #3d2318
h = hair-light #9a6238
H = hair-mid #6b3f2a
E = eye-dark #2b1d2e
W = eye-white #dfe2ea
I = iris #4f86b8
M = lip #a14a52
N = nose-shade #c47a5a
w = highlight #ffffff
e = ear-shade #c47a5a
R = blush #d9826f
---
.......OOOOOOOO......................OOOOOOO................
....OOOHHHHHHHHOOO...............OOOOHHHHHHHOOOO............
...OHHhhhhHHHHHHHHOO...........OOHHHHhhhhhhHHHHHOOO.........
..OHhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHO........OOHHhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHOO.......
.OHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......OHHHhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......
OHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......OHHhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO......
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....OHhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....OHHhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO.....OHHHhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
OHHHHHHDDDDDDDDDDDHHHO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHO....
OHHHHHHSSSSSHSSSSSSSSO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSO...
OHHHHHHSSeeSHSSSkkkkSO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSO...
OHHHHHHSeeeeSSSSOOOSSO....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO...
OHHHHHHSeOOeSSSSWwESSO.....OHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSkkkkkkkSSO...
.OSSSSSSeeOeSSSSWIESSSO....OkHHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO...
.OSSSSSSSeeSSSSSSWRRSSSO...OkkHHHHHHHHSSSSSSSSSSSwWEESSO....
.OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSNO.....OkkHHHHHSSSeeSSSSSSSSWIEESSOO...
..OSSSSSSSSSDDSSSSSSSN......OSkkHHHHSSSeeSSSSSSSSSWWSSSSSO..
..OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSMMMMO.......OSkkHHSSSSeeSSSSSSSLLLSSSSSSO..
...OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO........OSSkSSSSSSSSSSSSSSLLLLLSSNSSO.
....OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO..........OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSRRRLLSSSSSLSO
.....OOSSSSSSDDDDDOO............OSSSSSSSSSDDSSSSSSSSSSSSNSO.
.......OOSSSSSSOOO...............OSSSSSSSSDDSSSSSSSSSSSNSO..
.........OOOOOO...................OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO..
..................................OSSSDSSSSSSSSSSSSSMMMMO...
...................................OSDDDDSSSSSSSSSSSMMMSO...
....................................OSSDDDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO...
.....................................OOSDDDDDSSSSSSSSDDSO...
.......................................OSSDDDDDDDDDDSSSSO...
........................................OOSSSSSDDDDDDSSSO...
..........................................OOOOSSSSSSSOOO....
..............................................OOOOOOO.......

Procedure

#
  1. sprite_info; fix H from the heads-tall plan and pick odd/even width (rule 6).
  2. layer op create "guide"; draw op line the centre axis and one row per landmark from the table. At ≤12 px skip the guide and read rows off the table.
  3. On a "head" layer block the silhouette in one flat skin colour (draw op grid from the nearest template, or draw op ellipse and trim). look op preview at 1×: it must read as a head already (rules://03-silhouette-and-form).
  4. Eyes on the eye line, then mouth, brows, nose, ears (rule 17). look op ascii with a region to check rows, gaps, parity.
  5. Hair on its own layer; hairline 1–2 px above the eyes.
  6. Three skin tones: palette op ramp from the base; light top-left, shadow right, under hair and chin (rules://02-shading-and-light). Outline the silhouette only (rules://04-outlines-and-edges).
  7. Turns: start from the matching 3/4 or side template; for the opposite facing transform op flip on a copied layer, then re-shade (rules://37-views-and-directions).
  8. Delete the guide; look op preview, then validate.

Mistakes

#
Symptom Cause Fix
Old, alien, "all forehead" Eye line above 50% Eyes to 52–56%
Eyes read as one thick brow 1 px between eyes, or brow touching ≥2 px gap; 1 px under the brow
Mouth glued to chin or nose Mouth below 83%, no skin row Mouth at 77–83%, skin both sides
3/4 head = front head plus a nose Equal eyes, axis not moved Narrow the far eye, shift the axis
Profile is a blank egg Straight front edge Nose bump, brow step, lip and chin steps
Black line across forehead Outline between hair and skin Split by colour
Plastic skin One saturated tone, luminance-only shadow Shadow toward red/cool, 15–25% darker
Wrong light after a flip Mirrored copy kept its shading Re-shade
Face wobbles in animation Features moved by sub-pixels Move the whole head by whole pixels

Review

#
  • Eye line within 50–56% of head height (≤65% only on deliberately cute heads).
  • ≥2 px between eyes; ≥1 px eye–contour, brow–eye, mouth–nose, mouth–chin.
  • Parity respected; nose absent at ≤16 px and never outline-dark.
  • ≤16 px: ≥2 px of hair at the sides, hairline above eyes, no outline on it.
  • 3/4: unequal eyes, far cheek pulled in, nose breaks the contour, one ear.
  • Profile: ≥3 bumps on the front contour; nose bump matches the table.
  • Three skin tones, one light side; eyes the highest contrast on the head.
  • One deliberate asymmetry on an otherwise symmetric face.

Sources

#
  • Loomis, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth — head construction and features sheet, pp. 171–177.
  • Hampton, Figure Drawing: Design and Invention — nine-step head, pp. 57–82.
  • Bancroft, Creating Characters with Personality — view line-up pp. 55–57, 3/4 p. 135.
  • Blair, Advanced Animation — Construction of the Head; the cute head, p. 15.
  • Solarski, Drawing Basics and Video Game Art — Massing the Head.
  • Dawe, Make Your Own Pixel Art pp. 118–123; Silber, Pixel Art for Game Developers pp. 31–34.
  • Pixel Logic — spacing p. 106, hair p. 108, faces pp. 168–169, no sub-pixel faces p. 205.
  • Saint11 "Portrait"/"Cuteness"; Slynyrd Pixelblog 17 and 29; st0ven fighter faces (2006); Tsu tutorials 7–9; art-pia small-canvas guide; Derek Yu's pixel art tutorial.