Home › Forums › Explore Subjects › Portraiture › Portrait Classroom › Focus on: EARS
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August 12, 2012 at 9:17 pm #448492
Our new study focus is on the Ear here at Portraiture!
I need to get more familiar with the anatomy of ears, and figured that others might also feel the same way. Once I started looking at ears more closely, I noticed how much they can vary!
So, I’ve got some info on ears here:
anatomy of the outer ear (called the Pinna), info on the parts of the outer ear.
I’ve got some photos I took of ears (in pairs) of family and friends, as well as some shots that show ear placement on the side of the head. All these photos are from the profile side, so we can add more ears from other angles…. once we get going.I hope that you will also share photos of your ears, and perhaps others you come across. The more, the merrier!
We have some interesting links with more info on ears.
You can draw or paint ears, post up photos, and perhaps also artwork with great ears….:thumbsup:
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 12, 2012 at 9:24 pm #524662Anatomy of the outer Ear (Pinna):
EAR ANATOMY:
PINNA: visible outer ear – “prominent skin-covered flap located on the side of the head” with whorls and recesses
CONCHA: bowl-shaped part of ear around the ear hole that attaches to head and helps ‘cup’ sound
HELIX: Outer ring/edge of the upper ear, shaped like a question-mark.
ANTIHELIX: the Y-shaped raised part inside, contained by the helix, running from top to where it joins the antitragus. It forms a rim of the concha. The top of the “Y” divides into two cruses, known as the the upper crus and lower crus of the antihelix; between which is the Fossa Triangularis (or Navicular Fossa)
Antihelical Fold: the space/ fold running between the Helix and the Antihelix
Navicular (Triangular) Fossa/ Fossa Triangularis: triangular depression inside the the top of the ‘Y” of the Anti-helix
SCAPHA/ Scaphoid Fossa/ Fossa of the Helix: furrow between the helix and inner concentric ridge of the antihelix.
Darwin’s Tubercle: Some ears (approximately 10.4% of the human population) have a small prominence or thickening, which is seen along the upper, outer part of the helix. It is named after Charles Darwin because he wrote about it in “The Descent of Man.” More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin’s_tubercle
I am not sure how this relates to Helix folds, which some people have on the helix, where the outer part looks folded flat.TRAGUS: the little cartilidge ‘nob’ or bump that sticks out in front of the ear hole, across from the Anti-tragus
Anti-tragus: the little curved projection, or bump, that is directly across from the tragus
Intertragic Notch/ Ear Notch: lower space between tragus and anti-tragus.
External auditory (or acoustic) Meatus/ EARHOLE: – entry to the ear canal
LOBULE: soft fleshy ear lobe at bottom of pinna; lobules can vary a lot in size
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 12, 2012 at 9:30 pm #524663LINKS – with more information and references:
http://rickymujica.blogspot.ca/
(This one thanks to Kevin!)
Scroll down to Anatomical information ->
http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/07/draw-ears/Ear Pairs! I hope you will also take some photos of ear pairs to post up here — even your own! ”Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!”
Young Caucasian woman in her 20s (with quite a few piercing holes):
Caucasian Man in 40s:
Caucasian woman in late 50s:
Caucasian woman in 50s (mine!):
Caucasian man, around age 60:
Caucasian man, age 88:
Caucasian woman, age 88 (my mom):
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm #524664Here are some profiles, showing ear placement on the head. Note where the tops and bottoms of the ears line up on the face.
This is a start in our ear journey! I’ll be adding more to this thread.
I look forward to seeing your ear drawings!Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 12, 2012 at 9:42 pm #524660Great things to study Lauren, thanks very much. It’s interesting to see the different placements on the face of the younger v older person.
The only body parts that don’t stop growing as we age are our nose and our ears lolLulu
Proud to be Kiwi!
August 12, 2012 at 10:11 pm #524674After looking at these photos I’ve concluded that ears are strange looking things, and what a variety of shapes and sizes they come in! I’ve got to admit I’ve never taken a great deal of interest in ears until I saw your comparative photos Lauren. Thanks for the info :thumbsup:
Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.
We fell them down and turn them into paper, that we may record our emptiness. ~ Kahlil GibranAugust 13, 2012 at 12:07 am #524669Very cogent to portraiture, Lauren. I have been preaching this (to deaf ears) for years. While no two sets of ears are the same, all – as your illustrations show – are variations on a pretty much fixed design. Ear placement is equally fixed. The top of the ear is in the vicinity of the brow line. The bottom of the ear in the vicinity of the bottom of the nose line. “In the vicinity of” has room to roam, but far less than many portrait artists allow. The culprit is photographs. A camera has no depth perception, and can place ears in positions that are so unnatural they are ludicrous. I have seen countless artists reproduce these these wild ear misplacements with great accuracy, convinced the camera is more truthful than any set of human eye balls.
I am drifting off the course you set, but with reason. Replicating all those latin names you list is no great task. Just getting in the ball park will convince most viewers of realism. Correct ear placement on the head is far more involved, because the whole ear is an anchor point of other anatomical structures. Life studies only will teach this. A life study as simple as putting your finger tip in the pocket behind your ear lobe, then measuring down that finger with your thumb to the jaw bone. Mine is about two finger lengths. I have no doubt every adult on earth would measure his/her own two finger lengths more or less – another “in the vicinity of” fixture. Exceptions are very rare. Why is this tid-bit important?
Because you can get way off course trying to draw a credible jaw line. Knowing the ear placement in relation to the jaw hinge has made me correct many a jaw line gone beserk. The bottom ear line has made me give most every nose more, or less, length. Oddly enough, the ear I blocked in was pretty much it, and the nose length or chin length and jaw line needed the correction in relation to the ear placement. Ear placement really is an anchor point for other face parts.
Which brings up head position. The head tilts and turns on the neck to give facial expression all its marvelous variety. But the ears DO NOT MOVE ON THE HEAD ever. If the chin is tilted up as high as it can reach, the ears fall low toward the shoulders, but the top and bottom of the ears are still on a line with the brow and nose bottom. And the jaw hinge let us not forget. This can be imagined in profile, but it is true no matter what position the head takes on the neck. And this is where the camera so often goes absurd and places the ears in positions impossible in real life. Do life studies in the mirror, in public places, with no pencil and paper at all, and get ear placement fixed in your head. Then correct the photo, if you work from one. Better yet, with all these life studies in your head, you are equipped to correct your own head and eyes when doing a portrait of a live model. Don’t kid yourself. Your eyes can play tricks on you, and the anchor of correct ear placement can tie in other facial parts that have gone a little helter-skelter. In effect, this a time when drawing what “ought to be” from all those life studies in your head, straightens your crossed eyes and what ought to be really and truly becomes what you are seeing in real life sitting before you.
August 13, 2012 at 8:26 am #524665Thanks for the interest and input, Lulu, Jade and SaintLukesGuild!
I think it’s important to pay as much attention to ears as we do to other parts — and when drawing/ painting/ sculpting a face, we certainly can’t forget those ears!
My need to get a good handle on them stems from my work doing courtroom sketching, where I often don’t have much time to get down the info I need to get a good likeness, and often am doing profiles or semi-profiles.
I also find that the alignment of the tops and bottom of the ears varies a bit:
– the top seems to line up with an area between the top of the brow and the eye line
– the bottom seems to line up with an area between the mouth and the noseAlso, the ears are set a bit at an angle — important to get it correctly, as well as the shape of the individual’s ears.
I know if I take and post more ear photos, they will be different from these!
I welcome more ear photos, as those I’ve posted are limited, and I’d like to see a variety from other parts of the world. The journey continues!
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 13, 2012 at 8:36 am #524675Great thread, Lauren!!!
I am in!
I will try to bring more picks about ears´s at the whole profile.
Saludos
Luicre
August 13, 2012 at 9:15 am #524666Thanks, Luicre!
Here are some more photos from me, cropped to show ear placement. Most are in profile, but some aren’t, or are at different angles than straight-on. Also, some have glasses on, or hats….
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/August 13, 2012 at 10:16 am #524676luicre
August 16, 2012 at 10:15 am #524677A few more ear references to augment the excellent images Lauren has provided. All shot by me.
i draw, paint and teach | my voice is hoarse | my shoulder hurts.
Talent is really a capacity for a certain type of learning of knowledge and a consuming interest in the facts that contribute to that knowledge~ Andrew Loomis
http://www.kevinwuesteart.blogspot.com
"kevinwueste" on instagramAugust 16, 2012 at 3:45 pm #524682Lauren thanks so much for doing this section on ears. I’ve alway had problems drawing and painting them. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to work on this right now, but I’m sure following along.
September 1, 2012 at 2:23 pm #524686Lauren, I want to thank you for starting this thread. It prompted and helped me to do a better job on an ear than I would have otherwise. The ear is far from finished, but I thought you might like to see this stage anyway.
Ella
This is Rick’s right ear. It’s part of his portrait, oil on a 16 x 20″ canvas. As you see, there’s still work to be done on it, but even here, it’s showing depth. I want to thank saintlukesguild, too, for the important information he gave us.
This thread prompted me to make the painting better. Many thanks.
Ella
For those interested, the portrait will be posted in the Easel thread for September here in portraiture.
November 5, 2012 at 10:38 pm #524679Great thread Lauren, it certainly appears that Ears have as much personality as noses.
[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Carol Sometime's failure is the opposite to success~ but sometimes failure can be the pathway to success -
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