How to Draw Ears

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

If you want to learn how to draw an ear, you must first understand its construction. Although human ears look quite complicated, they can be drawn quite easily once you deconstruct them. In this tutorial I will show you such an anatomical deconstruction, and I will also explain how to use it to draw ears in three views: front, side, and in perspective.

1. Ear Anatomy

If you look at the general form of the ear, it looks quite complicated. Where would you even start? Let's simplify it!

Let's start with a little dome attached to the side of the skull.

If you make an opening in the front of this dome, the sounds will be caught by it and sent directly to the hole in the skull. So this structure already works like an ear, but let's just add some improvements.

If you thicken the walls of this dome, its edges will look softer, like this:

Create a radar shape around the dome.

Curl the edge of the "radar" inwards

Add one last part on the bottom.

Compare our deconstructed ear to the real ear form. It should look clearer now!

If it's still confusing, take a look at an ear during rotation. Try to locate the dome and the radar. You can also take a look in the mirror and try to see all these forms in your own ears.

To make it even easier, let's simplify the big form into separate ones:

Helix (the curling of the "radar")
Antihelix (the thick edge of the dome)
Tragus (a "roof" for the ear hole)
Antitragus
Auricular tubercle (an optional thickening)
Concha (the dome)
Lobe

2. Ear Position

But knowing the shape of the ear is just half of the task. Where exactly on the head is it? It's quite easy to remember: it's located exactly behind the jaws, in the space defined by the eyebrows and the bottom of the nose.

You also need to remember that the ear is slightly rotated in two ways:

In the side view, it's tilted in relation to the plane of the face.
In the top/front view, it's rotated slightly towards the front of the face.

ear proportions face overlay — Photo by Laura Auffray

3. Ear Shapes

To draw an ear, you only need to know the parts building it and some very general proportions. For example, the "upper oval" is always much bigger than the lobe, but the actual size relation is not strictly defined. You can experiment a lot with these proportions to create a unique ear for your character!

various ear shapes — Notice that sometimes the lobe is "free", and sometimes it's attached to the face with its whole side.

4. How to Draw an Ear in the Side View

Step 1

Prepare the head in the side view. You don't need to draw any details—just make sure you've marked the crucial proportions in some way.

Step 2

Draw an oval in the upper part. Leave some space for the lobe.

Step 3

Add the lobe. It can overlap with the oval, but it doesn't have to—this will affect the final shape of the ear, but not its realism.

Step 4

Sketch the helix.

Step 5

Define the thickness of the helix by drawing small ovals on its ends. You can also add the auricular tubercle if you want.

Step 6

Outline the helix and the lobe.

Step 7

Add the antitragus.

Step 8

Sketch the "y" shape of the antihelix.

Step 9

Define the width of the antihelix by attaching an oval to its end.

Step 10

Outline the antihelix.

Step 11

Add the tragus.

Step 12

Outline the opening of the ear carefully.

Step 13

With all the guide lines defined, you can add the final lines...

... and shade the whole ear, if needed.

5. How to Draw an Ear in the Front View

Step 1

First, sketch the head with the basic proportions marked.

Step 2

Draw a big oval taking most of the space for the ear. Remember that it's not actually flat—it's an oval rotated slightly towards us.

Step 3

Add the smaller oval for the lobe.

Step 4

Add the rhythm of the helix right on the edge.

Step 5

Add the width-defining ovals.

Step 6

Outline the helix and the lobe.

Step 7

Add an oval on top of the lobe—the antitragus.

Step 8

Add the "y" shape of the antihelix. Notice how its lower part bulges out, outlining the shape of the dome.

Step 9

Add an oval on the end of the antihelix to define its width.

Step 10

Outline the antihelix.

Step 11

Add an oval for the tragus.

Step 12

Outline the opening to the ear.

Step 13

The guide lines are finished, so now you can draw the final lines and shade the ear.

6. How to Draw an Ear in Perspective

You know what an ear looks like in the front, and what it looks like on the side. Drawing in perspective is simply creating a state between these two!