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/pleɪn əv ðə hɛd/

Plane of the head

noun phrase · drawing pedagogy

One of the approximately 41 flat facets that make up the Asaro head planar simplification, used as a lighting reference in portrait painting.

What it is

A plane of the head is a flat surface that approximates a region of the actual three-dimensional head. The Asaro head model — John Asaro's 1985 sculptural reference — reduces the entire head to roughly 41 such planes meeting at hard edges. Each plane catches light differently from its neighbours, and the boundary between planes is where the painter expects the sharpest value transition.

Schematic of Asaro head planes
Simplified planar head — the canonical six landmark planes are the forehead, both temples, both cheeks, and the jaw.

The six landmark planes

Of the roughly 41 planes on a complete Asaro head, six carry disproportionate visual weight: the forehead plane (above the brow), the two temple planes (sides of the forehead), the two cheek planes (top of each zygomatic arch), and the jaw plane (front of the lower face). If these six are correctly placed in a portrait, the other thirty-five fall into approximately correct positions.

Why planes matter

The painter uses the planar simplification not to depict the head as faceted but to predict where the value transitions will fall on the smooth real surface. Light striking a head produces value changes most rapidly at the plane edges of the underlying simplification. A painter who knows the planes can place the strongest value contrasts on the canvas with confidence; one who does not is reduced to copying from photo reference.

See also: Value structure · Head construction · Cast drawing · Asaro head pillar

References

  1. Asaro Studios. Asaro head reference cast and instructional materials. Pasadena (1985–present).
  2. Huston, Steve. Figure Drawing for Artists. Rockport (2016). ISBN 978-1-6314-3115-7.
  3. Loomis, Andrew. Drawing the Head and Hands. Titan (2011). ISBN 1-84856-680-1.

Sarah Chen

Founder of Grid Maker Pro. Classical portrait painter (BA Fine Arts). Writes about composition, drawing methods, and the art-history claims that don't survive measurement.

Updated · Methodology