Head Design - shape

"I think sometimes when artists are first learning, they're taught to draw a generic face shape and then they stick with that shape. I also think that when people are designing characters for a "serious" story, they think they can't caricature the shape of the face too much or their drawings will start to look "cartoony" and not appropriate for the serious tone of their work.  But even in real life, there's an incredibly variation of shape within the faces of people."

Mark Kennedy

Different Types Exist- Broaden your perspective

The University of Massachusetts has a HUGE  DATABASE OF FACES

Be observant... Look around you.  Mankind is made in a huge variety of shapes.  If you are using generic shapes, then you aren't paying attention.

Once you start using the variety of shapes that exist, every character becomes very distinctive and cannot be confused with another.  If you are working on a group of characters, you should make every character's face shape recognizable and different, so that it is distinguishable even as a scribble.

The whole thing about making choices of face shapes, facial features and beard shape is that it should all come from the personality of the character you're designing. Every choice you make should accentuate and enhance the personality of your character. 

Be Creative

When drawing heads for a character design, the number 1 battle is breaking away from whatever it is that you usually do.  We all have a generic head shape stuck in our head.  It is essential to stay loose and not confine yourself to one head shape for all characters (manga).  There is more than one way to draw beauty, strength, silly etc.  Also, each character you design has their own personality and story - thus, they deserve their own shape and design!

In short -

There is no ONE way to draw heads.  However, whatever your process, it is ESSENTIAL that you know the basic and anatomical head structure.  Foundation first, if you don't know it you've got to learn it.

The Foundation
Andrew Loomis: Drawing the Head and Hands
How to Draw the Head from Any Angle

Breaking Away

Concept artist and Character designers are notorious for finding creative ways to help themselves break away from the norm and to find new and unique shapes.  There is no ONE WAY to do this, just as there is no one correct head out there. 

Techniques may include:

Scribbles,
Ink/paint blots,
Clay,
found objects

Here are some demos and examples of Artists using these techniques:

SCRIBBLES - Turning loose abstract concepts of shape into unique an un-routine heads. - with Ron Lemen Studio2ndstreet.com

OCTAVIO RODRIG
UES - Making faces out of Shapes - "This process I find helps to keep you loose and also keeps it fun as you discover shapes you wouldn't normally create"

VARYING PROPORTION - how moving the eye line, adjusting eye spacing, you can vary the proportions of a head design. - varying proportion can apply to other aspects of the head as well. Ex: forehead vs. chin sizes, nose vs. ear, mouth vs. eyebrow etc.

Amy Clegg - Found materials

And if you think you're exaggerating too much... think again!  Its always easier to pull back