Face Templates – 34 Free Printable Head Outlines

These face templates give you empty head outlines to draw on: front, three-quarter and profile views, for a child, an adult and an older adult. Some sheets carry thin dashed proportion guides, others are completely clean, and several pages hold a whole row or grid of heads. Self portrait busts come with an empty name box. Print a sheet, trace it, copy it, then try the same head freehand until the proportions feel natural.

All 34 Face Templates to Print

All 34 face templates are free. Click any picture to open the PDF, then print it. The sheets are A4 size and print on US Letter with “fit to page” selected. You will find single large heads with and without guide lines, pages with two or four heads, and self portrait busts.

Adult Face Templates

Adult Face Front With Guides

A blank front-facing adult head outline with both ears, neck lines and a bare face. Dashed guides mark a vertical center line, three horizontal lines and a curved hairline arc for placing features.

Blank Adult Face Front View

Clean front-view adult head outline without any guide lines, drawn with one smooth line. It has detailed inner ear folds, a tapered chin, two neck lines and sloping shoulders, leaving a wide empty face.

Adult Head Three-Quarter View With Guides

A bald adult head turned in three-quarter view, with one detailed ear and neck lines below. Curved dashed guides wrap the skull: a vertical center arc and three horizontal bands for placing brows, nose and mouth.

Adult Head Three-Quarter View Without Guides

Smooth single-line outline of a bald adult head turned three-quarters, with a detailed ear on the right, a angled jaw and open neck lines. The wide face area has no guide lines.

Adult Head Profile With Guides

Side view of a bald adult head facing left, showing nose, lips, chin, a detailed ear and neck lines. Dashed guides include a curved vertical arc, a skull band and three horizontal lines for facial placement.

Adult Head Profile Without Guides

A clean single-line outline of a bald adult head in left-facing side view. It shows a defined nose, lips and chin, a detailed ear and open neck lines, with no guide lines on the blank face area.

Child Face Templates

Child Face Front With Guides

A round, bald child head seen from the front, with two ears and a softly pointed chin. Dashed guides include a vertical center line, a curved hairline arc and three horizontal lines for placing eyes, nose and mouth.

Child Face Front Without Guides

Blank front-facing outline of a child’s head, with a tall rounded skull, a gently pointed chin, two ears with inner curls and short neck lines. Its bare face has no guide lines, leaving room to draw any expression.

Child Head Three-Quarter View With Guides

A bald child’s head turned in three-quarter view, with a detailed ear on the right and open neck lines below. Dashed guides show a curved center line, a hairline arc and three horizontal face lines.

Child Head Three-Quarter View Without Guides

Blank outline of a child’s bald head turned in three-quarter view, with a large rounded skull, a soft jaw and one detailed ear on the right. Two open neck lines run below, and there are no guide lines.

Child Head Profile With Guides

Side view of a bald child’s head facing left, with a rounded forehead, small nose, detailed ear and open neck lines. Three horizontal dashed lines mark the brow, nose and chin, and a curved dashed arc marks the hairline.

Child Head Profile Without Guides

Clean side-view outline of a bald child’s head facing left, with a button nose, small lips and chin, one detailed ear and open neck lines. No guide lines are drawn, so the wide skull stays empty.

Older Adult Face Templates

Older Adult Face Front With Guides

Front-facing outline of an older adult’s bald head with a tall oval skull, a narrow chin, two detailed ears and open neck lines. A vertical center line, four horizontal dashes and a dotted hairline arc guide the proportions.

Blank Older Adult Face Front View

A bare front-facing head outline with a long oval skull, softly angled jaw and two detailed ears. Two neck lines run open at the bottom, and no guide lines or facial features are drawn.

Older Adult Head Three-Quarter View With Guides

A bald older adult’s head turned three-quarters to the left, with a heavy brow ridge, a defined jaw and one detailed ear. Dashed guide lines curve around the skull: a vertical center arc and three horizontal bands.

Older Adult Head Three-Quarter View, No Guides

Clean outline of a bald older adult’s head turned three-quarters to the left, with a lumpy brow and cheek contour, one detailed ear on the right, and neck and shoulder lines trailing open at the bottom.

Older Adult Head Profile With Guides

Side view of a bald older adult’s head facing left, with a pronounced nose, lips and chin. Three dashed horizontal lines and a curved dash-dot vertical line mark the facial proportions. The neck lines are left open.

Older Adult Head Profile Outline

A single clean line drawing of a bald older adult’s head in side view, facing left, with a sloping brow, prominent nose, parted lips, firm chin and a detailed ear. No guide lines are included.

Multiple Face Templates per Page

Two Adult Faces Front With Guides

Two identical blank adult head outlines are stacked on one page, each seen from the front with ears. Dashed lines mark the hairline arc, a vertical center line and three horizontal feature lines.

Front and Profile Head Outlines With Eye Line

A front-view head with ears and shoulders sits above a right-facing profile head with ear and neck. Each outline has one dashed horizontal line across the eye level, and the faces are left blank.

Four Blank Adult Face Outlines Per Page

Four identical blank adult heads fill the page in a two-by-two grid, each drawn from the front with ears and two neck lines. The faces have no guide lines, so the layout is left open.

Adult Head Four Views: Front, Three-Quarter, Profile, Back

Four blank adult head outlines share one page: front view, three-quarter view, left-facing profile and back of the head. Each has ears and shoulder lines, and none has guide lines or facial features.

Six Blank Adult Faces Front View

Six identical front-view adult head outlines are arranged in three rows of two. Each has a smooth oval face, detailed ears and two short neck lines, with no guide lines or features drawn in.

Six Head Outlines Child to Adult

Top row shows three blank front-view heads that grow from a small child to a long-faced adult, with ears and neck lines. The bottom row repeats the three ages in left-facing profile.

Self Portrait Templates

Self-Portrait Template Adult With Guides

A blank front-facing adult head with ears, neck and shoulders sits above an empty name box. Dashed lines mark the center line, hairline arc and horizontal feature levels. The guides take some of the guesswork out of placing eyes, nose and mouth.

Adult Self-Portrait Template With Shoulders

An empty adult head seen from the front, with detailed ears, a long neck, collarbone lines and sloping shoulders. A rounded name box sits below. With no guide lines, the face is left entirely open for a self-portrait.

Child Self-Portrait Template With T-Shirt

A blank front-facing child head with rounded cranium, two detailed ears and a short neck, wearing a crew-neck T-shirt. An empty rounded name box sits at the bottom. The face is left open, so it suits a self-portrait.

Child Self-Portrait Template With Guides

Dashed guide lines divide a bald child’s head into a vertical center line, a curved hairline arc and three horizontal feature levels. The T-shirt collar, two ears and an empty rounded name box complete the page.

Self-Portrait Head Three-Quarter View

A bald head turned in three-quarter view, with one detailed ear showing on the left and a sliver of the far ear on the right. A scoop-neck top and an empty name box frame the blank face. No guide lines appear, so the features are drawn freehand.

Two Blank Child Self-Portrait Busts

Two bald, front-facing child busts stand side by side with blank faces and detailed ears. The left wears a round-neck shirt with a double neckline, the right a scalloped Peter Pan collar. Each has a rectangular name box beneath it.

Face Proportion and Head Shape Guides

Face Proportion Guide Front View

Proportion guide for a front-facing adult head with two detailed ears and a neck. A dashed center line, a hairline arc and three horizontal levels, each with tick marks, show where the features go.

Six Blank Head Shapes Template

Six blank front-facing head outlines in two rows of three: oval, round, square-jawed, heart-shaped, long and narrow, and angular diamond. Each has simple ears and an empty face. A sheet like this suits comparing face shapes before adding features.

Profile Head Proportion Guide

A right-facing adult head in profile with a detailed ear and neck. Dashed lines mark the hairline arc, three horizontal feature levels, a vertical line beside the ear and a slanted facial-angle line.

Head Turn Sequence From Front to Profile

Five adult head outlines in a row turn step by step from front view to right-facing profile. A dashed horizontal eye line runs through all of them, and a dashed center line follows each turn.

What Makes These Face Templates Useful

One Set of Guide Lines, Every Time

Every guided sheet uses the same set of thin dashed lines. A vertical center line splits the head, and a horizontal eye line sits at half the height of the head. The nose line falls halfway between the eye line and the chin. The mouth line sits one third of the way from the nose to the chin. A dashed hairline marks where the forehead ends. On the ears, the top edge lines up with the eye line and the bottom edge with the nose line. Because the lines never change, you learn them once and can find them on every sheet. The guide lines carry no labels, so nothing gets in the way of your drawing.

Three Ages, Three Sets of Proportions

A child’s head is not a shrunken adult head, and the child sheets show why. The skull is rounder, the chin is smaller, and the eye line sits slightly below the middle. The older adult sheets make smaller changes: the temples are a little narrower, the ears and nose line a little longer, and the chin line is softer. These outlines have no wrinkles and no features, so you decide who the person is. You get the right structure for the age and leave the character to your own pencil.

Three Views for Seeing the Head From Every Side

On the three-quarter sheets, the center line curves to follow the form of the head, which helps you place the features as the face turns. On the profile sheets, the eye line and the ear sit exactly as they do in the front view, and the back of the head is drawn in full. Comparing the same head across views is one of the quickest ways to understand how a face is built.

Getting the Most Out of the Templates

Practicing Step by Step

Start by tracing. Lay thin paper over a guided sheet and draw the outline and every guide line, saying aloud which line is which. Next, copy: take a clean sheet of the same view and place the features yourself, using the guided sheet beside it as a reference. Then draw freehand. Make your own head outline on blank paper, add the guide lines lightly, and check your work against the template. Finally, repeat. Several short rounds on different views teach more than one long session on a single face.

Beginners and Younger Artists

Begin with the adult front view with guides, since the lines are easiest to follow when the head is straight on. Move to the child sheets next, where the larger forehead area and smaller chin give you a clear contrast to study. Large single heads leave plenty of room for an unsteady hand.

Intermediate Artists and Portrait Practice

Switch to the clean sheets once the guide lines feel familiar. Draw your own lines lightly over the blank outline, then place the eyes, nose and mouth. The three-quarter views are the real test, because the curved center line asks you to think about the head as a solid shape. The older adult sheets are a good way to practice character without relying on a ready-made face.

Teachers, Classrooms and Self Portraits

The self portrait busts with an empty name box suit a classroom or art club. Students draw themselves, then write their own names in the box. Sheets with two or four heads in an even grid work well for quick warm-ups, where each head gets a different expression or angle.

How to Print the Templates

Plain white printer paper works for tracing and quick studies. For pencil work that you want to keep, choose a heavier paper, which handles erasing better. The sheets are A4 size. On a US Letter printer, choose “fit to page” so the whole head stays on the paper.

When you print, select actual size (100%) if your paper matches the sheet, so the proportions stay true. Black and white printing is all you need. The outlines are drawn to print clearly in plain black, and the dashed guide lines stay light enough to draw over.

If you plan to draw over the same template many times, print it once and place tracing paper on top for each new attempt. A light box or a bright window does the same job with ordinary paper. This way one printed head becomes a whole series of drawings, and you can change the expression, hairstyle or age each time.

Project Ideas

1. Draw the same face in all three views. Use the adult guided sheets for front, three-quarter and profile, and line up the eye level across all three drawings.

2. Make a family of three. Draw a child, an adult and an older adult on the sheets of two or four heads, giving each person a distinct expression and hairstyle.

3. Create an expression chart. Trace one clean head four times on a grid sheet and draw a different mood on each: surprised, calm, curious and tired.

4. Finish a self portrait bust. Draw your own features on the bust sheet, write your name in the box, and add color or shading at the end if you like.

5. Go beyond the template. Check your measurements with our free face proportions guide and tool, follow the full walkthrough on how to draw a face or the side-view lesson on drawing a face from the side, and look at famous self-portraits for ideas before you draw your own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the face templates really free, and who are they for?

Yes, all 34 sheets are free to open, print and use at home or in the classroom. They suit beginners learning facial proportions, students and teachers, hobby artists, and anyone who wants a steady starting point for portrait practice.

Should I start with the guided sheets or the clean ones?

Start with the guided sheets, so you can see where the eyes, nose, mouth and ears belong. When you can place the features without checking the lines, move to the clean version of the same view and draw the guides yourself.

Why do the child and older adult heads look different from the adult head?

The proportions change with age. A child has a rounder skull, a smaller chin and an eye line slightly below the middle of the head. An older adult has slightly narrower temples, longer ears and nose line, and a softer chin. The sheets show only these structural differences and leave out wrinkles, so you can add the details.

How do I use the three-quarter and profile sheets?

On the three-quarter sheets, follow the curved center line to place the features as the face turns. On the profile sheets, keep the eye line and the ear at the same heights you used in the front view. Drawing one person in all three views is a good first exercise.

Matthew Matthysen( Drawing and Painting Artist )

Matthew Matthysen is an educated multidisciplinary artist and illustrator. He successfully completed his art degree at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, majoring in art history and contemporary drawing. The focus of his thesis was to explore the philosophical implications of the macro and micro-universe on the human experience. Matthew uses diverse media, such as written and hands-on components, to explore various approaches that are on the border between philosophy and science.

Matthew organized various exhibitions before and during his years as a student and is still passionate about doing so today. He currently works as a freelance artist and writer in various fields. He also has a permanent position at a renowned online gallery (ArtGazette) where he produces various works on commission. As a freelance artist, he creates several series and successfully sells them to galleries and collectors. He loves to use his work and skills in various fields of interest.

Matthew has been creating drawing and painting tutorials since the relaunch in 2020. Through his involvement with artincontext.org, he has been able to deepen his knowledge of various painting mediums. For example, watercolor techniques, calligraphy and lately digital drawing, which is becoming more and more popular.

Learn more about Matthew Matthysen and the Art in Context Team.