Art Thief: How to draw a skull

Everybody has one

Touch your face and see if you can find these landmarks on your own skull.
It should be easy to find the brow ridge because it's right under your eyebrows. Don't confuse the cartilage on the top of your nose with the nasal bone that is near the eye sockets. Can you find your cheek bones, teeth roots and the corner of your jaw? 
The skull provides structure for a face, and learning to locate its landmarks can help an artist to draw better faces. An individual's skull can indicate certain traits,  such as a narrow forehead, close-set eyes or high cheekbones. Other traits, such as eye color or nose shape, cannot be determined this way.

1. Divide your paper in quarters with a light pencil line. This will help you keep the shapes aligned. Start with the big upside-down "U"shape. Notice how the nose is partly in all four quarters of the page.

2. Draw the rounded cheek bone on the left and continue the line right down to where the front teeth are. Repeat this step on the right side. Eye sockets come in a variety of shapes, so don't worry if yours look a little different, just try to get them balanced.

3.  When you add the jawbone, remember that it is narrower than the top of the skull. Start with the flat bottom line and work your way up alternating left side and then right side. You'll need to measure with your eye against the center line to keep things aligned.

4. The bottom teeth will rest on the jaw bone that you drew in step 3. The other lines, indicated with purple arrows, will add depth and make the jaw fit into – rather than on – the skull. Did you notice that the teeth are narrowest at the gums? Gently erase your guidelines.

5. I've used a twin-tip Sharpie to ink in the skull. I wanted thick, bold lines for most of the black areas, but I needed the fine tip to get the small, triangular areas between the teeth. You can leave the skull white or put a very pale color on the bone. Add some color to the background to make the skull pop.

Art Thieves are invited to send or email copies of their work to Amy Raudenbush, our professional artist. Phone pictures are fine. One drawing weekly will be selected for publication on Sept. 4, after the series concludes, and the selected artists will receive a prize.  Be sure to include your name, age, mailing address and phone number or email address. Skull drawing must be received by July 16 to be eligible as this week's winner.

Or email a photo to art@phillynews.com

You can also post your kids' pictures to #DNArtThief