Human ear drawn in black and gray fineliner on pale cream textured sketchbook paper, with a complete silhouette and open margins.
Drawing referenceAbout reference use

Human ear fine ink study

One human ear in side three-quarter view with a clear outer helix, inner folds and soft lobe, a small adjoining head plane only. Practice clear contours and a few local shadows in fine ink.

PeopleEasyFineliner20 min, at your pace
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A way into the drawing

  1. Establish the main shapes

    Place the tilted outer ear and rounded lobe.

  2. Connect the structure

    Connect the inner folds back into the ear bowl.

  3. Develop the drawing

    Refine the clear outer contour, add only the most useful interior details and place a few small local shadows. Leave most of the paper open.

A small thing to tryKeep the inner folds inside the outer ear boundary.