How to draw eyebrows: where they start, peak and end

A common way to place an eyebrow uses three lines from the side of the nose: one straight up for the inner end, one through the outer edge of the iris for the high point, and one through the outer corner of the eye for the tail. On the drawing measured here, all three marks sit inside those lines, toward the middle of the face: the brow starts further in, peaks sooner and ends short of the outer line. This guide measures one study head drawn at rest, so you can place a brow by eye and check it against something. It covers where the brow sits on a realistic head from the front, its shape and how its thickness changes; hair strokes, plucked or styled brows, cartoon brows and the profile aren't covered.

The unit is the width of one iris, measured straight across from its left edge to its right edge. Everything here comes from one drawing, so every number is in that drawing's own iris. Measure your own iris the same way first.

Rings mark where each brow starts, where its top edge peaks and where it ends. The dashed lines run straight up from each nose wing, and from each wing through the outer corner of the eye.

Where the brow starts

The inner end sits over the inner corner of the eye or a little toward the nose, by up to a third of an iris width. Measured against the line straight up from the nose wing, it lands a quarter to a half of an iris width inside that line, toward the middle of the face. So the two brows start a little closer together than the inner corners of the eyes.

The inner end is left soft. The top edge curves down toward the side of the nose and the lower edge stops just short of it, so no hard line closes the band.

The high point

The top edge of the brow climbs for about two thirds of the brow's length and peaks just outside the outer edge of the iris, about two iris widths above the center of the iris. The slanting line from the nose wing through the outer edge of the iris reaches that height three quarters to nearly one iris width further out, so the peak comes sooner than the line suggests. From its low point near the inner end, the lower edge rises about two thirds of an iris width to the point under the peak. The last third of the brow, from the high point to the tail, turns down.

Where it ends

The tail ends half to two thirds of an iris width past the outer corner of the eye. It stops about half an iris width short of the line from the nose wing through that corner, so a brow drawn all the way out to the line runs long on this head. The tail is faint and sits roughly level with the inner end, a little higher, by about a tenth of an iris width.

From end to end the brow is about three and a half iris widths long, about a quarter longer than the eye below it.

Thickness

The brow is thickest about a third of the way out from the inner end, where it's about half an iris width from top edge to bottom edge. At the high point it's down to about a third of an iris width. Past that the band keeps narrowing, and its faint tail runs into the contour of the eye socket.

Height above the eye

Measure straight up from the center of the iris. The lower edge of the brow sits about one and a half iris widths above that point. The gap from the lower edge of the brow down to the upper lid is about one iris width. On the same head, this gap shrinks to a little over half an iris width in anger and grows by about a third in surprise.

The brow lies on the ridge of bone over the eye socket, so its height follows the brow ridge. How to draw a brow ridge places the ridge, and how to draw eyelids places the lid and crease below it.

How the brow moves

The measurements above are for a face at rest. The expression guides measure the same head with the brow moved:

In a smile the brow stays nearly where it was, and the eyes narrow from the lids.
In surprise the brow goes up a little under half an iris width over the iris, more in the middle than at the ends, so it arches higher.
In anger the brow comes down a little over half an iris width, and the inner end drops onto the crease of the upper lid.

How to draw facial expressions measures the brow line against the hollow under it on the 3D head the drawings were made from, which are different marks from the brow edges and lids measured here.

How to draw eyebrows, step by step

The study head at rest. Panels 1 to 6 show one half of the face, panel 7 both brows. The bar across the iris is one iris width. New marks red, earlier marks blue-grey, lines already drawn grey.

Draw the eyes first. Place the inner and outer corners, the irises and the nose wings, and measure one iris width.
Mark the inner end over the inner corner of the eye or a little toward the nose, a quarter to a half of an iris width inside the line up from the nose wing. It sits about one and a half iris widths above the inner corner.
Mark the high point of the top edge just outside the outer edge of the iris, about two iris widths above the center of the iris.
Mark the tail half to two thirds of an iris width past the outer corner of the eye, roughly level with the inner end.
Draw the lower edge from the inner end, rising to about a third of an iris width below the high-point mark, then down to the tail.
Draw the top edge half an iris width above the lower edge a third of the way out, narrowing to a third of an iris width at the high point and on toward the tail.
Keep the inner end soft, draw the other brow the same way and check the two against each other: their high points sit level.

Common mistakes

Taking the three lines from the nose as exact. On this head the start, the peak and the tail all sit inside them. Use the lines as a first guess and check against the iris.
Putting the high point over the middle of the eye. It sits two thirds of the way out, just past the iris.
Drawing the brow the same thickness all the way. It's thickest in its inner third and narrows toward the tail.
Dropping the tail well below the inner end. On this head the two are roughly level.

What this does and does not cover

This is one drawing of one study head at rest, so the numbers describe this face and give you a way to check your own drawing. Brows differ a lot from person to person in height, length and arch; use these as a starting point and follow your reference where it differs. The brows here are drawn as outlined bands; laying in the hair is a separate job. Both ends are faint where the brow meets the edge of the eye socket, so the inner ends and tails are the least certain marks. We measured the front view only; the turned head and the profile aren't covered.

A short exercise

Draw a pair of eyes with their irises and the nose wings below them, and use one iris width as your ruler. Put three marks for each brow, starting point, high point and tail, then draw the lower edge and the top edge. Compare with the drawing above, checking how far in each brow starts and where the tails stop. Then do the same over a photo of a face you know and note where that person's brows differ, since these amounts come from one head.

The rest plate, with the construction lines drawn over it, is in How to Draw the Head, the 43-page book included with Volume 1 and Volume 2. The rest of the head, angle by angle, is in how to draw the head at any angle.