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Harmony · Front view · Jaw

Lower Third Proportion

The upper portion of the lower third, from nose bottom to mouth seam, relative to the whole lower third.

What is measured

The calculation

Nose-bottom-to-mouth-seam height ÷ nose-bottom-to-chin height × 100

Front view / Measurement guide

Lower Third Proportion: front-view measurement illustrationAn original schematic showing A: Nose-to-mouth-seam height; B: Full lower-third height. Lines identify the landmarks used; the drawing is not to scale.AB

Follow the measurement

Select a label to focus on its line. Select again to show all measurements.

Schematic illustration, not to scale. Lines show the measurement construction; this is not an ideal face or a scored result.

Why it matters

This explains where the mouth sits within the lower face. It includes the upper lip and the space above it; it is not simply chin height as a percentage of the lower third.

  • Lower: the mouth seam sits closer to the nose bottom.
  • Higher: the mouth seam sits farther down the lower third.

Where the idea comes from

Classical proportion

The classical lower-face subdivision compares the portion above the mouth with the portion below. FaceIQ makes that relationship explicit using its nose-bottom, mouth-seam and chin landmarks. [1]

A worked example

A nose-to-seam span of 21 units in a 64-unit lower third gives 32.8%.

Example values explain the calculation. They are not a target range and are not measurements of the schematic above.

Research & further reading

The sources below explain the history or related evidence. FaceIQ’s score weights and reference ranges are model settings; these papers do not collectively validate the scoring system.

  1. [1] Farkas et al. · 1985

    Vertical and horizontal proportions of the face: revision of neoclassical canons

    Tested nine traditional proportion rules against measured faces. Useful history for facial thirds and width comparisons; classical rules are not universal targets.

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