Lighting the face can be a complex matter, due to its varied topography and the way in which features can cast shadows differently depending on the direction of the light falling on the face. This can sometimes lead to changing the character of the face altogether, or making the face almost unrecognisable. In this diagram I show five basic methods of lighting the face in different directions. You can see that the direction the light hits the face from highlights different features, altering the character of the face.
In figure drawing for all it's worth Andrew Loomis discusses the ways in which lighting the face from different directions can affect the composition and recognition of the form.
I have created a maquette of a fawn's head to use as my own lighting reference for the head of my characters.
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