Insights from Creating a 3-Year-Old Head Torso EPOCHAL
Children’s Growth and Hat Design
Currently, in addition to the 6-year-old child head torso we have in our office, I am creating a 3-year-old child head torso using clay.
Introduction: Why We Create Torsos
Currently, in addition to the 6-year-old child head torso we have in our office, I am creating a 3-year-old child head torso using clay.
At EPOCHAL, when we manufacture hats, we examine the brim length, angle, and most importantly, the rate at which shadows are created on children’s eyes and faces. We maintain visibility while ensuring protection from UV rays. To achieve this, torsos that faithfully reproduce actual children’s heads are essential.
Three-dimensional shapes, how shadows fall from the brim, how light hits the face—these cannot be understood from data and numbers alone. To accurately verify these factors, we create head torsos for each age group and actually place hats on them to test shadow coverage.
Through creating this 3-year-old torso, the anatomical differences between 6-year-olds and adults have become clear. These differences are crucial elements in designing hats that “create solid shadows” for each age group.
Numbers: Head Sizes of 3-Year-Olds, 6-Year-Olds, and Adults
Let’s start with basic data.
Head Circumference Comparison
- 3-year-old: approximately 49-50cm
- 6-year-old: approximately 51-52cm
- Adult: approximately 55-58cm
At first glance, the difference between 3 and 6 years old is only 2-3cm. You might think, “Can’t they wear the same hat then?”
However, when actually reproducing this in three dimensions, these few centimeters create a decisive difference in how shadows fall from the brim. It’s not simply a matter of making things smaller.
More importantly than head size itself is the proportion of the head to the entire body. Because 3-year-olds have small bodies, their heads occupy a very large proportion of their entire body, which also affects center of gravity balance and hat stability.
Most Important Point: Eye Position Differences Change How Shadows Fall
The most important discovery in designing hats that create solid shadows is the difference in eye position by age.
3-Year-Old Facial Configuration and Shadow Relationship
The biggest characteristic of 3-year-olds is that their eyes are positioned clearly below the center of the vertical length of their face. In other words, they have very wide foreheads, with a long distance from eyes to top of head.
This configuration directly affects how shadows are created. For 3-year-olds:
- Wide forehead → Even with a deep-fitting hat, there’s a wide range where the forehead can receive shadows
- Eyes positioned low → The shadow created by the brim easily reaches the eyes due to their positional relationship
- How shadows fall → Even with the same brim angle, shadows fall in completely different positions compared to 6-year-olds or adults
In other words, designs specifically for 3-year-olds can take advantage of this “eyes positioned low” characteristic to adjust brim angles, making it possible to maintain visibility while creating solid shadows on both eyes and the entire face.
6-Year-Old Facial Configuration and Shadow Relationship
By age 6, eye position approaches nearly the center of the face. This means:
- Narrower forehead → The range where the brim’s shadow is received changes
- Higher eye position → With the same brim angle, shadows don’t reach the eyes as easily
- Impact on visibility → Deep brims affect visibility more than with 3-year-olds
For 6-year-old hats, considering that eye position has risen, we need to change brim length and angle differently from 3-year-olds. Subtle adjustments are required to maintain visibility while creating solid shadows.
Adult Facial Configuration and Shadow Relationship
In adults, eyes are positioned precisely at the center of the face. Therefore, even with the same brim angle, shadows fall completely differently than on children.
This is why adult hats don’t provide appropriate facial coverage for children. Ignoring this fundamental difference in eye position and simply making hats smaller cannot “create solid shadows.”
Verification with Torsos: How Shadows Actually Fall
The primary reason for creating full-scale torsos is that we can actually place hats on them and verify shadows.
Verification Method
- Place prototype hats on the torso
- Apply lighting from various angles (simulating sunlight angles)
- Confirm which parts of the face receive shadows
- Measure shadow coverage rate for eyes, nose, cheeks, and neck
- Verify degree of visibility maintained
- Adjust brim angle and length and re-verify
By comparing these verifications across 3-year-old, 6-year-old, and adult torsos, we can see the optimal way to create shadows for each age group.
The three-dimensional relationship between light and shadow that can never be understood from flat drawings or numbers alone—being able to verify this with actual objects is the greatest value of torso creation.
Facial Three-Dimensional Structure: Differences in “Surfaces” That Receive Shadows
Currently, in addition to the 6-year-old child head torso we have in our office, I am creating a 3-year-old child head torso using clay.
Next, let’s look at differences in three-dimensional facial structure. Shadows don’t fall on flat surfaces but on the three-dimensional surface of faces. That’s why differences in facial shape are important.
3-Year-Old Three-Dimensional Structure
- Cheeks: Very plump, face overall close to spherical shape
- Jawline: Completely round, contours ambiguous
- Nose: Extremely small, low, and rounded
- Facial contours: Almost none, smooth curves
This rounded three-dimensional structure greatly affects how shadows are received. A face close to a sphere allows light to wrap around easily, and brim shadows softly cover the entire face. However, because the nose is low, there’s little shadow-blocking effect from the nose itself, requiring thorough coverage by the brim.
6-Year-Old Three-Dimensional Structure
- Cheeks: Roundness remains but begins to become more defined than at 3
- Jawline: Gradually forming
- Nose: Becomes slightly higher
- Facial contours: Begin to emerge slightly
Age 6 is a transitional period. As slight contours emerge on the face, how shadows fall becomes more complex. Because it’s no longer a simple sphere, brim angle design requires greater precision.
Adult Three-Dimensional Structure
- Cheekbones and jawline are distinct
- Nose has height and creates its own shadows
- Facial contours are distinct, creating complex shadow patterns
Adult faces have distinct contours, so the nose itself creates shadows. Therefore, the need to cover everything with the brim is relatively lower than for children.
Neck Length and Shadow Coverage Range
Surprisingly important is neck structure. To create solid shadows, we need to cover not just the face but also the back of the neck.
3-Year-Old Neck and Shadow Relationship
- Very short and thick
- Boundary between head and shoulders somewhat ambiguous
- Impression that head is embedded in shoulders
This short neck affects the shadow coverage range from hats. For 3-year-olds:
- The back part of the brim is at an easy distance to cast shadows on the neck
- Close distance to shoulders makes rear UV protection important
- Brim width design needed to reliably cover even short necks
6-Year-Old Neck and Shadow Relationship
- Clearly longer than at 3
- Distinction from head becomes clear
As the neck lengthens, the distance between brim and neck increases. Therefore, we need to recalculate shadow coverage range from back of head to neck.
Adult Neck and Shadow Relationship
- Long and clearly distinguished
- Longer brims needed to cover to back of neck
Skull Shape and Hat Fit: Prerequisites for Creating Shadows
To create solid shadows, hats must first fit correctly on the head. If they shift or tilt, calculated shadows become meaningless.
3-Year-Old Skull
- Frontal area (forehead) protrudes roundly
- Back of head also round
- Overall close to spherical shape
By designing the hat crown to match this shape, we achieve stable fit, and the brim maintains the correct angle at all times.
6-Year-Old Skull
- Overall begins to become slightly more elongated
- Still maintains roundness
Adult Skull
- Balanced shape front to back and side to side
- Greater individual variation
EPOCHAL’s Hat Design: “Shadow-Creating Design” Born from Torsos
Currently, in addition to the 6-year-old child head torso we have in our office, I am creating a 3-year-old child head torso using clay.
These anatomical insights and verification experiments with torsos are directly applied to EPOCHAL’s “hats that create solid shadows” design.
Brim Length and Angle: Shadow Optimization
- For 3-year-olds: Calculate angles that maintain visibility while creating shadows across entire face, based on low eye position and round face
- For 6-year-olds: Consider rising eye position and emerging facial contours, maintaining shadow coverage range while ensuring visibility
- Evidence-based: Actually place on torsos and verify shadows at various light angles
Crown Shape: Stable Fit
- For 3-year-olds: Three-dimensional curve following roundness, slip-resistant design
- For 6-year-olds: Corresponding to slightly elongated shape, also accommodating growth
- Purpose: Maintain hat in correct position to reliably create calculated shadows
Coverage from Back of Head to Neck: 360-Degree Shadows
- For 3-year-olds: Rear brim design that reliably covers even short necks
- For 6-year-olds: Range setting corresponding to lengthened neck
- All-around protection: Consider UV rays from not just front but also sides and rear
Accumulation of Shadow Verification Data
Through verification using torsos:
- Shadow coverage rate corresponding to changes in sun angle by time of day
- Shadow maintenance during angle changes assuming children’s movement
- Shadow reach rate to each facial part (eyes, nose, cheeks, neck)
- Balance points with maintaining viewing angle
We accumulate this data by age group and reflect it in product design.
Insights from Torso Creation: The Difficulty of “Creating Shadows”
What I’ve realized most while actually creating the 3-year-old torso from clay is that differences of just a few millimeters greatly change how shadows fall.
Just 3mm lower eye position changes the angle at which brim shadows reach the eyes. Just 5mm difference in cheek roundness changes how shadows wrap around. Just 1cm difference in neck length changes the shadow range created by the rear brim.
This precision can never be captured by flat drawings or numerical data alone. It only becomes visible when facing a full-scale three-dimensional torso, actually placing hats on it, shining light on it, and observing from various angles.
By placing it alongside the 6-year-old torso, the growth process that changes so dramatically in just three years becomes clearly visible three-dimensionally. And I realize how much significance this change has for the goal of “creating solid shadows.”
Children Are Not “Small Adults”: Fundamental Understanding for Creating Shadows
Simply making adult hats smaller cannot create solid shadows for children.
Because:
- Eye position is different
- Facial three-dimensional structure is different
- Skull shape is different
- Neck length is different
- Balance with body is different
All of these affect how shadows fall.
And even 3-year-olds and 6-year-olds differ this much. They cannot be grouped together under the same “children’s” category.
Significance of Torso Creation: Understanding Beyond Data
Why do we spend time creating full-scale torsos?
Because hats that truly create solid shadows cannot be made without three-dimensional understanding.
Numerical data is important. Head circumference, face length, eye position measurements—these form the foundation of design.
However, there are things that cannot be captured by data alone:
- Actual shape, center of gravity, sense of balance
- Three-dimensional relationship between light and shadow
- Large differences created by subtle angle variations
- Hat behavior in response to children’s movement
These can only be truly understood by facing a full-scale torso, actually placing hats on it, shining light on it, and observing from various angles.
Summary: Following Growth and Creating Solid Shadows
From age 3 to 6, and on to adulthood—in just a few years, children’s heads change remarkably.
At EPOCHAL, with deep understanding of these changes:
- Design based on age-specific anatomical characteristics
- Shadow verification experiments with full-scale torsos
- Balance of maintaining visibility while creating solid shadows
- Adjustment functions accommodating growth
- Comfortable fit and safety
We pursue creating “hats that create solid shadows” that realize all of these.
This torso creation has been a valuable opportunity to understand “children as three-dimensional beings” that couldn’t be seen from data alone. When the 3-year-old torso is completed, we will actually place prototype hats on it and conduct shadow verification. Comparison with the 6-year-old torso should make the differences in optimal design by age even clearer.
This learning will certainly be applied to future product development.
Supporting children’s healthy growth with accurate knowledge and careful design. Creating solid shadows and protecting from UV rays—this is EPOCHAL’s mission.
Related Articles
- Children’s UV Protection: Why Age-Specific Hats Are Necessary
- Hat Brim Design: Balance of Visibility and UV Protection
- Following Growing Children: Adjustable Hat Design Innovations
- Torso Creation Record: Reproducing a 3-Year-Old’s Head in Clay
Product Information For information about EPOCHAL’s age-specific UV hat series, please visit our official website. All hats are designed after shadow verification with full-scale torsos.
