Figure Drawing
Figure Drawing is one of my favorite types of drawing. I love the challenge of correctly capturing an interesting pose or getting the fold of a pant leg just right. Getting started in figure drawing is easier than you may think.
Start with the Structure
If you start drawing a person at their foot or arm, especially if you are a beginner, you are sure to mess it up some how. You need to start with the basic structure. This will allow you to get the right positions of the body as well as the correct proportions. I will be describing a human figure standing straight up looking straight ahead.
First, draw the head. The size of the head will decide the size of the body, so you want to make sure you don’t make it too big or small. Understand that the body will be about 7 heads long, or in other words, the body will be as tall as about 7 or 8 of the heads stacked on top of each other.
Draw a line straight down from the head that is about 3 ¼ heads high. The ¼ head is the length of the neck. Draw a horizontal line about two heads in length wide for the shoulders at the bottom of the neck. This means the shoulders will be as wide as two heads put together top to bottom or end to end.
The next 3 heads is the torso up to the hips which are the length of the third head. Draw the hips about the width of two heads. This means make it as wide as two heads put together side by side.
The elbows reach down to the hips. The forearms reach down to about halfway down the thighs which are two heads in length. The calves are about two heads in length as well, including the feet.
Arrange your Structure
Most likely your people won’t always be standing straight up looking forward at you. They might be bent over, twisted, in a profile position, sitting down, or in so many other positions. Follow this basic structure and arrange it according to the position the subject is in.
This is just a basic structure for the average person. Some people might have longer legs, a bigger head, or a shorter torso. Fix it according to your subject so that you get the most accuracy. Also, you don’t need to draw out the structure every time. If it helps you, then go right ahead, but as you get better you might feel better just visualizing the structure as you go.
Add the Body
When you have the skeleton drawn out, you will need to add muscle, fat, skin, clothes, anything else on the body. You can start out by drawing an outline around the skeleton of where the body should be at first, even if they are wearing clothes that are bigger. It is good to get the body itself in place first.
Next, you will need to add clothes. If you want to go straight to the clothes, you can, but keep visualizing how the body should be placed. For most, the clothes are the easiest part because you only have to draw them and their positions are already placed out. For some, it is difficult to draw clothes. You can always practice by sketches cloth and clothing by itself.
Once you’ve finished your first figure, move onto the next. You might find yourself drawing everyone you see as you become more comfortable and fall more in love with figure drawing.
