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Proportions for Figure Drawing For Beginners
When we talk about proportion, we talk about the size relationships each body part has with another. Have you ever drawn a gure and it ends up looking…not quite right? Odds are that it’s the proportion that is a bit off. But not to worry, this is something you can easily learn over time!
Proportion basics As a rule, when drawing gures, we draw the body 8 heads tall. This simply means that we can t a total number of 8 heads into the length of the body. This idea was formed during the Renaissance times and was considered to be the ideal human form. Realistically, even in Northern Europe, where this idea was formulated, people are generally around 7 heads tall. It will be helpful to draw as I walk you through the proportions in order to remember it more easily. This way you will also have your own chart to refer back to.
Create your chart in which you will draw the gure Start off by drawing a line on the side of the page. Then number the sides from 1 – 8 with equal spaces between the numbers. Remember to leave an equal space above number one, as this is where your head will go.
Draw the Head and the Pelvis The head will go right above the number 1 your drew on the chart, with the chin touching the line. The size of your head will be the same as the distance between the numbers. The pelvis goes in between number 3 and 4.
Make sure the oval drawn for the pelvis lls out the entire area between lines 3 and 4
Draw the Legs, Knees and Feet Start off by drawing two circles on line 4. These are the hip joints. Do the same on line 6 for your knees and also on line 8, for the bottom of your feet. When drawing the legs, it is important not to draw straight vertical lines from the hip joint to the bottom of the foot. In order to make your gure look more natural, connect your line from the inside of the hip joint to the inside of the circle of the knee cap. The calf will be connected from the outside of the knee to the inside of the foot.
Do not draw a straight line from the hip joints to the feet. It will look too stiff and rigid.
Draw the torso, nipples and belly button The torso will start between lines 1 and 2 and end on the line of number 3. As shown here, it is best to draw the torso slightly smaller at the bottom, to show the rib cage. The smaller part of the torso is subject to change, depending on the person’s body type. You can draw the width of your torso
as roughly the same width as the pelvis. Draw the nipples on line 2 and the belly button on line 3.
The straight stipple lines indicated on the legs is what you should not do when drawing the legs.
Draw the Shoulders, elbows and wrists The shoulders are located half way between line 1 and 2. The shoulders are generally the same width as two heads put next to each other. Create a line that is slightly curving down on the edges for the shoulders. The elbows will be on line 3 and the wrists on line 4.
Draw the Arms and Hands You can now draw the upper and lower arms. Assuming that the hand is completely open, draw the hand with the nger tips touching line 5. While this looks kind of strange, you can test this out by seeing where your wrist and nger tips are in proportion to your legs and hips.
It’s funny to think that our hands stop in the middle of our thigh!
This is a general guideline to the proportions of the human body. Please remember that all gures are different and that you need to take everyone’s individuality into consideration when drawing. For instance, in the shoulders, if someone is heavily tense or has developed trapezius muscles, their shoulders will droop a lot less than a timid 12 year old girl’s.
Lets look at the gure in pro le Create your chart in which you will draw the gure Start off by drawing a line on the side of the page. Then number the sides from 1 – 8 with equal spaces between the numbers. Remember to leave an equal space above number one, as this is where your head will go.
Draw your head, pelvis, knees and shoulders
Draw the head above line 1 and the pelvis in between lines 3 and 4. As a guideline, draw a line in the middle of the head, going straight down to the feet. Draw the knee on line 6 in alignment with your guideline. The shoulder will also be on this guideline in between mark 1 and 2.
Draw the spine and feet When drawing the spine, make sure that the line curves outward where the shoulders are positioned (in between line 1 and 2). The spine then curves inward towards the belly button (on line 3) and again curves outward to meet the pelvis. The feet will be positioned slightly behind your guideline. We draw it this way because this is how people are balanced and able to stand up right.
Draw the ribcage, hip joint and leg Take note in the direction of the lines of the leg. Draw the upper part of the leg with a curve outward and connect it to the front of the knees. The bottom half of the leg connects from the back side of the knee cap to the feet. At this point you are now also able to see the diagonal line that the hip joint, knee and foot creates.
Now that you are familiar with the general proportions of the gure, it is time to practice some gesture drawing by keeping human proportions in mind. You can learn more on gesture drawing here.
Materials used in this tutorial: Uni Pin Fine liner Drawing Pen set Sketchbook Ruler Jet Headed Gypsy – Learning proportion for realistic gure drawing -Top of Page
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