How to Draw Basic Human Figures
Figure drawing has long been regarded as the ultimate in capturing the beauty of human beings. The contour of a shoulder or the small of the back can all be rendered with a few strokes of a pencil. However, learning how to draw the human figure can be more challenging than it looks. Learn to draw the human figure and capture the essence of human beauty on the page.
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Instructions
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Play around with your own freehand drawing of a human body. This drawing needn't be perfect, but just something to help you wrap your head around how you perceive the human body. Try and make your initial drawing as complete as possible, including muscle tone and bone structure wherever possible.
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Visit your local bookstore or browse online and look for pictures of human figure drawing. Pay special attention to masters like Rodin and other great artists who perfected the art of figure drawing (see Resources below).
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Sign up for a beginners figure drawing art course in your area. These classes are typically offered quite frequently at most community art programs and are relatively inexpensive. Practice drawing with the instruction of a teacher using a real life model. However, no substitute exists for actual figure drawing using a human model as a guide.
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Do your own figure drawings at home using friends and family as a guide to your drawing. Always begin with the contour of the body drawing a line down the center of your page and dividing it into three to four sections that will delineate where the shoulders, hips, knees and feet will lie. It will help you to get the proportions of the figure on the page better.
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Use sweeping motions with the pencil to create the contours of the hips and legs. Reference a drawing book or your model for a more accurate perception of the proportions of the human body.
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Use the head length method to get proportions correct. Measure each section of the body using the length of the head as a guide. The form should be about 7 head lengths long for a proper human form.
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Draw the major muscle groups first since it will be the easiest to render on the page. Learn fundamentals of shading through using your art course or book to guide you. Shading will help you drawing to look more realistic.
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Tips & Warnings
Draw your own figure by looking at yourself in a full length mirror and drawing what you see.
Try to work with nudes or with a model who wears close-fitting clothing so that you aren't distracted by the folds of fabric.
