How to Draw the Human Body

Heads being used to measure proportion.

Drawing the human body can be easy as long as general proportion guidelines are kept in mind. Each body part should be measured and drawn to the appropriate length. Here is how to draw the adult human body using the head as a measurement tool.

Things You'll Need

• Paper and a pencil

Instructions

1. The length of your drawing's head can be used to find the proper placement of the rest of the parts. Take a look at the example illustration. Notice how if you were to stack 7 heads, it would equal the height of an adult male.

2. The average male can be divided into measurements if the head is used as a measuring tool. The body is 7 to 7 1/2 heads tall;the shoulders are generally 2 heads wide; and the hips are a little over 1 head wide.

3. The average female can be divided into measurements if the head is used as a measuring tool. The body is 6 to 7 ½ heads tall; the shoulders are around 1 ½ heads wide; and the hips are are 2 heads wide.

4. Use these measurements to help you draw the human body. Start by drawing the head. Make sure that the shoulders, hips and body length match the proportion of the head according to the information in Step 2 and Step 3.

Tips & Warnings

• The human hand is usually as long and as wide and the face.

• Each body is different, so the information in Steps 2 and 3 may vary from real-life models. If you have this problem, simply measure the head of your model and see how the head size corresponds to the rest of the body.