Introduction
The human figure is both the hardest and yet most satisfying subject to draw and no artist ever really exhausts its possibilities. However, if you are trying to teach yourself, discipline and an eye for detail will take you a long way. The best way to start is by observing people carefully: the way they move, sit and stand and how they look in different lights and from different angles. The great figurative artists studied the human form for their entire lives without reaching a limit with it, so there’s plenty of scope!
Being a human oneself loads the artist with all kinds of preconceptions, which can make it very difficult to see a way through to making the first marks on paper. However, some elementary knowledge of anatomy is ours already: we know generally how we are put together and how to move various parts of ourselves; and we know the difference between feeling tense and relaxed. With observation, practice and concentration, we are only a short distance from translating this knowledge into line and tone.
It is good to study the various styles and techniques of other artists but there is no substitute for your own response to something as infinitely fascinating as the human figure. Life drawing is the best way to learn how to do this, and in this book we look at how you can make the most of the experience of drawing the human figure directly.
Life Drawing Classes
The human body is a most subtle and difficult thing to draw and you will learn more from a few lessons in front of a nude model than you ever could when drawing from photographs.
In most urban areas, life classes are not too difficult to come by and if there is an adult education college or an art school that offers part-time courses it would be an excellent way in which to improve your drawing. Even professional artists will attend life classes whenever possible, unless they can afford their own models. These classes are however limited to people over the age of 16 because of the presence of a nude model. One advantage is that there is usually a highly qualified artist teaching the course. The dedication and helpfulness of most of these teachers will enable you to gradually improve your drawing step by step, and the additional advantage of working with other students, from beginners to quite skilful practitioners, will encourage your work.
Working at a board or easel
If you don’t have an easel and are sitting with the board propped up, the pencil should be at about shoulder height and you should have a clear view of the drawing area.
The best way to draw is standing up, but you will need an easel for this.
There should be plenty of distance between you and the drawing. This allows the arm, wrist and hand to move freely and gives you a clearer view of what you are doing. Step back every few minutes so you can see the drawing more objectively.
Using the paper
Try to work as large as possible from the beginning. The larger you draw the easier it is to correct. Aim to gradually increase the size of your drawing until you are working on an A2 sheet of paper and can fill it with one drawing.
You will have to invest in an A2 drawing board for working with A2 paper. You can either buy one or make one out of 5mm (1/4in) thick MDF. Any surface will do, so long as it is smooth under the paper; masking tape, paper clips or Blu-Tack can be used to secure the paper to the board.
Holding the pencil
Your inclination will probably be to hold the pencil like a pen. Try holding it like a brush or a stick. Keep the grip loose. You will produce better marks on the paper if your grip is relaxed and there is no tension in your hand or arm.
Drawing the Whole Figure
As we have seen, drawing the complete human body is really the subject of a life class. Generally speaking, the best you may be able to coax from friends and family is posing clothed or in a bathing costume. This is sufficient for a general view of the body, but to study it more closely in order to understand the bones and muscles showing on the surface, a tutored course in life drawing is the obvious answer.
A standing position with no foreshortening is easiest, but you will also need to draw models sitting, reclining and in various more complex poses where the limbs and torso are turned, folded and twisted to show how the different parts of the structure function together. Try to draw from models of different shapes, sizes and ages where possible. One good way to gain an understanding of the structure of the body is to have the model sitting on a revolving chair and gradually turn it around so that you are drawing the figure in the same pose from a variety of positions.
You will need to study the front and back of the torso carefully, as the musculature is vastly different from these two views. Also move around the figure to draw it from various positions. In this way you’ll see how your point of view changes the shape of the human body – the conventional image in our minds is a standing figure, but of course the body looks very different when it is in other poses.
Proportions of the Body
Familiarity with the proportions of the body will help you to make your drawings more convincing. Here we look at four versions of the human body standing upright: a male full front and side views and a female and a child full front view.
Front and side view of the body
If you take the length of the head as the unit of measurement, the whole length of the body is equivalent to about seven and a half heads. This is true of both male and female bodies – although the female is usually slightly smaller, the proportions remain the same.
The level of the nipples is about two units down from the top of the head, while the navel is three units down. The top of the legs is about four units down; the length of the arms and hands, with the fingers extended, comes down four and a half units, to the middle of the thigh. The bottom of the kneebone appears about five and a half units down from the top.
The main difference in proportion between the male and female comes in the width of the hips and the shoulders. The shoulders are usually the widest part of a man’s body while the hips tend to be the widest part of a woman’s.
These proportions act as guidelines when you are drawing the human form, but even so nothing beats careful observation. Remember too that people differ in the bulk of flesh and muscle, and although the female form is usually rounder and smoother you may find exceptions. However, these proportions apply to almost all people of adult years. Children, of course, are of different proportions at different ages.
The Body in Perspective
Quite often, the model will be lying down in a position that shows either their head or their feet receding from your point of view. This means that the proportions of the body will not be those with which you are most familiar, and it is helpful to pause and analyse what it is you are actually able to see.
In these two diagrams, you are shown one body from the foot end and one from the head end. The grid patterns clarify what is happening to the shape and proportion of the body.
Both drawings, based on paintings by Lucian Freud (1922–2011), graphically illustrate the effect of perspective on the relative sizes of different parts of the body. In the drawing below (Naked Girl Asleep II 1968), notice how much larger the legs and feet are in relation to the torso and head area. Note also the diminishing width of the figure as it recedes from the viewer.
In the second drawing (Night Portrait, Face Down 1999), the area of the head and shoulders is far larger than you may have expected and the legs and feet are much smaller. Again, the diminishing width is giving a clear indication of the effect of perspective.
When the body is foreshortened, what is nearest to us appears to be proportionally larger than what is further away. The actual relative sizes of parts of the body are meaningless. What determines this relative size in art is the view or perspective from which they are seen.
In this view the legs and feet are much larger than the chest and head which, by comparison, are almost compressed and appear to be shrinking.
Looking at the same figure from the head end, the legs become very small in comparison with the head, shoulders and chest.
Learning to draw the human figure from all angles is complex and time-consuming. Don’t expect to see a dramatic improvement in your skill unless you practise at least once a week.
Analysing Balance and Pose
The figures in this section demonstrate how to observe the human form and to analyse what is happening to the placing of the body as you draw it.
Start off by visualizing a line from the top of the head to the point between the feet where the weight of the body is resting – this is its centre of gravity. Our system labels this line (from head to ground) as line A.
Next, take the lines across the body that denote the shoulders, hips, knees and feet. The way that these lines lend balance to the form tells you a lot about how to compose the figure. The system labels these as follows: the shoulders, line B; hips, line C; knees, line D; feet, line E. Then, note the relationship between the elbows and the hands, although these are not always so easy to see. The system here is: the elbows, line F; hands, line G.
So now, as you glance down the length of the figure, your eye automatically notes the distribution of these points of balance. Concentrating your observations in this way, you will find it much easier to render the figure realistically.
The first figure is standing and the distribution of the various levels of balance can be seen quite clearly. The only one that is a bit difficult to relate to is line F, linking the two elbows.
The second figure is also standing, although the shoulders and hips are different from the first. Nevertheless, it is still fairly easy to see how the points relate to one another.
The third figure, still standing but sideways-on this time, makes some of the balancing points less significant. The hips, for example, are one behind the other so they don’t register much. The hands are together, so that simplifies that aspect. But the remaining points are important to observe, to give the right kind of balance to the figure.
Now, we have a sitting figure in which the main line, A, is shortened to cover the upper part of the body only, because this is where the balancing line stops. However, the rest are obvious enough, although the lines connecting hands and elbows actually cut across each other in this pose.
This standing figure uses all of the points, except for the hands and the knees, which are one behind the other in both cases.
In the reclining pose, the main balance lies between the line that goes as far as the hip, and a line from shoulder to elbow. I have not indicated the latter to avoid overloading the diagram.
The crouching girl is rather complex because the line passing through the body is not the main balancing point; in this case, it runs straight down from the head, past the knees to the feet and hands. The back foot is also helping to keep the balance, by pushing the lower part of the body upwards.
The kneeling man holds a similar position, in which the arm connecting with the floor and the back foot are both part of the balancing system.
This bending figure illustrates the principle of the cantilever, where the feet planted apart and the position of the arm on the knee combine to keep the figure upright despite the horizontal angle of the upper body. But to draw the pose convincingly, it is still important to register the balancing points and the positioning of both pairs of limbs.
Body Details
Studying each part of the body separately will contribute to your knowledge of the figure as a whole and will help enormously when you are drawing from life.
Torso
If your figure drawing is to be correct, you need to understand something of the largest part of the human body, the torso or trunk. This is the area from the shoulders down to the pubis, ignoring the head, arms and legs. Compare these back and side views of the male and female torso. Once you understand the effect of these differences, you should find it easier to draw either of the sexes.
To the left and at the top of the next page we have a few studies of the female torso. Notice the way the ribcage shapes the upper torso and how the figure can bend and twist in the middle because the pelvis and the ribcage are not held rigidly by the spinal column. Note that the muscles of the back and the diaphragm are distinct.
The male torso is similar to the female, in that it has the same flexibility and the large muscles show up clearly, but the chest is more compact and the waistline less obvious. The shoulders are noticeably broader.
Elbows and wrists are extremely important features but are often poorly observed by students. By paying extra attention to these joints when you are drawing the arms you will enormously increase the effectiveness of your drawing.
You can see from this drawing how the arm provides a background to the expressions or actions of the hand.
The thumb demands separate treatment, so spend some time practising drawing its characteristic angle. Note how in poses the thumb helps to define the direction in which the hand is pointing.
With the arms akimbo, the gently folded hand reduces the aggressive quality of the pose.
The hand is an extremely effective means of conveying emotional and instinctive gestures. As well as providing a focal point, the outstretched arm or hand often provides an important key to a picture.
Practise drawing hands very simply from all possible angles. Start with an easy angle, such as the one shown here. You can do a lot with your own hands by using a mirror, or you can try drawing someone else’s hands.
1. First sketch out the main lines – the direction in which the fingers point, the basic proportions of fingers to palm and the positioning of the finger joints.
2. Once you are sure these lines are correct, fill out the shape.
3. Finish off by adding tonal values.
It is worth making something of a feature of feet because the viewer’s attention nearly always goes to the extremities of objects; thus the hands, feet and head are noticed in a drawing.
Feet are not as difficult to draw as hands, but they can be tricky from some angles and this can result in awkwardness in your drawing. It’s a good idea to practise drawing them from the front, back and both sides. To begin with, try drawing your own feet in a mirror. Feet do differ quite a lot and rarely conform to the classical model. Look at these examples, taking note of the major characteristics.
In these views you can see that the inner ankle bone is higher than the outer ankle bone. Looking from the back, note the ball of the heel and the Achilles tendon. From the front, notice how the line fluctuates to take in the large toe, the instep and the heel.
Note the proportions of the toes in relation to one another and in relation to the whole length of the foot.
From this angle the large toe partly obscures the smaller toes. Note the instep and arch of the foot.
An outside view shows the flatter part of the sole and the toes more clearly.
You will need to know how to draw the feet from below, although it is probably not a view that you will use often. The relationship of the toes to the sole is very different from this perspective.
The knee is a complex joint that you should study closely because of its importance in the structure of the leg. It is, in fact, a rather interesting shape and can be fascinating to draw when the kneecap is clearly defined, as here.
The shape of the leg is determined by how well the muscles are developed. In these drawings all the leg muscles are clearly delineated.
The joining of the leg to the foot can prove problematical for the novice. Pay particular attention to the relationship of the ankle to the instep and practise drawing this.
Practice: the ‘Rokeby Venus’
Here you can see a copy of an Old Master painting, the Rokeby Venus by Diego Velásquez (1599–1660), which shows a rear view of a reclining female nude. Try following the steps to make your own copy, paying attention to the direction of the light source as this will tell you what is happening to the shape of the body.
1. Sketch in the main outline, ensuring that the proportions are correct. Note the lines of the backbone, shoulders and hips. Check the body width in relation to the length and the size of the head in relation to the body length. Pay special attention also to the thickness of the neck, wrists, ankles and knees. All of them should be narrower than the parts each side of them.
2. Finalize the shape of the limbs, torso and head. Then draw in the shapes of muscles and identify the main areas of tone or shadow.
Keep everything very simple to start with and don’t concern yourself with producing a ‘beautiful’ drawing. Really beautiful drawings express the truth of what you see.
3. Carefully put in darker and lighter tones to show the form. Some areas are very dark, usually those of deepest recession. The very light areas are the surfaces facing directly towards the source of light and should look extremely bright in contrast to any other area.
When you have finished applying tone, give your figure a place to exist in by adding tones to the background. These will enhance your drawing by throwing the strongly defined areas of light forwards, thereby increasing the three-dimensional effect.