Is there an easier way to learn how to draw the human body?

Question

I have tried for a long time to understand how to draw the body, using boxes, different shapes etc, yet i still have no idea how to draw the body, im really struggling and would appreciate any answers/helpful advice.

Answer 1

Starting with breaking down the body into cylinders or cubes is a good approach. Imagining and drawing the limbs as cylinders is also great for learning foreshortening (a way to depict depth or how an object is extending away from us). If you haven't already, I would recommend drawing cylinders in different rotations. You can use any cylinder-like object to help you with this practice. Observe how the object becomes shorter when as it rotates away from you and vice versa. Also notice the change of degrees at end of the cylinder. When you look at the end of a cylinder straight on, it is a circle which slowly changes to a thinner and thinner oval as you rotate it away until finally it is "gone". You can also observe this with a coin. When you the both faces of the coin are "gone", the faces where they are have become vertical lines. Additionally, with the coin parallel to the ground, at eye level, the faces of the coins are not visible. Now, follow the coin with your eyes and notice how the top face comes into view as you move the coin downwards to the floor, and then notice how the top face "disappears" when you move the coin upwards past your eye level to now see the bottom face of the coin. A coin is basically a very short cylinder. Both faces still exist but what face you see depends on your point of view. Also try with the coin perpendicular to the ground! These pointers are important to remember.

Once you've learned, drawn, and observed the changes I've explained, you can apply this to knowledge of cylinders and ellipses to photos of people (preferably with their arms and legs exposed. you can look up tennis players on Pinterest for reference) For this practice, you can start easy with just the one part of a limb (examples: upper arm, forearm, thigh, calf) With one part of a limb chosen, draw a cylinder over it and try to match how that part of the limb is rotated in space. Additionally, draw a few cross contours to the cylinder. It should look like how a coin would move up and down a tube at different frames in an animation. For the cross contours, keep in mind what you observed with the coin and how you see more of the face as it moves away from us and less of the face as it gets close to eye level.

Once you're able to mannequinize the body into simple 3d forms, you can build upon them by learning about the muscles on the body. Learning about the superficial muscles can be sufficient. The two ways I have used to improve my figure drawing are drawing from using references and looking through anatomy books. For references, you can use yourself and a mirror. I move my limbs in front of the mirror and closely observe how what I am looking at changes in silhouette like how my elbow can overlap and hide some of my bicep and becomes close to the deltoid, or how lifting your arm up causes an indent at the shoulder because of how the deltoid is inserted into the outer third of the clavicle doesn't cover the top of the end of the shoulder. You can really develop this deep understanding of the mechanics of your body the more you observe each movement which can aid you when drawing from imagination (off-topic). If you don't want to look at yourself in the mirror, you can try finding someone to pose for you (figure drawing) or looking up references on Pinterest, adorkastock, or purchasing pose reference packs. Looking at anatomy books can show you what muscles are located where on the body. How in-depth you want to go depends on your drawing goals.

With a lot of time and practice drawing the body, you'll be able to remember the silhouette/shapes the body makes and be able to depict or give the illusion of the limb with just a few lines.

Other recommended practices:

1. drawing a limb from as many angles as possible. That way you can develop a better/intuitive idea in your head how a limb looks in certain rotations.
2. after have practiced drawing from reference, try drawing the same thing without reference. once you've drawn something from multiple angles, you can try challenge yourself to do it without reference.
3. Advanced cross contour cylinder practice: The cylinder is the silhouette of the limb and the cross contours follow the forms on the limb. Some visual examples: pg 78 in John Henry Vanderpoel's the human figure or Tom Fox's Anatomy for Artists

In short, we want to be able to breakdown the body into simple shapes forms and from there learn anatomy by drawing from reference and/or looking at books to add forms to the cylinders.

Answer 2

I agree with Valeria! Keeping things in proportion is the first and best way to draw the human form. Being able to apply basic proportions to your subject is something I frequently teach in an hour or less.

Though teaching the method is fairly easy, teaching yourself to do it is a matter of repetition and correction. It helps to draw every day, and use these words when googling for help: "Drawing reference for: (insert item here)" There are many proportion charts, so pick the one that speaks to your drawing style. Practice the big forms first, and then move to the smaller ones like hands, feet, and faces. Happy drawing!

Answer 3

There are two approaches when drawing, one is technical in which boxes and shapes are really helpful when trying to draw from memory. This seems like what you're doing now.

The other approach is visual it's especially useful when trying to draw a specific person, consists of observing a subject (or a reference) and using vertical and horizontal lines to make sure things line up in the right place, comparing one part of the body to another so everything is proportionate and negative shapes (like the background surrounding the person) to make sure the silhouette reads the same.

At the end both approaches help each other but every person tends to like one more than the other one.