Chris Hart FigureItOut!
The Beginner’s Guide to DrawingPeople CONTENTS Introduction 8 Start at the Top! Strike a Pose! Drawing the Head 10 Drawing Women 82
Be an Egghead: The Basic Head Shape 12 Ballet Pose 84 Sculpt the Head 13 Introverted Pose 86
Natural Contours of the Face 14 Athletic Pose 88 Shading the Face 15 Graceful Pose 90 The Eyes 16 Hands on Head 92 The Nose and Mouth 18 Leaning Against Wall 94 The Ears 20 Standing 3/4 View 96 Jaw Shapes 22 Backward Glance 98
The Chin (Yep, It’s a Muscle) 23 On the Move 100 Natural Angles of the Neck 24 Kneeling on Stool 102 Check Your Proportions! 25 Seated 3/4 Pose 104 The Idealized Face 26 Sitting With Legs Entwined 105 Expressions 27 Seated on Both Knees 106 Sitting Propped Up 108 Break It Down! Sitting With Legs Extended 109 Step-by-Step Heads 28 Sitting on Stool 110 Front View 30 3/4 Right View 36 Get in Position! 3/4 Left View 40 Drawing Men 112 Profile 44 Classic Standing Pose 114
Back View With Hands Above Head 116 Get Back to Basics! Standing Profile 118 Drawing the Body 46 Hands in Pockets 120
Average Vs. Idealized Figures 48 Heroic Pose 122 Drawing the Rib Cage 49 Seated Pose in Perspective 124 Front View 50
Standing With Hands Behind Body 126 Side View 54 Thoughtful Pose 128 Rear View 58 Olympic Stance 130 Construction Poses 62 Bend and Stretch 131 On One Knee 132 Express Yourself! Muscle Interaction 134 Body Dynamics 70
Standing With Arms Out (Side View) 136 Shoulder-Hip Tilt 72 Relaxed Figure (Side View) 138 The Natural Way to Stand 75 Bending 76 Carrying a Weight 78 More Poses 79 Body Language 80 7 10 Chapter 1 Drawing the Head
he head is often the first part of a figure
drawing an artist will complete once his
Tor her initial sketch is in place. And it’s a
good place to begin when learning to draw
people. In this chapter, we’ll familiarize ourselves
with the basic shape of the head, then learn
how to draw the eyes and other features and
see exactly where to place them for correct
proportions. Let’s get started! 11 3/4 Left View Front View Be an Egghead: Profile Left The Basic Head Shape n order to place the features correctly and end up with a Irealistic-looking head, we
eed to start with a good shape.
nd it has to be one that can be
asily reproduced at many angles.
circle is just too cartoony for realistic drawing of the head, ut an egg shape is very close.
We’ll need to make some minor
odifications to this basic shape, Profile Right
ut it works as a starting point. 3/4 Right View 12 D Add mass r to back a of head w ing t Make he eye socket H concave e Indent a jaw line d Basic Egg Shape Modified Egg Shape Sculpt the Head
ow that we have the basic outline
of the head, we need to sculpt it
Nto make it more closely resemble
an actual head. Happily, all that’s required are a few minor adjustments. Head Shape: Male Vs. Female Here’s a hint that will help make your characters look more feminine or more masculine. When the male head is posed in a 3/4 view, there are “bumps” on the far side of the face—the cheekbone, the cheek muscle and the chin. We eliminate the cheek muscle This “bump” in females, for a sleeker, is the cheek more feminine appearance. muscle 13 Natural Contours of the Face he head is not flat, nor is it perfectly round. The dotted Tlines in these drawings show
you where the planes of the face
change angles. It’s sort of a “map”
of the head. Let’s take a look at these
changes of planes at various angles.
Notice how the contour lines travel along (are continuations of)
the natural path of the cheekbones. Front View Profile Right 3/4 View Right 3/4 View Left Profile Left 14 D rawing Shading the the Face H e ost light comes from above, ad in the form of sunlight or Moverhead lighting. The light
hits the protruding parts of the
head, causing them to cast shadows below and to the side. These
shadows add a sense of depth and
a feeling of solidity to the head,
making it look like it was carved from a block of stone. Eye socket Side of nose Underside of nose Shadow of nose Upper lip Underside of bottom lip Underside of chin 15 The Eyes Female he eyes are arguably the ▼The woman’s eye most important features of T is almond-shaped the face when drawing the with thin, arching
head, because they appear close eyebrows. The to the middle of the head and eyelashes brush
because they're so expressive. softly to one side.
Effectively drawn eyes create a direct link between the viewer and the image on paper. Male The shape of the eye in the
front view is totally different The man’s eye is ▼
from the side view. Vary the tone also almond- shaped,
(darkness) of the pupil, iris, but he has a heavier
eyebrow and eyelids to bring the upper eyelid and a
eyes forward. The lines of the heavier eyebrow. You
eyelids are usually drawn darker can omit the eyelashes.
than the other lines of the face. Front View Female The upper eyelid The eyelashes extend ▼ significantly forward and casts a subtle but backward. The eyebrow nonetheless visible arches from high to low. shadow on the eyeball, which adds a feeling of depth Male ▼ and roundness The eyelid extends to the eye. slightly over the eyeball. The eyebrow is flatter and lower. Profile 16