The Human Form

In the art world, drawing the human figure is arguably one of the more difficult things an artist can learn. The human figure varies greatly from person to person, not only that but one has to understand how the human form works and moves. A human figure drawn with its head twisted around isn’t considered accurate is it? A human figure with one arm two inches shorter than the other isn’t considered in proportion, right? Of course not. Mike Mattisi says, “The human figure is full of force—no matter how still it may seem.” (2006, p. 1) Meaning the body has weight, the body has emotion, and it is up to the artist to accurately depict that when drawing the figure.

The internet is littered with a multitude of tutorials that take the time to teach a newcomer (and those with experience who simply want to learn more) to draw the human figure. Some may go to the extent to teach the artist how to draw the entire human form (Li, 2001). Artists also provide tutorials that teach other artists how to draw individual parts of the human form. (Medlej, 2009)(Julie, 2006) The broken down tutorials of the human form are for artist that have trouble (or simply want to better develop) with the individual body parts, i.e. than hands, feet, head, and so on.
There are various shortcuts to drawing the human figure that I have learned over the years such as:

• A standing human figure is typically seven heads long (though fashion designers use eight to nine to accentuate the clothes).
  
• Foot proportion can be determined by the length of the points from the wrist to the elbow.
  
• The face (chin to eyebrows) is proportionate to the tip of the middle finger to the wrist.
  
• Simple shapes can help establish early on what an artist wants the human figure to portray, i.e. using inverted triangles for athletic figures, or hourglasses for a more feminine feel (Mattisi, 2008, p. 72)
  

The human form is a complicated structure and takes time to render with satisfactory results.

Cited Works

Julie. (2006). -Foot Tutorial-. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://odduckoasis.deviantart.com/art/Foot-Tutorial-38271036

Li, William. (2001). Figure Drawing: Basic Pose and Construction. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://www.elfwood.com/farp/figure/williamlibodyconstruction.html

Mattesi, Mike. (2008). Force: Character Design from Life Drawing. Focal Press.

Mattesi, Mike. (2006). Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators. Focal Press.

Medlej, Joumana. (2009). Drawing Hands. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://www.cedarseed.com/fire/handstut.html