It has been a while since I posted any how to`s. Since I have been hitting the fashion drawing board hard, I figured I shared some of the little tricks I use to keep a figure proportionate.
You know how they say, learn the rules well, so you can break them effectively. Learning the rules will help you stylize your figure and develop your own style.
The Face
- The eyes are at the same level as the ears
- The neck is always narrower that the head. The thicker the neck, the more masculine the figure will be.
- The space between the eyes should theoretically be enough to add a third eye.
- If the chin has a square shape, it will make your subject masculine. Also if the lines are dark, thick and heavy around the chin, the subject will look male.
The Body
- Bodies are usually 8 to 9 heads tall. I almost always do 8. For this example I will follow the 8 heads proportion.
- About 1 1/2 heads into your figure, shoulders get drawn in
- The waist is at about the midpoint on the third box. The elbows should be below that point even when the arm is swung
- Hips will encompass your 4th box
- The hands end at the 5th box, about a 1/4 of the way in.
- Depending on the pose, the knees are midway on the 6th box
- 7th box will have the calves
- 8th box the feet start about a 1/4 of the way in.
- The shoulders and hips are the same width.
Stylizing
When it comes to stylizing the figure there are no rules! But I do like to exaggerate a few features;
- I like the torsos smaller in relation to the legs. Mostly because I am built that way. :D
- The necks I like thin as it will feminize your figure.
- I like the hips higher and if the are posed, I like the pose exaggerated
- I like the shoulders slightly smaller than the hips.
- I like the head slightly bigger than what it should be.
Overall this makes the figure very dainty and small. But can play around with different features to see which combination of distorted features feels right to you.
Men
- A men figure is about 9 heads. There is another variation which is 9 1/2 heads and it is often used by sculptors. This are the proportions for a 9 heads tall figure.
- The 2nd head houses the trapezius muscles, neck and shoulders
- The pectoral muscles end about a quarter of the way into the 3rd head
- The beginning of the 4th head marks the start of the elbows and it houses the waist at about a quarter of the way in, and hips a little below that.
- At the 5th head, the wrist start about 1/3 in. The Adonis belt and groin are in this spot and end a bit below the wrists.
- A little bit below the 6th head point, the hands end.
- About a third of the way into the 7th head will be and the thi the knees as well as the calves.
- The 8th head has the shins and the bottom of the calves.
- Midway through the 9th head are the ankles and feet
Books
I know that there are a lot of books out there but I really like Essential Fashion Illustration.(affiliate link). This book is very simple to follow and will guide you through the steps on how to draw the figure and even learning how to stylize it!
