How to Draw: Proportions (Patreon)

Figure Drawing 101

One of the first things that you will learn in a Life Drawing class is the average proportions of the human figure.

It hadn’t really occurred to me to cover this for our gesture platform until a member raised it as an area that they struggle with and would like some guidance on.

As always, it’s the members that really steer the direction of these tutorials, so thank you to the member who suggested this.

Okay,

Proportions!

To start off with…obviously we are all unique beautiful snowflakes and no two people are the same…

but also…

…we are all very similar…proportionally.

There is a general proportion guide we can follow to get us started in drawing the human figure that generally tracks for most humans.

Leonardo DaVinci - The Vitruvian Man

A lot of anatomy books talk about the ideal proportion but let's face it, that is not most of us!

Andrew Loomis:

5'8" in HEELS is the ideal height for a GIRL! Not even a woman!

In this video I will discuss :

• the history of this ideal proportion

• what proportional guides are good to keep in mind

• how to study proportion from references

• why your gestures might be disproportionate and how to fix it

• variables to consider

• general differences between male and female proportions

Check out the video and let me know if this helps you with your proportions in your gesture drawings!

Gillian