"The Most Comprehensive Figure Drawing Guide Available to Date!"

--Start mastering the human form today in 3 simple steps

How to Figure Draw

Let's face it, drawing is difficult. Figure drawing can be even more difficult. In fact, it is one of the hardest skills for an artist to master. Though this is true, it doesn't have to be this way. For more info on our approach you can always visit Learning2draw's About Me page. Learning how to figure draw is possible and you can do it, no matter what skill level you are currently. You may have heard the saying "I can't even draw a stick figure." Well, rest assured you won't be saying that after reading through this guide and a little practice.

Having the 3 P's

Having the three P's is the first step in figure drawing. The three P's consist of passion, practice, and patience. If you are lacking in any of these areas you may find it difficult to take on figure drawing because it requires each of these. Passion is the most important because with it you can accomplish anything, without it...well, you know, you won't progress. Passion fuels your creativity, your desire to improve and your tenacity to practice. Practice should be done on a daily basis, whether you are on a bus, at a church, or in a park, always have your sketchpad with you. Finally, patience to know that you are improving and advancing is important so that discouragement doesn't creep in and take over. The 3 P's are very important for artists at all levels and can drastically improve your art.

Choosing the Right Materials

When learning how to draw figures, it is important to choose the right materials when starting out. Paper is a major part of figure drawing. Paper is all around us and serves many different purposes. Figure drawing can be greatly enhanced or diminished by your paper choices. Common typewriting paper that is inexpensive can be good practice paper. As you experiment with different textures when you learn how to draw, you'll see different effects come through in your drawings. Textures are rated as rough, medium, smooth or glossy. Rough paper will hold more graphite than smooth. For myself, I like to draw on a medium grain paper (see example above) that has enough grain to keep me from getting too detailed. Part of the journey as an artist is finding what works best for you. Experiment with different grains but a good starting point would be a Strathmore paper or a Roma.

I personally don't like to draw with graphite pencils because I feel they are too shiny. The exception with this is, of course, rough sketches. I don't mind using them for these. Use the side of the graphite pencil for line variation. Experiment, experiment, experiment...Find pencils that you feel work well with your drawings and paper. Keep your pencils sharp. My recommendations for pencils are: Sanford Ebony Jet black extra smooth, vine charcoal and new pastels.

Kneaded erasers come as small rectangular blocks. Pull off a piece of this block and knead it like dough so it becomes soft and pliable. Make a point on one end by pressing it between you thumb and forefinger. This is my eraser of choice.

Our Figure Drawing Approach

Blocking In

The Block-In figure drawing method acts as an organizational blue print or tool for the artist. The block-in organizes the drawing and give the form guidelines for the artist.

So what is the block-in method and the benefits of learning this technique? In simple terms, the block-in is a simplified 2D drawing of the 3D person or subject you are drawing. The block-in is designed in observation to the model. This will help your drawing become more realistic and help your drawing come alive! You will have dynamic figure drawings with this method. It will help you begin to see the model correctly and help you avoid mistakes that may occur without the use of the block-in. By practicing the block-in, you'll be able to master the human form with more of a likeness and having it come alive in your drawings.

So how do you do a block-in?  This is definitely the simplified version but with practice you will become an expert at this technique. First, you will start with a sketch of the shape of the whole pose using no more than 6 or so lines. This will create a shell, or what some teachers call an envelope. This shell is where the drawing will develop inside. It doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, it won't be perfect. The points of the shell will probably be out of place a little... just remember, it's okay! This is just giving you a guideline of the pose, helping you figure the overall dimensions.

The next step would be to start to fill in your shell. Then you'll want to begin breaking it down even further and refining them. Stay general and then get more specific as you go.

Block-ins may take a little time getting used to and changing your drawing habits, but the rewards are endless. You will see your drawings improve drastically and immediately and your figures will start to come alive. Explode your drawings with this technique!

Proportions

There are certain proportion formulas, such as, the figure being a certain many heads tall, or the head of the figure being so many eyes wide.

I like to know these formulas and use them as a guide. The human form being so individual you can never go strictly off of these formulas alone. As an artist, it's important to know these formulas to be able to recognize the deviations from the formulas in the model/subject you are drawing.

Shading

Shading is an important skill for every artist to develop. Shading requires certain tools and steps to be developed in order to master.

The ability to shade is determined on how well you can see value relationships, along with a basic understanding of how light works. Value, or how light or dark something is, is relative.

Like many things artists experience, no single value can exist by itself. Our eye will automatically lighten or darken. A medium grey will look almost white next to black and very dark next to white. When determining value, it is important to squint or open your eyes very wide. This keeps you from focusing in on a single value and look at all of the value relationships together as a whole. Without doing this, our eye will play a trick on us. For example, if we focus in on a shadow area of our subject, our eye will adjust to that specific value field and give us a false reading. We will have a tendency to start averaging our values, making our lights too dark and our darks too light, failing to see the overall relationships.

Your sensitive touch to the pencil is very important in shading. Shading can range from blacks, dark greys, middle greys, lights, all the way to whites. Each of these tones is usually represented in your drawings. Your pencil and the pressure applied to it is another key to shading. It is important that, as an artist, you understand pressure and pay attention to how it affects your drawings.

Putting these steps together and remembering the 3 P's will help you master the art of figure drawing.

For more info on how to figure draw like the masters visit our Learning2draw About me page and start drawing today.