From Blank Page to Full Figure: An Easy Guide to Drawing People

1. Introduction: Hello. My name is Menashi. I'm an artist and an illustrator. I love to draw and paint. I welcome you all to my class. If you have ever wanted to draw people but felt overwhelmed, then you're in the right place. It's all about understanding proportions in a way that just clicks. No complicated anatomy, no pressure to be perfect, just a relaxed, step by step approach you can draw along with. This is an easy structure class that helps you understand proportions without getting lost in complex anatomy. The objective of this class is to make you feel confident sketching people from head to toe with just a pencil and a basic framework. If you think this class is for you, let's meet in the next lesson. Oh h 2. Requirements: I coming to the drawing supplies, you will need a sketchbook or a loose drawing paper. For Easy pencil work, I would prefer medium textured paper. Also make sure to use drawing papers more than 100 GSM. In the majority of this class, we are going to use the pencils, so make sure to use a sharpened drawing pencil. I also have my needed eraser. You will need a scale as well, and drawing pens of different sizes to pen the work. Grab your supplies, and without waiting any further, let's start to 3. The 8 Head Method: When drawing people, it's easy to make the legs too short or the arms too long. The eight hit method helps you to keep the whole body in balance by using the head as a ruler. It makes your figure look natural and proportionate, even if you're drawing from imagination without using any reference. Imagine the person's head as one unit of measurement. Now stack eight of those head units on top of each other. That's how tall an average adult figure is. Here is a chart for your better understanding. First part is just the size of the head. You can download this picture and observe the proportion for your better understanding. One point to note that this is just an ideal proportion. It is not same for all person and for all ages. One more proportion to note is that the size between the shoulders to the hip part and the hip and the feet remains the same. What happens when we draw people with different heights? For example, in this picture, the man is taller than the women. So let's say let me take 1.3 centimeters as the size of the head for the man, then I'm going to take 1 centimeter as the size of the head for the women. But that's not going to be the same case when we draw kids or teens. In such cases, the proportions itself will vary. Anyways, we're just going to ignore that as of now because we're just going to concentrate on adult drawing in this class. 4. Example 1: Proportions: In this lesson, let's try to draw the simplest of all a person in front view. You can find the reference photo below the video, you can download it. Let's make the sketchbook ready for the figure drawing, for which I'm drawing eight parts, which means nine lines of equal sizes. If you want a smaller person, you can use a smaller size or if you want a larger drawing, then you can use a bigger size. I'm using 1.5 centimeters roughly for each portion. I now that I have drawn nine lines for eight pass, I'm going to measure the total length. It is roughly 12 centimeters. I'm going to share with you an easy trick to measure the width of the person, which is nothing but the size of the shoulders. I'm having the reference on my phone, and I'm going to resize my reference to 12 centimeters, which means if you measure the height of the reference on your phone or your tablet, it should be 12 centimeters from the top to the bottom. Once you resize the image, then measure the width of the person. In my case, it is roughly 2.5 centimeters or 12 centimeters height. This method might look childish, but it really helps for beginners. As you practice more and more, you can skip all these steps and, you know, we can draw directly without all these proportions. Let's now draw the guidelines to draw the figure. I'm going to measure 2.5 centimeters for the width of the person. Also, I'm marking the center, and I'm going to draw three vertical lines. These three lines helps us to draw the body in a much simpler way. These lines access margin to draw the figure. Now, sharpen your pencil and let's draw the head together. I'm just roughly drawing an oval shape using contours. Contours are super important in figure drawing because they help you capture the shape, form, and movement of the body, not just the outline, but the three D flow of it. I'm drawing a couple of lines for the neck. Let's draw the body in the next lesson. 5. Example 1: Body: Let's focus on drawing the body of the man. If you observe the reference, the body falls on this rectangle in between the two lines. And the next to be drawn on this rectangle. I'm drawing a V shape for the collar. You can make use of the guidelines, like the V shape on the collar starts on the second line. You need not try to grasp all the details because it makes the drawing complicated. First, you draw a V and few more lines on the either side and connect all the lines. At this point, I'm concentrating on building the figure. The details come later, so I'm just concentrating on drawing the body. As I said before, the body comes between the two lines we have drawn before. I'm drawing a center line for the shirt. As you can see, the guidelines really helps us a lot in drawing the figure. Just make sure you add some curves and bends to the shirt to give a natural look. Let's move on to draw the arms. I'm trying to draw contours. Spend more time observing the figure than at your paper. Observe, where is the weight, where is the gesture, where is a twist or tension. Also, the guidelines really helps us in drawing. For example, a shirt ends in the fourth line for the arms. So I try to end the shirt on the fourth line. Similarly draw on the other side as well. H. Let's concentrate on the other details later. Let's move on to draw the legs of the figure. I start by drawing a small V shape, and I draw over the center line for the legs. I'm trying to bring the gesture to my drawing. So let's concentrate on the details later. I'm just drawing the basic outline of the figure. As you can see, I'm drawing the legs over the guidelines. Let's draw the other leg as well. If you observe the reference, this leg is somewhat shorter than the previous one we draw on. Also, this leg is getting narrowed down as it goes on the bottom towards the feet. And then I draw the shoes. Again, I'm using contours to draw the shoes. I'm just trying to draw the shape of the shoe instead of concentrating on the details. As I said before, this leg is somewhat lengthier than the previous leg. So I'm just increasing the length and I draw the shoes. I'm drawing a number eight shape for the bottom part of the shoe and connecting the corners. Now that we've got the basic figure, let's try to add some details to bring the drawing to life. The man is wearing a bag, so I'm drawing a couple of lines on either side. I'm drawing small circles for the buttons on the shirt. I'm drawing kind of triangular shape for the fingers. I draw a small thumb and few fingers are behind which are not visible. And I join them. I You can always go back and do some adjustments if you don't feel right. Likewise, draw the other hand as well. I start by drawing a thumb and a v shape for the fingers. All the fingers are not visible, so I just draw some outline and I connect them. Let's not worry about the head part. We will draw the head part together the forthcoming lessons. 6. Example 2: Proportions: Let's try to draw a person from the backside. As always, you can start by drawing the guidelines, divide the reference into eight parts. The next step is to find the width of the person for that I'm resizing my reference to 12 centimeters because that is the size I'm going to draw on the paper. So resize the reference to 12 centimeters and measure the width of the person. In my case, it is approximately 2.6 centimeters. Using these values, let's draw the guidelines. I'm measuring 2.6 centimeters. Then I mark the center to draw the center line. I roughly draw the head of the person somewhat in a circular shape. As the person is looking down, not all the head part is visible. I draw a couple of lines for the neck. Two. 7. Example 2: Body: As we did in the previous drawing, the first rectangle is for the body, and the next rectangle is for the legs. So keeping that in mind and using the guidelines, let's draw the figure. I first concentrate on drawing the jacket the person is wearing. I draw shapes for the outline of the jacket, and I draw some curves inside to make it realistic. I'm going to extend by drawing a couple of lines on either side to draw the body of the figure. In the reference, there are lots of folds on the jacket the person is wearing. Adding folds to clothing is a game changer. It makes your figure looks dynamic, grounded, and believable. Don't overload with too many lines. Just a few well placed folds can suggest movement and weight. Focus on the gesture of the cloth, not every wrinkle. Then I draw a couple of mild curves for the bottom part of the jacket. Then I draw one new line for the T shirt which is behind. Let's now focus on drawing the hands. As you can see, the left arm is folded. So I'm drawing a U shape to represent the folded arm. Just a few lines to represent the compress on the clothing. E. The other hand is just hanging freely down. I'm drawing the jacket first. A few folds for the compress on the clothing. Then the arms. Let's draw the hands later. Let's draw the legs now. So when you draw the legs, you have to draw it into parts. One part is above the knee and the other part is below the knee, and you can change the angles based on the gesture of the reference. The legs are taper towards the feet. Don't be shy to use an eraser and make some adjustments. I'm making use of contours to build a figure. If you observe the feet, one shoe is facing towards the left side and the other towards the front. You can add some designs to the shoes. Likewise, I draw the other shoe, as well, which is facing towards the front. Since it is facing towards the front, only a part of it is visible. Let's try to add some details to make the figure more realistic. I'm drawing some pockets to the jeans yes. I finish the sketch by drawing the other hand. The fingers naturally curve inwards when the hand is relaxed. You can first draw the thumb and then the other four fingers. I'm adding few more folds. In the next lesson, let's concentrate on drawing a person in the side view. 8. Example 3: Proportions: Can find the reference photo below the video for the side view as well. We are going to draw the lady enjoying her ice cream. Download the photo and divide it into eight parts. For the side view, let's first do a rough sketch of the face and then do the proportions later. I start by making a slanting line for the forehead, another short line at an angle for the mouth part. Then I roughly do the hair line and a small ear. I slightly curve it inwards for the neck. We're going to concentrate on the face later. I'm just making a rough outline for the hair. Okay, let's now check the width. And for that, you can grab your phone or your iPad. As we always do, I'm resizing my photo to 12 centimeters. I want the lady to be of 12 centimeters and I'm shaking the width. And it is approximately 2.3 centimeters. So I'm drawing the guidelines based on my measurements. Once you practice lot and lot, you can just skip all these steps and draw directly without any measurements. So all these tips and tricks are for beginners. It looks childish. I understand. But, you know, it really makes you confident when you take your pencil. 9. Example 3: Body: You can observe where the shoulder joint is in the reference. It's on the second section. So using that as a reference, I'm drawing the arms of the lady. Similarly, you can observe and draw where the elbows are. If you observe the shirt of the lady, it is blown and puffed up due to the wind. Because of which I'm giving a puffy volume to the shirt of the lady. Imagine the shirt being inflated like a balloon. So we include curved lines in arcs to bring that feel to the drawing. The shirt extends somewhat more than the guidelines for the other side, since it is puffed up due to wind. You can always go back and do some adjustments if needed. A I make a small triangular shape for the shirt, which is on the other side. Let's move on to the legs. Carefully observe the reference. As we discussed in the previous lesson, while drawing the legs, it's better to cut it down into two portions, one part below the knee and the other part above the knee. Women's legs are dynamic and expressive. It's always important to observe the reference and do the drawing. If you break the reference into different sections, drawing would be much easier. Similarly, I draw the other leg as well. As you can see, you have to change the direction of the curves below the knee and above the knee. So make sure you do that. One more point to note that the legs naturally narrow towards the ankles and the shoes. While drawing the shoes, observe the angle of the shoes on the reference. In our case, both the shoes are towers the side. Shoes aren't flat. They have volume that is thickness and structure, and they have openings where the food slips in and they have weight, especially for boots or heels. So keeping in mind all these points you can draw the shoes. I start with a basic outline for the shoe, and then I draw by observing where the opening is where the foot slips in and I add some weight and design to the shoe. I make a small line to represent the ankles. Let's move to draw the hand. The lady is holding an ice cream. It's a great chance for us to combine gesture, hand structure, and object interaction. The hand wraps around the cone gently. The fingers curve naturally with a thumb on one side and the rest of the fingers curling around the other I'm making some adjustments on the fingers to make it more natural. And then I'm drawing a conical shape. I'm drawing a semicircle with an uneven bumpy edges for this group. I'm drawing the center line for the pant as it is in the reference. Observe the direction of the line carefully and draw it. I'm including a pocket. I'm including some folds on the pant. And then I draw the center line. Similarly can draw the center line for the shirt as well with some curves and bombs for a realistic look and draw the design as it is in the reference. The next lesson, let's try the other angle. 10. Example 4: Class Project: Let's try to draw the other lady, as well. However, I'm not going to get into the details. I believe the tips and tricks we discussed in the previous lessons would equip you to draw using the reference. You can first draw a rough sketch of the head of this lady and then draw the body of this lady as we have drawn in the previous lesson. The more you observe, the better your drawing will turn out. Focus on posing, body language, and movement. It's okay if the hands are oopy or the legs aren't even. That's part of learning. Every sketch you make is a step towards confidence. I've already drawn the basic sketch of this lady. Now I'm going to draw the add ons like the backpack. You first start by drawing the basic sketch of the backpack, which is a rectangle. And then I add more layers to make it realistic. You can also add buckles, zippers, and straps to make it more detailed. In the next lesson, we are going to concentrate on drawing the faces. You can stop with this and draw faces with me in the next lesson, or you can just keep on trying more poses. 11. Drawing the Faces: Drawing the face can be overwhelming for beginners. So before we start, I suggest you don't have to put every single detail on the paper. Let's start with a front view. Make sure you use a sharpened pencil. I make a simple hairline using Cantos by observing the reference. It's okay, even if you make small mistakes. I won't show much on the drawing. I make a small curve for the ear on the side. I make a rough sheading for the hair. I redefine the face structure. I'm including a small beard. We're just keeping it very simple. We're not going in depth and adding every single detail. I'm drawing a plus sign to draw the eyes nose and mouth. You can draw the eyes over the horizontal guideline. I start with the eyebrows. In fact, it is the eyebrows, which is over the horizontal guideeline or the eyes itself. Again, I'm just making simple, small strokes for the eyes. I'm not getting into the details. I'm making a small U shape for the nose and a couple of lines for the mouth. Now let's try to draw the head of this person, which we have drawn from the back view. First of all, I'm drawing the ears of this person, a small C shape. The years goes down to the face, which is on the other side. Drawing the hair for the men from the back is very simple and fun. I start by drawing a small dot on the center, which is the crown, and I make small strokes around it in a circular motion. Keep adding more hair like structures around the center point in a circular motion. Let's try to draw the face of the lady from the side view. I tell you this is the most trickiest of all angles. I start by drawing a slanting line for the nose first. And then I make the mouth, which comes down the nose, a small horizontal line, and I define the hairline much better. I make a small slanting line for the forehead and it bulges inwards for the eyebrows. Once you have drawn this basic outline, you can move on to draw the eyebrows and a small line for the eye. I'm just making a small curve for the eye, somewhat like V shape. I'm drawing an earring and then finish off by drawing the hair. To draw the hair, I'm giving pressure when I start, which means from the top of the head, I give pressure, and as I move out, I gently take my pencil off the paper. The center part of the hair is lighter and towards the ends, the hair is dark so that we get a beautiful shade, a realistic look, and a three D look. Follow the same steps to draw the face of the other women as well. A slanting line for the forehead, which bulges inside for the eyebrows and the eye, and another slanting line for the nose, and down comes the mouth. After you finish this outline, you can move on to draw the eyebrows and the eye. In the next lesson, we're going to do the Penwk and finish this drawing. 12. Pen Work: I'm using my medium sized drawing pen to pen my work. I'm using my 02 of pigma micron and I'm drawing over my pencil marks. Pencil often has extra lines or construction marks. So when you do your pen work, we can choose which lines matter. When you do the facial features, don't overdo details. It's important to keep it simple and clean. Keep your hand loose and let your pen flow around the form. One point to remember is that you're not just racing. In fact, you're choosing which lines tell the story of the pose. So our goal is not just to outline the pencil work. We are going to bring the drawing to life. This is the most relaxing part in the entire drawing. I love doing my pinwk. Black furs can balance a drawing, so don't hesitate to color some areas black. Black areas act like visual magnets. They create strong contrast, making your lines stand out more. So don't hesitate to color some areas black to create more contrast, like the backside of the shoes and the watch. I'm adding details using smaller pen 005 of pigma micron. I'm drawing delicate lines along the direction of the collar. This makes the drawing more realistic. You can use a same pen to add other details like the folds on the shirt. I'm creating some shadows as well. If you are staying with me from the start, I ask you to spare me another two more minutes and let's conclude this class. We will meet in the next listen but we will discuss about the class project. 13. Conclusion: Thank you so much for joining me on this journey of sketching people. I hope you have not only learned the structure and proportions, but also gained the confidence to observe people differently and to draw them with a sense of ease and joy. Okay, let's now talk about the class project. I would suggest you to draw along with me before you try with the reference. You need now draw all the four figures we did in the class. If you don't have time, you can just try only one. That would be enough. After that, you can try using a reference. There are so many photos available on the Internet or you can try sketching your own photo, and this doesn't have to be perfect. Progress is what we are celebrating here. Whether it's a rough sketch or a more finished figure, I would love to see what you have created. You can post your works on the class project section below. And if you found this class helpful, I'd really appreciate your feedback or the review. It helps me grow as a teacher and lets me know what you'd like to see next. Finally, thank you so much for taking my class. Bye bye. Have a nice day.