Basic Figure Drawing

Well welcome to the 26 the video and the secrets to drawing video course brought to you by the virtual instructor non-comp in this video we’re going to take a look at basic figure drawing figure drawing is a huge topic in this video we’re going to discuss just some of the basic fundamentals of figure drawing just like with other subject matter. Figure drawing is ultimately about observational drawing. However if you break what you are seeing down into steps it definitely makes things a bit easier. And this video will break figure drawing down into four simple easy steps. So let’s go ahead and get started. First let’s establish the four steps. The first thing we’re going to do is draw a line from the head to the feet. This will ensure that we get our entire figure on our surface. The next thing we’ll do is we’ll look at the shoulder line and the waistline and we’ll draw lines to represent the shoulder line in the waist line. Keep in mind these lines could be diagonal using the lines that we already have on our paper. We’ll draw a stick figure. Sometimes I like to draw circles or shapes for the joints and the hands and feet then using that information we can thicken things up and add details and finish the drawing of our figure . Now there’s a lot of relationships that happen between the different body parts but when you’re establishing the size or the height of your figure. Keep in mind that most people are six to seven heads tall. But most people be in about six and a half heads tall. A great exercise to practice with Figure drawing is called gesture drawing. Now gesture drawings are designed to be done quickly so they’re pretty loose drawings. You can be very free with your marks but you’re still going to follow those steps. You can see here that I first established a loose line from the head to the feet. This will ensure that I get the entire figure on the paper. Then I drew a quick line for the shoulder and a quick line for the waist. Now I’m beginning to establish a stick figure . When you’re completing jester drawings it’s a good idea to keep your marks very loose. You might decide to make several different marks to establish things as you become more confident with the shapes and lines that you have on your paper. You can begin to make things darker again. Don’t worry about details here. The whole purpose of creating a gesture drawing is to get the pose or posture of the figure on the paper quickly. It also helps to get proportions correct . Once I’ve got my basic figure established with the gesture drawing I can begin to add a few of the details if I like. In this case I’m just going to add areas of contrast of value. This will help establish the Form a bit. Another advantage to using loose marks when you’re creating a gesture drawing is that it adds to the believability of a figure. People move. And when you make your marks lose at home as creates the illusion of movement in your drawing. Doesn’t really matter what pose your figures in if you still follow the steps it will help you get all the information on your paper. Here are figures bit just slightly but still reflect best in the land from the head to the feet. In my line for the shoulders and my line for the waist then from these lines I can begin to establish the stick figure just like with any other type of observational drawing. Pay special attention to relationships that happen between one part and another part of the figure. Look at the negative space that happens between these parts as well. Now that we’ve got our stick figure establish we can begin to thicken things up using the stick figures I got . Again be sure to keep your drawing loose and don’t focus too much on the details. Instead focus on the weight of the figure focus on the proportion between the different body parts . Now that we’ve got our figure established we can go ahead and add just a bit of detail. Again this isn’t a lot of detail. Instead of just worrying about putting the contrast in values that exist to help define the form just a bit further. The digester drawings that you see here are generally a bit more detail than most gesture drawings some gesture drawings can be incredibly loose and involve one continuous line gesture drawing is a great warmup exercise for figure drawing. It will help you improve your figure drawing skills immensely. The more that you practice the better that you’ll get at figure drawing. It will also help you get quicker at drawing overall. Now let’s do a drawing that’s a little bit more developed will still approach it the same way. We’ll start with a line from the head to the feet. Again we establish this to be sure that we get the entire figure on their pitcher playing. Next we’ll take a look at where the shoulder line is. And in this example the shoulder line is a bit diagonal. Next we’ll look at the waistline. Then using these lines is a God will begin to establish or stick figure. Since this drawing is going to be a bit more developed I may use some shapes instead of the bone structure as I normally would in this example. The figures arms are crossed. So I’m using shapes here to indicate the four arms. I’ll continue down with my stick figure by establishing the bone structure for the right leg then I’ll do the same thing for the left leg. Pay special attention to what happens with the feet. The bottom of your figure drawing. Often times one foot will be forward and appear while we’re on the pitcher playing than the other foot very carefully. I’m starting to establish some of the contour lines using my bone structure as a god. As I become more confident with the information that I have on my paper I can begin to make some of my lines a bit darker as well. Notice that my drawing at this stage is still relatively loose. I’m still making several marks to establish what I’m saying . If at any point in your drawing you see that the relationships are not quite right. You can easily make changes because you’re drawing loosely and lightly in the beginning stages. If you get too dark with your material too quickly you may find it hard to go back and erase any mistakes . Now I can begin to establish some of the contours on the upper part of the body . Notice how the diagonal and the shoulder line helps create a believable pose . Now bring the sharp line down just a bit further since it will be overlapping the upper portion of the legs . Slowly I can begin to add some of the details that I see in my reference . Just like with any other drawing we need to be sure that we establish a light source. We can do this by paying special attention to the highlights and shadows that happen in our fight or reference. Generally areas where the odds are going to be darker in value in the areas around it. Also the area right underneath the nose will be darker as well and the top lip will be darker . In this case our light source is coming from the left hand side. Therefore the majority of our shadows will exist on the right side of the figure . We need to establish some shadows in the clothing as well as we develop these values are drawing starts to give the illusion of form and start to look a bit more believable as you are adding value to your drawing. Keep in mind of the direction of your lines. Remember that Crawl’s contour lines can also adds to the illusion of form . If you’re a beginner with your drawing don’t become discouraged too quickly. Remember that with any type of drawing it takes practice to get better. The more that you practice with Figure drawing the better you’ll get at it . Now that we’ve established some of our values we can go back and enhance our line quality and create the illusion of form even further . We’ll add just a bit of cast shadow under the figure as well to complete our sketch so figure drawing although difficult in nature can be made easier by following four steps. First draw a line from the head to the feet to establish the figure on the pitcher line. Next draw lines for the shoulders and the waist. Keep in mind that these lines could be diagonal. Then use these lines. Draw a stick figure to represent the bone structure of your figure. Lastly add details including shadow and highlight to create the illusion of form to the finished structure .