Beginner Figure Drawing Fundamentals 3: Construction of the Body Parts

Part 3 of the Beginner Figure Drawing Fundamentals shows how to build individual body parts.

Construction of the Head

easy + identifiable

Front

gesture line:
- straight
- natural center line
egg shape
eyes line ~ 1/2 height
head width ≈ 5 × eyes width
bottom of the nose ~ 1/2 between the eyes line and the chin
bottom of the mouth ~ 1/2 between the bottom of the nose and the chin
distance between nose and chine ~ distance between nose and brow line (???)
ears sit between the brow line and the bottom of the nose

Side

two masses:
- face
- skull
possible forms:
- boxy forms
- 2 egg shapes
ear
- key landmarks
- a little back from the center
- tilts away slightly
corner of the head
- key landmarks
- ~ 1/3 from the face

Neck

cylinder like
head always leans forward
females have slightly longer necks
for males, especially muscular ones, the neck can be almost as wide as the head
~ 1/3 head height

Back

start with a sphere
neck goes into the sphere and flares out on the shoulders
add ears

Construction of the Torso

bean-shape
two separate parts (ovoids)
- can use cylinders or boxy shapes

Front

gesture line: the natural center line
male: triangle pointing down
female: triangle pointing up
ribcage:
- leans backward
- males have a larger ribcage than females
pelvis
- females have pelvis larger than ribcage
- males have pelvis smaller than ribcage
- leans forward (more for females than for males)
- boxy shape for males
- cylinder shape for female (miniskirt)

Back

Profile

ribcage leans backward
pelvis leans forward
big stretch on the front
big squash on the back
neck connects on the back approximately at the eye line
a bean-shape might work fine for a profile view

Construction of the Arms

not connected to the torso, but a bit away from it
approximate with cylinder or boxy shape
no center line
use the narrower part as guides for gesture
- draw the cylinder around these guides
use egg structures over the basic structure of the arm to define the muscles
shortcuts:
- elbow points up -> arm curve points down
- elbow points down -> arm curve points up
- the more we see the elbow, the more of the curve we see

Construction of the Legs

we must start with the pelvis area
connects between 1/2 and 1/3 from the hip
use cylinders that tapper in

Front

‘B’-shape gesture lines
the inside of the leg should be slightly curved, too
add muscles on top of the basic shape

Side

start from the back or, on the front, from 1/2 - 1/3 from the thigh
‘S’-shape gesture lines

Construction of the Feet and Hands

treat as one shape at this time, not individual parts (fingers, toes, …) at this stage

Foot

Front

ankle
- key landmark
- inner part is higher than outer part
a flatten cylinder going back in space works well

Profile

start with a triangular shape

Back

use a box foundation for the heel

Hand

Front/Back

palm/back of the hand
- boxy structure or flattened half cylinder
fingers
- group them, if possible
- relaxed: fan-shape
- thumb: opposite direction, at ~ 45 angle
- middle finger: approximately same length as the palm/back of the hand

Side

box shape
relaxed:
- fingers curve down
- thumb at ~ 45 angle

Assignment

Once completing the demonstration videos, refer to the attached Reference Image document and start practicing the different ways you can approach constructing the body part. This is merely about exploring what forms and structures work best for you. There is no time limit in this assignment, but it’s recommended you spend significant time on drawing the parts. The more time you spend on it, the better you become. A good option is to focus on a different body part for each day of the week. Transcript of the lecture is also attached.