Learning how to draw people can appear as one of the most challenging tasks for a budding artist. However, it is not as difficult as it may appear at the first sight. Budding artist who has a keen interest in drawing people can easily do so. The various steps for drawing people are simple and easy to understand and are explained below.
To begin drawing people, collect all the necessary materials needed like pencil, pencil sharpener, an eraser, felt-tip pen, and paper. Examine the person and their clothing carefully before proceeding to the first step.
The first step in learning how to draw people is… the drawing of a single simple line known as Gesture line or Action line which in turn shows the direction in which the body is moving. Gesture line can be compared to the spine of the body. Observe the position of the spine of the subject in different poses and than start practicing drawing of gesture line that goes through most of the pose of the subject.
The second step involved in learning how to draw people is to keep proper proportions. Always draw everything at the right position and of right sizes. Any change in the proportions can result in a change in the style of the image. Draw the person’s head which is mostly oval or circular in shape. The shape of head doesn’t have to be a perfect oval or circle but must be as close as possible. Add details to the head one-by-one with proper proportions like location of chin, shape of eyes, distance between the two eyes, shape of nose and ears, etc. One should always remember not to underestimate the importance of proper proportions since every person is unique in shape and size.
The third step in learning how to draw people is to draw the feet. Realistic characters are generally six to seven heads tall whereas cartoon characters can be two to eight or even more heads tall. Children also have large heads as compared to the rest of their bodies, making them only four to five heads tall. Start drawing six or more ovals or circles from the bottom of the head in the direction of the gesture line. At the bottom of the last oval or circle mark the position where bottom of the complete foot will be situated.
The fourth step involved in learning how to draw people is to draw the arms, legs, hips and waist. This process will begin from the third oval or circle down on the page. Mark the location of the elbows and than draw rest of the arm. Similarly, draw the waist and than draw hips and legs of the subject. Mostly, man has wider and more leveled shoulders and narrow hips whereas woman generally has a more narrow and slopping shoulders and wider hips.
The fifth and last step in learning how to draw people is the adding of finishing touches. One can add clothes to drawing of people in order to make a realistic look. Don’t forget to draw wrinkles and folds on the clothes. Make sure that body structure underneath clothes is also visible. However, if you are drawing a nude image than muscle structure of the subject should be apparent.
A budding artist must pay special attention towards the light and shadow in order to create three dimensional forms. However, drawing is an art that needs enough practice and even minor mistakes are much more noticeable so try to avoid them.