It’s hard to draw a figure without understanding the human form underneath the clothes.
The human body has more than 200 bones and 650 muscles, but we’ll focus on those most important for showing form and movement. We’ll start with a stick figure and give it straight arms and legs. Let’s make the torso an upside down trapezoid and the hips a right side up trapezoid.
You can change the figure’s pose and attitude by changing the angles of the hips and shoulders. For example, parallel lines will give you a still, standing figure, whereas lines slanting in opposite directions give your figure more life.
Next, connect the trapezoids to form a torso. Use sausage-like tubes to connect shoulders to elbows to hands, and hips to knees to feet. Play with the length and size of these shapes to create unique characters.
Try it out
1-Begin by drawing lines for the shoulders and hips. Connect them with a line for the spine.Curving the spine gives the figure movement and life.
2-Lightly sketch trapezoids for the hips and ribs.
3-Next, add upper arm and thigh lines. The left shoulder is drooping, so the left elbow will be lower. The right hip is drooping, so the right knee will be lower.
4-Now connect the form to the limbs.
5-Use the sausage shapes to draw forearms, hands, shins, and feet.
6-Connect the trapezoids to create a waist, then draw the neck and head.
7-Use a black marker or pen to outline the whole body and see your first figure!
