Learn to Draw Blog #2

Posted by mattersonline on March 16, 2014, 3:10 p.m.

I've got a few more shots. Haven't really had time. I think I've got the proportions better.

Comments

panzercretin 10 years, 8 months ago

Heluva lot more progress than I made when I started drawing.

The third one's actually pretty good. It's totally got a believeable structure, and your understanding of the profile contour (that one line that represents the ins and outs of the face - nose, mouth, chin, etc) is really impressive - I personally had to look at some books for reference to get that part down.

As for the others - think about the arm placement. Those gaps between the arms and the torso don't occur in reality - when they're by your side, they make contact with your body.

When it comes to proportions - and proportions are really tricky - there are some useful rules of thumb that work really well as general guidelines. Here's some that I've picked up so far in college and art books:

- 1-2-3 rule: the torso is twice the length of the head, and the legs are three times the length of the head, forming a rhythm of 1 Head, 2 Heads, 3 Heads. (in reality, the whole body is about 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 heads tall, but these are the proportions generally used in cartooning)

- Legs and arms are approximately the same length on the average person - which is why usually it's only a slight strain to lie down and touch your toes with your legs outstretched.

- In a neutral stance, the hands are halfway between the hips and the knees.

- Elbows and knees generally bisect the limb, meaning both halves can be assumed equal in length.

- In men, the shoulders are slightly wider than the hips, and vice-versa for women. (or, rather, that's how masculinity/femininity is usually defined - for example, a man with wide hips is generally considered more feminine than one with wider shoulders. If you want a character to appear androgynous (so you can't really guess at the gender, or if you don't want their gender to be overly apparent), make the hips and shoulders as even as possible.)

These are just approximations and generalities, and the exact measurements vary form person to person, but they're great starting points for figuring out believable proportions.

Loving how quickly you're learning!

mazimadu 10 years, 8 months ago

If you are learning to draw, I would highly recommend to look at this youtube channel. This guy thought me a few cool tricks for Flash, Photoshop and pencil drawing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/DrawWithJazza