Drawing people can seem rather daunting but it shouldn't deter you from trying. All the shapes and lines you've practiced drawing are actually used as a foundation when drawing people so you already have what it takes to get started and learn to draw people! The fun in drawing people is that you can draw them photorealistic or you can distort the reality to draw a caricature or a cartoon character.
To draw a realistic and lifelike human, you need to understand the basic human anatomy. You want all the body parts including the head, limbs and torsos to be anatomically proportionate to present your drawing as an acceptable presentation of a human body. Keep in mind that female and male will have vastly different proportions in body, as will the age and general body types. To learn to draw people effectively, you must study human anatomy books and use them as a reference.
To make drawing people simple, you want to break the process down into two parts. Basic shapes first then add in details. Many novices mistakenly start drawing certain features first, popular one being a pair of eyes. This is a flawed approach as you need to determine the outlines using the basic shapes. Basic shapes are nothing more than simple geometric shapes such as circle, triangle, oval, oblong and triangles.
After you have used combinations of basic shapes to outline the body, start adding in details. Eyes are often called the windows to the soul and the way you draw the eyes can convey different emotions of your subject. To learn to draw people, you must study people's faces and notice all the small details you didn't notice before. Having an intimate knowledge of all the small details of human face will allow you to draw people that are more realistic and full of life.
Hand is often the most dreaded portion of the body and it is easily the most difficult. Experts often judge your skill level by how well you can draw a hand. Practice by drawing hands in many different positions and angles.
When you learn to draw people, it is highly advantageous to draw people in real life settings instead of using photographs. This will give you many different perspectives and dimensions to your models and allow you to capture the essence and personality of the people you are drawing.
Quick Tip #1: Breaking It Down
Break the subject you are drawing into simple basic shapes such as square, oval, oblong, triangle, and circle. It doesn't matter whether you are drawing an apple or a dragon. If you break your model down into basic shapes and use them as an outline, you are greatly simplifying the process of drawing. |
Quick Tip #2: Outside In
Draw from outside in. What I mean by this is you should always draw the outlines of your models first then cramp all the details within those outlines. Drawing facial features such as eyes, nose and mouth before setting facial line is a huge no-no. |
Quick Tip #3: Upside-Down
One exercise that will improve your drawing skills is drawing an upside-down image. This may seem a bit weird at first but try it! It'll develop and improve your visual mode. |
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