Drawing Humans [2/?]: Legs And Posture

Drawing humans [2/?]: Legs and posture

First of all, thank you! :D

I touched on the subject of leg proportions in my last post, but I didn’t get very specific at the time.  The leg is divided into three major portions: the thigh, the calf, and the foot.  For humans, we walk on our heels, and the thigh and the calf are about equal lengths.  Since the legs make up roughly half a person’s height, that means that the calf and the thigh are each about one-quarter of the figure’s total height.

One way to make a standing pose more interesting is to make use of the concept of contrapposto (warning for artistic nudity at the link).  Basically, this is referring to when a figure’s weight is more on one leg than the other, resulting in their shoulders and hips being canted at different angles.  This makes for a more dynamic and life-like pose.

[Photo source - Also, it is Michelangelo’s David and I did add the censor myself, so, you know.  Artistic nudity again.]

Another thing to keep in mind while drawing poses is the line of action, which flows in the direction of your character’s movement (typically, it follows their spine).  It’s best to decide on this line early on, since it affects the placement of everything else.

Practicing with references is also really, really helpful.  (And in fact, that’s exactly what I was doing in the that fire poi post you mentioned!)  There are a couple of ways to do this. Drawing from life is great if you can take a class (or bribe a friend into holding still) but that’s not always an option.  The website Pixlovely has a few great tools geared towards helping artists practice gesture drawing with human and animal subjects.  You could also browse a stock image gallery or search Google to find a particular pose.  Personally, I like working from video screenshots, especially for more action-y poses.  The image quality isn’t usually as high as a stock photo, but by watching the video I can get a sense of the overall movement, instead of just one moment in time, and in my experience it tends to look less staged and stiff.

Other useful tutorials:

Pukind on achieving a “lively” feeling to a pose

Curves and angles of the arm

Helpfulharrie on dynamic lines

Feet studies

Kaalashnikov on leg anatomy