Basics of Life Drawing

Fundamentals of Drawing the Figure

This post is an overview of the basics of life drawing, from classes that I moderate and/or instruct. It is meant to clarify some of the technical terms and processes involved for newer students, and hopefully inspire others as well. I will use my own images, as well as other artists who have better illustrated what I am attempting to explain.

See a gallery of some figurative artists who inspire me here. I am updating this list, expanding the information on each artist, and compiling it in blog form on this site. I will be adding to it regularly.

If you are interested in viewing my own work, I am putting together a portfolio of my own life drawings here.

What is Gesture Drawing?

We cannot begin a discussion of the basics of life drawing without first mentioning gesture drawing. Gestures are truly the foundation of figurative work. These quick sketches are usually done from poses no longer than two or three minutes, and often much shorter. They are meant to be exercises, and not finished drawings. Expect to do hundreds, or even thousands to improve your skill.

Gesture drawings are not representational drawings. Instead, they are loose sketches that capture the essential feeling, energy, movement, or action of a subject. They contain a minimum amount of information to achieve the essence of the pose. With our initial lines, we are trying to capture that sense of movement, without defining anything related to specific anatomy.

Basics of Life Drawing Techniques

1. Tools and Methods

Work on a fairly large surface. Newsprint pads are reasonably priced, and it is possible to get five or ten gesture drawings on a 20” x 30” sheet of paper. It often takes some effort to break ourselves of the habit of years of writing and working on small surfaces using our hands, fingers and wrists. This becomes even more difficult to do when we are working on compact formats.

I always recommend beginning with charcoal or conté crayon as opposed to pencils. It keeps our strokes large and loose. No erasers yet please. Erasers are not only overly time consuming when working live in studio, they are incredibly inefficient when using soft tools like charcoal. If you are working with charcoal, just use a rag to wipe away any errors.

Stand back from the drawing board, and draw with your arm and shoulder. Try to get out of the habit of holding the drawing tool the same way we do when we are writing. Master the overhand grip. This method will take some getting used to, but it keeps your movements smooth and prevents muscle exhaustion in your hand. D2 Impressive Techniques has a page on pencil holding here.

Make sure if you are standing, that you position your easel so that you have an unobstructed view of the model. If you are right handed, place your easel on the right side of your body at a slight angle to the subject. It is cumbersome to constantly be looking over your shoulder while you are working. Remember your gaze should be focussed on the model and/or subject, not your drawing board.

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2. The Line of Action

The first mark made in most gesture drawings is the line of action. Basically, the line of action as a stroke that denotes the movement of your subject. It is usually located approximately along the line of the spine. It is an essential mark that conveys the extent and direction of the pose. Essentially this line is the basis of the development of your drawing. 

The first 3 images shown below are from Valerie L Winslow’s book Classic Human Anatomy in Motion. It is the companion manual to her bestselling first book Classic Human Anatomy. See more on her website Valerie L Winslow here.

Note the varying ways the artists below have used line to lay down the basic Line of Action (or movement), and used this line to determine the placement and direction of movement of the model. I have chosen these images, because in many of the following examples, the artists have chosen a different colour and/or medium to depict the line of action.

Line of Action in Red">

3. Basics of Construction

Remember you are still only capturing the essence of the pose. There is a good reason I did not title this section Basics of Anatomy. Don’t overthink it. Don’t focus on small details or outlining the body yet. These initial marks will be light and gestural lines.

Once again, stand (or sit) back from your paper, and use your whole arm. Draw from your shoulder. Make long light strokes to place your image on the page. Study the model for a few seconds (or minutes) when time allows. Which direction is the principal movement of the pose? Where is the tension? Perhaps mimic the pose yourself.

Think of the basic armature of the human body. Imagine the stick man drawings of children containing a head, spine, shoulders, hips, and limbs. Now look carefully for the points on the human figure that give us clues to the location of the skeleton underneath.

Locate the shoulders and hips by using visual markers such as collar bones and hip bones. Note the angles of each as shown on the figures below. Remember the spine is curved and has the ability to bend and twist. 

Locate the elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. How are they placed in relation to one another on the model? 

As you analyze the skeletal structure of your model, make these marks on your page. They will be your guidelines. See the last 2 images below by artist and educator Harry Carmean. In these sketches he illustrates the underlying structure of the model using colour.

Checklist for Drawing Progression

• Build on the Line of Action. Construct your drawing with simple basic shapes.
• Don’t think in ‘body parts’. It is best to try to think of your model as basic shapes, lines and tone. We all have preconcieved images of the human form that gets in the way of us actually seeing the model.
• Draw the head as a simple shape, or better yet, just denote its location with one or two lines. Then mark the centre line and the eye line. Don’t focus on the face at this point. These marks are mainly to denote the placement and angle of the head. Remember the head goes into the total height of an adult human about 7 times.
• Lightly draw the centre line of the body, through sternum, navel and down to groin. This line will be approximate the location of the spine, and often (but not always) follows or runs parallel to, the line of action.
• Place the shoulder lines at the collar bone. These can either be straight or slightly curved.
• Mark the hip lines at (approximately) the top of the pelvic bone.
• Check the angles of the shoulders and hips. Most often shoulders and hips are tipped in opposite directions.
• Place the legs from hip, paying attention to lengths and angles, with basic shapes (or lines) for feet.
• Make the arm lines from the shoulders with simple shapes (triangle) for the hands.

4. Measuring Lengths and Angles

Before we get too far into our drawing, it is prudent to check to make sure the basic proportions and placement are well underway. Obviously the length of the pose will determine how much time we can spend examining our measurements.

When time allows, you might use a pencil for measuring relative lengths and angles. Hold your pencil up to the model, and use it to determine how long the forearm is compared to the torso, or how long the lower leg is compared to the upper leg. You might use the head as the relative unit. In other words, how many times does the head go into the torso, or the leg?

Once again, I would encourage you to try to step away from thinking of the model as a person (no disrespect), and see them only as a series of lines and shapes.

Human perception of the body is so acute and knowledgeable that the smallest hint of a body can trigger recognition.

Jenny Saville

5. Simple Massing

Once we have the basic proportions of your model lightly mapped out, begin adding some mass. Often the large body parts such as the torso and the legs are first laid in with very simplified, general shape. Again, we are not focussing on every anatomical detail, but only simple shapes.

Up until now you have been using fairly light pressure in your mark making. You can start to get a bit more bold at this stage. Play with some varying line weights and widths.

We can begin to add massing to the figure in a few different (and often combined) ways. We can use contour line, as well as tone, or shading. Tone may by added via hatching, or solid shading with smudging, etc. I will discuss these methods briefly below.

Artist Terry Miura explains basic massing this way:

It may be helpful to think as a sculptor might — these simple masses are lumps of clay before you start carving out the specific parts. As with sculpture, you can imagine that these lumps of clay are attached to a wire armature, which, not coincidentally, are the initial gesture lines that we’ve already established.”

Terry Miura

A. Contour Lines

Contour drawing is a technique in which you draw only the outline of an object, without any shading. “Contour” is derived from the French word for outline. Some contour drawings will include pertinent interior lines and/or shapes, but generally do not contain either shading or fine details.

i. Topographical Median Line

One of the first contour lines I will make when I get to this stage is the median (or centre) line. This centre line is not the same as the initial gesture line, nor does it go through the core of the torso mass. This is the line that runs down the centre of the front and the back of the torso on the surface as a contour line would.

Note: If I have not done so already, I will add the median (or centre line) on the head as well.

The median line describes the orientation of the torso (or head) and enables us to illustrate the twist of the torso and the angle of the model to the artist. Take your time drawing the median line, as it is an indespensible guide. Be mindful of how much of the torso is showing on either side of this line.

Keep in mind that as imperfect humans our natural instinct is to “correct” our drawings so that they are symmetrical (like an icon of a human), and both sides of the torso are rendered as the same size. This rarely occurs in your model.

ii. Cross Contour Lines

As we begin filling in the volume of the figure, one of the techniques that helps us in visualizing the form is cross contour. Cross-contour lines travel across and around the form and describe the volume of your subject. We are not focussing on outlining our drawing, such as we would be doing in traditional contour drawing. We are looking for the lines within the figure (or other subject).

Cross contour drawing is a wonderful way to begin to understand the volume of your subject, and it is an especially useful technique in drawings where we are depicting foreshortening. The more foreshortened the leg, the deeper the arc of the cross-contour line.

Contour lines describe the volume of a shape without using tone (or shading). 

Tone or Shading

I have included this section on tone and shading here, but generally in my own work I will add the median lines as soon as I begin fleshing out the drawing, and jump right to tonal shapes. Often these tonal shapes will be plotted out as I begin to analyze them. I then add pertinent contour lines after the shading is finished or well under way.

Analyzing these often subtle areas of light and dark may seem challenging at first. With experience this will become easier. First of all, ensure the lighting on your subject is the best that it can be. Overhead lighting with a slightly darkened studio is best, but not always possible. Secondly, it is often best to squint while you are determining the light and dark areas of your subject. Try to break down the tonal shapes to 3 tones at first: the lightest tone (or highlight), mid tone and darkest shade.

Again, as in many other techniques, try to see the shadows as shapes. I will often outline these shapes as I am working through the figure.

Tonal values and methods of shading could be another fairly extensive post on it’s own.  I would encourage the reader to experiment with various methods and materials on their own. Experimentation and practise is truly the best way to learn a new skill.

Tone may be added with hatching, cross hatching or various other sketching methods. Generally if you are working on a quick study in studio, hatching and smudging will be your best bet for speed and charcoal or chalk pastel will be your best material.

Life Drawing Sketches Combining the Above Techniques

This collection is some of my own drawings, all drawn live in studio, using the above mentioned techniques. I have used various dry media, such as: charcoal, chalk pastel and conté on newsprint, print grade paper and coloured papers.

Addendum + Resources

Blind Contour Drawing Exercise

As I stated above, true contour drawing is a technique in which you draw only the outline of an object, without any shading.

Blind contour drawing essentially goes a step further. It is the process of drawing an object without looking at your paper. Place your drawing tool, and then keep your eyes on your subject throughout the exercise.

To learn the technical skill of drawing is to learn the art of seeing, and to strengthen the connections between your eye, your brain (or perception) and your hand.

Me

In my opinion, blind contour drawing is one of the best methods to learn the art of perception, and to grow these connections. It is a wonderful way for new artists to become acclimated, as well as experienced artists to improve their skill.

I highly recommend the regular practise of blind contour drawing. Take 15 minutes or so out of each day to meditate on an object (really study it) and draw without looking at your paper. Any object is fair game. Draw chairs, plants, etc. Begin with simple objects, and get more complex as your skill improves.

Take your time with this exercise, and remember it is a mental exercise as much as it is a drawing exercise. Be patient with yourself.

Artist Videos, Interviews, Etc.

• Harry Carmean on Drawing the Figure YouTube

Links to life drawing pose sites:

• Line of Action Figure Study Tool

References in Print

Jenő Barcsay | Anatomy For the Artist

Anatomy For the Artist the ultimate classic human anatomy reference for artists. It is a work of unparalleled significance for professionals and students of art, and an invaluable aid for those learning to draw.

Anatomy For the Artist was first published in 1953, and has been re-published multiple times since. It contains 142 full page plates of beautiful drawings by Barcsay, illustrating everything from the entire skeleton and the joints (in and out of motion) to all the muscles and even facial characteristics.

Every body part is shown from varying perspectives. Accompanying the images are explanations of the articulations of most every part of the body, as well as many of Barcsay’s initial sketches to show how proportions and perspective were analyzed.

Anatomy For the Artist is often available used. I purchased a used copy in very good condition for under $60 a few years ago.

Hungarian born professor Barcsay (1900-1988) taught at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts and offers a visual analysis of human form.