The proportions of the human body

The first “attack” work to be performed when drawing a person illustration.

This is an important process that determines the balance of the whole body.

If the drawing is uncomfortable, the cause is gesture. Since it is the very basic part of the human body, let's draw well without taking care.

The role of Gesture

The role of Gesture in drawing illustrations is to determine the character's pose and the approximate length of each part of the body.

The detailed muscle shape is drawn when drawing, so it is not necessary for Gesture.

It is not necessary to draw carefully because it only determines the approximate length of each part. And it doesn't matter at all if it doesn't have a bone-like shape.

Human body ratio

To determine the length and thickness of a part, it is necessary to remember the human body ratio as knowledge.

The above figure introduces the basic body ratio with reference to 7 characters.

Just as each person has individual differences in height and weight, individual characters are also created by the painter. So you don't have to be so sensitive.

However, there are two proportions of the human body that you should always remember.

1. Ratio of hand to arm length

• Upper arm length from shoulder to waist (same length as chest)
• Forearm length from waistline to base of leg (same length as waist)
• The length of the hand is from the base of the leg to the center of the thigh

The ratio of hand to arm length does not change for any physique or head and body.

In other words, even if the physique is somewhat unreasonable, it will look like it if the ratio of hand to arm length is kept.

2. Ratio of hand to face size

The size of the hand is almost the same as the face (length from hairline to jaw). There is no problem even if it is a little larger than this for male characters. Be especially careful when drawing close-up characters such as bust-ups.

Keep the ratio of these two points and draw your own physique.

Tips for drawing Gesture well

1. "Color code" difficult-to-see parts

One of the most common problems encountered when drawing gesture is that parts are difficult to see when drawing difficult poses.

In such cases, we recommend that you change the color of the overlapping parts or difficult-to-see parts. Atari is easy to see, leading to increased work efficiency.

2. It ’s quicker to take it.

There are people who draw drawings without gesture from the idea that "It is a waste of time to draw Gesture , but if a person who has just started drawing an illustration starts drawing the human body without drawing Gesture, it will spend a lot of time by redrawing etc.

If you are not used to it, drawing gesture first will result in a quick and accurate drawing. After getting used to drawing gesture, let's challenge drawing without gesture.

Summary

To summarize the above points:

• Gesture is the process of determining the character's pose and the approximate length and thickness of each part of the body
• Learn the body ratio, especially the ratio of hand to arm length, the ratio of face to hand size
• Difficult poses are easy to understand by changing the color of each part
• Always draw Gesture without being bothered

Please draw with attention to these four points. I think that you will be able to draw more accurately and in a shorter time.

[Author / Picture] Matsu (A ･ TYPEcorp.)

Freelance illustrator.

Making full use of various patterns, he has worked on illustrations for the card games “Majinbourne Data Carddass” and “Disc Wars: Avengers”, writing a four-frame comic “BIOHAZARD THE TOON”, and novel illustrations. In addition, he has written a book “How to Draw“ Body ”of Digital Illustrations, Tips for Drawing Each Body Part 39,” which expands the range of activities.