Using Perspective and Proportion In Sketches

To draw humans there are many complicated matters to keep in mind. Some of which are perspective of body parts and keeping all of the body parts proportionate. Personally, I've struggled with both of these concepts. Trying to maintain a similar size for body parts is a challenge for me. Specifically for the legs and lower body. I tend to make the upper body more muscular and the legs extremely skinny. This causes the person to look very unrealistic and strange. However, In Drawing Manga, Faces, and Bodies, by Anna Southgate and Yishan Li, they comment about body proportions. They suggested that first I should define my outline to show general placement. After I have that down and I'm happy with the outcome, I should outline all of the thigh and calf muscles. Then to add more realism to the picture, draw some lines for knee caps. (Southgate and Li, Pg. 69) I tried to use what Southgate and Li said to the best of my ability. In many of my previous drawings I neglected using excess lines because of the messy outcome. On this drawing, I applied what the authors said to use lines for knee caps. Instead of it looking messy It really did add to the picture. As I continue to draw more, I will definitely add lines on the knees. I also took the advice of using an outline. It's not visible, but before inking I had a very sketched out outline of the legs. This helped make the legs look more proportioned rather then uneven. I probably won't continue this skill due to how much excess time it took compared to usual.

Another property I applied to this drawing is perspective. Everything drawn is seen from a perspective. Sometimes it's a front on perspective, like this one, and at other times it can be a direct behind view. For myself, drawing the backs of people is much easier then the front. It takes less time, work and overall has less room for flaws. Southgate and Yishan also take on the concept of perspective. On page 63 they say, "You will need it [this perspective] for any characters seen from the front. Draw the foot as a simple geometric form. Try to capture the basic shape the heel and toes make. Draw in the shin and ankle." (Southgate and Li, Pg. 63) For the perspective they commented on it focused on the foot. This was perfect for me as I struggle with perspective and drawing feet. I followed their instructions as I drew the foot first as a rectangle. I then added curves to make it more human-like. Afterwards I connected it to the leg. Next I put a little stub of a heel because it made sense. Lastly I added the shoes because most people don't go barefoot. I really enjoyed drawing the feet this way. Having a geometric base makes it much easier to change later on and is repeatable. Especially for this perspective feet are very visible. If the feet look terrible and out of the right view then it'll drag down the whole drawing. I will definitely use this geometric base if I am drawing in this perspective again.


What's your favorite perspective to draw in? Or if you don't draw, what's your favorite perspective to see drawings at?
Southgate, Anna, and Yishan Li. Drawing Manga Faces and Bodies. New York: Rosen, 2013. Print.