Tips on drawing humans?

[LordSwinton 759]

I've been trying to draw humans digitally and I can't seem to do it properly. It always looks wonky, and frankly really ugly. I'm not good at drawing humans in general so I'm in need of general advice on drawing humans. Also I'm using mouse for digital art, so no fancy tablets here. (I'm a stubborn cow so I don't use bases )

 

Any and all help is welcomed!

[Guest]

Practice is obviously the best tip, but also try drawing individual body parts repeatedly for a while and combining them. Focus on faces, noses, ears, etc. Work on drawing them alone and you'll get better over time.

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

Guidelines, Guidelines everywhere! Find out your own way to shape out the human body through different shapes, Myself, I use only triangles and circles. It's hard to explain, But just practice and you'll learn eventually!

 

Good luck with your drawing

[Roy 15]

It would also be a good idea to post some of your examples here so we could give you critique and advice tailored to you!

[LordSwinton 759]

It would also be a good idea to post some of your examples here so we could give you critique and advice tailored to you!

 

Could I just send you a PM? I'm a bit embarrassed.

[10InTheTardis 509]

If you have another art style you use, it might be hard getting humans to fit into it if you're not used to drawing them. Try using a simple art style at first (Anything better than a stick figure), and then make changes. Also, if you see an art style you like, you can take little bits from it and use it with yours. Don't steal anything, but if you like the way something looks in another art style, change it so it fits into yours. If you'd like to PM me with what you have so far, that'd be great, but I understand if you don't feel like it. I have piles of drawings I don't want to let anyone else see.

[Roy 15]

Could I just send you a PM? I'm a bit embarrassed.

No need to be embarrassed! Everyone has to learn how to draw, no one starts off good, so no one is going to judge you based on skill.

If you prefer to send it to me though I would be happy to help you from there. >w<

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

Something I'd like to say is that I had a easier time drawing muscular bodies then scrawny or thin bodies, Because if you learn where all the muscles are, They have basically already formed the body for you.

 

But that's just what worked for me, It's different from person to person.

 

And once again, Good luck with your drawings

[LordSwinton 759]

Something I'd like to say is that I had a easier time drawing muscular bodies then scrawny or thin bodies, Because if you learn where all the muscles are, They have basically already formed the body for you.

 

But that's just what worked for me, It's different from person to person.

 

And once again, Good luck with your drawings

Thanks! I actually find it harder to draw muscles, I'm never good at proportioning them. Always looks too bulky for me :/ proportions are something I need work on

[Kivil 1,721]

Honestly, I have no idea how to draw people or anime people.... I'm lost there myself.

[Hammy21 9]

practice, practice, practice! start off by tracing some images of humans; don't post them anywhere as that'd be art theft (unless it's open source stock photos) but it's really good practice in learning the shapes.

 

Take some of the images, and segment them into circles, and squares, and other shapes you can work with easily. Then try freehanded; draw those same circles and squares and whatnot, then smooth out the edges or connect lines where you need to; if you did it right, you should have something that looks like the outline of a human. And the drawings will only get better over time!

[3k932jd22328jdsf 113]

The most important thing to learn about before drawing people is anatomy. Its important to know the muscle structure and bone structure and such so your art looks like a real human and not Gollum from the lord of the rings.

[DeadRightNowBoi 161]

I'm a drawer and I'm starting to get a good idea on how to draw humans by drawing one of my OC's often (which they are human ). This guide actually helped me the most! an as always, keep practicing and if you're used to drawing these guidelines, try to draw your human in other poses as a challenge!  Hope I could help!

[MissSpotLight 27]

Break the body down into simple shapes, then slowly add in detail.

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

I used to draw. Mostly Ponies, but as my meagre skills grew, I forayed into drawing humans. Here is my advice to you, learned through experience: Don't do it! Run! Leave while you still have your hair and a chance to survive!

 

On a serious note, practice. Practice until you question your sanity, then practice more. Practice until your hands bleed, then bandage them so the blood doesn't mess things up, and keep practicing.

 

Something I found helpful was to have a couple drawings going at once. I would do a bit of work on one, then something else with a different one and cycle around. I might work on whatever the drawing needs, or I may work on whatever concept I'm drilling. This allows me to come back and see things I may have missed the first time, which bypasses the inevitable temporary Dunning-Kruger effect. Of course this is all past tense as I have since parted from the endeavor of drawing.

 

Another tip is to work from the inside out. Skeletal proportions are relatively consistent, so start with a "skeleton" and build up. take the body figure you're trying to draw and imagine how fat and bone sit on the skeleton and rest in a given position. As you go about your day, examine people of different shapes and sizes. Find their joints based on how they move and note how everything fits together. Bonus: Not only will this improve your drawing, it will help you quickly locate vitals if you ever take up a martial art.

 

This last one is anecdotal, but can be taken as a tip. There were points when I'd have a drawing, and it would look good (relative to my skill level at the time), but one detail or proportion might seem off or unnatural, and for an hour I would sit there, erasing and drawing the same line or two, tweaking it slightly every time to try to make it work. One drawing I actually ruined by erasing the paper so much that it started wearing and couldn't be erased or drawn on properly in that spot. I guess the take away is that you should not stop until you're satisfied you've done your absolute best. Never give up, because if you have the patience to nitpick little things, you will see that you're better than you think.