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How to Draw the PEOPLE : dRAWING HUMAN FIGURES IN THE CORRECT PROPORTIONS
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Drawing People and the Human Figure in the Correct Proportions
When first we draw human beings we are very much inclined to draw the child and the man in the same proportions. Indeed, it is a mistake we invariably commit.
We draw a tall man with long legs and swinging arms, and we draw at his side a little man with short striding legs and swinging arms. We label the tall man ' father,' and the little man ' son.'
But they are not a man and a child, they are merely a man and a smaller man. Sometimes we have an uncomfortable feeling that our children do not look very childish, and we complain in discouragement : " I can't make my little boy look like a boy ! "
It would seem perfectly logical to draw children as little people, and yet, if we pause to reflect, is it really so?
As a kitten is different from a cat, a chick from a hen, so must a child be different from a man.
Have you ever remarked to yourself the huge size of Baby's head in comparison with his body?
Though the head is large, the features are almost negligible, the tiny neck is a mere roll of fat. Baby has a large round eye, a fiat wide nostril, a button of a nose, and a half-open, flower-like mouth. (See Fig. 32.)
The months and the years slowly pass, Baby's features form, his head develops, his body grows, his limbs extend.
Compare the photographs of Pamela at one year and Pamela at twelve years ; and look well at Pamela when she trips beside her aunt.
If we draw Martin and his father sitting side by side on a bench watching a football-match, in all probability we should draw a big man, and at his side a little man less than half his size. Martin may inherit the square shape of his father's shoulders, but they will be less than half in bulk. The thick, strong, muscular neck of Martin's father is very different from Martin's thin weedy little one. The head of the man is well shaped and firmly balanced, but the boy's will probably look very large, a trifle bumpy and big behind the ears. The ears of Martin's father lie flat against his close-cropped hair, whereas Martin's stick out from his thin jaws and neck like little handles on a big vase. Martin's legs are thin and lacking in calf, his feet consequently appear rather too large for his height ; but his father's legs are finely shaped, muscular, and well proportioned.
Now having considered these few points, would you still feel inclined to draw Martin and his father with the same proportions ?
There are a few accepted rules that are useful to remember, though we must never blindly follow any rules, for we know the human figure is capable of every variety of form. Still, as a check to an observation that cannot always be correct, as a trifling guide when perplexing moments beset us, these facts are worth noting.
A grown man of good proportion, when standing erect, usually measures seven and a half heads high. Remember, however, that this is the proportion of a perfectly formed man. A very, very tall man would not have an elongated body, but longer legs. The bodies of most men are the same length. A man when standing with his arms to his sides will rest the tips of his fingers a little more than half-way between his hips and knees.
A figure when sitting roughly represents three lines of a fairly equal length, measuring from the nape of the neck to the seat, from the seat to the knee, from the knee to the foot. An elbow usually rests in the hollow below the waist, as you can prove for yourself by clapping your arms to your side. A hand measures the same length as the face. Put the palm of your hand against your chin and spread your fingers upward.
A nose is the same length as a thumb. The ear the same length as a nose.
And, having gleaned these few ordinarily accepted rules, you will probably find your next model will have arms too long, legs too short, and a nose disagreeing most profoundly with the length of the thumb. Nature is a law unto itself, and I bring these few suggestions to you with some misgivings.
If your eye insists that your model measures but five heads high, accept that as a fact. Very few human beings are correctly proportioned.
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