Menu
HomeBookGalleryLearnAnatomyPlayToolsCoursesColour-inHistoryNewsGlossarySearch

Home / The Book / Part II · Anatomy

Part II · Anatomy · Chapter 13 of 31

Anatomy I: Proportion and the figure

Artists measure the body in head-lengths. Real people vary — most adults are about 7 to 7½ heads tall — but the idealised 8-head figure gives you a reliable set of landmarks to check a drawing against.

Idealised 8-head figure proportion with landmarks at each head unit12345678ChinNipplesNavel / elbowsCrotch / wrists (mid-point)Mid-thigh / fingertipsBelow kneesMid-shinSoles of feet≈ 2 heads wide
Line of action: contrapposto, C-curve and S-curveContrapposto: shouldersC-curveS-curveand hips tilt oppositeRed: line of action. Start every figure with one long, simple curve.

Measuring in heads

Hold a pencil at arm's length, line the tip up with the top of the model's head and slide your thumb to the chin. That is one head unit. Now count how many fit into the whole figure, the torso or the arm. Keep your elbow locked so every measurement uses the same scale.

Landmarks fall close to the head-unit lines: chin at 1, nipples at 2, navel at about 3, the crotch at 4 (the midpoint of the body), mid-thigh at 5, just below the knee at 6, mid-shin at 7 and the soles at 8. The arms hang so the wrists reach the crotch and the fingertips reach mid-thigh.

Variation is the point

Children have much bigger heads relative to the body: a toddler is about 4 heads tall, a ten-year-old about 6. Heroic comic figures stretch to 9 heads. Fashion illustration exaggerates the legs. Learn the 8-head canon as a ruler, not a rule.

Typical differences between adult bodies: broader shoulders and a narrower pelvis on many men; a wider pelvis and a slightly lower waist on many women. Draw the person in front of you, not the formula.

Gesture first

Before proportion, find the line of action: one long curve that captures the pose — a C-curve, an S-curve or a straight thrust. Proportion is checked on top of a lively gesture, never the other way round.

In a relaxed standing pose (contrapposto) the weight sits on one leg. The hip on that side rises, the shoulders tilt the opposite way and the head usually sits over the weight-bearing foot.

Reference table

LandmarkHead units from topTip
Chin1Use the head itself as the unit.
Nipples2Roughly level with the armpits in a relaxed pose.
Navel≈ 3The elbows hang at about the same height.
Crotch / great trochanter4Halfway down the body.
Fingertips≈ 5Arms hanging straight.
Knees≈ 6The kneecap sits just above the line.
Soles8Feet are about one head long.

Historic plates

Public-domain plates from Vesalius (1543), Leonardo's anatomical notebooks and Gray's Anatomy (1918). Tap to zoom into the detail.

Skeleton, front view (De humani corporis fabrica) by Andreas Vesalius (woodcut attributed to the workshop of Titian)
Skeleton, front view (De humani corporis fabrica), Andreas Vesalius (woodcut attributed to the workshop of Titian) (1543). Plate / drawing. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Master studies

Five Nude Infants in Various Poses by Raphael
Five Nude Infants in Various Poses, Raphael (ca. 1500). Metalpoint, traces of charcoal or black chalk, on pale pinkish gray prepared paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Seated Youth Facing Right, Seen from the Back by Annibale Carracci
Seated Youth Facing Right, Seen from the Back, Annibale Carracci (1560–1609). Red chalk with some white chalk highlights (recto); scribbles in red chalk (verso). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Practice
  • Do ten 30-second gestures with the drill timer, drawing only the line of action.
  • Measure a photo of a standing figure with your pencil and mark the head units down the side.

Watch

Human Figure Proportions - Cranial Units - Robert Beverly Hale · Proko

Human Figure Proportions - Average Figures - Dr. Paul Richer · Proko

How to Draw Accurate Proportions · Proko

Videos load from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play.