Figure proportions
Artists often measure the body in 'heads'. Real people vary a great deal, but an average adult is about 7 to 7.5 heads tall. Many academic and illustration canons use an idealised 8 heads, and comic heroes are often drawn even taller.
Step by step
- Measure the head height (top of skull to chin) of your figure and mark that many units down the page.
- Use common landmarks on an 8-head figure: chin at 1, nipples near 2, navel near 3, crotch near 4 (half the height), mid-thigh near 5, knees near 6, mid-shin near 7, feet at 8.
- Arms hang with the wrists roughly level with the crotch and the elbows roughly level with the waist.
- Shoulders on many adult male figures are about two head-widths or more across; adult female figures are often drawn with narrower shoulders and relatively wider hips. Treat these as tendencies, not rules.
- Children have larger heads in proportion: a toddler may be around 4 heads tall.
- Always check against your actual model — canons are a starting point, not a replacement for observation.
Common mistakes
- Drawing heads too large, which makes adults look childlike.
- Making arms too short (wrists ending at the waist).
- Applying an idealised 8-head canon to drawings from life.
Practice exercise
Draw a stick figure 8 heads tall with the landmarks, then one 7.5 heads tall. Then use the Proportion Guide tool on a photo you took yourself.