Illustration Tutorial: Basic Concepts of Female Anatomy

Freelancer illustrator Natália Dias teaches us the basics of the female anatomy

If you want to learn how to draw female characters, the first thing to do is to understand the basic concepts of female anatomy and thus be able to create balanced and proportionate shapes. In this tutorial, freelance illustrator Natália Dias teaches us these basic concepts, focusing particularly on the shapes of the head and neck. Learn more in the video below:

1. Front view

To do this tutorial with Procreate, you must first adjust the Drawing Guide and activate Symmetry. This resource will facilitate the whole process, as it will free you from worrying about symmetry during the composition process. The logic is simple: everything you draw on one side will automatically be reproduced on the other.

The basic anatomy of an adult woman, in a drawing, can be simplified into three circles that form her silhouette. After drawing them, increase the size of the circle on the head to highlight the character's face.

Draw the shoulders, arms, and collarbone around the circles, always keeping in mind that they should be near the center of the drawing.

Refine the initial sketch to leave a cleaner line.

Remember, breasts are not circular so their shape should be similar to droplets.

2. Head

With regard to the head, some measures must be followed so that the proportion between elements such as eyes, ears or nose is maintained.

Draw a line from the chin to the top of the head and divide it in half. The eyes will be at that height. The distance between them should be equivalent to the size of one of the eyes.

From the chin to the point where the forehead ends, we place another line. Divide it into three equal parts to find the height of the base of the nose and the eyelids. Place the eyebrows immediately above the eyelids.

Under the nose, divide your line again into three equal parts, and in the center, locate the mouth.

The ear should start from an imaginary line that begins at the base of the nose and goes up to the eyes.

3. Profile

When drawing from a profile angle, start by drawing a straight line inside what will be the circle of the head. Centralize the ear, which will be the axis from which you will draw the following elements and then move it slightly higher on the head.

Define the lines of the chin and nose.

The eyes should not have straight lines, but rather be cone-like.

The skull will be irregular, a little straighter at the top and the front of the head. It will define the muscles of the neck, the clavicle and the jaw.

Always check the proportions. If they are not correct, use the liquify tool on Procreate to adjust them.

Did you like this tutorial? Leave your comment below.

Don’t forget you can learn all the stages of illustrating a female character from scratch, using basic techniques of anatomy, composition, color, final editing and file preparation on her course Female Character Portraits in Procreate.

You may also like:

- Illustration for Comics: Anatomy of a Superhero, a course by Ariel Olivetti
- Figure Drawing for Beginners, a course by ZURSOIF Miguel Bustos Gómez
- Introduction to Artistic Figure Drawing, a course by Leonardo Gauna