Figure Drawing for Beginners

The desire to capture the human figure and its complex mechanics, shapes, and structures has challenged artists throughout history, and it hasn’t been any different for artist and illustrator Zursoif. Over the course of his more-than-fifteen-year career he has made the human body the focal point of his work and has become an expert in figure art and anatomical drawing.

In this course, learn how to draw the human figure and its proportions starting with simple lines and circles. Apply the techniques and exercises you learn to create realistic drawings and build a catalogue of poses that will be the foundation for making more elaborate and detailed images.

Start by getting to know Zursoif, who tells you about his career as an illustrator and teacher, his main influences, and how the human figure inspires his work. He also gives you a detailed explanation of the course, the final project, and the materials you need to complete it.

Warm up your hand with a series of simple exercises: draw straight lines with different lengths and circles of varying sizes. Learn how to work with basic drawing tools and understand how the position of your hand, elbow, and arm can affect the outcome.

Next, study general human proportions and practice drawing them in each section of the body. Draw circles and divide them into halves and thirds to represent the upper part of the human skeleton: head, back, and pelvis. Continue with the spine and the vertebrae to understand how the upper body moves.

Apply the same principles on measurements and proportions to incorporate the limbs and see how each one moves. Start with the upper extremities–arm, forearm, and hand–and repeat the process with the lower extremities–thigh, leg, and foot.

Finally, continue exploring the concept of body movement by drawing more dynamic figures. Then, learn how to depict volume in the human body using simple geometric shapes. Zursoif wraps up the course by sharing some post-production tips on projection and perspective techniques.

Create a catalog of poses to use as a foundation to practice drawing the human body and its proportions through exercises ranging from drawing lines to creating body postures in motion.

Anyone is interested in drawing the human body, regardless of age.

No prior knowledge is needed, just the desire to accurately draw the human body.

As for materials, you need graphite and colored pencils, rulers, paper, tracing paper, acetate, thread, circle rulers, a compass, or any circular object you can trace.