How to Draw a Woman's Body

 

Okay, we've seen how to draw a woman's face, it's time to move on to the body. I will outline the major proportions here. It goes without saying that for a perfectly realistic human, we must learn about human anatomy (muscles, skeleton). Here, we will keep it simpler; you are free to delve deeper into anatomy if you wish.

 

We begin with the female body. As with faces, I will rely on the commonly accepted standard in Europe. Women have many different body shapes, here is a brief overview:

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEARNING ABOUT BODY PROPORTIONS

 

Women are on average 7.5 heads tall.

The width of the head fits twice into the width of the shoulders.

You can fit 4 heads from the top of the skull to the pubis. And 3.5 heads from the soles of the feet to the hips.

The hips (in our example) are wider than the shoulders.

The size is significant.

 

We have several key points that I have detailed for you below:

 

1 head: chin

2 heads: lower chest (under the breasts)

3 heads: the navel

4 heads: the pubis

7 heads: soles of the feet

 

 

 

 

STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING GUIDE

 

 

THE FRONT OF A WOMAN'S BODY

 

We start with the head and the neck (about 1/3 or 1/4 of the head in length). We place the marker for the first 4 heads, the knee line and the feet. Not forgetting the shoulder width.

 

 

 

As a reminder, a few weeks ago we tackled the subject of faces with an article specially dedicated to learning to draw female faces.

 

 

We draw the shoulders with the collarbones. Note, the collarbones are not straight but tilted and slightly curved. We can also place the trapezius muscles (the muscles between the neck and the shoulders).

 

 

 

 

 

Then the rib cage, a little less than 3 heads high. The lowest part reaches about the level of the navel ^^

 

 

 

 

About halfway, you can place the nipples.

And around the breasts, of course, which stop at the line of two heads, as I pointed out above.

 

 

 

 

Then the waist, which is thinner than the shoulders. It is more hollow at the level of the navel (since there are no more ribs but it is above the pelvis).

With three heads, therefore, we can place the navel.

 

 

 

 

Then, an oval shape as wide or wider (as you prefer) than the shoulders for the hips and pelvis that stops at the pubic level. A bit of a potato-like shape actually ^^

 

 

 

 

Then the shape of the thighs. When drawing a woman, you need to think about curves and counter-curves. The human body, in general, operates like this (so men too), but it's more obvious in women's silhouettes through the chest area, hips, buttocks, and the fact that the muscles are less pronounced.

Thighs are often more developed in women as well. I should highlight that the knees stop in the middle of the leg. It seems obvious, but I'm pointing it out.

Attention! There are three and a half heads left for the legs, but I noted that the sole of the foot is 7 heads from the top of the skull. What remains below is for the rest of the foot which is in perspective.

 

So this means that the knees are halfway between the pubis and the soles of the feet. Halfway between 4 and 7 heads (thus at 5.5 heads).

Be careful, the legs are not perfectly straight and vertical like sticks, but slightly inclined. Don't exaggerate the tilt either, all of this is subtle.

 

 

 

 

 

We draw the line of the tibia following this inclination.

 

 

 

 

Then we have the shape of the calves. Be careful, the calves are not aligned and do not have the same curve. The one towards the inside of the leg is located lower, just above the middle. The one on the outer side is at the very top, on the other hand.

 

 

 

 

Then the heel in order to be able to position the foot correctly afterwards.

I am not going to detail how to draw feet and hands here. You already have an article on how to draw a hand on the blog. The one about feet will probably come later. So, we are going to draw a vaguely rectangular shape.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the arms!

We draw a rough shape to start with. The unfolded arms reach down to about the middle of the thigh (including the hand, also unfolded). The elbow is located at about the navel level. The wrist is at the pubis level.

 

 

 

 

We start with the shoulder. Be careful! Don't draw a shoulder that's perfectly round like an orange, that doesn't exist. It's closer to a rectangle than a circle, actually. The shoulder goes down to about a third of the arm.

 

 

 

 

The arms narrow down towards the elbow before widening again at the beginning of the forearm. They taper again towards the wrist.

 

 

 

 

 

We quickly place the hands. Here, they are not unfolded, so they do not touch the line that I have drawn.

 

 

 

 

 

You know me, now that we have our foundation, we can go into detail. Here it's really the anatomical knowledge and references that will help you. Which then produces this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE FEMALE BODY IN PROFILE

 

Most proportions are retained, but you still have to be careful about certain little things.

For example, the neck is not located in the middle of the chest but towards the back. It makes sense that it is crossed by the spinal column at the rear.

We start by placing the same proportions as from the front. We then place the head and then the neck.

 

 

 

 

 

Then the rib cage is tilted backwards (don't overdo it, otherwise your lady will be extremely arched which will not look right).

 

 

 

 

The belly to the pubis is almost vertical but slightly tilted backwards (very slightly though).

 

 

 

 

The buttocks end below the pubis.

 

 

 

 

The thighs are wide. This time, the legs are almost vertical from the side. You can easily accentuate the curve on the front of the thigh to make it more rounded if you wish.

 

 

 

 

The knee will protrude slightly forward. You can make a small curve for the tibia.

From the side, you'll see just a simple curve for the calf.

 

 

 

 

We use a triangle for the foot. The length of the foot is equivalent to the length of the forearm (check by placing your foot on your arm if you don't believe me ^^) and we move back to the arms.

 

 

 

 

The position of the shoulder is important. Depending on whether you place it more towards the front or the back, it will give the impression that the person is hunched over or sticking their chest out conversely. The same applies to the height. In terms of width, they are located towards the middle, slightly more towards the back. In height, they start at the base of the neck.

 

 

 

 

After that, the arms follow the same proportions.

 

 

 

 

Do not forget to also place the trapezoids.

 

 

 

 

Regarding the breasts, they are placed over the chest. They always stop at two heads. Pay attention to their shape. They are not perfectly round oranges. They attach to the pectorals, which in turn attach to the arm bone.

 

 

 

 

 

Likewise, when you go into detail, use anatomical references to ensure everything looks correct. Understand where the muscles are attached, which creates a bump or hollow. This will lend much more credibility to your drawings J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recap:

• Identify the main proportions of the body.
  
  
• Always remain logical.
  
  
• Everything is curve and counter-curve, almost nothing is entirely straight.
  
  
• Think with simpler volumes to correctly build your base.
  
  
• The photo and anatomical references will help you achieve a consistent result in the end.

 

 

 

Illustrator and writer: Rakjah