Drawing people

Drawing people is not that easy. However, since we are familiar with human faces and anatomy, we see inconsistencies particularly quickly and therefore we are particularly ambitious when it comes to drawing people.

The following pages therefore deal with the various aspects of drawing people.

Portrait zeichnen mit Bleistift — Portrait drawing with pencil

Depicting a human being is one of the special drawing tasks. Besides the correct anatomy, the basics, there are enough differences that make each person unique. Whether it’s the figure, the shape of the face, or even the hairstyle… if you change just one part, a person appears completely different again.
The face is a special challenge, because the arrangement of eyes, nose, mouth and ears contribute significantly to the impression that one gains as a viewer.
Although perfect symmetry is rare in nature and faces have been proven to look more beautiful when they are not too symmetrical, if the individual facial features slip too much or are simply in the wrong place, the face loses its beauty or even its humanity.

Even more challenging is the representation of facial expressions. With the help of our facial expressions we show most clearly our emotions, feelings and our general mood.

There are concrete rules which everyone unconsciously applies to every face and can thus instinctively recognize the emotion shown in a matter of seconds.

It is similar with gestures. A certain body posture can clarify joy, tension, sorrow or anger. Together with the facial expression, the viewer thus gains an overall impression of the mood of his or her counterpart.

Facial expressions and gestures should therefore not contradict each other, but fit together. Otherwise, this looks strange to the viewer, possibly even as if the person had something to hide. Of course, this can be used purposefully (for example, in comics) to confuse the viewer and encourage him to take a closer look at the person.

From the German blog

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Drawing people

Gestures and posture

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Drawing people

Drawing hands

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Drawing people

Feet & Shoes

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