In this tutorial, I’m going to demonstrate how to draw the upper half of the figure with a simplified geometric rendering known as a schematic drawing. To keep things manageable, the tutorial focuses only on drawing the head, torso, and pelvic region of the body from a front view, at about eye level. Anatomists refer to the bones of the head and torso (not including the pelvis) as the axial skeleton, so for lack of a better term, I call this similar region of the body the axial figure.
Tutorial 02: A Schematic Drawing of the Axial Figure from a Front, Eye Level View
You can think of a schematic drawing as a kind of framework on which we can later build a more naturalistic figure. This drawing will be a schematic of a male figure. If we were drawing a female, there would be some obvious and not-so-obvious differences, but rather than point them out here, we’ll draw the female figure in a later tutorial.
Before you begin this lesson, you should have completed Tutorial 01 on drawing the core axis and dividing it into head lengths. You’ll need that drawing in order to get started here.
There are 11 steps to complete in this lesson, so let’s get busy…
Fig. 1. Draw the head as a egg-like shape with its pointed end down and with a width that is about 2/3 its height.
Step 1: Drawing the Head
Centered on the core axis of the drawing you completed in Tutorial 01, draw a simple oval for the head. It should fill the height of the first head unit, and be shaped somewhat like an egg with the pointed end down (fig. 1).
Although you know the height of the head, you will have to estimate the width. Though people’s heads vary in their proportions, a typical head should have a width of about 2/3 the height. The overall proportions may therefore be stated as 1:1½, or 2:3.
Again, a generic egg shape has approximately these proportions, and it can be a useful exercise to practice drawing egg-like ovals until you can do so easily. The egg shape appears repeatedly throughout the body, so it’s important to be able to draw it fluently. Even in this tutorial, we’ll encounter this shape again.
Fig. 2. The pit of the neck lies about 1/3 of the way down the second head unit.
Step 2: The Pit of the Neck and the Width of the Body
Working our way down the figure, the next step is to find the pit of the neck. This important feature is the notch at the base of the neck, between the collar bones and above the top of the breast bone, or sternum. That’s why it’s properly known as the suprasternal notch (“the notch above the sternum”).
The pit of the neck lies about 1/3 of the way down the second head unit on the core axis (anatomical feature 1 in figure 2). Draw a line perpendicular to the core axis at this level. Although we aren’t drawing the collar bones in this tutorial, this line represents the level where they will be.
You should draw this line a distance of one head length to the left and right of the core axis. Then draw a vertical line from each point, dropping these lines to the bottom of the fourth head unit.
Fig. 3. To determine the width of the rib cage, mark the positions that lie 2/3 of a head length to each side of the core axis.
Step 3: Determining the Width of the Rib Cage (optional)
Steps 3 and 4 are optional, but will help with drawing the shape of the rib cage. I recommend you practice them at least the first time you work through this tutorial. After that, you may skip to Step 5 and draw the rib cage freehand.
On the level of the collar bones, estimate a position 2/3 of a head length to the left and right of the core axis (fig. 3). The best way to do this is to divide the horizontal distance of each head length to the left and right into three parts, and mark each third. You shouldn’t need to measure these distances with a ruler—your eyes should be able to judge them just as well.
From the mark 2/3 of the way from the core axis on each side, drop a vertical line a little more than one head length down the figure.
Fig. 4. The bottom points of the thoracic arch lie about 1/2 of a head length to each side of the core axis, and 1/4 of a head length above the bottom of the third head unit.
Step 4: Finding the Bottom of the Arch of the Rib Cage (optional)
Next, let’s find the points at the bottom of the arch of the rib cage. This feature, properly known as the thoracic arch, is the inverted ∨ shape above the abdomen, most prominent when someone inhales deeply and draws their belly in. The points at the bottom of the arch are also the lowest points on the tenth pair of ribs (anatomical feature 2 in figure 4).
Towards the bottom of the third head unit on the figure, estimate a position 1/2 of a head length to the left and right of the core axis, and mark these locations. Then estimate a distance 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of this head unit.
As before, you don’t need a ruler to do this. Simply divide the height of the third head unit in half, then divide the lower half again to find the 1/4 position.
Fig. 5. Draw the rib cage as an egg shape with its pointed end up, about 1/8 of a head length below the chin.
Step 5: Drawing the Rib Cage
We can now draw the rib cage, using the shape of an egg to guide us once again, but with the pointed end facing up. The top of this shape should be about 1/8 of the way down from the bottom of the head of the figure, closer to the chin than to the pit of the neck (fig. 5).
The bottom of the egg (the rounder part) should just skirt the bottom of the third head unit. This lowest point of the egg, where it crosses the core axis, is also the location of the navel (anatomical feature 3).
If you completed Step 3, the shape of the rib cage should be almost as wide as the vertical lines 2/3 of a head from the core axis. It should also pass through the points that mark the bottom of the thoracic arch, which you may have found in Step 4.
If you skipped Steps 3 and 4, you will have to estimate the shape of the rib cage. As with the head, it should have the proportions of 2:3. Because you know the height of the rib cage, if you draw an oval with those proportions, the width should reach almost 2/3 of a head to the right and left of the core axis.
Fig. 6. Mark the widest points of the pelvic region at the bottom of the fourth head unit, 3/4 of a head length to each side of the core axis.
Step 6: Beginning to Draw the Pelvic Region
Unlike we did with the torso, in the pelvic region we are going to focus more on the form of the outer body than on the skeleton within. This is because the mass of the pelvis itself (which actually consists of four connected bones) has less of an impact on the outer form of the body than the rib cage does.
To be sure, the pelvis does create some notable features on the surface of the body, such as the crests of the hip bones. Because the pelvis is covered with thick muscles in a number of places, however, its form as a whole is quite different than the form of the outer body.
The pelvic region has a slightly trapezoidal shape in the male figure seen from the front. To start drawing this shape, go to the bottom of the fourth head unit of the figure. Measure out from the core axis 3/4 of a head length to the left and right and mark these locations (fig. 6). These marks indicate the widest point of the hips on the male figure.
Fig. 7. The pelvic region has a trapezoidal shape, with its top having about the same width as the rib cage. The ASIS points lie 1/3 of a head length from the top of the pelvic region, and 1/2 head length to each side of the core axis.
Step 7: Drawing the Outside of the Pelvis and the Pelvic Spines
We can now draw the outer edges of the pelvic region, which are two steep diagonals. At the top of the fourth head unit beneath the widest point of the rib cage on each side, draw a line down to the locations you marked at the bottom of the fourth head length, 3/4 of a head from the core axis (fig. 7).
On the front of the pelvis, about 1/3 of a head length below the navel, are two important features that artists sometimes call the spines of the pelvis (anatomical feature 4 in figure 7). Their proper name is the anterior superior iliac spines, meaning the front, upper spines of the ilium, the upper part of the pelvic girdle. Many people refer these points by the acronym, ASIS.
Each ASIS is located 1/2 of a head length to each side of the core axis. If you completed the optional Step 4, that puts them directly beneath the bottom points of the thoracic arch. Otherwise, you will need to measure outward 1/2 of a head length to each side.
Fig. 8. The creases of the groins angle outwards from the bottom of the fourth head unit at around a 45-degree angle.
Step 8: Drawing the Groins
Finally, indicate the creases of the groins on each side of the figure, which point toward the crotch. In this tutorial, I am placing the crotch at the bottom of the fourth head unit (fig 8). The groins have around a 45-degree angle, or slightly flatter.
Measure up 1/4 of a head length from the crotch and mark this level with a line across the hips. This is approximately where the pubic bone (not really a separate bone, but part of the pelvis) is located, though it is seldom visible on the surface of the body. We will also use this location in Step 11 to mark another feature.
Fig. 9. To convey the depth of the body, draw the top of the pelvic region and the rib cage as ovals, defining planes that incline upwards as they go back in space.
Step 9: Adding Depth to the Figure
We can now add two shapes to the drawing to give a sense of depth to the figure. In the pelvic region, draw a wide oval from the level of the navel down to about the halfway point of the fourth head unit (fig. 9). This oval should pass through the two ASIS points, and serves several purposes:
- It conveys the roundness of the pelvic region as a whole at the level of the hip bones.
- It suggests the shape of the hip bones as they curve up and back from each ASIS.
- In the front, it suggests the convex paunch of the lower abdomen.
At the top of the rib cage, draw a small oval down to the pit of the neck. This suggests the roundness of the rib cage at that level, but is also a pretty accurate indication of the top of the first pair of ribs, which connect to the sternum just below the pit of the neck.
With both the pelvic region and the rib cage, the plane defined by these ovals inclines upward as it goes back in space. This will become more obvious when we draw the side or three-quarter view of the figure.
Fig. 10. Draw the thoracic arch as an inverted ∨ shape that reaches its peak just below the level of the nipples.
Step 10: The Thoracic Arch
Finally, we can draw the thoracic arch rising up from the bottom of the rib cage. If you completed Step 4, draw an inverted ∨ shape from the bottom points of the arch (anatomical feature 2 in figure 10). This arch should rise to a sharp curve on the core axis just below the top of the third head unit.
If you skipped Step 4, mark the bottoms of the thoracic arch on the lower curve of the rib cage, in line with each ASIS. If you drew the rib cage reasonably well, these points should be about 1/4 of a head length above the navel.
The nipples (anatomical feature 5) typically lie at the bottom of the second head length, in line with the bottoms of the thoracic arch and each ASIS (anatomical feature 4). Placing all three of these features on the same vertical line on each side is a bit of a simplification, but is helpful if you are just learning to draw the imagined figure.
Fig. 11. The curve of the lower abdomen descends from the ASIS points toward the pubic bone, about 1/4 of a head length above the bottom of the fourth head unit.
Step 11: The Curve of the Lower Abdomen and the Male Genitals
Figure 11 shows the entire figure, to give you a sense of how the part we have drawn relates to the whole thing.
To complete this tutorial, draw the bottom of the abdomen as a simple curve descending from each ASIS to the line 1/4 of a head length above the crotch.
Below this, indicate the male genitals with a simple rectangular shape the joins to the lines of the groins. This shape must hang below the crotch and the bottom of the fourth head length, about 1/3 of a head length further down.
And that’s it! You now have a schematic drawing of the axial figure, from a front, eye-level view. Practice these steps until you can draw the figure from memory, reasonably quickly. When you are able to do that, you’re ready to go on to the next tutorial, when we’ll add the arms and legs to the figure.
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