The three-quarter view of the figure is one of the most important views to learn to draw well. Among other reasons, it more clearly reveals the three-dimensional structure of the body than the front, side, or rear views. As a result, the three-quarter view contributes greatly to understanding the body’s form.
Likewise, the torso is the key to drawing the entire figure. The lesson presented here, therefore, is especially important for learning to draw the figure from the imagination, including from other viewing angles.
Rather than tackling the entire torso in a single lesson, I’ve chosen to break it up into two parts. In this tutorial, we’ll draw just the upper torso, primarily the rib cage and chest. In the next tutorial, we’ll add the pelvic region.
Tutorial 09: A Schematic Drawing of the Upper Torso from a 3/4, Eye-Level View
Figure 1, below, shows the completed schematic drawing of the entire torso. This is what we’ll be working towards over this and the next tutorial (and yes, we’ll add the head, neck, and shoulders in the tutorial after that!).
Fig. 1. The completed schematic drawing of the torso from a three-quarter, eye-level view.
As the drawing shows, the figure will be facing toward the left side of the paper. If you wanted to draw the figure in three-quarter view toward the right, you would simply switch all of the measurements to the other side of the core axis and reverse all of the angles in the steps that follow.
In this tutorial, I’ll refer to the side of the figure on the right as the near side of the figure, and the side to the left as the far side.
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Before starting this tutorial, it’s important that you understand how to draw the torso from a front view, which was covered in Tutorial 02, and the major muscles of the torso, covered in Tutorial 04. Much of what we’ll be doing in this tutorial is based on the idea of rotating the torso from the front view to the three-quarter view, so consider the front view to be prerequisite knowledge for this lesson.
It’s also helpful, though not necessary, for you to have a basic understanding of drawing in two-point perspective. Some of the steps in this tutorial refer to certain perspective rules and concepts. Rest assured, if these concepts don’t make sense right now, you can still complete the tutorial. In a future article on the Stronger Artist site, I’ll explain the elements of perspective necessary for drawing the figure.
As with all the StArt tutorials, you should begin by drawing a straight vertical line for the core axis. For this tutorial, you need only divide the axis into four equal parts.
There are 7 steps to follow here, so let’s get rolling…
Fig. 2. The shape of the rib cage in a three-quarter view is like a skinny, lopsided egg, which is not centered on the core axis.
Step 1: The Basic Shape of the Rib Cage
From a three-quarter view, the rib cage appears more narrow than from a front view (and appears even narrower still from a side view). It also begins to show a slight backward tilt, which increases as the viewer moves to the side. Overall, then, the rib cage in a three-quarter view is like a skinny, slightly lopsided egg.
Interestingly, the edge of the rib cage on the near side of our figure (the right side of the drawing) will stay in roughly the same location as it was in the front view, a little less than 2/3 of a head length to the right of the core axis (fig. 2). On the far side of the figure, the rib cage comes in toward the axis, about 1/2 head length away. From a three-quarter view, therefore, the core axis is not centered within the shape of the ribs.
Fig. 2. The shape of the rib cage in a three-quarter view is like a skinny, lopsided egg, which is not centered on the core axis.
The top of the rib cage is about 1/8 of a head length below the top of the second head unit, as in the front view. However, it is not centered on the core axis, but lies just to the near side of that line (fig. 2, A).
The bottom of our narrow egg-shape remains centered on the core axis at the bottom of the third head unit. Recall that the lower curve of the egg is not actually part of the rib cage, but just a continuation of its shape, as if the edges of the rib cage flowed from one side to the other.
Fig. 3. The rib cage is not just a flat shape, but a three-dimensional form that conforms to the rules of perspective.
Step 2: The Rib Cage in Perspective
It’s important to understand that the rib cage is not just a flat shape, but a three-dimensional form or volume. Consequently, the breastbone or sternum and the top of the thoracic arch must move away from the center of the rib cage and toward the far side of the figure.
Draw the sternum about 1/4 of a head length to the far side of the core axis, or halfway between the axis and the far side of the rib cage (fig. 3, A). The sternum should curve slightly inward as it rises, following but not exactly parallel to the curve of the far side of the ribs.
Fig. 3. The rib cage is not just a flat shape, but a three-dimensional form that conforms to the rules of perspective.
From a three-quarter view, most angles that appeared perfectly level in the front view (such as the line connecting the nipples) will now appear at a slight diagonal going into perspective. Draw the line of the nipples at roughly the angle shown in figure 3 (C), crossing through the intersection of the core axis and the bottom of the second head unit. Optionally, draw another slightly angled line (B) at the level of the pit of the neck, 1/3 of head length below the top of the second head unit. Ideally, this line should be somewhat flatter than the line for the nipples, as the rules of perspective tell us that both lines must converge as they go into the distance.
Because this drawing is from an eye-level viewing height, the level on which these lines eventually meet will be at the level of the eyes of the figure, which in perspective theory would be the horizon line. In figure 3, I’ve drawn a horizontal line halfway down the first head unit, which is where the eyes of the figure would be. It’s not necessary to put this line in your drawing, but it’s helpful to know where it is.
Fig. 4. The base of the neck is a wide oval with axes that cross on the core axis.
Step 3: The Base of the Neck
From a three-quarter view, the slope of the base of the neck is quite noticeable. Draw this shape as a wide oval, with its top following the curve of the rib cage, and its near side about 1/4 of a head length from the core axis. On the far side of the figure, the base of the neck is less than 1/4 head length from the core axis. The bottom of the oval lies just below the level of the pit of the neck, 1/3 of a head length from the top of the second head unit (fig. 4, A).
Notice that the highest point of the base of the neck is not in line with the lowest point. In fact, there is around a 45-degree angle connecting these points, which you may draw as an axis (B) through the oval. If you wish, you may add a cross-axis, which should go into the distance with the other perspective lines in the drawing. The axis and cross-axis of the base of the neck intersect on the core axis of the figure.
Fig. 5. Draw the thoracic arch by marking the location of its bottom on the near side of the rib cage, then project that point into perspective to find the bottom on the far side.
Step 4: The Thoracic Arch
To draw the thoracic arch, first mark the location of the bottom of the arch (the low point of the 10th pair of ribs) on the near side of the figure. As in the front view, this point is about 1/4 of a head length up from the bottom of the third head unit. From a three-quarter view, however, it is now closer to the core axis, a little less than 1/4 of a head length to the near side (fig. 5, A).
From the bottom of the thoracic arch on the near side of the rib cage, draw a line in perspective to find the location of the bottom on the far side. This point will be on the outer edge of the rib cage (B).
Draw the shape of the thoracic arch rising to its peak just below the top of the third head unit (C). On the near side of the rib cage, the arch may take on a slight S-curve. On the far side, however, it is a single flat curve from the top of the arch down to its bottom.
Fig. 6. The bottom of the rib cage flows from the bottom points of the thoracic arch toward the spinal column.
Optional: The Bottom of the Rib Cage
The following description is for your understanding only. In the fleshed figure, what follows would not be visible on the body, so you don’t need to add this to your drawing unless you wish.
The bottom of the rib cage appears as a line that flows from the bottom points of the thoracic arch toward the spinal column at the back of the body. Recall that the bottom-most ribs rise up in the back, so this line is higher in the back than the bottom of the thoracic arch (fig. 6, A).
Fig. 7. The front of the rib cage has a distinct planar break on each side, angling from the bottoms of the thoracic arch toward the outsides of the pit of the neck.
Step 5: Planar Breaks in the Rib Cage
On the front of the rib cage, the ribs have a distinct bend in them that influences the form of the body, especially below the chest. These bends fall in line with each other to create a planar break on each side of the torso. A planar break is simply an edge where the surface of a form changes direction, and where the shading on the form often shifts from light into shadow, or vice versa.
Draw the planar breaks on the front of the rib cage as shallow curves angling upward from the bottoms of the thoracic arch toward the outsides of the pit of the neck (fig. 7, A). On the far side of the figure, the curve wraps around the side of the rib cage around the level of the nipples or the bottom of the second head unit (B).
Fig. 8. From a three-quarter view, it is useful to think of the muscles that cover the upper half of the rib cage as a thick cloak or cape.
Step 6: The Muscles of the Upper Torso
In the fleshed figure, the thickness of the muscles that cover the upper half of the rib cage give the torso a broader, flatter form than that of the ribs underneath. From a three-quarter view, it is useful to think of these muscles, which include the chest or pectorals, the trapezius, and the latissimus dorsi, as draped over the upper rib cage like a thick cloak or cape.
Draw the cloak-like shape of these muscles beginning with the pectorals on the far side of the body, following the curve of the rib cage upward from the level of the nipples (fig. 8, A). The distance between the edge of the pectoral muscle and the edge of the ribs depends on how muscular a figure you wish to draw.
Fig. 8. From a three-quarter view, it is useful to think of the muscles that cover the upper half of the rib cage as a thick cloak or cape.
Toward the top of the torso, the cloak represents the edge of the trapezius around the base of the neck. Notice that the distance between this edge (B) and the top of the rib cage becomes more narrow.
As this line curves downward on the near side of the figure, the distance from the rib cage increases again, becoming even greater than on the front of the body. The line of the cloak now represents the edge of the latissimus dorsi. The lats curve inward as they descend, passing behind the rib cage about halfway between the level of the nipples and the bottom of the thoracic arch (C).
Fig. 9. Complete the cloak of muscles over the rib cage by drawing the bottom edge of the pectorals and connecting it to the inner edge of the lattisimus dorsi.
Step 7: The Muscles of the Upper Torso, cont’d
The nipple on the near side of the body lies exactly in line with the core axis, on or just below the nipple line that you drew earlier (fig. 9). On the far side of the body, the nipple lies on the very edge of the pectoral, and should be drawn as a narrow oval to indicate its foreshortened angle.
Draw the bottom edge of the pectorals as a straight line in perspective with the rest of the torso (A). This line should be slightly below the nipples, at the top of the thoracic arch. On the near side of the body, the bottom edge of the pectoral turns upward at around a 45-degree angle (B), just to the outside of the nipple.
Fig. 9. Complete the cloak of muscles over the rib cage by drawing the bottom edge of the pectorals and connecting it to the inner edge of the lattisimus dorsi.
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