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Anatomy - the Human Body
Alright, let's get to something a little less lecture-y, for this time around. Today we'll look at the human body. I plan to do a section on each part of the body as well, but let's look into some of the general things first.
We all draw human beings, and they're generally pretty convincing, they're not being confused for something else. But this part isn't about 'how to draw' this or that. It's about knowing the theory to make both intuitive drawing easier and increasing our range.

Comic and cartooning are generally simplifications. This can allow us to draw very simply, ignoring most of the rules of a photo-realistic rendering and is therefore considered to be easier. This isn't really the case, though. Cartoonists need to know everything a 'photo-realistic' artist does, plus all the rules of cartooning in order to make his simplifications and exaggerations convincing enough to charm or convince the viewer. Cartoons are fast, but it doesn't mean any easier.


The biggest thing when it comes to drawing a form is proportion. Let's start with something every drawing book in the world is going to tell you: A human form is measured in 'heads'. In all my books everything from 61/2 to 10 heads high is listed. Seven and eight are the most commonly cited ones, with 6 1/2-7 considered to be normal human being size, but not suited for idealized illustrations. Western style comic books list up to 10 heads, but I consider ten far too strange-looking to be viable. Think Jafar types and 90's radical bishounen. But there's nothing stopping anyone from doing that, or using 5 heads or anything, when it comes to characterization.

So, let's put this into practice and see what it looks like. We'll use scans from the Famous Artist's course, which has a very nice section on this. Albert Dorne says:

[...] There is a distinct difference, however, between the "average" and the "ideal." Artists have always sought to discover the ideal, the perfect figure. The Greek sculptors, for example, established a "cannon" for the human figure. This cannon was a set of proportions for the ideal figure. In many respects the concept of the ideal changes from nation to nation and from period to period. The hefty, voluptuous beauties of the Rubens murals were much admired in their day, when women were considered beautiful only if they had monumental proportions. Today popular taste has swung in the opposite direction. Since we are attempting to draw people who will seem handsome and beautiful to the average person of today, we must set up a canon of proportions based on present-day taste. This canon need not necessarily be the same as the measurements of the present-day average man or woman. In the photograph on the opposite page [below], the model is a well-developed male of average height. He is a "seven-head figure" People today, however, do not consider a seven-head figure tall enough to satisfy their concept of the idea. They prefer the eight-head figure, which they feel is handsomer and more elegant. It is therefore the eight-head figure which is used in modern illustration. [...]

The eight-head figure is today considered the "ideal." It is this set of proportions which we will expect you to follow through the Course. [...] Occasionally you will want to draw people who are obviously not average. If you want to caricature a person or show that he is shorter than average or taller than average, you can do this very easily by retaining the same width measurements used to draw the eight-head figure, but reducing the height to five or six heads or increasing the height to nine or ten heads. However, any departure from the eight head formula should be deliberate. [...]

Rely on your eyes for correct proportions. The head as a unit of measure is convenient and helpful while you are first learning figure proportions. You must realize, though, that you do not make figure drawings with a pair of dividers or a ruler. You make them with your pencil and your eyes! Actually the only time you can literally measure the body and see how many heads long it is, is when the figure is standing bold upright, in a position of attention. Any other time - which means most of the time - the figure or parts of it are foreshortened to some extent. If it looks right it is right. By all means study the chart above and fix it in your mind the save of one part of the body compared with another, but put your ruler away when you start to draw. Never forget for a moment that skillful drawing is simply skillful seeing, transferred to the surface of your paper.

-Albert Dorne

Famous Artist's Course 7 and 8 head high model - Albert Dorne

The key thing to note here is that this isn't a matter of height but proportion - everyone's a different size, but certain body parts will just always be a certain number of heads high. Where each head-height line strikes the figure, look carefully how long it should be. The eight-head figure really does look great. Chin to pectoral muscle, then waist, crotch, mid-thigh, knee-bend, mid-calf and floor. Look at the comparatively odd places the seven-head figure brings. One line seems to cut just above the knee, for example.

Of course, normal people aren't like this. Consider yourself as an example. How many of your own heads high are you? I did this myself, and I come out to just under the very normal 6 1/2 heads, though I'm terribly short. I would suppose this means I have neither an uncharacteristically small or large head for my body - leaning towards large, actually. However, my proportions don't match up well to the figures above. After the chin, I have the line at the pecks, bellybutton and crotch, leaving less than two and a half for my legs. It cuts me high above the knee, and mid-calf (roughly done). I would look wrong, or curious, if I was drawn in an illustration. At the very least like my pants were strange. You only want to do this sort of thing on purpose.

Here are some examples of how a romanticized 9 head figure differs from 'ideal/illustration' 8 and 'realistic' 7 head figures:

Women - Herbert Greenwald
It may be a matter of 'modern taste', but I'd make her hips bigger than that...

Men - Herbert Greenwald

The 'Heroic' 9 head - Klaus Janson
I still find things other than 8 head to look sort of strange, because of where the math splits the figure. However, so long as the heads high is respected, it won't look bad. Also, he strangely places the eight and nine head figure on the same measuring scale. It should always be done in terms of the figure's own head! This means this 9 head figure is almost just the same thing as his 8 head figure, in terms of proportions. Measure yourself! Take a look at the 9 head figure's head, and count downwards, ignoring the eight-head figure's lines. How many heads do you get, if you measure in terms of his own? Now you'll be able to do this will all figures! Even your mom!

Klaus Jansen whose work I haven't shown so far, is a current illustrator, who's famous for working on DC comics and teaching at the School of Visual Arts in NYC for the past ten years. With a solid grasp on musculature that is absent in the other examples I have to work with, I may pull examples from him again, but since it's a current, domestic publication, I may not do so so much. This excerpt is from The DC Comics Guild to PENCILLING Comics, which is pretty available, unlike some of my references.


My figures are often just seven heads. I learned this was average for a human being, and went with that. When first establishing my drawing skills, 'ideal' didn't matter to me, and I ignored the eight head figure for the most part. The eight head looks great though and feels balanced, and I would encourage its use. A lot of the critique I get today circles back to people noticing this difference, even if just intuitively. The 8-head 'illustration' and the comic-and-manga 9-head has surfaced in my drawings.

Heads-High Example - Simon Gannon

The taller man is almost a nine-head figure. The smaller one is a seven. Try to remember heads-calculation has to do with proportion even though the shorter does happen to clock less heads-high as well as being short. Proportion is measured in terms of their own heads in relation to their own bodies!
The taller one's head is much smaller in relation to his body, his body parts will also be lankier. The one in front has a more solid form, if actually smaller, and is less bird-like. Despite being quite different heights, their heads are approximately the same size. Though risky, it can be good for characterization. The smaller one manages not to look as tiny or young next to the much taller man, and he seems much sturdier than if one drew him with the same kind of ratio as the tall one. [imagine their rib cages, for example]
Further exaggerating this for better or worse is the small one's hat and the tall one's thin, strait hair. This further dis-balances the picture in favour of making characterization. Everyone's eyes start on the tall 9 headed figure, who's demeanour and romantic proportions demand attention, but all eyes fall very quickly to the smaller one. Comments are always made on this small one first, and then the large one. I'm lucky that for the purposes of this section, this image happened to have had me watch people's reactions to it. :p
Of course, there are other reasons the eye tends to focus on the smaller one. There are strategic lines on the tall one's coat. His shoulder too, frames the little one's face. The small one's also admittedly better-drawn. His eyes are bigger and his head is at a more original angle. All these things contribute, and mean that you can very easily control a person's eye movement and his attitude towards a character. Who ends up being more intimidating? The romantic tall one might be hard to approach based on looks, but there's something more to the smaller, and that was the aim of the illustration. In comparison, no one was interested in the tall, romantically proportioned figure, because the composition pulls all attention away from him. At the same time, having such unusual, glossy proportions ensures he does not become completely irrelevant or uninteresting to the image either.

At least, that's the idea. We don't always succeed in quite the way we want to, so it's good to have a lot of tried and true rules of thumb running in the background.


Making things complicated, people at different ages have separate proportions. This is a bit more advanced, so I'll let Mr. Dorne explain it.

Heads High - Children - Albert Dorne

We have a character named Dorne. Saying "Mr. Dorne" makes me giggle. 83

Tip of the day: I've been noticing a trend to think that if it's been published, it's automatically good. There's a lot that can be gotten away with, and still fully publishable. None of these technical bits are written in stone, and there are many things that very viably can make up for less than solid art or even storytelling. A lot of things make up comics, and to say that something is doable just because it's out there doesn't make it either right or the best way to do it. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, like in all things. Strive to be better! Comics (and illustrations) are as filled with mistakes as they are with references and good things. Learn to see where artists and illustrators go wrong and where they succeed. You'll double your learning speed! It's still okay to find fault with illustrations better than yours. However, most artists find it annoying when someone points out theory they can't accomplish themselves, so I wouldn't try that! So practice, so then you can fairly criticize! :D

Homework: Draw the three main types of figure, the 'ideal' 7 head figure, the 'illustration' 8 head figure and the 'romantic' 9 head figure. Pick the style you like the most and draw him/her in some other position, respecting the lengths of various body parts that correspond to your heads high chart for him. It doesn't have to be a fully complete drawing, as we haven't covered actually drawing a figure anatomically. It should just clearly show the lengths of things. Later, we'll go into how to draw each part.