How to Sketch a Person

People are some of the most common things that one needs to draw, but drawing a person isn't easy. Sometimes stick figures just don't cut it, so this Instructable will teach you how to do a simple sketch of a person.

You'll need:

• A pencil
• A sheet of regular white 8.5" x 11" paper

Alternatively, you may use a drawing-capable tablet and a stylus.

It is natural to begin drawing in the center of the paper, but it is not the only option. If you want to avoid drawing legs and feet (or shoes), you may begin drawing your subject lower down on the paper such that his or her legs and feet are out of frame. Drawing your subject such that his or her head is positioned on at the intersection of third-lines, meaning the head is positioned a third of the way from the top or bottom edge of the paper and a third of the way from the left or right edge, will draw attention to the subject’s head.

In my drawing here, I will place my subject in the center the paper. The white space on my paper delineates the region in which I will draw.

To draw the subject’s head, draw a vertical oval where you want his or her head to be. The oval should be nearly a circle with two ends slightly more concave than the others. The position of the head will determine where the rest of person’s body will go, so try to envision the height of the body before drawing the head.

Though it may feel natural to draw the subject’s eyes near the top of the oval (hair alters our perception of facial proportions), a person’s eyes are actually near the center-point of the face. The eyes should be drawn at the vertical mid-axis of the face. Mentally partition the face into two halves as if you had drawn a line from the top-middle of the oval to the bottom-middle of the oval. Each eye will be centered in one of these partitions and along the mid-axis.

For each eye, draw a shallow arc just above the mid-axis, leaving some space between each end of the arc and the edge of the oval or center partition line. Now, draw a less-shallow arc underneath the upper arc such that both ends of both arcs connect. Experiment with redrawing the arcs to change the the shape of the eye. Add a black dot to each eye for a pupil. If you want the eyes to line up, the dot should be in the same spot for each eye. If the subject is female, you may draw short lines above the top arc of the eye for eyelashes. The eyelashes will make the subject look feminine so don’t draw them if you want your subject to appear masculine.

For a simple sketch, the nose gives direction to the face. The direction in which the nose is drawn determines which way the subject’s head appears to be turned.

To draw the nose, place the tip of your pencil directly in the center of the face (between the two eyes). Draw a short line downwards (about the same height as the eye) then, without lifting the pencil off the paper, curve the pencil tip out and then back in to form the shape of the nose. The bump of the nose shouldn’t be much larger than the connected line you drew above it.

Drawing a simple, smiling mouth only requires two strokes. Leave a small space below the nose. Then, just below the nose and the space you left, draw a shallow arc very slightly off-center (off-center in the direction the nose is facing). This arc should be about the length of the arcs used for the eyes and perhaps even more shallow.

Now, place the tip of your pencil near the end of the arc further from the edge of the face. Draw a longer arc that extends past the upper arc without touching it.

For the neck, you will draw two arcs extending down beneath the chin to form a concave shape. The top of the arc should be placed along the jawline of the oval that was drawn for the head. The closer together the arcs, the skinnier the neck will appear.

The torso of your subject will extend outward from the bottom of the neck. To draw the shoulders, trace a curving line outward from the bottom of the neck in either direction. Once you have drawn out from the neck about a head’s width (meaning the width of the head you drew), curve the the line sharply downward such that the line becomes parallel with the the edge of the paper. Continue drawing the line until the part that is parellel with the edge of the paper is twice the height of the head you drew or until it runs off the paper, whichever comes first. Do likewise for the shoulders and arm on each side.

To give separation between the arm and the rest of the person’s torso, select a point for the armpit that is equidistant from the top of the shoulder and from the right or left edge of the arm. The distance between each armpit should be greater than the width of the head. From the pit, draw a line downwards to form the torso. You may add simple curves to the line to match the natural form of your subject’s body or you may keep things simple by drawing a straight line. If you drew a curved line to match the form of the subject’s body, you will need another line extending downward from the pit to define the form of the arm. If your subject has hands, they can be represented by circles with a diameter slightly larger than the width of the arm.

Now that the subject has a torso, he or she needs a shirt. Draw the collar by drawing an arc or a V-shape connecting the bottom of the two arcs that formed the neck. If the subject is high enough on the paper that the whole shirt is in frame, draw a straight line connecting each side of the torso where you’d like the bottom of the shirt to be. Under the line, you can draw belt loops and pockets for pants, or leave it un-detailed for an apron or skirt.

Place the tip of your pencil just above the vertical midpoint of the head on the side of the face opposite the direction it is turned to. Draw a small and narrow oval up and away from the head. Loop it back down around to connect to head. Do not complete the oval–once it connects back to the side of the head the ear is finished. At the same vertical position on the other side of the head, draw a very small half circle, like a smaller version of the oval you drew for the first ear.

If your subject has short hair, begin drawing the hair starting at the midpoint between the top of the eyes and the top of the head. Draw lines from the horizontal axis at that midpoint up until the top of the head is covered. Draw some lines coming up from behind the ears as well.

If your subject has long hair, lines will be drawn from the top of the head downwards. Draw them in an arced form from the top center outward to cover the forehead, with hair on the right half of the forehead bowing left to right and hair on the left half of the forehead arcing right to left. Once the flow of hair leaves the forehead, arc the hair downward such that it flows toward the subject’s shoulders on either side. Do not cover the ears or neck with the hair. if the hair is to fall behind the subject’s back, don’t cover any part of the torso or shoulders either.

Congratulations! You have successfully drawn a person!