Positive and Negative Shapes in the Face

Drawing a good likeness is tough.  A portrait could easily fall apart if one feature is slightly larger or askew from another. Use the negative and positive shapes in between features to help you gauge these subtle distances. William Maughan uses this rule of thumb to help him place shadows on the face, I think it could be universally used to help place the eyes in relation to the hairline for example.

This image is from The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head by William Maughan - a recommended book!

These images are from Drawing Fashion by Bill Thames. Each of the pages has generic proportions of an adult female and male face as well as step-by-step instruction on how to draw a face without reference. Its also helpful to see how the features of the face (eyes, nose, mouth, chin) can be easily turned and drawn with consistency by using guidelines based on proportions.

Contrapposto Skeleton

Here's a before-and-after illustration of what happens to the skeleton when the body shifts to a contrapposto pose.

from Human Anatomy by Jose M. Parramon

"Lines" within the Torso

As shown in the drawings, the torso has "lines" in it formed by the bones within.  In profile, these landmarks show up as diagonals.  By stretching or compressing these lines while using the spine as a hinge can help you draw the torso bending forward or back.  You can remember these lines by thinking they look like "Pac-Man's mouth."

In contrast to the profile, the torso when viewed from the front or back has landmarks that show up as parallel lines.  By compressing the lines to the left (as shown above), one can show the shift of the torso as the body moves into a contrapposto pose.

Keep these lines in mind when drawing the figure.  Drawing them in at the start of a sketch can help you capture natural-looking poses and actions.

from The Human Figure by John H. Vanderpoel

Joint Movement

from Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger

Hugh Laidman's Gesture Drawings

Hugh Laidman's gesture drawings are wonderful.  Not only are they lively and energetic, but they also demonstrate a clear understanding of anatomy, lines of action, and form is described with a variations in line weight.

Laidman's book Figures/Faces is widely available and a recommended read.

Weight Emphasis

I especially like the small sketches at the bottom of the page.  They show what the body does to compensate when the torso leans away from the main line of balance.

from Body Parts by Simon Jennings

Drawing the Skull with Simple Shapes

from Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger

Bones and Surface Anatomy

The bottom sketch illustrates how the bones affect and shape surface anatomy.  The shape of the hip on the right-hand side is formed by crest of the pelvis and the great trochanter of the femur.

from The Human Figure by John V. Vanderpoel 1935

Tensed Muscles

As shown in the picture, muscles when tensed form harder shapes under the skin versus relaxed muscles.

One way to emphasize an action in your drawings is to play up the contrast between tensed and relaxed muscles.  I recommend you act out a pose before drawing it to help you figure out which muscle groups are being used.  Sometimes your own body can be a better reference than the model posing in front of you.

from Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger

Ear Reference and Practice

Click to enlarge.

from Face Parts by Simon Jennings

Profile Proportions of the Face

Children look like children because the lower half of their face has not grown to adult proportions.  In the above image note how the horizontal midline of the face is lower in that of the child.  That shift also affects the placement of the ears.

from Face Parts by Simon Jennings

Advice on Portraiture

This is not only great advice for drawing likenesses but for drawing the body in general.

from Face Parts by Simon Jennings

The Simple Skeleton

Here's a great example of how the skeleton can be broken down into simple shapes.  The rib cage has been turned into a half-egg shape, the major joints are sketched in as balls, and the clavicles are lines.

from Figures/Faces by Hugh Laidman

Body Parts

The book Body Parts has 43 pages dedicated to photos of the model in a wide variety of poses.  I'm posting two of the images, I recommend picking up a copy of the book or checking it out at the library to see the rest.

from Body Parts by Simon Jennings

Movement of the Jaw

Just as the image illustrates, the jaw does not open and pivot at the corners of the mouth, but at a point behind the teeth on the upper jaw.

from Human Anatomy by Jose M. Parramon

Muscles of the Face

from Human Anatomy by Jose M. Parramon

Muscles of the Torso

Note that the Latissimus Dorsi (D on top image, B on the bottom) and the Trapezius (A on the bottom) are two back muscles that are visible from the front of the torso.  Likewise the external obliques (C on both the top and bottom) are muscles that are seen both in the front and the back.

from Principles of Figure Drawing by Alexander Dobkin

Body Fat in Each of the Genders

These two images don't show all the places body fat (or adipose) can gather in the body.  Men in general will carry body fat high in the abdomen versus women.  Think beer bellies versus thunder thighs. :)

Knowing the general placement of body fat in each of the genders can help with character design.  Different body shapes can be created by experimenting with the sizes of adipose deposits.

from Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger

Gender Differences

When looking at male and female skeletons side-by-side, one will notice several general differences.  Men tend to have "studier" looking bones, a squarer-shaped head, longer limbs, a smaller pelvis in comparison to the rib cage, and their femurs exit the pelvis at a straighter angle.  Women tend to have a "delicate" frame,  more of a rounded skull, shorter limbs, a large pelvis in comparison to the rib cage, and their femurs exit the pelvis at more of an angle.

The image on the left really shows the differences in body shape between the two genders.  Men are at their widest across the shoulders, women are at the hips.

from The Beginner's Guide to Human Anatomy by James Horton