How to Draw Accurate Human Body Proportions

Co-authored by Renée Plevy

Last Updated: May 20, 2022

Do your arms seem too long every time you draw a person? Or maybe your torso seems too short. Once you know how to proportion the body, it isn't so hard to get it looking right.

Steps

1
Draw 7 circles of about the same size. These will be your guidelines.
- Some people prefer to start with 8 circles since it's easier to grasp the alignments of the anatomy.^{[1]
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2
Draw an oval parallel to the topmost circle. This will be the head.

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3
Halfway down the second circle from the top, add a horizontal line. This is where the shoulder stops.
4
Halfway down the third circle, draw another horizontal line. This is where the waist will be, and also where the elbows end.
5
Halfway down the fourth circle, end the torso.
6
Halfway down the fifth circle, end the fingertips. Draw the beginning of the wrists about where the torso ends.
7
Just past the top of the sixth circle, end the knees.^{[2]
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8
Finish the bottom of the feet where the last circle ends. That's it!

Community Q&A

Question

I need help drawing the hands, any advice?

Community Answer

Hands are very difficult to draw, even for an artist! They take much practice to draw. Check how-to-draw books, find tutorials online, or use a reference picture of the position you'd like. For proportions, if your character's arm is at the side of the body, the wrist starts at the crotch and the hand goes to around the middle of the thigh.
Question

I need to draw people shorter than the idealized proportions. Any tips for scaling them down?

Community Answer

Keep the head the same size, and simply make them 5 or 6 heads tall instead of 7. You can do this by shortening the torso or the legs.
Question

How did people figure out that its 7 heads long and how each proportion is?

Belle K.

Top Answerer

They measured how long an average head is and how tall an average person is. Then divided the height by the length of the head. They did this with many different people's heights and head lengths and found it was 7.