I Have a Problem

[Sherlock Holmes]

I just cannot draw people for the life of me. I can draw dragons, dogs, wolves, you name it, but I can't draw people. 

Please help. 

[+ILuvHats]

This is an example of my latest portrait.

I'm not a very good artist...

[Ixthos]

When you say you can't draw people, do you mean that their proportions look wrong, or you are unsure of how to start? If the latter, how do you draw other life, and if the former, how did you learn to draw other life?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Well, I can draw dogs pretty well. I usually proportion those correctly. Also dragons. 

My big problem with people is drawing their features. 

Here's what is arguably the best human I have ever drawn:

And here's a dragon I drew a while ago:

Edited October 13, 2018 by AxeliustheGreat

[Ixthos]

Firstly, that is a very nice bottom picture :-) Second, I notice that the legs of the dragon, the head of the dragon, the tail, the wings, all have smooth, organic curls. The legs have joins, the wings, etc. The human, however, has no structure, no knees, a square for a face. The eyes are blocks in the one, but natural in the other. Do you draw the dragons from a reference, or free hand? Do you draw the dragons with construction lines, or is this all the pencil work you do?

You seem to approach drawing a human very differently to the dragon - why do you draw knees for one and not the other? My advice is to look at the skeletal frames for a human, and start drawing stick figures in natural poses - get used to that first, and then worry about realism.

[Sherlock Holmes]

The dragon is drawn freehand, and I use boxes to get them in their shape. One of the things I like about dragons is that I can mess with their proportions and that they have nice, geometric patterns all over, but humans aren't like that! Also, that cartoonish drawing of a human was kind of a joke. Here's something I put effort into: 

[Ixthos]

The picture you posted looks realistically proportioned. I don't think I understand the problem - what do you think is wrong with your drawing of people? You say drawing their features is difficult - do you mean faces, and so you are comfortable with poses and proportions? The second picture looks well proportioned, so is it only the faces?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Faces and stuff other than just standing straight I can’t do. Only standing straight forward, with no features.

[Silva]

5 basic things for now:

1. Noses literally make the picture. If the face looks off, check the nose. Normally that's where the issue stems from.

2. Don't worry about proportion. As long as it looks humanoid it's fine. That's where artistic style comes in.

3. And if you do care about proportion, then use guide images to help. It's especially useful when trying to draw other positions. Just find a picture that looks close to what you're going for and use it as a mental base.

4. Back to faces: Shading is a necessity for it to look good. It's a pain that's worth it.

5. Don't forget to draw eyebrows. Actually. It does happen.

[+Invocation]

Basically what Silva said. Those are the biggest things you need to make it seem right.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Make it seem right. 

Famous last words.

[Ixthos]

How long have you been working on drawing people?

Also, this looks like a useful resource for drawing faces: http://rapidfireart.com/2015/12/07/how-to-draw-a-face-in-8-steps/

[Sherlock Holmes]

A few months, but I hate failure so it's more like 7 drawings. 

[Ixthos]

The master has failed more times than the apprentice has even tried. An old quote, but a true one - your enemy is fear. Skill can take time to develop, and it requires commitment :-) Keep trying!

[Silva]

Use pencil and don't be afraid to erase. That way you'll never end in failure.

[Ambitions Avatar]

For most artists humans are the most difficult, in part because we are more critical of their appearance since any flaw is immediately apparent to us(we constantly look at people and know what they should look like). The best advice is practice. You probably don't draw a lot of people because you don't think you're good at it. Well draw them anyway. Use reference photos and draw. The first 5, 10, or 20 drawings will likely not be that great, but each time you'll learn, and you'll get the feel for how drawing a human should be. Watch videos of people drawing humans and observe their process. If you really want to draw people well, practice and you'll get there I promise.
Look forward to seeing some cool drawings from you!

[Kingsdaughter613]

Start with a stick figure. That’s not a joke. Draw stick figures! Even professional artists use stick figures (at least in cartooning.) As you get better you’ll need it less.

Draw a circle for the head. Use this to determine the height of the body.

Next: draw the body around the sticks. Lines for arms, legs, neck, etc. just draw balls for hands and feet, and leave the head for now.

Once you have the body shaped the way you want, dress it! Draw the clothes around the body.

Now for the head. Make a line through the vertical midline of the face. Put a horizontal line where the eyes will be. Shape the skull, indenting by the eyes to shape cheek bones; figure out the chin and forehead. Add basic facial features. Move around until you are satisfied. Add detail to features. Add hair (hairline begins slightly below the top of the skull.)

Determine what you want the hands to do by manipulating your own. HINT: it’s rare that you see the whole of all the fingers at once. HINT2: ginger do not start at the wrist; draw the PALM. (You’d be amazed at how hard it can be to recall those two things.) Draw outline of hand shape. Add individual finger shapes. Add detail (knuckles, nails, etc.)

Determine if feet are bare or in shoes. (I suggest you start with shoes.) Use lines to determine foot direction and position. Draw a line between feet to help with perspective. (You should be able to draw a straight line between two feet on the ground.) Outline feet. Add shoes/shape foot.

Here is a sketch I did recently. Not perfect (the boots are slightly off) but I like it. It’s a concept sketch. If you look closely you may be able to see the remains of the stick figure.

My other suggestion is to find some old black and white comic books (I’d recommend Spider-Man) and copy the images until you are comfortable drawing people.