Measuring Techniques

Figure Drawing Fundamentals

Measuring

Measuring Techniques

240K
Mark as Completed

Measuring Techniques

240K
Mark as Completed

Choose one of the methods I describe in the lesson above. Either digital or traditional. Practice laying in a figure drawing pose and use the measuring techniques you learned. You can use the photo provided below, or any other pose you like in my pose sets.

Newest
mike mcdonald
I noticed that being really really precise didn’t really help me. The first two I did I took a super long time to measure, not really utilizing anything besides measuring. The last two I did initial layins and more of how we had been drawing, and just used the measuring alongside the process. The last two were “just as accurate” in a much shorter time
Rachel Dawn Owens
The last one looks like it got the closest to the original. You have good eyes! Keep doing what you’re doing!
Michael Longhurst
3 more that I did. In some ways they were pretty close, in others there were definitely some differences that really changed the overall look.
Michael Longhurst
Here are 3 that I did. I felt pretty good about both sitting poses, but was a bit off on the woman holding the light globe.
Rachel Dawn Owens
It’s ok if it’s not exactly like the photo when the photo reference has camera distortion. The one with the globe especially. The man’s legs too. They are too small in the photo. It would be more accurate to life to make his legs bigger. Making the standing woman’s leg larger was the correct thing to do. You don’t need to make the same mistakes as the camera. Your measurements are great.
Tommy Pinedo
Here is my sketch on using measuring techniques from this video. Dang, I was off in a few areas but I am glad I am happy with it as my first attempt using this reference :D
Tommy Pinedo
Did a third practice using a different reference. Got the height a bit wrong, but close enough. :D
Tommy Pinedo
Did another pose today. Was off on the height and certain areas. Harder when the model is not straight but good practice.
@haziz
2mo
I really struggled with the foreshortened right leg and redrew it. To some extent wish I had left it as is since I think my original may have been marginally better although far from perfect. The figure is also less angled in the original and looks fairly stiff. I was copying Proko's drawing much more than drawing from the photo of the model. Not sure this is the best way to proceed longer term. I suspect not.
Dave S
11mo
Think I was a bit off on my measurement lines . Should have used a ruler. Still a good exercise.
May Berry
11mo
Worked on 2 Poses. I compared each drawing using Concepts on my ipad, then overlayed my drawing with a fixed version. I used cranial units loosely, and paid more attention to proportions, plumb lines, and negative shapes.
Jocelynn Darlene
I did a lot of practice for this lesson, the biggest struggle for me was the legs... can never seem to get the angle right!
Filippo Galli
Pretty sure I'm leaning too much on countour-sight rather than actually measuring.
Filippo Galli
Here are the second and third batch I've done last month and didn't upload. I will be back to finish this course and more soon.
Tony Zhang
1yr
Still, these are amazing!
Jacob Granillo
What I tend to struggle is finding the horizontal planes and vertical planes.. But, what I really struggle with is finding The Horizontal and Plane. I have done two other line-ins (Not the one’s shown) and they come out really wide and squished. I would really appreciate it if there any tips to make sure the horizontal and vertical plane is correct and how to actually measure it. Thank you!
Gannon Beck
This is going to take more than a few reps.
Gannon Beck
Adjustments after doing the overlay.
Gannon Beck
This is a weak point in my game for sure. Because I draw so much when I come across methods and information that I'm not familiar with it stands out like a neon sign. I always find this exciting because I feel like I just won a scavenger hunt in the search for artistic growth. I'm looking forward to using these concepts!
maciek szczech
I drew vertical line with the ruler, divided it (7.5 heads) and followed Stan's instructions. Was not hurrying and tried to find right position of arms, hands, legs, feet and other features in relation to the figure height and width and overall figure shape and then added a bit of lines describing shadows. I have corrected position of left model hand and the right model arm, both positioned ca0.5cm too high. The final result as on the attached pictures. Just wanted to exercise and see where I am as for today.. (WHS sketchbook, A4 size, HB mechanical pencil).
Camellito
2yr
Good job. Keep working hard.
Melanie Scearce
Very accurate! Great job
hArtMann
2yr
Used all of the methods to see how well they combine.
Jack
2yr
I'm really struggling with the issue where I mess up a measurement and don't realize until it's too late, causing all of the proportions to be off. Does anyone have any advice?
@amandadame
Stan's explanation of measuring by head heights makes sense when his figure is standing more or less straight. Can someone please explain how you would go about measuring head heights for this pose? Is that still where you should start?
Gary Richardson
If you think of the borders of the reference photo, consider that it is a square, i.e. equal sides. Try using that square in your drawing. First, draw the square box as an "envelope" for the figure. Now, draw the shapes that are "not figure". You can carve away the spaces and be left with the figure. Drawing the negative spaces as shapes will increase your awareness of the relativity of the positive shapes. Proportionality is all in the angles. Big to small... General to specific. Keep your lines light, loose and explorative... 80 percent looking... 20 percent drawing. I hope that's useful.
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @Jack, nice drawings! One answer to your concerns could be: Don't worry about it. The better you get, the better your accuracy will become. But I have some tips that might help: - Step back regularly to see your work from a distance, or if you're in a cramped space, take a photo of your drawing. The point is to see your drawing in a smaller scale, since that can reveal some proportion issues. - Mirror the drawing. You could take your phone for example, and hold one of its edges against your forhead. Then if you look up into the turned off dark screen, you'll see your artwork mirrored and upside down, which can give you a fresh look on things, and help you notice mistakes. - Having a good body position when drawing could help. Sitting upright with your eyes at about an arms length from the paper, allows you to keep the big picture in mind when you draw. But as mentioned, maybe the issue will disappear with practice. For your next drawings, here are some things to consider: - You're making the heads to small. You could double check your work with the Human Proportions – Average Figure. Take the height of the head, then go down the figure you've drawn, one head at a time, and check if things are in the right place. The nipples are one head down, and the belly button another, etc. For foreshortened poses you could think three dimensionally, and imagine stacking the heads in space, to get a hunch of whether the proportions are right or not. - Overall, your drawings are stretched vertically; you're making vertical distances longer than they are. So keep an extra eye on that. As a specific exercise, you could practice cutting vertical distances in half. You might discover that you tend to put the middle point too low, for example. Or to get even more practice. First draw a large rectangle to practice your horizontals and verticals; compare the horizontal lines with the horizontal edges of the paper, and the vertical lines with the vertical edges of the paper (then check with a ruler and make adjustmens). Then split that rectangle in halves, top to bottom, side to side. - When you're doing the lay-in, check your work with horizontals and verticals, to make sure that things are aligning correctly. I hope this helps :)
@hannassi
2yr
Here are some of the drawings i did lately. I prominently indicated the different curves and/or muscles of the body that normally would not have been really noticeable. The reason for that is because i wanted to make it easier for myself if i were ever to shade them. Anyways, critiques are very welcome,)
@hannassi
2yr
Here are some drawings i did. I think they lack gesture, they look a little stiff
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @hannassi, nice drawings! These look carefully measured. Good job! - In #1 her left (our right) arm is too long. Referring to the standardized proportions can be a help (Human Proportions – Average Figure for example). According to those the upper arm should be about the length of the ribcage. Another hint is to look at the other arm. Are both arms the same lenght? The bilateral symmetry of the body is important. - In #2 the torso feels compressed. We're lacking the space between the ribcage and hip. When drawing, think of the figure as a series of shapes. You have the Head neck ribcage waist hip upper legs lower legs feet shoulders upper arms lower arms hands Make sure every shape is there. Having a clear idea of the pieces, can make the process easier and more efficient. I also think it will improve the drawing, since it will make priorities clear; you emphasize the major shapes instead of the secondary or tertiary shapes. In drawing#3 you have a strong prism like shape at the hip which seem to resemble the gluteus medius, but you don't have an indication of the ribcage, which is a primary shape. The gluteus medius is secondary. Emphasizing the secondaries can tear the composition apart. I attached two hand drawings that I did where the secondaries dominate (I'm working on this myself). The hand to the left works a little better than the right, since the secondary shapes dominate less. -In #4 the figure might have been drawn too wide and chubby. I hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!
Andres Torres
I spent about 20 minutes straight trying to get the measuring right and when I started drawing about 5 minutes in I realized it was completely wrong and I spent nearly half an hour wasting my time. How do I do better?
@draft_al
2yr
Hi Dre! Thank you for your courage to come forward and admitting that you are struggling. It can be hard to admit; I know that from experience. What helped me understand the whole measurement thing, especially when it come to the Loomis method was watching Proko's video on how different head shapes fit into Loomis. Loomis is a good reference, but it is not the law. It is a good thing that you caught the mistakes early on. However, take as long as you have to with your drawing, I can relate because you see people like Stan, and his former teacher Jeff get to a point of likeness with such ease. Don't worry, it'll come. You may want to take your drawing to a finish to the best of you ability, and place tracing paper over it to redraw and correct the mistakes you see on your drawing on the tracing. I hope this helps.
Samuel Sanjaya
My measurement exercises. This exercises made me realized that gesture can effect the proportion itself. Or that's what I think, not too sure. I find that drawing figures is like a balancing act between gesture and proportions, too heavy that one side is off, then the drawing will fall apart. I think that's why I need to learn this in order to tip the scale freely, without breaking it. I hope I can get some critiques on this assignment.
Vera
2yr
Hello. Here are some of my measuring practices. In the first drawing, I measured the figure mostly by looking at the shapes and angles. One thing I found difficult was measuring and keeping the correct proportions of the legs. Advice and critiques are appreciated. Reference images are from line-of-action.com.
Dubčido
2yr
Good job, keep it up, practice makes the master.)
Full course
You will be given unexpiring access to watch the videos online .
View course details
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
Help!
Browse the FAQs or our more detailed Documentation. If you still need help or to contact us for any reason, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!