The following post contains five figure drawing videos by artist Cy Porter.  These free drawing and animation tutorials are posted to help promote Cy’s animated films. He hopes you find these videos helpful and please take the time to check out some of his animation work at solomation.com

Human Figure Drawing Lesson Part 1: Overview

This tutorial introduces some basics to drawing people from your mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv1I_pFkzMo

Human Figure Drawing Lesson 2: The neck

Tutorial 2 offers some overview of drawing chest, neck and head as they would appear in a 3d space. No detail here. Early stages of the drawing is concerned with placement and angle of parts of the body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KLzabn8SIs

Human Figure Drawing Lesson 3 : Shoulders

This tutorial introduces the early stages of drawing shoulders on a human figure. Shoulders are not fixed but can move almost as much as outer limbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8CIWPzTKo

Human Figure Drawing Lesson 4 : Shoulders Continued

More about how shoulders are not fixed in place on the chest and how they move around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOjwawOrxGY

Human Figure Drawing Lesson 5 : Figure Standing, Seen From Front

In tutorial 5 I discus drawing people in 3d perspective then take you threw the early stage of drawing a figure standing, seen from the front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hjP3oNTN2s

Drawing Demonstration – Front Nude (Reilly Technique)

Drawing demonstration using the Reilly technique in under 5 minutes of a front nude pose.

A big thanks to Donelli for making this figure drawing tutorial available!  You can lear more about Donelli and see more of his videos by following this link to reach his YouTube Page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cngNZ-sx340

So you are interested in becoming an expert at drawing and painting the human figure? You have certainly found the right place! I thought it would be a good idea to find the best resources and information on figure drawing and put it all together for you in one easy location for easy reference. Below are what I feel to be, some of the best resources for helping you learn how to draw the human body.

Figure Drawing Resource 1

Ebook: Figure Drawing Secrets

How to quickly and easily master figure drawing and painting without a model…

Stop drawing and painting figures the hard way! Now you can learn the secrets of drawing people and figures quickly and easily – without a model… This newly released work called “Figure Drawing Secrets” by Victor Perard is the quickest and easiest way to learn figure drawing. This amazing resource contains over 1016 detailed illustrations for you to study and learn from. Covering every single aspect of human anatomy for the artist. It’s a shame for you not to draw people well – when it’s so simple with the right instruction.

Follow this link and download a copy of the ultimate tutorial on Figure Drawing!

Figure Drawing Resource 2

Software: Virtual Pose

The virtual pose system is the next best thing to working with a live model. It is the ultimate reference for artists that do not have access to a live model. The virtual pose system presents the human form in a way that allows for a deeper understanding of shape, form and gesture.

Highly Recommended!

Follow this link for more information about this amazing product!

Figure Drawing Resource 3

Website: Creativespotlite.com

http://www.creativespotlite.com/

A wonderful assortment of free step by step figure drawing and painting demonstrations.

Figure Drawing Resource 4

Website: Figuredrawings.com

http://figuredrawings.com/

This website is loaded with great information and resources on figure drawing including books, ebooks lessons and more. The site is a bit cluttered and difficult to navigate, but the amount of information there makes up for this shortcoming.

Figure Drawing Resource 5

Website: About.com

Figure Drawing – Life Drawing Tips and Lessons

Nice little series of lessons and exercise on figure drawing including line and contour, structure, proportions and more.

Figure Drawing Resource 6

Website Lesson: Figure Drawing Basics

http://www.drawspace.com/lessons/lesson.php?id=h17

Figure Drawing Resource 7

Website: Figure Drawing Lab

http://drawinglab.evansville.edu/

Figure Drawing Resource 8

Website Tutorial: Figure drawing: Basic Pose and Construction

http://www.elfwood.com/farp/figure/williamlibodyconstruction.html

Figure Drawing Resource 9

Website Lesson: Life Drawing

http://art.net/~rebecca/LifeDrawing1.html

Figure Drawing Resource 10

YouTube Videos

Below are a handful of video tutorials and demonstrations videos from YouTube on figure drawing. YouTube is an excellent resource for finding Figure Drawing Lessons.

Video 1: Drawing the Human Figure From Your Mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hX7ceEuPtI

Video 2:How to Draw Hands: long demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9YU1ThhAk

Video 3: How to draw the human figure – Dan Nelson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A6tGP0ca6Q

Video 4: 10-Minute Figure Drawing Techniques

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlPIof4Gwew

Video 5: How to Draw the Human Figure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUhhl8d0JI4

Video 6: How to Draw the Male Torso, Chest, Arms- Step by Step

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXeio2nNMAA

Video 7: Two Part Demo of Male Figure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUeBYERoPtk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67FzRedQfU8

Video 8: 4 Part Demo – Drawing the Female Figure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl7CfuFvA4k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZiA6gHJGY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVyd-gE5B9I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoLiytYHhio

Figure Drawing Resources Update

Since publishing this post a few people have contacted me with more resources to add to this list and I have included them below.

Update 1

Website - http://www.posespace.com/

Update 2

Website - http://www.posemaniacs.com/

How to quickly and easily master figure drawing and painting without a model…

Stop drawing and painting figures the hard way!

Now you can learn the secrets of drawing people and figures quickly and easily – without a model…

This newly released work called “Figure Drawing Secrets” by Victor Perard is the quickest and easiest way to learn figure drawing.

This amazing resource contains over 1016 detailed illustrations for you to study and learn from. Covering every single aspect of anatomy for the artist.

It’s a shame for you not to draw people well – when it’s so simple with the right instruction.

Follow this link and download a copy of the ultimate tutorial on Figure Drawing!

Compensated Affiliate Disclosure

Figure drawing

The very first thing you will need obviously is your drawing supplies. Drawing does not have to be a very expensive art form. You can get started with a pencil and paper if you so desire, but there are certain supplies that will produce better results. It is quite difficult to recommend the perfect materials as every artist is different and therefore will have different preferences. Only time and experience will tell you what materials work best for your particular style. Your choice of materials will also depend on the chosen subject matter.

The best advice would be to get a variety of different pencils and papers and simply experiment. You will eventually come to like certain materials over others. Get your self a pad of newsprint paper. Newsprint paper is fairly inexpensive and excellent for practice drawings, although you should not expect these drawing to last very long. They will more than likely yellow over time. For your permanent drawings, a good quality paper is recommended. Strathmore is a good brand to look into. You may want to start with a medium textured paper as it has enough “tooth” to hold a fair amount of medium, but smooth enough to allow for detailed work. You will also need a good size drawing board that is smooth and flat for your drawing surface.

Before you even lift a pencil, you should have a basic understanding of human anatomy. When you study anatomy, you will learn more about the construction of the human body and its proportions. You will also have a basic understanding of the muscles and tendons and how they direct and control the body. There is no need to get carried away and memorize every muscle, bone, and tendon in the human body; just a fundamental understanding should suffice.

Getting the proportions correct in your figure drawing is one of the biggest challenges you will face as a beginner. It is for this reason that a unit of measurement was established using the models head. This is the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin. 7 ½ to 8 heads is the standard measurement that has been developed for the height of an erect figure. This measurement can vary depending on the subject so you may have to make adjustments to your figure drawing. You should realize that the measurement of 7 ½ heads corresponds to the figure when it is standing erect. If the pose of your figure changes, adjustments will obviously have to be made.

Artists will often use a pencil to take the head measurement. Stand a reasonable distance from your subject. Grab your pencil from the bottom as if you were holding a hammer and extend your arm out fully in front of you toward the subject. Try and keep your head as still as possible. Make certain that you are standing in the same spot each time you take measurements. Now closing one eye match the tip of the pencil with the top of the subjects head. Place your thumb on the pencil and slide it down until it matches with the bottom of the subjects chin. You now have taken the “head” measurement of your subject, which will now serve as a reference for measuring the rest of your subject.

When deciding on the type of pose for your figure drawing make sure you choose one that looks natural. Your model will be holding his or her pose for a long period of time and should be comfortable and relaxed. Give your model adequate time to move around and get settled. The more relaxed and natural the pose, the more believable the final drawing or painting will be. If your model looks uncomfortable or awkward, your painting or drawing will reflect that as well.

There are number of different lighting situations that you can create for your figure drawing or painting. Will you be working indoors or outdoors? If indoors, will you be working in a room that has natural sunlight or will you be using artificial light? What direction will the light source come from? Will there be multiple light sources? If you are a beginner, you may want to create a lighting effect that strikes your model from only one direction and illuminates your figure only partially, thereby creating more shadow. This will make for a much easier figure drawing. As you gain more experience, you can then move on to more complex lighting effects.

When you begin your drawing, you should not be overly concerned with getting every detail correct in your figure or other objects that make up your drawing. Many beginners fall into this trap and ultimately wind up with a drawing that is out of proportion or that just looks wrong. Study your subject, squint your eyes and try to locate the basic shapes that make up your subject.

Figure drawing and painting is a vast subject and this article only touches on some of the basics. You should definitely take classes or workshops and practice your figure drawing with live models. Purchase a few good books on figure drawing and anatomy. Join discussion groups and ask questions. Most importantly though, keep practicing and never give up.