For many years, I found humans to be the most intimidating subject to paint. I’m sure many of you feel this way too. Once I got some practice, I realized they’re easier than I thought. This is because I discovered that proportions and realism don’t matter as much as consistency. Once I let go of the idea of trying to illustrate perfect humans, everything got easier. The only thing that’s important is that you figure out your own unique way of depicting humans, and stick with it. Then, imperfections don’t look like mistakes. They look intentional.

Some of my favorite artists paint the strangest looking humans. Some are short and stout. Some have ridiculously long legs. Some have large heads. Some are missing important facial features. Whatever your hangups are, own them. I would even encourage you to exaggerate them. I find imperfect human illustrations to be so much more lovable than perfect figures.

Hopefully this makes you feel more confident and allows you to have some fun illustrating the human form. Now that I’ve said all that, let’s get into some tips and tricks for illustrating humans.

Understand Basic Form

While I urge you to find your own quirky way of illustrating humans, it’s important to understand some basic principles before you go rogue. Check out the diagram to the right. You don’t need to follow this exactly. However, here are some important things to note:

Eyes are located at the vertical halfway mark of the face.
Legs take up more than half the body.
Hands are level with the upper thigh.
Knees are halfway between the start of the legs and feet.
Elbows are halfway between the shoulder and wrist.

All of the points I’ve mentioned above are things that used to trip me up. Once I realized these basic principles, painting people got a whole lot easier.

Practice Makes Perfect

I know this one is annoying to hear, but it’s true. I didn’t paint people for years because I was terrified. All those years, I never got any better. Then, I decided to do a character series. After a few painful paintings, I became more comfortable. If you too are intimidated by illustrating people, try starting with some portraits (waist up). Then, get into full body paintings later.

Don’t Illustrate from Memory

I still google how to draw humans in positions of movement. It’s only natural. Have you ever looked closely at how a human runs? There’s a lot to it. I used to think I should know how to paint action poses from memory, but that was crazy. It’s okay to use reference images. Having one of these little dummies in your studio can help too for recreating poses.

Always Sketch First

Even though I’ve painted dozens of humans by now, I rarely get it right on the first try. This is why sketching is so important. By sketching loose marks over and over again, we can create that perfect feeling of movement we’re looking for. One of my favorite tips is to sketch under your paintings with a light watercolor pencil, so you won’t see markings under your paint layer.

Distinguishing Between Males and Females

Males and females look really different when illustrated, but not as different as you’d think. Here are the basic changes I make when illustrating a male versus a female:

Males have thicker eyebrows, and less color on their cheeks and lips.
Males have a wider neck.
Males have larger hands and feet.
A males’ waist is straight down from chest to legs.
Males have a taller figure overall.

Children Look Different Than Adults

The idea of painting children used to terrify me most. It seemed I could never get it right. This was by far the toughest thing to learn when it came to illustrating people. The most important thing you need to know is that children have almost the same sized heads as adults. Their bodies are just smaller. Very small children tend to be a little chubbier. Middle-aged children tend to be a bit lanky with slightly longer arms than adults. Make sure to keep children’s hands and feet nice and small.

When it comes to painting the faces of children, their eyebrows are at the halfway point on their face (instead of the eyes like in adults). Also their faces are shorter and more round. They elongate as they get older.

Mastering the Human Form