The Right (and the Wrong) Way to Learn Figure Drawing (Review)

This posting is for the more experienced artist…

If someone told you that you could quickly learn to ‘Draw People and Figures Perfectly In Any Position…’ would you believe them?

Might your answer be… YES?

Or, more likely, will your answer be No!

If so, why not? Surely, you want to learn the secrets of discovering the right and wrong way to learn figure drawing?

I’ve been struggling for more than 30 years to get reasonable lifelike representations of men, women and children in my paintings and drawings.

Why have I been struggling all these years? I still want to improve my figure drawing skills.

There must be a trick or two that could save me time and stop me making the same mistakes.

A couple of days ago I found someone who made that claim with an ebook titled ‘Figure Drawing Secrets’. It is supposed to be a long lost manuscript containing “1016 detailed illustrations that cover every aspect of anatomy for the artist”

Should I ignore the claim? Is it just junk?

Or, should I take a chance that it is true? Should I find out whether there are secrets revealed in the ebook? Is there anything I can learn?

These are questions you might be asking yourself.

Well, here’s where you can find out what I discovered a few days ago.

Is ‘Figure Drawing Secrets’ a resource you need?

I’ll try to answer as honestly as I can.

First, let me tell what some of the publisher’s claims are for Section I, which discusses ‘Proportion’…

• The ultimate shortcut to creating perfect proportion for male and female figures
• How to determine the center of the male and female figure
• 7 complete illustrations of males and females in proportion and 14 illustrations of major bones in proportion to each other
• Exactly how to obtain expression using simplified skeleton sketches
• 3 quick sketch secrets including 72 illustrations of 5-minute and 25-minute sketches
• Plus 53 different illustrations of unique poses and sporting activities and more…

Are the claims justified? Are there other questions?

• Is this really the ultimate shortcut to creating perfect proportion for the male and female figure?
• Do you learn how to determine the center of the male and female figure?
• Are there 7 complete illustrations of males and females in proportion?
• Do the 14 illustrations of major bones show proportion to each other?
• Will the 3 quick sketch secrets really help?
• How can only 53 different illustrations of unique poses and sporting activities really give you a figure drawing edge?

Personally, I hate counting numbers to check if such claims are true. So, sorry, I’ll let you answer these question for yourself.

What is important is…

"If the artist has spent hundreds of hours making fine detailed figure drawings, do they help you learn the secrets promised?"

Here, I can give you good news that…

‘Figure Drawing Secrets’ is not junk.

It answers questions I didn’t even know needed asking about human anatomy… There are endless facts that help you to get the picture.

Here are 7 secrets I learned about proportion…

1. The greatest width of a male is at the deltoids (a little below the shoulders)
2. The average figure height should be 7 and a half ‘heads’
3. The female torso is proportionately longer than a male’s
4. Female buttocks are rounder (perhaps I had noticed this)
5. Female arms are shorter in proportion to the trunk
6. A 3 year old child is roughly half as tall as an adult
7. A human’s height reduces with old age

These are useful facts. In total, there’s loads of other vital facts about figure drawing given in the first 5 pages.

And, there are eleven more pages that show…

• Male and female figures standing and sitting
• Mechanical properties of the human body
• Human bones with ‘head’ proportions
• Simple sketches of running, sword fencing, dancing, baseball and sketching poses… including golf, boxing and horse riding

Page 16 gives you a 13 step method for drawing from life. This is followed by a 9 stage sequence showing you how to draw a female nude. Finally, there are freehand sketches of male figures in action.

--------------------

I'm sure you will be impressed by the quality of the artist’s drawings. With quick fluid lines they show the flow of motion and beauty of the human form… the sketches show great technique for you to copy.

On page 18, I like the quote “Speed should be acquired through judgement, not haste”… If you need drawing encouragement these words sum up the best approach.

‘Figure Drawing Secrets’ looks good. I reckon Part 1, Proportion, makes a promising start and offers you a convincing guide to getting the best figure drawing facts.

So, rather than take my word, make your own judgement from the following statement…

“Time spent working with body proportion is essential to all great figure drawing and painting”

Check out the following text link to find out for yourself…

At Last! You Can Draw People and Figures Perfectly In Any Position…Without a Model

See you soon

Michael

p.s. I’ll be reviewing Part 2, Skeleton, in the next Blog posting.