Brenda Hoddinott

U-05 ADVANCED: FACES & FIGURES

Every artist who aspires to include people in his or her
drawings needs to become proficient in drawing the various
components of human anatomy. In this project you explore the
basic shapes of a leg and foot and then add graduated shading
with hatching and crosshatching to illustrate the three
dimensional forms.

Skills incorporated into this lesson include: identifying

accurate proportions, drawing with contour lines, planning
shading strategies, adding graduated values with hatching and
crosshatching, and applying foreshortening as a component of
perspective.
This project is divided into two sections:
™ OUTLINING SHAPES: You visually identify the exterior
shapes and forms of legs and feet, as defined by bones, fat,
and muscles.
™ DEFINING THE FORMS OF THE LEG AND FOOT
WITH SHADING: You identify where the highlights and
the light and dark values are located, based on a dominant
light source from the right. You use hatching and
crosshatching to realistically illustrate the various forms.
Suggested supplies include 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B pencils,
vinyl and kneaded erasers, good quality drawing paper such as
smooth hot-pressed watercolor paper.

7 PAGES - 12 ILLUSTRATIONS
This project is recommended for artists, from age 12 to adult, with advanced drawing
skills, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada, Revised 2006
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OUTLINING SHAPES
You need to be able to visually identify the exterior shapes
and forms of legs and feet, as defined by bones, fat, and
muscles before you can draw them realistically.
Legs come in many shapes and sizes, from the short
chubby legs of a tiny infant to the long,
well-defined, muscular
legs of an athletic
adult.

Grab your drawing materials and follow along with me to

draw a leg and foot. Thank you to my son, Ben, for allowing
me to borrow one of his legs.

1) Lightly sketch the outline of the individual shapes of

the leg and foot.
Observe the basic shape of the entire subject and look
for the shapes of its various parts. Visually measure
proportions, how large or small some parts are as
compared to others. The various parts of the leg
include:
™ The upper leg is a large elongated oval-shape.
™ A circle encloses the shape of the knee.
™ A smaller long oval defines the shape of the lower
leg.
™ The ankle is a very small oval shape.
™ A triangle marks the shape of the foot. Note that
this triangle is lower on the right.

2) Lighten your sketch lines with your kneaded eraser,

until they are very faint.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com
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3) Lightly sketch the outline

of the shape of the leg.
Use the rough sketch as a
guideline.
Take note of the:
™ lengths of the lines
™ directions in which the
various lines curve
™ relationships between
the lines
™ proportions of the
various parts to one
another
At this point you can either
leave the rough sketch lines
visible, or you can carefully
erase them.

When you draw a flower or a

tree, if the proportions are off, it
really doesn’t matter. Not so with
a drawing of a leg and foot. If
your proportions are wrong, your
drawing just won’t look right no
matter how wonderful your
shading is.
Drawing from life is the best
possible way to develop an
understanding of anatomy. It’s
important to become familiar
with how individual parts of
bodies connect to one another.
Once you know how to draw the
basic shapes and proportions,
you can easily transfer this
information into drawing from
photos or instructional drawings.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com
 -4-

Practice drawing legs and feet from real

life every chance you can. If your friends and family
begin running away when you approach them with your
drawing supplies, you can always draw your own legs
and feet. Take off your shoes and you find two
wonderful foot models. You can even set up your
drawing materials in front of a large mirror, and draw
your legs from various angles.

4) Lighten your lines again with your kneaded eraser and

redraw your outline adding more detailed information.

5) Very lightly sketch the shapes inside the outline that

identify some of the forms to be defined with shading.

6) Take your time and draw the details of the foot and
ankle.
Logic dictates that a human foot is
actually longer than it appears in
this drawing. However, keep in
mind that this foot is being viewed
from an extreme frontal
perspective.
You use a rule of perspective,
called foreshortening to indicate
the shape of a foot realistically
when viewed from this angle.
Foreshortening is the process in
which perspective creates the
illusion that a figure is shorter
when viewed from an extreme
angle. The foreshortened qualities
of parts of bodies, such as legs and
arms, become more noticeable
when viewed from an end.

Don’t worry if your drawings of hands and

feet look all wrong at first. Just do your best and in time,
you will get better! Feet (and hands) are the most
difficult parts of the human body to draw. Yes, even
harder than a face!

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com
 -5-

DEFINING THE FORMS OF THE LEG

AND FOOT WITH SHADING
In this drawing, the dominant light source is from the right, so the
shading on the left is darker. Before you begin, visually identify
where the highlights and the light and dark values are located.

Remember there is no right or wrong way

to draw. I like outlining with detailed lines and then
adding shading, but what’s right for me may not be right
for you. Take time to experiment with different ways of
drawing, until you find the styles you are most
comfortable with.

7) Use hatching lines and 2H and HB pencils to shade the

light and medium values of the leg and foot.
Take note of how
progressions of graduated
values from dark to light or
from light to dark
realistically illustrate the
various forms.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com
 -6-

8) Use crosshatching and 2B and 4B pencils to build

up the values to further accentuate the forms of
the foot.

9) Use 2B and
4B pencils to
build up the
crosshatching
values to
emphasize
the forms of
the various
sections of the
leg.
Crosshatching
lines
beautifully
illustrate
anatomical
forms.

By emphasizing the
more complicated
components, which
characterize
movement, such as
his knee, ankle and
foot, they become
important points of
interest in this
drawing.

I use a lot of
contrast between
light and dark
values to help make
the forms of the leg
and foot stand out.

10) Use parallel

horizontal
hatching lines
to indicate the
cast shadow.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com
 -7-

Sign your name, put today’s date on the back, put a smile on your
face, and go find another exciting drawing project!

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda
Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk
pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the

enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical
and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject
matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She
developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning,
and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a
self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have
employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police
departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic
Artists International”.
Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and
painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and
trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda
chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing,
drawing, painting, and developing her websites.
Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to
curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for
students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and
abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a
resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout
the world.

LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is
available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. Drawing for Dummies
is now available in Dutch, Bulgarian, Spanish, French, and German.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the
Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page
book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com