Animation G12 1st Quarter

Animation NC II
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[Drawing Fundamentals]
Module 2. Drawing Fundamentals

Course Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify different line drawing strokes.
2. Familiarize on basic construction of drawing techniques.
3. Draw basic proportion and anatomy of human body.
DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS
Drawing is just like writing your name. You use lines to make shapes. In the
art of drawing, you carry it a bit further, using shading techniques to create
the illusion of three-dimensional form.
Materials
Pencils
Pencils come in varying degrees of lead, from very soft to hard (e.g.,
6B, 4B, 2B, and HB, respectively). Harder leads create lighter lines and
are used to make preliminary sketches. Softer leads are usually used
for shading.
Flat sketching pencils are very helpful; they can create wide or thin
lines, and even dots. Find one with a B lead, the degree of softness
between HB and 2B.
Although pencil is the primary tool used for drawing, don’t limit your-
self. Try using charcoal, colored pencils, ink, crayons, and pastels—
they can add color and dimension
Round 2B pencil
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Round HB pencil
Flat sketching pencil
Erasers
Erasers are not only useful for correcting mistakes, but they are also
fine drawing tools. Choose from several types: kneaded, vinyl, gum, or
rubber, depending on how you want to use the eraser. For example,
you can mold a kneaded eraser into a point or break off smaller pieces
to lift out highlights or create texture. A gum or rubber eraser works
well for erasing larger areas.
Kneaded erasers
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Eraser
Paper
Paper varies according to color, thickness, and surface quality (e.g.,
smooth or rough). Use an inexpensive sketch pad for practice. For
finer renderings, try illustration or Bristol board. Bristol board is availa-
ble in smooth (plate) or textured (vellum) finish. As you become more
comfortable with drawing techniques, experiment with better quality pa-
per to see how it affects your work.
Other Helpful Materials

You should have a paper blending stump (also known as a tortillon) for
creating textures and blends. The paper stump enhances certain ef-
fects and, once covered with lead, can be used to draw smeared lines.
To conserve lead, purchase a sandpaper pad to sharpen the lead with-
out wearing down the pencil. You may also want to buy a regular hand-
held pencil sharpener and a metal ruler. Finally, a sturdy drawing
board provides a stable surface for your drawing.
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Paper stump/ tortillon
METAL RULER
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BASIC SHAPES
Squares, triangles, circles...these are the basic shapes that will aid you in
drawing objects more accurately. This technique can be used when doing a
still life, a landscape, and practically any other object or subject you wish to
draw.
Here’s the main reference photo of a lovely pink flamingo on a bright, sunny
day. It’s a classic pose, with the bird in shallow water, ready to use that huge
beak to dig out morsels from the silt for his lunch.
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Now if you step back and observe the photo, you can see that it’s quite easy
to break down into several basic shapes. The body forms a convenient oval,
with the tail creating a triangular bit at the rear.
The long neck can be represented by a couple of oblongs, while the head
and the beak can, for now, be sketched as a small oval and triangle respec-
tively.
You can see from the blue shapes that I’ve overlaid on the photo how very
simple the technique is. Not only does the image look much less daunting,
but this is going to help considerably in making sure your proportions are
correct before you start on the details.
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Here, I’ve deleted the photo and we’re left with the basic shapes. Without
even picking up the pencil, you can see already that the outline looks pretty
good and very much like a flamingo, even though it’s just triangles, ovals
and oblongs.
More importantly, the proportions are correct, ie: the legs look long and spin-
dly enough, that neck is the right length and the body is neither too big or
small.
The confidence this gives you now to move in and add the more realistic
shapes and details cannot be overstated.
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Once you’ve completed this bit, gently erase the original rough guidelines
and add in any further detail you want, such as feathers, the eye, shading
and so on. Here’s my version below. I’ve gone over this one in ink so you
can see it more clearly but a pencil is fine.
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HUMAN BODY
The first fundamental to acquire is proportions, and we’re going to be
practicing with this basic figure
Proportion is the principle of art that refers to relative size. The principles of
art differ from the elements of art. Most, if not all of the principles of art deal
with how the elements art are arranged in a work of art.
Create Your Chart From Heads

A well-proportioned figure, regardless of variations due to gender or such, is
defined by the alignment of the joints, which is invariable (that is, we per-
ceive something odd if it does vary). This is our groundwork for proportions.
Draw your own chart with me as we go, it really helps learning the material.
Start by drawing an oval or egg shape (pointy end down) for a head, and
mark down eight measurements, the last one being the ground.
The measurement (ideal male height = eight heads) was set down during
the Renaissance as an idealization of the human form. It’s rather obvious
that very few people are actually eight heads tall (even Northern Europeans,
who served as basis for this model, are closer to seven heads), but this is
still the best model to start with, as it makes it easier to grasp the align-
ments.
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The Pelvis
Add the pelvic bone next, simplified as a flattened circle between marks 3
and 4, with the hip joints sitting on 4. Its width is roughly 1.5 to 2 head-
widths. You can now draw the spine connecting the head to this most im-
portant part of the body, its center of gravity and stability.
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The Legs and Knees

Let’s assume this figure is standing with feet vertically aligned with the hip
joints. The knee joints sit on mark 6, as that line corresponds to the bottom
of the knee caps.
When the leg is stretched out, the knee joint is placed on a straight line with
the hip and ankle (left). But this straight line is virtual: to complete the leg,
connect the hip joint to the inside of the knee cap, and then again, the out-
side of the knee to the inside of the ankle (right). This is a very simplified but
accurate representation of the actual bone structure, and helps in drawing
the natural look of the human leg, which tapers in from the hip, then stag-
gers out at the knee and tapers in again. It also helps with placing the mus-
cles at a later stage.
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The Ribcage, Nipples and Belly Button

The ribcage-lungs group is the third important volume of the body, after the
head and the pelvis. Simplified, it is an oval that starts halfway between 1
and 2, down to mark 3; but it is best to chop off the lower part of it as shown
here to imitate the actual rib cage, as the empty part between the two vol-
umes is important: it is soft and subject to change (flat belly, soft belly, wasp
waist) and it is also where the most torsion and movement happens in the
spine. It’s good to be aware of that and not attach torso and pelvis together
like two blocks, as that would "block" your drawing’s range of motion. The
width of the oval is roughly the same as the pelvis for now.
Two more details here: the nipples fall on mark 2, just inside the sides of the
head, and the belly button on mark 3.
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The Shoulders
The shoulder line is about halfway between marks 1 and 2, with the shoul-
der width 2 to 3 head-widths, but its apparent position can vary a great deal.
To begin with, it’s slightly curved down, but in tension the shoulders tense
up and the curve can itself turn up and look higher. Furthermore, the trape-
zius muscle, which from the front appears to connect the shoulder with the
neck, is highly individual; if it’s very muscular, or carries much fat, it can
make the shoulder line look so high there’s no neck; inversely, an underde-
veloped trapezius, often seen in very young women, gives the impression of
a long neck.
This brief digression into non-skeletal details is to insure there is no confu-
sion between the actual position of the shoulder line and its apparent place-
ment in a fleshed-out body, some examples of which are shown below.
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The Arm, Wrists and Hands

Finally, the arms: The wrists are on mark 4, slightly below the hip joints
which sit on it (you can test it out for yourself by standing up and pressing
your wrists against your hips). The fingers end roughly at mid-thigh, which is
mark 5. The elbows are a slightly complicated joint that we’ll examine in de-
tail later, but for now it’s helpful to mark them as elongated ovals sitting on
level 3.
We’re done... almost. Before summing this up, let’s extend those marks into
lines and see how this works in profile.
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The Basic Profile

Start by drawing the head again, the same egg shape but with the end
pointing diagonally down, and drop a vertical line from the crown to the
ground.
In an erect posture, you can place the pelvic bone (a narrower version of the
head’s egg), the shoulder and knee roughly on this vertical line. They are on
the same level as before: all the joints are, but the others are not on the
same plane as these.
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The Spine in Profile

From the side, the spine is revealed as being shaped like a flattened "S".
From the base of the skull, it moves down and back till it reaches its furthest
point at the level of the shoulders (between the shoulder blades). Note the
shoulder joints are ahead of the spine! This is because, again, the shoulder
"line" is in reality an arc: the medallion shows a top view of it.
The spine then comes back forward, and peaks again (inward) a little above
the pelvis (the small of the back, which varies in depth and can make for
arched back). Finally it changes direction again briefly and ends in the coc-
cyx or tail bone.
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The Ribcage and Legs in Profile

The ribcage is closely attached to the spine, and, in a reasonably fit body
standing erect, the chest is naturally pushed forward.
The hip joint is ahead of our vertical axis, and this is counterbalanced by the
ankle being a bit behind it. So our hip-knee-ankle line is slanted backward,
and staggered again: from hip joint to front of knee joint, and from back of
knee joint to ankle.
The overall effect of this posture is a visual arc from head to chest to feet (in
green), and when it’s flattened or reversed, we perceive an uncertainty or
slouch in the posture.
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The Arms in Profile

Finally, the arms. The upper arm falls fairly straight from the shoulder, so
the elbow can be aligned with the latter (or fall slightly backward). But the
arm is never fully stretched when at rest, so the forearm is not vertical: the
arm is slightly bend and the wrist falls forward, right over the hip bone. (Also
when the hand is relaxed, fingers curl a little as shown here).
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To Sum Up
This completes the basic, undifferentiated human proportions, and here’s a
diagram to sum up all of the above:
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Proportion Reminders
The following are a few useful visual reminders that are based in the body.
They come in handy when the body is not standing upright.
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HUMAN FACE
Seen Face-on:
The skull is a slightly flattened sphere, to which the jaw is appended so that,
seen face-on, it has the shape of an egg, pointy side down. Two
perpendicular midlines cut the egg into four quarters. To place the features:
1. Mark the middle points of the left and right halves: The eyes sit on the
midline, on these middle points.
2. Divide the lower half in five: The bottom of the nose is two points down
from the midline. The slit of the mouth is three points down from the
midline, just one point down from the nose.
3. Divide the upper half in four: The hairline (when not receding) is two to
three points up from the midline. The ear is positioned between the up-
per eyelid and the tip of the nose, but this is only when the face is
level. Looking up or down changes the apparent position of the ear
(see Foreshortening).
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Seen in Profile:
From the side, the head is still shaped like an egg, but pointing towards a
corner. The midlines now divide the head into front (face) and back (skull).
On the skull:
4. The ear is just behind the central line. In size and vertical positioning, it
still fits between the upper eyelid and the bottom of the nose.
5. The depth of the skull varies between the two dotted lines shown in
step 4.
On the face:
• The features are placed the same way as above.
• The hollow at the root of the nose either coincides with the midline or is
slightly above it.
• The most prominent point in the brow is 1 point up from the midline.
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THE FEATURES
The Eyes and Eyebrows
The eye is simply two arcs forming an almond shape. There's no particular
rule here because the eye shape can vary a great deal, but we can note the
following tendencies:
• The outer corner of the eye can be higher than the inner, but not the
reverse.
• If the eye is compared to an almond, the rounder part would be to-
wards the inner corner, with the tapering part in the outer corner.
Details of the Eye

• At rest, the iris is partially hidden behind the upper lid. It only intersects
the lower lid if looking down, or if the eye is narrowed so that the lower
lid rises.
• The eyelashes sweep outward and are shorter on the lower lid (in fact
it's unnecessary to draw them most of the time).
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• Whether to show the small oval of the tear duct in the inner corner, and
the thickness of the lower lid, is a personal decision that depends on
one's style, as too much detail does not necessarily look good; detail
should certainly decrease with the scale of the drawing.
• The same goes with the fold of the eyelid, which in addition contributes
expression and can make the eye look less alert. I find that when a
drawing is too stylized, or so small that the fold can't be included with-
out changing the expression, it's best to omit it.
In profile, the eye takes on the shape of an arrowhead (with the sides
variously concave or convex), with a little hint of the upper eyelid and
possibly of the lower as well. In real life you wouldn't see the iris from the
side, you'd only see a white eye. When I did that in my work, I received so
many "this really looks weird" comments from readers that I had to start
including at least a hint of the iris.
As for the eyebrow, the simplest way to draw it at rest is to make it follow the
curve of the upper eyelid. Most of the eyebrow body is towards the inside,
with the outer tail slightly or much shorter.
In profile, it changes shape completely and becomes comma-like. The

comma appears to be the continuation of the eyelashes before curling back
on itself to and over the eye – indeed sometimes it looks connected to the
eyelashes, so that you can draw in a single curve the upper line of the eye
curling back to become the eyebrow.
The Nose
The nose is roughly wedge-shaped, a shape that's easier to visualize and
draw in 3D before detailing it.
The bridge and sides of the nose are flat surfaces that may be only implied
in the final drawing, though it's important to put them down in the buildup
sketch so the detailed part of the nose is placed and sized correctly.
This is the bottom flat side in our wedge, a truncated triangle connecting the
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wings and the tip of the nose. The wings curl inwards into the septum,
forming the nostrils – note in the bottom view below how the lines that form
the sides of the septum are at the fore and start from the face, not the other
way around.
The septum juts out lower than the wings when seen from the front, which
also means that in 3/4 view, the further nostril is hidden by it to a varying
degree.
The trickiest part about the nose may be deciding what lines to draw or to
omit for a good-looking result! You don't always want the wings drawn fully,
as they are in the side nose above. Similarly, the front nose here shows all
four lines for the bridge of the nose and where it connects with the face, but
most of the time it looks much better if you only draw the bottom part, the
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wings/nostrils/septum (hide the lines with your fingers to see).
If the nose is in 3/4 view, however, it becomes almost essential to draw the
further line of the bridge. It takes a lot of observation and trial and error to
arrive at one's own "signature nose", and with this as with any tricky feature,
I find it very useful to look at comic artists' work, observing their noses very
closely, to see what decisions they have made for themselves.
The Lips
Notes on the mouth and lips:

• The slit of the mouth should be drawn first as it's the longest and dark-
est of the three somewhat parallel lines forming the mouth. It is not a
simple curve but a series of subtle curves. In the figure below, you can
see an exaggerated example making the movements of the mouth line
clear; note how they reflect the line of the upper lip.
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• They can be softened in a number of ways, the central dip can be very
narrow for a pointed look, or so broad its presence is attenuated – but
it can even be reversed when the lower lip is fleshy, and that creates a
slight, natural pout. If achieving symmetry in this line is challenging, try
starting from the center and drawing it out one way, then return and do
the other side.
• The upper lip's two peaks are much more obvious, but they can simi-
larly be softened into broad curves, even so softened that they blend
into a "peakless" lip.
• The lower lip on the other hand is always a smooth curve, but it can
range from nearly flat to generously rounded. It's always good to mark
the lower lip, even with a mere dash.
• The upper lip's nearly always thinner than the lower, and its sticks out
from the face less than the lower. If it's outlined, it should always be
done more finely than the lower, because the lower lip's outline is em-
phasized by its shadow (as thin as it is!)
• From the side, the lips take on an arrowhead shape and the jutting of
the upper lip becomes clearly visible. So does the contrast between
the profile shape of the two lips: flatter and diagonal for the upper,
rounder for the lower.
• The slit of the mouth, from the side, slants down from the lips. Even if
the person is smiling, it slants (or curves) down before rising again into
the corners. Never slant the mouth straight up in profile.
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The Ears
The most important part of the ear, for it to look right, is the tall C shape of
its outer outline and the inverted U inside it that marks the rim of the upper
ear. There's often a smaller U just above the lobe (feel it with your finger),
connected to a smaller C. The general effect is concentric around the ear
hole (not as a rule visible) and varies a lot individually. This can be stylized –
for instance my generic ears, below, look somewhat like stretched @
symbols.
When the face is seen from the front, the ear is in profile:
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• The rim earlier outlined by the inverted U now stands out as a separate
unit – as happens when you look at a dish from the side and suddenly
see its bottom side as being in front of the inside.
• The lobe can also looks almost drop-like, more distinct from the ear as
a whole.
• How thin the ear is from this angle depends on how close it is set to
the head, and that varies individually. However, it is always tilted
slightly forward, as that is the direction we have evolved to listen from.
From the back, the ear looks detached from the head: a rim attached to the
head by a funnel. Don't be shy about the size of the funnel, it needs to tilt
the ears forward! It is more important than the rim from this angle.
Foreshortening
Being basically a ball where the features are mapped out on contour lines,
the head is easier to foreshorten than may be expected. However, it's more
important than ever to observe it from various angles in real life to become
familiar with the way the features jut out and sink in, overlapping each other
in sometimes unexpected ways. The nose protrudes of course, but so do
the brow, the cheekbones, the central part of the mouth and the chin, while
the eye sockets and sides of the mouth are depressions on the surface of
our ball.
When we drew the face straight on and in profile above, we were simplifying
it into a flat, 2D surface where our reference lines were straight. For any
other angle, we need to shift our thinking to 3D and become aware that this
egg-shape is in fact really like an egg, and the lines we used earlier to
locate the features curve all around it like the equator and latitudes on the
globe: their circular nature is revealed when the egg is tilted. Placing the
features, then, is simply a matter of drawing the crossing midlines under the
desired angle – all three of them at once now. We can then divide the top
and bottom half as before, creating slices in the egg, bearing in mind that
the slices closest to us will look thicker. The process is the same to draw a
face that's looking down or up.
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Looking Down
• All the features curve up and the ear moves up.
• Because the nose juts out, it oversteps its line (see figure) and the tip
looks much closer to the mouth – if the face turns down enough, the
nose will squarely overlap the mouth. Seen from this angle, the nose
displays no details at all, just the wedge with a hint of wings.
• The curve of the eyebrows is flattened, though it takes extreme per-
spective to make them curve the other way.
• In the eyes, the upper lid becomes much more prominent and quickly
changes it usual curve to cover the orb of the eye.
• The upper lip almost disappears and the lower one appears larger.
• Note that because the mouth follows the general curve, it appears to
be smiling, so a tweaking of reality may be needed to adjust the
expression (if desired).
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Looking Up
• All the features curve down, and the ear moves down accordingly.
• The upper lip displays its full surface that normally doesn't face the ob-
server. The mouth now seems to be pouting!
• The eyebrow gains more curve, but the lower eyelid curves down, pro-
ducing the effect of narrowed eyes.
• The bottom of the nose is displayed clearly with both nostrils unhin-
dered.
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Turning Sideways
• When someone is seen almost from the back, all that is visible are the
jutting points of brow and cheekbone. The line of the neck overlaps
that of the chin as it points to the ear. The eyelash is next to come into
view as the face turns.
• Then part of the eyebrow appears, and the protrusion of the lower eye-
lid as the tip of the nose emerges from behind the curve cheek.
• In near-profile, the eyeball and lips appear (but the slit of the mouth is
still very small), and the line of the neck merges with the line of the
chin into one curve. You can still see part of the curve of the cheek hid-
ing the nostril.
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HANDS
Of all parts of the body, the hand is by many considered to be the hardest to
draw. We all have stories of how, early on, we would keep our characters'
hands behind their backs or in their pockets, avoiding as much as possible
the task of tackling hands. Yet paradoxically, they are our most readily avail-
able reference, being in our field of vision every moment of our lives. With
just one extra accessory, a small mirror, we can reference hands from all
angles. The only real challenge, then, is the complexity of this remarkably
articulated organ: it's almost like drawing a small figure onto a larger one,
one doesn't know where to start.
In this tutorial we will deconstruct the hand's own anatomy and indeed de-
mystify it, so that when you look at a hand for reference, you can make
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sense of it as a group of simple forms, easy to put together.
I use the following abbreviations for the fingers:
Th = thumb
FF = forefinger
MF = middle finger
RF = ring finger
LF = little finger
Basics of the Hand

Here’s a quick look at the bone structure of the hand (left). In blue, the eight
carpal bones, in purple, the five metacarpal bones, and in pink, the 14 pha-
langes.
As many of these bones cannot move at all, we can simplify the basic struc-
ture of the hand: the diagram on the right is all you really need to remember.
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Note that the actual base of the fingers, the joint that corresponds to the
knuckles, is much lower than the apparent base formed by flaps of skin.
This will be important to draw bending fingers as we will see later.
Based on the above, a simple way of sketching the hand is to start with the
basic form of the palm, a flat shape (very much like a steak, but roundish,
squarish, or trapezoidal) with rounded angles, then attach the fingers :
If you have a hard time drawing fingers, it’s very helpful to think of them, and
draw them, as stacks of three cylinders. Cylinders are easy to draw under
any angle, taking away much of the headache of drawing fingers in perspec-
tive. Observe how the bases of the cylinders are exactly the folds you need
to draw when the finger bends.
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This is important: The joints of the fingers are not aligned on straight lines,
but fall onto concentric arches:
In addition, fingers are not straight, but bend slightly towards the space be-
tween MF and RF. Showing this even subtly gives life to a drawing:
Let us not forget the fingernails. There is no need to always draw them, in-
deed they are a degree of detail that only looks right when the hands are
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seen sufficiently close up, but we are not usually taught how they should
look, and because of this, I for one couldn't make them look right for a long
time. Here are some notes on the fingernail:
1. The fingernail starts halfway up the top joint of the finger.

2. The point where fingernail detaches from flesh varies: some people
have it all the way at the edge of the finger, others have it very low
(dotted line), so in their case the fingernails are wider than they are
long.
3. Fingernails are not flat, but shaped much like roof tiles, with a curva-
ture ranging from extreme to very slight. Observe your hand and you
may find that this curvature is different for each finger – but this level of
realism is unnecessary in drawing, fortunately.
Proportions
Now, taking the (apparent) length of FF as our base unit, we can roughly put
down the following proportions:
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1. The maximum opening between Th and FF opening = 1.5

2. The maximum opening between FF and RF = 1. The MF can be closer
to either without affecting the total distance.
3. The maximum opening between RF and LF opening = 1
4. The maximum angle between Th and LF is 90º, taken from the very
base of the Th’s articulation: the fully extended LF is aligned with it.
I said "roughly" because these do vary with people, sometimes a lot, but re-
member that deviating from the norm on paper can look wrong. If in doubt,
these measurements will always look right.
Details
The basic shape is only one challenging aspect of the hand; the other may
be the detailing of folds and lines. Who hasn't been frustrated by drawing a
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hand and not being able to get all these lines to look right? Let's look at fold
lines and some measurement details:
1. The virtual extension of the inner line of the wrist separates the thumb
from the fingers. A small tendon line may mark the junction of wrist and
hand.
2. When fingers are close together as above, the thumb tucks a bit under
the palm and is partially hidden.
3. The FF or RF as sometimes almost as long as the MF.
4. The folds that mark the knuckles are elliptical or like parenthesis, but
when the hand is flat as above they are not pronounced (unless some-
one has protruding knuckles, which happens on much-labored hands)
and can be drawn as mere dimples.
5. The folds of the finger joints show elliptically on the back side, but they
fade when the fingers are bent. They show as parallel lines on the
palm side, but they are more pronounced at the lower joint – typically
you wouldn't use two lines for the upper joints.
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6. From the back, the lines of the fingers extend down to the limit of the
palm, which makes the fingers look longer from the back.
From the inside, the lines are shorter because the top of the palm is
padded, so the fingers look shorter on the palm side.
7. The lines of the fingers end in are drag lines (these short horizontal
dashes) on both sides, and on both sides these drag lines all point
away from the MF.
Note also, in the diagram above, how the fingernails are not drawn fully but
indicated in a subtle way appropriate to the overall level of detailing (which
is rather higher than necessary, for purposes of showing all the lines). The
smaller the hand you're drawing, the less detail you want in it, unless you
want it to look old.
I didn't mention the lines of the hand above, so let's take a look at them
closely here:
1. The most visible lines in the palm: the so-called heart, head and life
lines, are where the skin folds when the palm is cupped. Unless your
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style is very realistic, there's no need to draw others, it will look exces-
sive.
2. Don't confuse the life line with the contour of the thumb, which be-
comes visible under certain angles such as the one on the right. The
life line is almost concentric with the contour of the thumb, but see how
much higher on the palm it originates – the (true) base of the FF, in
fact.
3. From the side, the padding at the base of each finger appears as a se-
ries of curved, parallel bulges.
4. These fold lines wrap halfway around the fingers. They are accentu-
ated as the finger bends.
5. There is a small bump here on the extended finger due to skin bunch-
ing up. The bump disappears when the finger bends.
Now, what do we see when the hand is extended and seen sideways?
1. Outside, the wrist line curves out into palm base, so the transition be-
tween the two is marked by a gentle bump.
2. The bottom of the hand looks flatter from the outside than it does from
the inside, although the thumb base may still be visible.
3. From the outside, the RF’s last joint is fully exposed because the LF is
set well back.
4. From the inside, a little or none of the MF can be visible, depending on
the FF’s length.
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5. Inside, the wrist line is covered by thumb base, so the transition is

more abrupt and the bump more important.
Note also that when seen from the outside, the palms shows another, new
contour line. It starts at the wrist and, as the hand turns more, joins up
with the LF line, until it covers up the Th base:
Range of Motion
Detailed articulation implies movement, and the hands move constantly. Not
just for functional uses (holding a mug, typing) but also expressively, ac-
companying our words or reacting to our emotions. It's therefore no surprise
that drawing hands well requires understanding how the fingers move.
The Thumb and Fingers
Let's start with the thumb, which works alone. Its real base, and centre of
movement, is very low on the hand, where it meets the wrist.
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1. The natural relaxed position leaves a space between the Th and the
rest of the hand.
2. The Th can fold in as far as touching the root of LF, but this requires
much tension and quickly becomes painful.
3. The Th can extend as far as the width of the palm, but this also implies
tension and gets painful.
The other four fingers have little sideways movement and mainly bend for-
ward, parallel to each other. They can do this with a certain degree of auton-
omy, but never without some effect on the nearest fingers; try for instance to
bend your MF alone, and see what happens to the rest. The Th alone is
completely independent.
When the hand closes into a fist and the fingers all curl together, the whole
of the hand maintains a cupped shape, as if it was placed against a large
ball. It’s just that the ball (here in red) gets smaller and the curvature
stronger:
When the hand is fully extended (on the right), the fingers are either straight
or bend slightly backwards, depending on flexibility. Some people’s fingers
can bend back 90º if pressure is applied against them.
The fully closed fist is worth a detailed look:
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1. The 1st and 3rd fold of the fully bent finger meet, creating a cross.
2. The 2nd fold appears to be an extension of the line of the finger.
3. Part of the finger is covered by the flap of skin and the thumb, a re-
minder that the whole thumb structure is outermost. You can make
your FF slip outside and cover the flap of skin, it's anatomically possi-
ble, but it is not a natural way to form a fist.
4. The MF's knuckle protrudes most and the other knuckles fall away
from it, so that from the angle shown here, the parallel fingers are visi-
ble from the outer side, not from the inner side.
5. The 1st and 3rd fold meet and create a cross again.
6. The thumb bends so that its last section is foreshortened.
7. The skin fold here sticks out.
8. When the hand makes a fist, the knuckles protrude and the "parenthe-
sis" are visible.
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The Hand as a Whole

When the hand is relaxed, the fingers curl slightly – more so when the hand
is pointing up and gravity forces them bent. In both cases, the FF remains
straightest and the rest fall away gradually, with the LF being the most bent.
From the side, The gradation in the fingers makes the outer 2 or 3 peek out
between FF and Th.
LF frequently “runs away” and stands isolated from the other fingers – an-
other way of making hands look more natural. On the other hand, the FF
and MF, or MF and RF, will often pair up, “sticking” together while the other
2 remain loose. This makes the hand look more lively. RF-LF pairings also
occur, when the fingers are loosely bent.
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Since the fingers are not the same length, they always present a gradation.
When grasping something, like the cup below, the MF (1) wraps the most
visibly around the object while the LF (2) barely shows.
When holding a pen or the like, MF, RF and LF curl back towards the palm if
the object is held only between Th and FF (pick up a pencil lightly and ob-
serve this). If more pressure is applied, MF participates and straightens up
as it presses against the object. Full pressure results in all the fingers point-
ing away as shown here.
As we have seen, the hand and wrist are remarkably articulated, each finger
almost having a life of its own, which is why hands tend to stump the begin-
ning illustrator. Yet when the hand starts to make sense, we tend to fall into
the opposite trap, which is to draw hands too rationally – fingers carefully
taking their places, parallel lines, careful alignments. The result is stiff and
simply too tame for a part of the body that can speak as expressively as the
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eyes. It can work for certain types of characters (such as those whose per-
sonality shows stiffness or insensitivity) but more often than not, you’ll want
to draw lively, expressive hands. For this you can go one of two ways: add
attitude (i.e. add drama to the gesture, resulting in a dynamic hand position
that would probably never be used in real life) or add natural-ness (observe
the hands of people who aren’t thinking about them to see the casualness
I’m referring to). I can’t possibly show every hand position there is, but I give
below examples of constrained vs. natural/dynamic hand:
*Note in this particular case – trained fighters will always hold their fingers
parallel while punching (as in the forced position), otherwise they may break
their knuckles.
Diversity
Hands vary individually just as much as facial features. Males's hands differ
from female's, young from old, and so on. Below are some existing classifi-
cations, but they don't cover the whole range of characters a hand can
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have. Character is a good word because it's most useful to draw hands as if
they were characters with their own personality: delicate, soft, dry, callous,
uncouth and so on. (See Practice Time)
Hand Shapes
This is really about the proportion of fingers to hand:
Finger Shapes
Even fingernails are not all the same! Well, Mother Nature gives us flat or
round nail bases, really, and the different ways of styling the nail are man-
made.
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FEETS
The foot may well be the most neglected part of the body, largely because
it's so often hidden inside a shoe, or simply left outside the frame of the
drawing – out of sight and out of mind. This unfamiliarity is, I suspect, what
makes feet confusing to draw when they do come up, because as we'll see
below, they have relatively simple forms and very little motion. As with the
hand, you should not hesitate to take off your shoes and use your own feet
as references, when possible!
Basics of the Foot

Let’s look briefly at the structure of the foot: The tarsals or ankle bones in
blue, the metatarsi or instep bones in purple, and the phalanges or toes in
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pink.
Very little of the foot can move, so we can simplify it as shown on the right:
Although the first joint of the toes is back where "actual base" is indicated,
flesh covers the foot up to the "apparent base" line, which is why they ap-
pear so short (that and the fact they are curved at all times, as we will see.)
The bones of the foot are arranged to form 3 arches that give it the strength
to support our bodies. The first two arches shape the bottom of the foot and
the third shapes the upper part. Squeeze the sides of your foot and note
how rigid they are: the bottom of the foot is not soft and does not deform un-
der pressure. This means that in any position, the indentations of the arches
will always show in an adult foot.
The Lateral Longitudinal Arch:
This is the barely marked one outside the foot. It shows as a slight indenta-
tion from the heel, both below and outside the foot.
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This arch means that the outer contour is not a flat line (except in flat feet),
and similarly the line from heel to ball is not a smooth curve but marks the
arch.
The Medial Longitudinal Arch:

This is the large one inside the foot. It’s a very noticeable indentation. The
part of the sole that’s behind the arch (under the red curve in the diagram)
would be lost in shadow when the foot is on the ground, so we'd still see the
arch, but since we usually see feet from above and not from the ground
level, we see it really emphasized:
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The Transverse Arch:

This arch shapes the top of the foot.
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The toes:
Note the direction of the toes: while the big toe is parallel to the ground and
points straight ahead, the other four bend towards the ground, and point
down.
Drawing the foot

A simple way to draw feet is to begin by drawing the sole of the foot. No
toes, no arches, just the basic shape. It’s shaped like a long egg, flattened
on one side (below left).
The advantage of this is that this flat shape is simple enough to be drawn in
perspective and under different angles. This part of the foot doesn't bend in
any appreciable amount, so this flat shape doesn't need to bend either, sav-
ing us a level a complexity. Anatomical accuracy is not a requirement at this
point, we’re giving ourselves a guideline to build on.
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If you have trouble with the perspective, draw the basic shape, on a sheet of
paper and place that paper under the angle you need. It's also a useful ob-
servation exercise, to become familiar with how this shape changes under
various angles.
The next step is to make a small adjustment to the shape, cutting off a cor-
ner to get closer to the foot’s natural shape. If you’re comfortable doing so,
you can start directly with this step:
Now to give it dimension. As you can see, it’s a flattened, curved pyramid,
with the apex closest to the heel: the circle is the section of where the leg
joins with the foot and forms the ankle. The dashed lines are to help you see
the contour. Only the black outline is needed for the drawing.
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Finally, add the toes. Adding the toes separately means you can draw their
movement independently from the basic shape, which as mentioned above
bends almost not at all. If needed, sketch a guideline to define the general
shape of the toes (see shapes further down) before drawing them individu-
ally. They are pressed together so, from almost all angles, they overlap.
Note the position of the little toe: its base is positioned between 1/4 and 1/3
of the total foot length (here the lines divide the foot in 4, so it's 1/4th).
Finalize by carving out the arches and adding the ankle bone and Achilles’
tendon.
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As an alternative to the above method, you can also draw the foot as a
wedge, and then add the toes and carve out the final form:
Additional Details
Here are more advanced details, small things that make the foot look right.
You'll notice that some are the same as in the hand.
Toes:
1. The toes look longer on top of the foot than they do underneath it.
2. The toenails start halfway up the top joint. As toe joints are so short,
toenails are wider than they are long.
3. Note also how much larger the big toe is, twice the size of the second
toe, so that its first joint is within the foot and can barely move.
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How the toes look when the foot is bent depends on how much weight is on
them:
Foot A below is relaxed. Even though the toes bend a little, there is no real
weight on them. In this situation they preserve their gentle curve to the floor
(1).
In foot B, most of the weight is on the toes (note that this is only possible
when pressing against a surface, this can't happen in a foot in mid-air). The
pressure makes the second joint stick out, as shown in (2). Bend lines ap-
pear in the other joints (3) and the big toe goes even straighter and it is
completely flattened against the ground.
When not pressed against a surface, the range of mobility of the toes is lim-
ited to the 2 extremes of curled vs. splayed (with, literally, wiggling room in-
between.)
1. The first joint can completely hide under the foot...
2. ... except for the big toe, which is stuck at around 90º.
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3. Hyperextending (splaying) the toes makes them point in different direc-

tions.
4. Tendons appear, as well as space between the toes.
5. Note that the 4 smaller toes remain curved down, they can never curve
up.
Profile Views:
1. There’s always a bump here that’s more or less pronounced.
2. The ankle is higher on the inside.
3. At least 2 toes show behind the big toe, depending on angle of view.
4. Only a ground-level angle of view hides the small toes completely.
5. The outer line of the foot travels up as the foot turns out.
6. The inner line of the foot shows a proper arch, and then reverses into
another, smaller arch (the padding line) near the toe.
7. Again, the inner line travels up as the foot turns in. Note that the line of
the arch disappears very quickly because there's no real angle there,
while the padding line remains visible.
8. At some point the joint of the gig toe starts protruding, creating a bump
on the upper side of the foot.
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9. These tendon lines may or may not show. Tension makes them pop
out, and they can be permanently visible in male or elderly feet, but
they will look out of place on female or young feet. You have to judge
for yourself whether they serve your purpose or not.
Front View:
A shows the foot seen frontally when it’s perfectly level, such as from
ground level.
From this angle the toes look like peas in a pod, and you can simply draw
them as balls before connecting them to the foot. Usually however, our
frontal view of feet (when they are on the ground) is from a higher point of
view, as in B.
1. What looks like a “6th toe” is the padding outside the foot.
2. The big toe looks oval rather than round.
3. The big toe and second toe are usually separated by a space.
4. In a frontal view that reveals the underside, the ball of each toe shows
clearly.
5. The padding line is horizontal from this angle, NOT parallel to the sides
of the foot.
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6. When the toes are lifted, the padding of the forefoot is visible under-
neath them.
7. The inner line of the padding may appear, cutting the foot in two by
running towards the ankle.
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Where the Foot Joins the Leg:

1. Roughly speaking, the front side of the leg falls vertically into the foot.
2. The back of the leg slopes in, but the heel protrudes out again.
3. This is a transition plane between leg and foot – there is no sharp an-
gle. Look for it in all the diagrams above.
4. Note that the inward slope of the back and outer sides of the leg is
connected to the calf muscle. The less muscular the calf, the straighter
this line; in extreme cases of muscle depletion it becomes quite vertical
because it then follows the bone. Inversely, excess fat will cause both
lines to bulge in a sausage effect.
5. Seen from the front, the inner side of the leg is vertical while the outer
side slopes in.
6. The ankle bones jut out both inside and outside, but higher on the in-
side.
7. On the outside, the ankle bone appears tucked behind this line.
8. The Achilles tendon runs up from the heel into the leg, creating an
open drop shape.
9. The thinnest part of the leg, both from the side and from the front, is a
little above the ankle bone.
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Considering the line of the tibia, which is the straight line running down from
the knee, a relaxed foot (A) forms an angle with this line, while a fully ex-
tended foot (B) causes this line to run down all the way to the toes. Some
people can point the foot until it bends even further than the line (C), but this
isn’t common. Note the skin folds above the heel!
Diversity
No less than hands, feet are quite individual and have their own small range
of shapes. Unlike hands, they can be permanently affected by non-genetic
factors, namely the wearing of shoes. Note that in a given person, hands
and feet work rather like a set. If someone has big hands, they'll have big
feet as well; thick fingers are reflected in thick toes, and so on.
Male and Female Feet
Female feet are not a smaller version of male ones, but have a slightly dif-
ferent structure. In a female foot:
1. The big toe is shallower (not so prominent)
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2. This inside line is more curved.

3. The arch is higher.
4. The foot is smaller for a given body height.
5. This outside length is shorter.
Arch Types
These show most in the foot’s imprint. A normal foot shows, in print, a pro-
nounced inner arch and slight outer arch. In flat feet (aka low arch or prona-
tor) there are no arches, all of the foot sole touches the ground. In a high
arch foot (aka supinator), only a narrow band connects the heel and the ball
of the foot. Flat and high arch feet can cause aches in the muscles and back
(note however that infants commonly have flat feet, the arches developing in
early childhood).
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Foot Shapes
The overall shape of the foot is created by the arrangement of the toes in
two ways:
Which toe is longest:
• Egyptian foot: The big toe is longest.
• Greek foot: The second toe is longest.
• Square foot: Toes have even lengths.
Contrast between the widest part of the foot and its "tip"
• Wide foot: Less contrast between the widest part of the foot and its tip.
• Narrow or Tapering foot: More contrast between the widest part of the
foot and its tip (due to the last 2 toes receding too much).
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Shoes vs. Barefoot

It makes a big difference to the shape of the foot whether one has been
made to wear shoes from childhood or not. In cultures where closed shoes
are worn most of the time (such as in Western cultures), the feet are nar-
rower and the toes squeezed together. The big toe tends to point inward
and the little toe can be permanently curled up under its neighbor.
In parts of the world where people go barefoot or wear thongs (which is
probably the majority of the world population!), the foot shows its natural
form: broader and flatter, the toes splayed for a better hold on the ground.
The big toe points straight, even slightly out, and there is space between the
toes. As they are not squeezed, they are rounder and broader. This is
shown a bit exaggerated below.
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References and Supplementary Materials

Links
1. https://learn.toonboom.com/modules/animation-
workflow/topic/traditional-animation1
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_art
3. https://www.slideshare.net/kmalkani/fundamentals-of-drawing-
29565982
4. https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/human-anatomy-fundamentals-
basic-body-proportions--vector-18254
5. https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/human-anatomy-fundamentals-
how-to-draw-hands--cms-21440
6. https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/human-anatomy-fundamentals-
how-to-draw-feet--cms-21733
7. https://www.arttutor.com/blog/201801/how-start-drawing-using-simple-
shapes
Course Module

Animation G12 1st Quarter

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Animation NC II

Module 2. Drawing Fundamentals

Flat sketching pencil

Other Helpful Materials

Paper stump/ tortillon

Create Your Chart From Heads

The Legs and Knees

The Ribcage, Nipples and Belly Button

The Arm, Wrists and Hands

The Basic Profile

The Spine in Profile

The Ribcage and Legs in Profile

The Arms in Profile

The Eyes and Eyebrows

Details of the Eye

In profile, it changes shape completely and becomes comma-like. The

wings/nostrils/septum (hide the lines with your fingers to see).

Notes on the mouth and lips:

sense of it as a group of simple forms, easy to put together.

I use the following abbreviations for the fingers:

Basics of the Hand

1. The fingernail starts halfway up the top joint of the finger.

1. The maximum opening between Th and FF opening = 1.5

5. Inside, the wrist line is covered by thumb base, so the transition is

The Hand as a Whole

Basics of the Foot

The Medial Longitudinal Arch:

The Transverse Arch:

Drawing the foot

3. Hyperextending (splaying) the toes makes them point in different direc-

Where the Foot Joins the Leg:

2. This inside line is more curved.

• Greek foot: The second toe is longest.

• Square foot: Toes have even lengths.

Shoes vs. Barefoot

References and Supplementary Materials

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