In this article we will give you 5 great tips to draw the female figure, we will go through the body in general, face, curves, arms, legs, etc. Does any aspect of the above mentioned have more importance than another? Where do I start?
You will solve these questions and many more as you read the article, so concentrate, get comfortable and start now!
Tricks so that the drawn woman really looks like a woman
Drawing human anatomy is always challenging, even more so, considering the specific features of each individual to be drawn.
We will take into account variables such as gender, age, build, etc. There are certain details to take into account for each type of body, so in this article we will see tricks to make the women we draw look like real women.
It is a constant, every draftsman learns to draw bodies similar to his own, this has an advantage, most of them will have some notion of how approximately half of the human beings are drawn.
Men tend to draw men more naturally, while women tend to be better at drawing women.
If you are not lucky enough to be born with a woman’s body, then these tips will be especially useful.
Important clarification before we begin
It should be noted that, in light of new cultural advances in society, talking about drawing “women and men” may sound conservative.
We will refer, with the respect that all people deserve, to bodies with more or less feminine and masculine features.
In other words, we will speak of bodies in terms of spectrum, not binarism (since there can be women’s bodies, with more or less masculine traits, and vice versa).
Bodies: diversities and generalities
Regarding the body in general, a person has feminine features, the more curves she has, always considering that the hips are wider than the shoulders.
Due to hormonal, cultural and aesthetic issues, in general, female bodies do not have such a marked musculature.
When we have a muscular female character, she tends to have slightly marked muscles (if in doubt, look at the most famous super heroines. None of them look like the Hulk).
So, bodies considered masculine will tend to be angular rather than curvy, no matter how muscular they are.
With maturity, women’s hips tend to widen, since, biologically, it is necessary to have a greater support, in case of becoming pregnant.
For this reason, any female body should have a hip wider than the shoulders. Otherwise, the drawing will look masculine.
Breasts
Undoubtedly, they are a distinctive feature of the female gender, but you should consider them the last addition to your drawing.
When drawing a woman, you have to do it thinking about everything except her breasts. That is, not to fall into the trap of thinking that any monkey with two spheres on the torso will look feminine, that doesn’t happen, sorry.
The female body will depend much more on the overall structure, and more global characteristics, such as musculature and hip width.
On the other hand, there is a great diversity of breast types: large, small, triangular, more spherical, etc. Not to mention the areola and nipples, which are usually larger than in men.
It is worth clarifying
Something very important to keep in mind is the law of gravity. It is not useful to think of a breast as a balloon attached to the rib cage (this only happens in people who have obviously undergone surgery, or in drawings that are too fanciful).
A more or less realistic drawing of a person with breasts must consider that the mammary gland has weight and is attached to the rest of the skin and muscles, therefore, it will change according to the posture of the body.
The breasts will have different positions, if the body is standing, or at rest, with the arms stretched upwards, lying down, or face up.
Arms and legs
As we said, a stereotypical female character is characterized by curves all over the body, including the arms and legs.
Drawers should avoid drawing too marked angles, not because they do not exist, but because in the drawing, they do not look feminine.
About the legs, it should be noted that it is one of the characteristic features of feminine beauty, and, therefore, of utmost importance.
Why is it so characteristic? Well, because women, especially when they are young, acquire a much greater stretch of legs than men, in proportional terms.
A male and a female, of the same height, and of similar physical builds, will have very different leg sizes. Below is a clear example.
Faces: smoothness and curves
Following the logic of softness, and the curves we already mentioned, female faces tend to be more rounded in the chin area, not as wide in the jaws as male faces.
The superciliary arches (where the eyebrows are) are usually rounded, but, depending on their physical build, the female face may have more or less noticeable cheekbones, or more or less rounded cheeks.
We must not forget, and always keep in mind, that the best option is to use curves. What should never be missing are striking lips and eyes.
While it may be tempting to resort to the conservative stereotype of “girls have long hair”, being guided by this can lead us to draw very masculine faces, but with long hair, so it is one of the things to avoid drawing at the beginning.
As with the breasts, it can be convenient to draw the hair at the end, so that the facial structure looks feminine, and the hair is just an accessory.
Conclusion
As mentioned in the article, there are many important points when drawing the female figure. Although these are only broad guidelines, they give us an overview of how to start doing it without so much difficulty.
We hope this post has been useful for you, it really has a great value, and when drawing the female figure, it will serve you as a great guide, that you will consult often.
Finally, we must clarify that what we discuss in this article, are generalities and broad guidelines, about the most common problems when drawing women.
There are millions of different bodies, and many ways of expressing identity, therefore, to believe that all women ascribe to a homogeneous image is a serious mistake.
The secret to drawing the female figure is to practice, practice and practice. Human anatomy is a wonderful area, and surely, it will give you a lot of satisfaction to learn about it.
