Body proportions

I. The human body

in proportion
As a fashion designer you should always remember that
clothes are made to be worn by real people. It is important,
therefore, to gain some understanding of the structure and
proportions of the human body.
The exercise in figure drawing will introduce you to a simple
and easy system that you can use to draw figures that are
roughly in proportion. The exercise has nothing to
do with creativity but will help you grasp the
possibilities and restrictions of the framework on
which your creations will hang.
There are obvious differences in the male and
female forms, such as narrower waists and wider
hips for females and squarer chests and faces for
men. However, these variations should be
incorporated once the basics have been sketched.
Male and female bodies can both be broken down
into:
•Head •Upper •Pelvic area •Chest •Calf •Thigh

1.A Vitruvian Man

Leonardo da Vinci is renowned for
his realistic representations of the human body. He
drew this illustration of a precisely proportioned figure
to accompany his notes on Vitruvius. This architect
wrote in Roman times that the human body Is the Ideal
architectural model because It fits, with arms and legs
extended, Into the perfect forms of both the square and
the circle.
2. 4 Eight-and-a-half heads
The height of a realistic human figure from crown to
toe is around seven-and-a-half times the height of the
head. For fashion purposes, this can be stretched
(below the waist only) to eight-and-a-half head sizes.
the same simple block shapes. The head can be
portrayed as an egg; the chest as a wastepaper basket;
the pelvic area as a wide gymnastic vaulting horse; the
limbs as tapering tubes; the feet and hands as cones;
and the joints as balls. Once you have drawn these
shapes in the relative sizes shown (opposite), in a
straightforward front view, you can move them around
like parts of a wooden drawing dummy to create the
pose you want.
There is a convention in fashion illustration that a
figure should be elongated to give it more elegance.
However, that elongation should involve only the legs.
A real-life body will measure around seven-and-a-half-
head sizes; in fashion this increases to eight-and-a-
half heads, with
the extra length
added below the
waist. All the
other proportions
of the basic block
shapes should be
based on reality.
When you come
to draw from life,
a grasp of these principles will help you enormously in
understanding the mechanics of the figure in front of
you. It is always good to remember that these "rules"
are just conventions, but by gaining a basic
understanding of the structure and proportions of the
human body you will be better placed to break the
rules later.
► Exploring movement
A wooden artist's dummy can help you analyze
movement.
► Free illustration
A drawing based on an awareness of correct body
proportions can still be free in execution and will still
allow you to experiment with the presentation of the
garments.
3.THE HUMAN BODY IN PROPORTION 51
An exercise in figure drawing
If you are inexperienced in drawing figures, using this
I easy method can add to the confidence of your
illustrations by ensuring that your figures are roughly
in proportion and all drawn to the same scale. The
simple shapes and proportions of the method ensure
that the figures are easy to draw and look correct.
Furthermore, by grasping how these basic shapes fit
together to form a human figure, your drawings will
become better anchored on the page and the poses
more convincing. For the sake of this exercise, the
body, broken into its component parts, remains
unclothed.
After you have completed the task, you should keep
the drawings as a reference. You can always come
back to this book, but nothing stays In the memory
better than something learned by actually doing It
yourself.
the project
Using a simple paper-folding method, divide your page
to make a proportional blueprint of the human figure.
Then draw in the basic block shapes that represent
different parts of the body to make an easy-reference
tool for use when you create fashion drawings in the
future.
the objective
• Gain a framework to strengthen the more creative
aspects of your work. • Practice drawing an elongated
figure to use in fashion illustration.
4.SELF-CRITIQUE
• Have you followed this exercise step-by-step?
• Have you gained a better understanding of the basic
shapes and proportions of the human figure?
• Will you be able to use this knowledge when
creating fashion designs in the future?
The human body is remarkably consistent in the way
it divides up into sections. Make a mark just below the
top of a page of paper (11 x 14 in.). Then draw a
straight plumb line down the page, leaving about an
inch at the bottom, and mark the end of the line. Fold
your page at the halfway point between the top and
bottom marks. Fold the page again, finding the
halfway point on the plumb line as before, and then
repeat once more. Flatten out the sheet, and you can
now fill in your proportional blueprint of the human
figure.
From the top mark to the next fold draw your egg-
shaped head. Divide the line between this fold and the
next, and mark across the plumb line. This mark
forms the base of the neck and the shoulders. The
next fold indicates the middle point of the rib cage.
One fold down is the navel, followed by the crotch on
fold four. Ignore fold five. On fold six mark your ball-
shaped kneecap, and ignore fold seven. At the level of
the bottom mark, fill in the ankle with another ball
shape. The
5.The folded-paper method
Once you have folded your page, marking the creases
as described below, you can begin to sketch in the
standard body shapes to achieve a correctly
proportioned figure.
gap left at the bottom of the page is for the cone-
shaped foot, which will protrude by about half the
distance of the spaces between the folds.
You now have an eight-and-a-half-heads fashion
figure that you can use as a basis for your designs. If
you wish to elongate the figure further
(some designers work to a nine- or
even ten-heads measurement),
remember that extra length should be
added only below the knee. Using the
block shapes, you can then draw in
the remaining body parts to fill out
the figure. Draw

6. Using the framework

Using the "eight and a half heads" proportions as a
rough framework for your illustrations will support
even the most stylized representation of a figure.
the chest from the neck base through fold two and
three-quarters of the way down to fold three. Draw the
pelvic box up from fold four, extending three-quarters
of the way to fold three. When you add the limbs,
remember that the upper arm is shorter than the
lower. The elbow, with arms hanging, is just above
navel level; the wrist is just below the crotch.
The basic forms remain in proportion, but have been
manipulated, the limbs rotated to create a sense of life
and movement.
7.Manipulating the basic
forms
This sequence of drawings
shows how scribbles made
using the folded-paper
method can be worked up
Into sketches for a final
illustration.
The basic forms remain in
proportion, but have been
manipulated, the limbs
rotated to create a sense of life and
movement.
Although it is essential for a fashion
designer to strive to break new
ground and sometimes disregard
conventions, it is nevertheless also
useful to be grounded in a few basic
design principles. It is important for
designers always to keep in mind the
fact that, whatever flights of fancy
they may be exploring, their garments
will eventually have to fit on a human
body.
In fashion illustration it is usual to
stretch the legs a little, but all other
body parts should conform to their
real proportions. This simple folded-
paper system achieves a pattern for a
fashionably elongated but correctly
proportioned figure that can then be
used as a foundation for illustrations
such as those pictured here. It Is
always possible to break completely
with convention, but a student
should start with a framework to
support the free ideas that might follow. It is only once
the basic principles have been absorbed that a
designer can enjoy true artistic freedom.

8.A Hidden structure

These figures have all been created using the folded-
paper method, but the nuts and bolts of the
construction are hidden under a free-
and-easy representation of the
garments. A stylized depletion of
garments Is more likely to be
successful If the viewer can accept
the underlying figure as realistic.

►Taking liberties
Because the basic structure of these
figures is correctly proportioned, the
designer has been able to take
liberties with details such as the
broad shoulders and long arms to achieve a
consistent stylization that gives cohesion to the overall
look.