Simplifying Anatomy

The Male Figure

P r in t a b le Wo r k s h e e ts

C r e a t e d b y B r e e , Ab r it o , & Ch a m in
Not es From Bree
Through this worksheet you’ll learn how to simplify the
male figure & transfer the skills you learn into your own
work!

Disclaimer: Learning how to simplify the body will help

you cheat anatomy a bit & get you a step further in
accuracy but your end-goal should be to eventually learn
the anatomy of the body! Furthermore, since we will only
be going over the simplification of the body, we will not be
diving into things like the details of the face, hands, hair,
and clothes.

We hope you are excited to be adding new knowledge to

your art brain library :DD When sharing on social media,
please tag us @majestics0ck, @abrito.x, @yoonchamin
and use the hashtage #sockartguide so we can see your
work!

Bree , A brito & Chamin 2

Ta b le o f C o n te n ts
Tool: General Body Proportions 4

Simplifying Anatomy: Drawing The Individual Body Parts 5

Simplifying Anatomy: Step by Step 9

Exercise 1: Drawing The Individual Body Parts 15

Exercise 2: Let’s Draw A Body 19

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Tool:General Body Proportions
the impor tant landmarks of the body

One of the most important factors in drawing the human body is the proportion. Having the knowledge of and being able to draw a
proportionally sound body is crucial for any artist that wants to draw characters. Proportions itself has a vast amount of variety, and it’s easy
to see stretched and pulled body proportions in animated works. However, without the knowledge of proper anatomy and proportions, the
characters will look wonky and out-of-place.

The most basic body proportion is about 8 heads tall. Of course, this is not applicabe for most people in real life, but the rules and guides
can be easily used across varying degrees of proportions. Near the end of each head measurement marked by the numbers on the left side,
analyze what body part is near this number. When drawing, keep these analyzations in mind and measure out the rest of the body using the
head to help create a proportionate body.

Bree , A brito & Chamin 4

 Simplifying Anatomy: Drawing
The Individual Body Parts
Whenever you’re drawing any part of the human body, it’s wise to simplify those parts into simpler shapes for the construction phase of the
drawing. This makes it easier to gauge the overall proportion of a body part in relation to other body parts.
Dr aw ing T h e H e a d
Front View
1 2
Side View
1 2
Perspective View
1 2
3 For the head, I start with a simple circle. Then I draw a
horizontal and the vertical center line going through the
middle of the circle. The horizontal line indicates the
eyebrow line. Then a quarter of the circle is cut off (red
dotted line) and a vertical line on both sides of the circle
to indicate the sides of the face. Finally I draw the jaw
line. For a masculine head, the jawline is usually lower
and more defined.
3
Another thing to note is that the length of the hairline
(red line) to the eyebrow line (yellow line), eyebrow to
the nose (blue line), and nose to the jaw are of the same
length.
Disclaimer: This guide is for simplified anatomy and will
not be going over the details of the face.
3
Note: The head is not a perfect sphere. When
the head is in perspective, we can see that the
side of the head is flat. We can represent this
area with a circle. The size of this “inner circle”
is about 3/4 of the sphere we started off with in
step one of the front/side view.
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 Tor so
Onto the torso. The rib cage of the human body can be simplified into
an egg-shaped oval. Draw the vertical and horizontal centerlines and
an upwards curve near the bottom of the oval to indicate the shape of
the rib cage. To find the highest point on this curve, split the bottom
half of the oval in half and then once again (indicated by the red line).

Front View Side View

Pelvis
For the male pelvis, a simple rectangle will do. Draw a simple rectangle,
draw the centerlines, outline a bowl-like shape (use the guide), and
draw curves into both sides near the bottom of the box, creating an
underwear-like shape.

Front View Side View

Tip: To get better at drawing bodies in perspective, practice drawing simple 3D shapes like so.

Two Ways to Draw Boxes 3D Box Broken Down

Bree , A brito & Chamin 6

 Ar ms
The arm is a bit more complicated, as it’s composed of many
different shapes and layers. In its essence, however, it’s a
glorified cylinder. Start with a simple skeletal outline to figure
out the proportions. Then, start layering simple shapes on top
of it. The shoulder is a stretched bean-like shape, the upper
arm a cylinder and the forearm is a tapering cylinder. And
the elbow joint can be drawn as a little sphere. There are of
course many interlayering of the muscles going on, but for
our purposes, this will do.

Front View Side View

Legs

Much like the arms, the legs can be simplified into cylinders. As always,
start with a simple skeletal outline for proportions. The upper leg will be
a cylinder with its middle sort of inflated. For the lower leg, start with a
tapering cylinder. Then add a bump on both sides of the cylinder. The
outer side of the lower leg will usually have a bump that is higher than its
counterpart, causing a diagonal line between the two bumps. The ankles
will also have bumps creating a diagonal line in the opposite direction.

Note: The legs above are slightly rotated outward.

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 Hands
1 2
Start with a quick construction sketch to figure out the overall
length and proportion of each part of the hand. Usually the length
of the palm is about equal to the length of the fingers. Then, draw
a simple box-like shape for the hand. Before drawing in the fingers,
do a quick construction sketch to figure out the positions of the
knuckles. The spacing between the knuckles will get smaller and
smaller as they go up towards the tips of the fingers. If you’re
3 4
unsure of how to space out the knuckles, a good rule of thumb is
to split the finger length in half for the bottom most part of the
finger.

1 2 3
The fingers can be simplified into cylinders. And on the palm side, the
tip of the finger will curve up towards the nail.

Note: Notice how the thumb protrudes out from the triangle
shape instead of the palm like all of the other fingers!

Feet
The foot is quite a complex body part to draw, but like the others, it can
be simplified. Start with a quick construction sketch for proportions.
Think of a wedge shape for the middle of the foot, a circle for the heels,
and a rectangle for the toes.

The heel area will be drawn as a sphere. The wedge part in the
middle has an inclined face. And for the toes, we’ll use a boxy
shape.

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 Simplifying Anatomy
Step b y S te p : C o n s t ru c t i n g t h e S i m p l i f i e d Fe m a le F igure
In Albrito’s Style

In this section, we will put together the individual body parts

using a reference.

Reference photos for figure drawing can be easily found on the

internet. Simply look up “figure drawing reference photos” and
countless great references will show up. In the homework section,
there are five images ready for you to try out!

Photography by Grafit Studio

1 . L i n e o f A c tio n
Whenever you’re starting a figure drawing, draw the line of action, or
at least take a mental note of it. Having an established line of action
from the start will help you understand the gesture and direction of
the pose, which will in turn make your drawings look more fluid.

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 2. Angles
Draw the angle of the shoulders and the hip. This allows you to draw
a far more accurate drawing by establishing early on key positions
of the body.

3. Head
I personally like to start from the top to bottom. Drawing the head
first allows you to measure out the rest of the body’s proportion
from it. Keep a close eye on the size, angle, and direction the head
is facing. It’s important to start on an accurate note as we will be
using the head as a reference point for proportions later on.

Notes: The head will be attached to the rib cage though

the neck. The neck can be represented as a simple cylinder
attached to the back of the head and jaw.

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 4. Torso
Draw the torso. Remember, the rib cage of the human body is
shaped like an egg. Draw the oval shape, and draw the center line
with the correct angle.

5 . Pe l v i s
Draw a simple pelvis. Use the line we drew early on for the angles as
a reference point. Always keep in mind the distances between each
of the body parts. Measure the distance between the head, torso,
and the pelvis and make sure it’s consistent with the reference.

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 6. Limbs
Lightly sketch some simple lines and circles to indicate the limbs
and its joints. Drawing the general areas of the elbow and knee
joints is important as they will be the foundation for drawing the
rest of the limbs. So make sure you’re keeping a close attention to
the details.

Use the proportions of the body page and keep your reference in
mind as you do this!

7 . H a n d s a nd F e e t
As for the hands and feet, draw a simplified shape for now to
indicate their position. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be drawing a
random rectangle just to fill in space; make sure the shapes are
consistent with the angles you see in the reference photo.

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8. Silhouet t e
Now that the construction phase of the drawing is over, we can go
in and start defining the shapes of the body. Use the tips on the
individual body parts section to sketch the simplified shapes in and
fill out the body.

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9. Finishing Touch
With the overall shapes of the body defined, we
are now able to draw the musculature in its simple
form! Alas, we will not be covering detailed anatomy,
clothes, and facial features in this guide but we can
still do our best using our references to make drawing
bodies easier for ourselves when doing these exercises.

Head to the video demo if you’d like to watch Abrito and

Chamin sketch out five different poses using the method
taught in this guide for extra insight! (The linework on
the left was created by Abrito.)

Scan to view the demo video

Bree , A brito & Chamin 14

Dra win g th e In d i v i dua l Bo dy Pa rt s
E x erci se 1 . 1 - Si mp l e S h a p e s: D ra w B a s i c 3 D S h ap e s
Practice drawing the following shapes in perspective: box, cylinder, sphere, and pyramid. This exercise will help you draw
the individual body par ts in perspective later.

Exam ples

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D ra w in g th e I n d i v i dua l Bo dy Pa rt s
Exerci se 1 . 2 - Pr a cti c e D ra wi n g t h e I n d i v i d u al B o d y Part s
Let’s practice drawing the individual body par ts. Trace the images on the left and then practice them on your own on the
column on the right! Also, tr y to practice drawing body par ts in perspectives that aren’t included in the trace column!

tra c e practi ce

Example

Head

Torso

Bree , A brito & Chamin 16

Dra win g th e In d i v i dua l Bo dy Pa rt s
Exerci se 1 . 2 - P r a c ti c e D ra wi n g t h e I n d i v i d u al B o d y Part s
Let’s practice drawing the individual body par ts. Trace the images on the left and then practice them on your own on the
column on the right! Also, tr y to practice drawing body par ts in perspectives that aren’t included in the trace column!

tra c e practi ce

Pelvis

Arms

Legs

Bree , A brito, & Chamin 17

Dra win g th e In d i v i dua l Bo dy Pa rt s
Exerci se 1 . 2 - P r a c ti c e D ra wi n g t h e I n d i v i d u al B o d y Part s
Let’s practice drawing the individual body par ts. Trace the images on the left and then practice them on your own on the
column on the right! Also, tr y to practice drawing body par ts in perspectives that aren’t included in the trace column!

tra c e practi ce

Hands

Feet

Extra Practice

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Constructing the Body
Exercise 2.1 Practice Makes Progress!
Practice drawing the figure we lear ned how to draw earlier in the “Step by Step: Constructing the Simplified Female Figure”
por tion. All you gotta do is trace the images we’ve placed down for you and when you’re ready to practice this on your own,
please do so in the freehand section!

0 1 2

3 4 5

6 7 8 Try it yous el f !

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Constructing the Body
E x erci se 2 . 2 - M o r e S tu d i e s , M o re R e f e re n c e s
Refer to the entire interactive guide for this section. Use the references we’ve gathered to practice ever ything that has
been taught to you. Good luck!

Bree , A brito & Chamin 20

Constructing the Body
E x erci se 2 . 2 - M o r e S tu d i e s , M o re R e f e re n c e s
Refer to the entire interactive guide for this section. Use the references we’ve gathered to practice ever ything that has
been taught to you. Good luck!

Bree , A brito, & Chamin 21