How To Draw People (The Cheaters Way!)

Drawing people is one of the most difficult things to do, especially if you don't want them just stood there straight as a plank. I was recently taught this technique at college, and it's so simple!

Firstly, you need to find a magazine image of a pose that you'd like to recreate. Don't worry if it isn't perfect in terms of what you're after, since you can make adjustments once we get a bit further into the tutorial. I picked this image because it's sophisticated, which is how I wanted my models to come across.

Next, place a piece of tracing paper over the image, and just using lines, create the basic shape of the model. Use the centres of the limbs and circles to represent joints, then flesh out those lines to copy the models own outline. This is where you can thin out areas, bulk up areas, or change the pose a little. For example, you could move this models right arm to be on her hip too, just by moving the basic lines and then fleshing them out roughly. You might have to guess where the parts of the model are under the garments, but as long as it looks about right, it will work out fine.

Using another piece of tracing paper, transcribe just the outline of the model, along with any changes you've made. And you're done! Don't forget the head, not just the face so your models don't look pin-headed. This is also where you can stylise your models. I was using the designer Thierry Mugler to base my designs on and he uses tiny waists and broad shoulders, so I went from the image above, to this:

From here, you can then add clothing really simply, just like dressing up paper dolls when you were little! (Alright, so it might have just been me who had paper dolls, shush!)