The Greek statutes have regulated and determined the standard of beauty in art.
These proportions, however, vary in individual cases and indivual taests. Nevertheless, they are valuable as a foundation from which modifications may be made.
In the greek statues, the height of a develeoped man was usually equivalent to eight heads. In other words, the head was 1/8th of the length of the body.
The height of a woman, Greek standard, was about seven heads.
Now, the human figure may be divided into four parts of equal length, namely:
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From the top of the head to the arm-pit;
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From the arm-pit to the middle of the body;
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From the middle of the body to the knees; and
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From the nees to the soles of the feet.
From finger-tip to finger-tip, when the arms are extended at right angles to the body equals the length of the entire figure from crown to toes.
The face may be divided into three parts:
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From the top of the forehead to the root of the nose;
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From the root of the nose to the bottom of the nose; and
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From the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin.
The ear is the length of the nose and its general direction is parallel to it.
From the top of the shoulder to the elbow measures twice the length of the face.
from the elbow to the writes, one head.
The hand measures three quarters of a head from the tip of the middle finger to the wrist.
The foot measures one sixth of the whole length of the body.
The foot measures 1/6th of the whole length of the body.
These proportions are only a guideline you have to keep in mind when learning how to draw people.
Ok. Learning the proportions of the human body is essential, but when do we get to draw people?
That's the topic of the section below.
