Sketching

For Christmas, one of my presents was drawing pencils. I already owned a small sketching pad, the perfect size to fit in a purse or bag.

That got me to start drawing more. I've checked out drawing books, experimented, and searched Pinterest for things to draw. The one thing that I wanted to draw, however, was people. In art class, we've drawn portraits of ourselves, and I really enjoyed that. But I'd never really drawn full body portraits.
A.K.A. I am a total beginner. ;)

Of course, I really wanted to draw the characters from my book. Being *ahem* overly-ambitious, I started planning out poses/scenes to put them in. Some poses... let's just say, some are easier than others.

One of the methods I prefer the most is the Ball-and-Socket technique. It's really handy, and makes it a lot simpler. Take it from me, a total amateur. :) My people-drawing has improved under this.

1. You lightly sketch out the "wire frames", or the basic pose your person/character will be in. Draw small balls to show where the joints are, and simple "sticks" for the basic arms and legs.

2. Enlarge it, building the body to be more realistic and not so much of just a stick figure.

3. Erase the sketch marks, going over it, fixing the smaller bits.

4. Draw in hair, expression, etc.

5. If you are like me, make minor changes/edits several times.

6. Go over with a finer tipped pencil, fixing rough patches.

7. (Optional) Color.

I prefer to keep my sketches just... sketches. But that's just me. ;)

There you have it! My tips to drawing the basic human figure. Now get to sketching!