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Draw people in a landscape

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Landscapes with people how to draw them

I love to draw and sketch outdoors and my favorite subject is the landscape. A landscape picture changes a lot when you add the human figure. It is amazing to see how the meaning and mood changes as soon as you add a single figure. But usually people move and therefore they are not that easy to depict as a tree that does not move and which will be there also tomorrow. At some point of time I found that at least some of my landscapes would need some people and so I took a figure drawing workshop to learn the basics of figure drawing. And indeed today I am not unprepared when someone shows up in my landscapes on a sunny morning like the guy with the hunters hat. He has not been there on the previous days, but suddenly he showed up and walked through my picture in a minute.

I want to pass on some of the skills which might help to get those figures into the landscape easier and I want to propose some easy exercises which might help you to be prepared when someone steps into your drawing ! Most important: do not hesitate, start drawing people today !

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Contents at a Glance

The proportions of a human figure
Buy a figure drawing set on Amazon
Figure Studies in the public
How to draw people in a landscape with w...
More proposals for studies of the human...
Art supplies for figure drawing

Some very basic facts about the proportions of the human body

There are a few easy to remember guidlines about the proportions of the human figure that help to draw people. Click on the images for enlarged views.

how to draw people - proportions of the human body

A fact that is often ignored is that the head of a human is only about 1/8 of the full body length or 1/4 of the upper half. Of course individual measures deviate from this rule.

The eyes are located in the middle of a frontal view of the head. The distance between eyebrowns, tip of the nose and chin are almost equal. Looked at a head from the side it fits into the shape of a square.

It is a good exercise to draw figures in different positions from imagination using the basic knowledge of the proportions of the human body.

Buy a figure drawing set on Amazon

Figure Studies in the public

drawing people in public places

Drawing people in public places is thrilling for many reasons and not easy to do. I admire sketchers who are able to capture people in movement. In the beginning it might be helpful to choosea place where people do not walk by, but stop standing or sit. I used the situation in a museum for some studies of visitors and staff. Usually I start with the head and work down my way over shoulders to the feet of the person.

Also sketching at the busstop or at the train station is a good choice as you will find people who do not move around that fast.

I always have a sketchbook with me because waiting lounges in hospitals and other maybe more pleasant public places are great for drawing and sketching people. Waiting time goes by much faster.

How to draw people in a landscape with watercolor

This video demonstrates how the draw or paint simple figure shapes to represent people in a landscape with watercolor

More proposals for studies of the human figure

It is not necessary to go out into the public to draw people.
For exercise purposes you might consider also:

drawing from photographs - your family album
drawing from a TV film or a video

Especially drawing from video is great because you can stop and repeat a sequence that you like.

Art supplies for figure drawing

anatomical models for drawing studies at home

Anatomical models can be very helpful for studies on the human body. The limbs can be moved and fixed on almost any position and the model can be drawn from various viewpoints.

So how does it work to draw people in a landscape ?

After some time spent with life studies you will develop a good eye and memory for the position that a human has taken in the scenery in front of you. Even if you could not finsish the specific figure you will be able to reconstruct the situation later. I often only mark the position of the heads and "hang the bodies" later. You can even complete the drawings at home or continue after you have moved to another place. For example the person you started to draw was sitting on a bench,but now stands up and walks away. You can wait until someone else will sit down or you move to another place where people are still sitting on a bench.

Before I place a figure in an empty landscape I sometimes do some trial drawings in the sketchbook to make sure I get he right size and proportions. Then I might use a transparent paper laid over the sketch to trace an exact copy of the draft. Then I can move the draft on transparent paper over the landscape study until I find the right position.

Beach pleasure, people on the beach - decorative big size poster

Beach life and pleasure poster by editionha
Browse more Beach Posters

Links to great sketches with people

I want to recommend the urban sketchers blog as great resource for drawings and sketches with people. It is amazing how lively some of the members catch people on the street. The city offers of course unlimited opportunities to observe people.

Urban Sketchers: Train station: People in a train station - Urban sketchers blog
Urban Sketchers: O sole mio?: People drawn from above, forshortening perspective
Flickr: bored with traditional figure drawing - a pool: The pool for "non-traditional" figure drawings
People on public transportations - observations by urban sketchers: Under the tag "public transportation" there are many great figure sketches and portraits too.
Urban Sketchers: people: There are tons of great sketches tagged with "people" and the archive is growing !
Urban Sketchers: waiting: This is a great example of studies made of waiting poeple by urban sketcher Isabel Fiadeiro, Portugal
Urban Sketchers: People at the Gym by Shiho Nakaza: These are some nice figure drawings from the gym. people in various positions and movements

How to draw fashion figures

This is a great website with lots of information and material about fashion figure drawing.

How to draw people - books to study

More drawing lenses by Edition Handdruck

How to draw a tree - tree drawing: How to draw a tree - Find a collection of tree drawings and explanations how they have been done. Get inspired by famous and less famous,but very impressive examples and have a look at online drawing tutorials. Find your own way how to do a tree drawing.
Efficient drawing tips for landscape drawing: Eight efficient drawing tips how to improve your landscape drawing skills efficiently and fast.Everybody who can write her/his own name on a piece of paper can achieve a high level of drawing skills. Landscape drawing can be learned and it gives so much pleasure !See a selection of examples drawings
How to draw a pine tree: Ten typical features of pine trees are explained and shown in a big size image of a pine tree drawing study. Learn about drawing a realistic looking pine tree. See more examples, get inspiration for own drawings here.
How to draw deciduous trees: This is an introduction to drawing decidous trees from life.MPM, Monotype printmaker Martin explains how he draws decidous trees with a pen and with charcoal. There are no rules in drawing,everybody can develop a very own way to draw a tree.
How to draw buildings and houses: Do you want to draw or sketch houses ? Get some ideas, tips on how to draw and sketch buildings. Some basic explanations on perspective are given. However focus here is mainly to inspire you for own explorations. Some practical tips how to draw houses and buildings in a convincing way are given.
Sketching gear - what does the beginner need ?: Sketching outdoors is a great activity and a rewarding hobby for everyone. This lens is for those how want to start sketching outdoors in the city or in rural landscape. What sketching gear would you need to have with you ? What kind of gear is suitable and what should the quality be like ?
Artist sketchbooks - little nothings turn into big somethings: For decades artist sketchbooks have only been noticed by a limited specialist audience which got access to those precious resources mostly only after the death of the creator. Excerpts might have been published in print media, but mostly only at the price of damaging or destroying the sketchbooks.
How to draw with a pen - pen drawing: Pens are very versatile drawing and sketching tools. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of using a pen. See how you might expand the use of your pen (s) to develop your own drawing style.Get inspiration from example pen drawings.Link to pen drawings and sketchbooks.
How to draw a straight line: Learn how to draw a straight line without a ruler - a simple trick will help a lot to improve your freehand drawn straight lines.
How to draw coniferous trees: This is an introduction how coniferous trees could be drawn from life.The very unknown MPM, Monotype printmaker Martin explains how he tries to draw conifers with a pen. There are no rules in drawing, everybody can(should) develop a very own way to draw.
The self portrait somewhat of an adventure: Why do people do self portraits ? Looking at my own self portraits delivers no answers to this question other than van Gogh did it and other famous artists too and none of my family members dares to sit for me ! NO that is not half of the truth !

Thanks for your visit ... feedback is always welcome!

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curious0927 Feb 13, 2012 @ 9:42 am | delete

Another great place for inspiration and rediscovery for me! Blessed!

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alysaa Feb 9, 2012 @ 3:52 pm | delete

This is what helps me when I draw people http://howtofixstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-draw-people.html good fundamentals are very important

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smsr0100451 Jan 30, 2012 @ 5:49 am | delete

Very interesting lens. Thanks for good info.

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Mistel Dec 11, 2011 @ 3:33 am | delete

Very informative. I wish I had your talent! :)

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tokyonights7 Nov 4, 2011 @ 12:15 pm | delete

Your drawings are spectacular! It's lovely to find fellow artists here on Squidoo. :) Heather
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