how many heads high.

[AdamDillabo]

i have heard tones of things for this and just wanted to get a final answer. how many heads high is the human figure? my art teacher has said 6 1/2, 7, 7 1/2. i just started studing loomis book and he has it as 8. is it just prefrence, or used to convey importance of the head or the pose of the body?

[dbclemons]

My own proportion is 8 heads high. Nature is a curious thing, however. We're not pressed through molds. Children also have different ratios depending on their ages.

[Slash]

Loomis uses more idealized proportions, while academic proportions seem to be more towards the plumper 6.5 heads.

as dbc says, people are different, and 6.5 isnt necessarily more "correct" than 8. Artists use different proportions to help build a characters, i.e. you wouldnt see superman drawn to fit in the 6.5 proportions.

[AdamDillabo]

ty guys. ok new question, i have been working on my figure drawing on and off for a while now and every one sucks. so my question is does creating bad art help you create good art or do i have to draw well to get better? sounded better in my head but i hope you guys get what im saying.

[Elwell]

From Stephen Rogers Peck's Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist.

[dogfood]

so my question is does creating bad art help you create good art or do i have to draw well to get better?
There are few good artists in utero.

You're going to swing at a thousand pitches before you connect. Early on, though, you need to do a lot of studying in addition to drawing. It will increase your progress.

[softocean]

Hi everyone,

I was experimenting creating figures with various proportions of head to body size, when I noticed that the arms just don't look right for smaller body sizes. Is there a relative size method other than using heads for measurment of arm, torso lengths, etc?

For example below I tried to make the arm extend to middle of the upper leg and the elbow to about the navel. Allometric growth is making the proportions different I guess.

[CCThrom]

BTW - 8 heads is often considered a "heroic" adult proportion... you see it in superhero comic books a lot. Not that I'm saying something about dbclemons or anything...

[dbclemons]

:ninja: Gadzooks! So much for my secret identity... ;)

[MrJackson]

8 heads tall is considered the classical ideal. Actual humans are nearer to 7 on average.