Human Body Drawing: Lesson 2: Female Proportions & Age Variations
STUDY OF THE IDEAL PROPORTIONS OF THE FEMALE BODY
The canon of the female body is also eight heads, as you can see yourself, on illustrations 10 and 11 opposite; but the woman's head being proportionally smaller than the man's, the result is that the entire female body is smaller than the man's (about ten centimeters).
It is fitting to signal the following differences with respect to the male body (compare drawings 10 and 11 with drawing no. 9):
- a) In the woman, the shoulders are proportionally narrower.
- b) The breasts are situated slightly lower, as are the nipples.
- c) The waist is a little thinner than the man's.
- d) The navel is found placed slightly lower.
- e) The hips are proportionally wider.
- f) On the profile female body drawing, the buttock exceeds the vertical line, on which rest the shoulder blade and the calf.
...of these variable factors. At the beginning of this century, the silhouette, the "ideal" type of the woman was very different from what it is today. The wasp waist reigned then, obtained thanks to a corset tightened by laces; the waist was systematically constricted, which caused a general overflowing of the bust and hips. Furthermore, there was a real difference in social habits between the two sexes: women did not practice any sport, did not work, did almost no exercise; she was neither a champion of the hundred-meter breaststroke, nor a rock climbing instructor,
nor a chief engineer! It is not difficult to understand how much this new conception of life can influence the appearance of the modern woman. Sports, outdoor life, gymnastics, and rough exercises must logically develop her respiratory system more, and reduce fats and adipose tissues. Consequently, it is normal that the female body transforms, that the shoulders are no longer as narrow, that the profile becomes more refined, that the silhouette is taller, more slender, in short, entirely different from that of the woman of yesteryear (compare the drawing of these types in figures 12 and 13).
I therefore repeat that the woman's body, represented according to the eight-head canon, corresponds to a classic type which is neither that of the very voluptuous woman of 1900, nor that of today's ideal woman. And I add that, all personal preferences aside, we must strive to be of our time, by drawing women of today and by documenting ourselves, so that we cannot be accused of being "old-fashioned". And this, all the more so, if the drawing in question is intended for commerce or advertising.
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
The child is in fact, with their big head, their big belly and their short legs (and by that very fact, so touching), a true caricature of these ideal proportions studied by Polykleitos and the other sculptors. They are quite different, there is no doubt about it, and they have this particularity that their conformation varies constantly, from birth to adulthood. The reason for the changes that their proportions undergo as they grow is linked to a series of physiological motives: the adaptation of the various limbs, organs and body parts to the functions they must fulfill at each period of growth. The head, prematurely disproportionate, is a good example: it must perform, from the very first years, roughly the same functions as in the adult. There is therefore no other solution: one must know and study several canons, at least four, which will bring together the essential particularities of the newborn, the two-year-old child, the six-year-old and the twelve-year-old. See opposite (fig. 14) the canons in question compared to each other, but also to that of the twenty-five-year-old adult.
Study the following points carefully, and analyze the canon corresponding to each of the ages mentioned:
CANON OF THE NEWBORN:
It gives us a body whose size is equal to four times the height of the head; compared to that of the adult, we can say that the head is proportionally twice as large in relation to the rest of the body. The proportions between the trunk and the arms...
...are identical to those of the man, whereas the legs are notably shorter. We also notice that the newborn has no waist, that their belly is plump, their thorax narrow, their arms and legs fat and chubby, that their joints have deep folds: that they do not have the slightest muscular relief.
CANON OF THE TWO-YEAR-OLD CHILD:
The conformation of the two-year-old child is practically the same as the one we have just seen. The disproportionate size of the head persists; the hair is more abundant, the eyes brighter, the face chubbier; the legs are still just as short. However, the thorax begins to develop; it increases in volume — slightly, of course — in relation to the hips and buttocks which, like the belly, continue to be exaggeratedly voluminous. This is the typical representation of the child, the one Murillo used to paint his cherubs, the one also employed by the advertising artist to illustrate a talcum powder ad.
CANON OF THE SIX-YEAR-OLD CHILD:
The body grows faster than the head; it already measures six heads in height; the trunk widens and lengthens, so much so that its proportions approach those of the man; the nipples are located in almost the same place as those of the adult. The waist begins to slim down.
CANON OF THE TWELVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD:
This one has a height of seven times that of the head, and a conformation even closer to that of the adult. Notice that the lines of the canon coincide practically with those of the man's canon, regarding the pubis, the navel, and the nipples. Despite this, there is still an obvious disproportion between the thorax and the pelvis — compared to the adult —, because the chest not being developed enough yet, its width is equal to that of the hips. On the other hand, the legs remain short, which gives the trunk a disproportionate length, out of proportion to the rest of the body. The adiposities have disappeared, but the musculature is still invisible, which gives the body a certain external femininity.
PROPORTIONS OF THE BODY SITTING, KNEELING, BENDING, ETC.
To conclude this study and perfect this knowledge, allow me to show you the proportions of the body in some of the most common postures: sitting on a chair, a bench or on the ground, bending, kneeling with the bust upright, etc. See these postures in figure 16 below: they have been drawn on a canon-staff, each of the six intervals corresponding to the height of a head; it is therefore easy to calculate and say: "Sitting on a chair, the body measures six heads in height; sitting on the ground, it measures four; kneeling and the bust upright, six...", etc.
However, to do well, it is necessary that you draw the correctly proportioned body in these postures and in all the others, taking as a basis the general canon studied through figures 6 to 11. These indeed contain the principle and the end of all proportions. Study them, then apply them by drawing.
No, do not draw yet. Wait until you reach the end of the next chapter, which is essential and definitive, so that you can draw the human body.
