Human Drawing Poses

Easy Practice Models and Positions

Human drawing poses in male and female – focusing on emotions and expressions of the head.
Because it’s the face that makes us most human. If you want poses that are figure or gesture based visit the catalog.

• Angst • Creepy • Sad • Shy

Angst Drawing Poses

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference female girl woman angst base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man male boy angst base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference female girl woman angst base sitting villai

Creepy Drawing Poses

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man male boy creepy villain base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference female woman girl creepy villain base

Sad Drawing Bases

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference femboy sad base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man boy male sad looking up base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man boy male sad looking down tinkering base

Shy Drawing Poses

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man boy male shy sitting base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man boy male femboy shy cute base

human drawing pose for easy gesture figure positions model anime and manga reference man boy male shy rear view base

Drawing Humans Notes

This will be focusing on the practice of the head, emotions, and face.

Understand your features

When drawing expressions the pieces of the face are your primary tools. While there is an intuitive element to drawing the face, there is also a lot of detail missed without active study.

Start with the 6 universal emotions: grief, disgust, happiness, shock, fear, and anger. Observe how the eyebrows, brow, eyelids, lips, and cheeks orient themselves. The more you keenly understand these basic elements the more room you have to explore emotions. Start with drills drawing a simple circle and using as few lines as possible to create the desired emotion, then work your way up to more and more detail.

If you can’t fluidly practice the easy version, you will likely struggle with the more complex variations.

Angle the head appropriately

Just as the features of the face are helpful to conveying emotions, so too is the neck and positioning of the head. Even with the same expression, a head looking up or a head looking down can totally change the feel of your character.

For instance a character with a sad face looking down will feel very defeated and low, whereas a character with a sad face looking up will give the sense of looking for hope or seeking guidance. This is because a downward position suggests yielding to gravity and an unwillingness to fight natural forces. The upward head suggests vulnerability as the sensitive neck area is exposed; or the character can be seen as looking to the heavens for help.

Use Eye Positions

Though a facial feature, eyes deserve special mention when working with bases. As it is sometimes said, they are the gateway to the soul. Where you set your character’s gaze can have huge impacts on your piece’s feel. When used intelligently in conjunction with the areas of the face and head positioning, you have 3 elements that can tell an incredibly complex story to the viewer.

I couldn’t list all the possible variations. What’s more important is you are aware of these 3 foundations that you can play with. Do not think of the human head as a homogenous unit. Treat your model as a puzzle you can change into a thousand different positions – each with its own subtle cues for a viewer.

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