Saturday, August 2, 2008

How to Draw a Foot














These are two more images from The Art of Figure Drawing by Thomas H. Maguire. Mr. Maguire was an accomplished portrait artist with numerous credits. The one below is of Charles Darwin.

Here's a step by step method for drawing a foot.


1. Sketch in the basic structure of the foot, notice the weight of the figure is on a vertical line through the balance of the foot.
2. Add outlines of the skin as it passes over the structural parts of the foot, the ankle, the toes, the heel and the lower leg.
 3. Continue to develop the anatomy of the foot notice the angle of orientation of the ankle bones, and the curvature of the toes. Notice how the second tow is the longest, longer than the big toe, and how the smallest tow tends to curve under the one next to it. You can see these in the drawings at the top of the page also.
4. Add details, toenails, shape of the toes, shape of the ankle and begin to indicate where you will shade the drawing.

5. Now you can finish shading the drawing and do some finish outlining to the forms. be sure to observe how the shadows fall because that will help develop the forms in space.


 Two plates from The Principles of Drawing by Gerard De Lairesse Published by Thomas Bowles.

The principles of drawing: or, an easy and familiar method whereby youth are directed in the practice of that useful art. Being a compleat drawing bookThe principles of drawing: or, an easy and familiar method whereby youth are directed in the practice of that useful art. Being a compleat drawing book

The principles of design for the curious young gentlemen and ladies, who study and practice the ... art of drawing, colouring and japanning: or a new and ... drawing-book; ... introduction to drawing

A treatise on the art of painting, in all its branches; accompanied by seventy engraved plates, and exemplified by remarks on the paintings of the best masters ..





Other Posts:

How to Draw Legs and Feet

Arthur "Pop" Momand - How to draw Hands and Feet

Anatomy for Artists Painters and Sculptors ebook at Figure- Drawings.com









Drawing Hands and Feet: Form, Proportions, Gestures and Actions (The Art of Drawing)

Drawing and Painting Hands and Feet

8 comments:

  1. hi , nice to meeet you ... i like your blog ...
    i like drawing too ...

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  2. those are amazing

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  3. how do you draw a foot???????????

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  4. Uuum, the small toe should NOT curve under the other one! That’s a deformation stemming from the constant usage of too small shoes.

    So unless you want to draw an insecure loser who thinks his feet are too big, don’t do it.

    Also, there are 3 variations for human feet:
    1. Big toe is the longest.
    2. Big toe is just as long as the second one.
    3. Big toe is shorter than the second one.
    And in all 3 cases, the amount by which the other toes get shorter and shorter, can vary too. Some have nearly square feet, some nearly triangles. ;)

    Think before starting to draw. And don’t teach wrong things. :)

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  5. I'm really stuck on trying to draw feet... It looks really easy, but as I'm drawing it, I keep saying to myself, 'my toes look too big' and this worries me a lot.

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  6. I Enjoyed drawing the feet and really liked the simple step by step guide thanks!

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  7. Here's a amazing video tutorial http://www.jerrysartarama.com/art-lessons/Subject/Drawing/Drawing-How-to-Draw-Feet.html that I came across. Just sharing it as I find blogs hard to follow and I need video to see exactly what is being done. Maybe it will help others like me.

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