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 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

How to Draw a Hand

These engravings showing how to draw a hand are also from The Art of Figure Drawing by Thomas H. Maguire. Notice the radius line in the top line drawing indicating the alignment of the knuckles with the joint of the thumb.

This book follows the same convention that A Treatise on Muscular Action does in presenting an outline engraving plus a fully rendered engraving. (See more illustratings from A Treatise on Muscular Action here).

The ability to produce such beautifully engraved books must have influenced the artist and publisher to show what they were capable of.

Draw Real Hands! (Discover Drawing Series)

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

Drawing & Painting Hands & Feet

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

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

Other posts about drawing hands:

Pencil Drawing for Fun

1762 Drawing Book - The artist's vade-mecum

Willy Pogany's Drawing Lessons

How to Draw Hands - Anatomical Drawings from French Museums

How to Draw Hands - Hendrick Goltzius

How to Draw Hands

Bones of the hand and foot from The Animal Kingdom, Arranged According to its Organization and an Introduction to Comparative Anatomy by Baron George Cuvier, With Figures Designed after Nature.  London, G. Henderson: 1834-1837

Reprint at Amazon.com: The animal kingdom, arranged according to its organization, serving as a foundation for the natural history of animals : and an introduction to comparative anatomy (Volume 3 (Plates))

Bones of the hand, Osteologia print.

Also see: How to Draw Hands

The Landon Course of Cartooning - How to Draw Hands

Pencil Drawing for Fun

Willy Pogany's Drawing Lessons

How to Draw Hands - Anatomical Drawings fro French Museums

The Art of Figure Drawing By Thomas Herbert Maguire

This engraving is from The Art of Figure Drawing by Thomas Herbert Maguire, published in 1869 by Winsor & Newton.

It was a well known and authoritative book of the time cited often in the literature including; A Supplement to Allibone's Critical Dictionary of English Literature, Catalogue of Books Added to the Library of Congress, Supplement to the Universal Catalogue of Books on Art: Compiled for the use of the National Art Library and the Schools of Art in the United Kingdom.

It contained 30 lithographic plates, some tinted.  I don't know, but from appearances it could have been influenced by Chapman's American Drawing Book (see the post below How Harry Cook Learned to Draw).

I found one reference to Mr. Maguire which listed him as a  historical and portrait painter, and also as a designer of music title drawing, which would explain his evident skill at engraved illustration.  Examples of his portraits can be seen at the National Portrait Gallery Website.

A short article is available at Wikipedia.

Some more examples of how to draw facial features are at these links: eyes, nose, mouth, ears.

Two more posts showing the work of Thomas Maguire:

How to Draw a Hand
How to Draw a Foot

Eighteenth Century Drawings from the Collection of Marius Paulme

I came across 3 volumes of an auction catalog. Dessins Anciens, Gouaches & Pastels principalement de L'Ecole Francaise du XVIII Siecle. Composant la Collection de M. Marius Paulme. Gallerie Georges Petit. Mai, 1929.

(Old drawings, Gouaches & Pastels primarily Eighteenth Century French School. The Collection of Mr. Marius Paulme. Gallerie Georges Petit. May, 1929.)

Two volumes  are the drawings, the third is sculptures from the same collection.

The drawings are rarely seen. Many seem as fresh as the day they were drawn.

The first is by Louis-Léopold Boilly

The next is by the Rococo artist François Boucher who was probably the most celebrated artist of his time. This drawing shows his drawing skills more than his rococo taste.

The drawing may be a study for his painting, "Portrait de Madame de Pompadour."

The third is by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, another rococo painter, but I selected this drawing on the strength of his observation rather than his rococo sensibility.

The last is by Hyacinthe Rigaud, not currently as famous as the others but this detail drawing "Studies for a portrait of a man" shows an artist in command of his line with keen observational skills.

You can search for books about these artists and the original auction catalog at AbeBooks. To search for the auction catalog enter "Collection Marius Paulme" in the search box.

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How to Draw Hands

Here is a wonderful book that demonstrates how to draw hands from every perspective with clear drawings and useful text. How to Draw Hands

From the text, "Your first care in drawing hands associated with the head or figure should be to make them, proportionately, the right size; and, with beginners, this instruction invariably resolves itself into exhortations to make them bigger. Regarding them, I must suppose, as an insignificant detail, the novice always makes the hands (and feet) of his figure drawing much too small; or even neglects them altogether."

Here are a few other examples

of hand drawing instructions from the 1940s and 1950s.

From John Moranz' Mastery of Drawing. The original of this book was an unusually complete book about drawing, 399 pages including animals, people, illustration for advertising, perspective, hands, feet, heads, and expression. It included color reproductions of figure paintings, one of which was reproduced on the cover.

There is a new Dover reprint of John Moranz' book, Drawing and Illustration: A Complete Guide, available at Amazon.com.

Cover of new edition, old cover.

Drawing and Illustration, by John Moranz.

Another book by John Moranz, the original version,The Professional Guide to Drawing and Illustration (Mastery of Drawing)

From Willy Pogany's Willy Pogany's The Art of Drawing

. Willy Pogany's book has fewer illustrations than the Moranz book, but in its own way is just as complete, plus he has a thoroughly authoritative line in his drawings which you can see in the examples of the hands above.

It is also available in a Dover edition, and in an edition from Keessinger Publishing, Willy Pogany's Drawing Lessons

Cover of new edition, old cover.

Drawing Lessons by Willy Pogany, take a look at the book at Amazon.com.

A new book is about to be released Willy Pogány Rediscovered.

From John Everard's Artist's Model

Draw Real Hands! (Discover Drawing Series)

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

Drawing and Painting Hands and Feet

Other posts about drawing hands.