Never use standard proportions! Except when...

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When I was first learning life drawing, I came across a lot of ideas about the ‘standard proportions’ for the figure. There are lots of variations and they can get very specific. Some of them are about the whole figure and some are about individual body parts.

I remember being confused about which ones to learn and how to use them. Is 8 head lengths best or 7.5? Should I use cranium widths or hand lengths? And why do they never seem to work when faced with a real person doing a real pose?

I now understand the role that these standards can play in your figure drawing learning. I think it's a fairly small but potentially useful role, and I'll explain it in this video!

Let me know which standard proportions you like to use and why below.