10 full body drawing reference poses for artists

Drawing the human body is a skill that many artists strive to master. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, there are always new techniques and tools to help you improve your ability to draw the human form. In this blog post, we’ll explore some great resources to increase your ability to draw the human body.

One of the best places to start when learning how to draw the human body is with reference poses. Reference poses are images of people in various positions that can be used as a visual guide for drawing the human form.

By studying different poses, you can gain a better understanding of how the body moves and looks in different positions. Put simply, the best artists practice drawing the human body regularly.

Here are 10 body drawing reference poses that you can use to help improve your drawing bodies skills.

10 Types of Characters to reference body poses

When it comes to drawing the human body, it’s important to practice drawing a variety of different types of characters. There are many great things about the human body that you can draw, and this can help you develop your skills and improve your ability to draw different body types and poses.

Some types of characters you may want to practice drawing include:

Athletes: Athletes have a unique body type that can be challenging to draw. Practice drawing different types of athletes, such as gymnasts, swimmers, and basketball players.
Superheroes: Superheroes have exaggerated proportions and dynamic poses, which can be a fun challenge for artists. Practice drawing different types of superheroes, such as Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man.
Elderly characters: Elderly characters have unique wrinkles and body shapes that can be challenging to draw. Practice drawing different types of elderly characters, such as grandmothers, grandfathers, and elderly wizards.
Dancers: Dancers have unique body shapes and various poses that can be challenging to capture. Practice drawing different types of dancers, such as ballet dancers, dancing girl icon, hip-hop dancers, and contemporary dancers.
Bodybuilders: Bodybuilders have exaggerated muscles and proportions that can be fun to draw. Practice drawing different types of bodybuilders, such as powerlifters, weightlifters, and bodybuilding competitors.
Martial artists: Martial artists have unique stances and movements that can be challenging to capture in drawings. The action lines involved in drawing these poses can be exciting to draw. Practice drawing different types of martial artists, such as boxers, karate practitioners, and taekwondo practitioners.
Fashion models: Fashion models have long limbs and elegant poses that can be challenging to draw. Practice drawing different types of fashion models, such as runway models, editorial models, and fitness models.
Musicians: Musicians have unique postures when playing their instruments or singing which can make for interesting poses. Practice drawing different types of musicians like guitarists playing while standing up or pianists sitting at the piano bench.
Fantasy characters: Fantasy characters like elves or dwarves often feature exaggerated features like long ears or short legs which could help an artist explore new forms beyond the traditional human form while still maintaining some elements of realism in their pose references.
Yoga teacher: Yoga poses are great for artists to study because they involve a wide range of body movements and positions. Practicing drawing different types of yoga poses can help you improve your understanding of the human form and its flexibility.

Resources on How to Learn to Draw Body Poses

Top Pose Reference Sites

One of the most helpful tools for artists who want to improve their drawing skills is pose reference sites. These sites offer a wide variety of poses that you can use as a reference for your drawings.

Some of the most popular pose reference sites include:

Quickposes:

This site offers a variety of timed poses, ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. This is a great way to practice your gesture drawing skills and improve your ability to capture the essence of a pose quickly.

Croquis Cafe:

This site offers a variety of nude and clothed models in a range of poses. The models are filmed from multiple angles, which can be helpful for artists who want to practice their 3D drawing skills.

Line of Action:

this site offers a variety of timed poses, ranging from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. The site also has a feature that allows you to filter poses by body type, which can be helpful if you want to focus on drawing a specific type of character.

Fresh Prompts:

Fresh Prompt’s site offers some pre-existing references for group posing, and guides you on how to choose the right pose, experimenting and perfecting your group poses, and other resources like using AI to generate pose references.

Sketch Daily:

This site offers a free character posing tool, which can be a great way to challenge yourself to draw something new and different. The free images are high quality, and of the human anatomy.

Tips on how to master drawing the human figure

One of the best ways to improve your ability to draw the human body is through practice. There are a variety of methods that artists can use to practice, including timed figure sketching, photo references, live model drawing, and AI tools.

Timed Figure Sketching

Timed figure sketching is a great way to improve your ability to capture the essence of a pose quickly. This technique involves setting a time limit and drawing a pose in a set amount of time, such as 30 seconds or 1 minute. This can help you develop your gesture drawing skills and improve your ability to capture the movement and flow of a pose with timed practice. Some tips for timed figure sketching include:

Start with shorter time intervals, such as 30 seconds or 1 minute, and gradually work your way up to longer intervals.
Focus on capturing the overall movement and flow of the pose, rather than getting caught up in the details.
Use loose, flowing lines to capture the energy of the pose.
Don’t worry about making mistakes – timed figure sketching is all about practicing and improving your skills.

Photo References

Stock photos are another great tool for artists who want to improve their figure drawing skills. There are many websites that offer high-quality photos of models in a range of poses and positions.

These photos can be used as a reference for your drawings, allowing you to practice your anatomy and proportions.

Live Model Drawing

Live model drawing is another option for artists who want to improve their skills using different poses. Many art schools and community centers offer a figure drawing class where you can draw from a live model. Some of these schools also offer nude models for improving your drawing skills. This allows you to see how the body moves and how light falls on different parts of the body in real-time.

Using AI tools to help create reference photos

Finally, there are new things and powerful tools such as AI that can help artists generate unique poses for their drawings. These tools use machine learning algorithms to create new poses based on parameters such as gender, age, and body type. You can create any image you want, like body parts, action poses, facial expressions, or just random poses.

While these tools aren’t perfect, they can be a fun way for artists to explore new poses and push themselves out of their comfort zones.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many different ways to improve your ability to draw the human body. Whether you prefer using pose reference sites, watching Youtube videos, practicing drawing different types of characters, pose reference photos, or timed figure sketching, there are plenty of techniques and tools available to help you develop your skills.

So, grab your sketchbook and start practicing – the more you draw, the better you’ll get!