How to Draw the Vitruvian Man (Even for non-artists)
Whether you have never taken an art class, or you feel out of touch with your skills, it can often feel intimidating to create art in the face of the staggering amount of other skilled artists.
To move past this initial apprehension and gain confidence in your potential, the most important step is to simply create art. Creation without expectation is the surest way to overcome perfectionism and fear of failure because with more volume of art there is less pressure on an isolated effort. This also promotes inspiration for new projects that stem from those already created.
Another way to be more confident in your art skills is to follow tutorials. This gives insight into the process of creating art, which can later be deviated from when you develop your own style (something that will come naturally as you are exposed to more ideas).
In this article I break down what is regarded as one of the most iconic drawings in history and make it more accessible for anyone to draw. The Vitruvian Man as shown in Da Vinci’s notebooks was inspired by the writings of Roman author Vitruvius, who outlined what he thought were the common dimensions for a human man. Da Vinci then improved upon these writings in his own work. However, the instructions in his manual had a few issues:
1. They are indirect and written backwards
2. They are not broken up into steps
3. Though the dimensions are apparent from the drawing, measurements are not specified, and additional aspects are unclear
For this tutorial I will divide the instructions for drawing the Vitruvian Man into two parts:
Part 1: Geometry
Part 2: Art and Style
Geometry
Materials: Paper, Pencil, Ruler, Compass
1. In his original writings, Vitruvius wrote that a man is eight times the height of his head. To make drawing these proportions easier, start by drawing an 8 cm line.
2. Next, complete a square with 8 cm sides
3. Split the square down the center at 4 cm
4. On the center line, mark a dot that is 4.8 cm up from the bottom of the square (this will be the navel)
5. Using the protractor, make the center at the dot from step 4 and draw a circle
6. Make a small line on the center line of the square 1 cm down from the top (this is 1/8 of the height, the space for the head)
7. Next, section the square into diagonal quarters. Draw a straight line from the top left corner to the bottom right, and the top right corner to the bottom left
8. Then section the circle into equal quarters. Draw vertical and horizontal lines through the center (navel) point
Art and Style
This section is much less precise and allows for your discretion on how much detail to use. Minimal detail could just be squares and rectangles for each body part that fall in the general area of Da Vinci’s drawing.
It could also be helpful to look at the original drawing for reference and copy as needed.
- Using the 1 cm space at the top of the square, draw an oval for the head
- From the head, bring down short lines for the neck
- In each upper quadrant of the square, draw two arms (simple oblong ovals are sufficient). One set should stretch exactly perpendicular to the man, and the other should reach up into the corners of the square.
- Then draw an oval for the chest, keeping in mind the dot you created earlier for the navel.
- 1 cm below the navel is the center of the genitals, which can be drawn at your discretion.
- On either side of the genital dot, draw two sets of legs. One set should go straight down the vertical line, and the other set should spread outwards towards the bottom corners of the square, but not breach the limits of the bottom of the circle. From your perspective the left leg should be facing front and the right leg should be turned outward.
7. At this point, the figure accurately resembles the proportions of the Vitruvian Man, and further embellishments are optional
8. (optional) Using either the example here or the original drawing, add small details including facial features, fingers, toes, and muscle tone.
Consistent dimensions can be incredibly helpful when first learning to draw because they are reliable and give a good base for any new techniques an artist is trying out. This was a commonality that Da Vinci recognized and included in his journals, not just with drawing the human form but with animal and inanimate objects as well.