FIGURE

DRAWING
SECRETS
(Preview Proportion Section)
BY VICTOR PERARD
Art Instructor Traphagen Art School, New York City.
Lecturer on Anatomy, formerly Art Instructor Cooper Union, New York City.
Graduate Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, the National Academy of Design and Art
Students' League, New York CityPainter and Illustrator.

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PUBLISHERSINTRODUCTION
Now you can stop drawing and painting figures the hard way. Figure Drawing
Secrets is the long-lost manuscript with over 1016 detailed illustrations of the
bones, face, head, torso, legs, hands, and feet covering every aspect of
anatomy for the artist.
After studying this work by acclaimed artist and illustrator, Victor Perard, you
can draw people and figures perfectly in any positional without a model.
Perards work is the secret resource many top artists used to perfect their
drawing and painting of the human figure and now its yours to use and
benefit from. This is the quickest and easiest way to truly learn figure
drawing. Inside each section you have absolutely everything any artist would
need.
This tiny preview should give you the assurance this is a work you need to
have at your side.

Superb drawings, excellent diagrams VERY

thorough. I give this one very high marks.
- Terry Beatty, acclaimed inker of DC Comics' animated style Batman
series, Ms. Tree (the longest-running private eye series in comic
books), Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger and Johnny Dynamite, among
many others. (TerryBeatty.com)
An excellent resource for nearly any artist. This is much better
than anything Ive seen coming out today. With Perards work you
can actually get a sense for the whole human figure. I really like
the way there are so many poses, angles and positions illustrated.
You can use this material again and again as a reference anytime
you need. I highly recommend it.
- Daniel Nie, Germantown, MD, full time artist and recipient of
the Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award with his artwork extensively
displayed in the U.S., Europe and Canada.

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Copyright 2003 Silvertree Publications

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PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to present in a simple and direct manner the subject of
anatomy as it is applied to Art. As little text as possible has been used, and much dependence
has been placed on pictorial representations because the latter are a more direct means of
impressing the artist with construction and form. For this reason this work has been
copiously illustrated, often showing various views of the same structures and actions.
To the beginner the study of anatomy is too often dull, prosaic and difficult and this is
due, in large part, to the fact that many text books on the subject contain insufficient descriptive drawings. Even though the student plows through many pages of text, he often fails
to visualize the subject properly. Therefore it has been endeavored to substitute illustrations
for descriptive text whenever practical. The drawings have been arranged in groups for the
purpose of comparison, and in this way the eye becomes accustomed to observe much which
otherwise might escape attention.
To express outward form correctly requires a knowledge of the internal structure, that is,
of the bones which compose the framework and define its proportions and of the muscles
and tendons which direct its action.
Every figure artist finds sooner or later, as he advances in his artistic career, that his
work needs strengthening through a well grounded knowledge of anatomy. The great
masters of the past realized this and their grasp on the fundamentals of anatomy is reflected
not only in their finished works, but in such of their preliminary sketches as are still
preserved.
The ability to construct figures correctly from the imagination rather than to depend
entirely on models is a distinct aid to the draftsman and to the sculptor. The student of
anatomy should therefore test his skill by making memory drawings and by applying his
knowledge to compositions of his own fancy.
When working from living models, the artist will find that his knowledge of anatomy
will enable him to analyze and interpret the forms before him in a more understanding way
than he could without such information. It will develop in him greater powers of observation.
An understanding of anatomy is an instrument in the mechanics of Art: a means to be

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employed to assist but never allowed to dominate. The artist must learn properly to evaluate
his anatomical information and to know the part it is to play in the development of his art.
The studies he makes will then be done more intelligently and with better draftsmanship as
an inevitable result.
VICTOR PERARD

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notes on proportion
Since proportion is the comparative relation of one thing to
another, some standard or unit of measure must arbitrarily be
established. In Art, this unit is known as the "head" which is the
distance from the top of the skull to the tip of the chin. The
illustrations in this book are based on the proportion of seven and a
half "heads" to the height of an erect figure. The use of this standard
will obviate much descriptive text. It is well, however, to bear in mind
that this standard of proportion is modified by such elements as race,
sex, age and physical differences peculiar to the individual. For this
reason the following notes on proportion are grouped under the heads: Male, Female,
Children and General Observations.
Proportions of the Male. The greatest width of the male figure is at the deltoids, a little
below the shoulders and the width here is about two heads.
The width between the hips should equal one and one half heads, and the width between
the nipples one head.
The height of the figure, seven and one-half heads, should approximate one "head" for
the head, two and three-quarter heads for the neck and trunk, and three and three-quarter
heads for the lower extremities.
From the finger tips to the elbow should measure two heads.
Proportions of the Female. The bones of the female are shorter and have less rough
surfaces than those of the male. The sternum or breast bone is shorter and more curved and
the pelvis is broader and shallower which gives a greater width to the hips. The sacrum is
wider and projects at an angle backward.
The posterior superior iliac spines and the anterior iliac spines are further apart than
those of the male. The distance from the rib cage to the pelvis is greater due to the shallower
and broader pelvis.
There is less distance from the crest of the iliacs to the great trochanters of the hips,
because the anterior iliac spines are spread out and lower, and further apart. In the female
figure the Poupart's ligaments and the furrow of the groin are more horizontal.
The shoulders are narrower and the collar bones (clavicles) straighter and shorter thus
giving a more graceful and longer neck and more sloping shoulders in comparison with the
square shoulders of the male.
The arms are shorter in proportion to the trunk which is due to the shorter humerus bone

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of the female, and because the humerus bone is shorter, the elbow is higher.
Variations in the length of the female leg are more frequent than those of the trunk and
so it is more difficult to judge the height of the female figure when seated. But the length of
the torso is proportionately longer than in the other sex. The legs are shorter and the skull
smaller.
The center of the female figure is above the pubic bone while in the male, the center is
about at the pubic bone. The width of the female hips is about the width of the chest wall
plus that of one arm and is greater than that of the male of the same height. The fact that the
female sacrum is at a greater angle than that of the male and that there is more fat on the
buttocks gives these a greater diameter.
The female abdomen, is more rounded and the thighs are thicker from the back to the
front than in the other sex.
Proportions of Children. The child of three is about one half the height of the adult, and
at ten, about three-quarters the height of the adult. As the child grows older the relative sizes
of the head and the trunk change. At twenty-five the figure is full grown.
At birth the center of the figure is a little above the navel, at two years at the navel and
at three years the center is level with the iliac bone.
With advancing age this point gradually lowers depending to a great extent on the length
of the legs.
General Observations. The clavicle bone continues to grow for a considerable period
after the other bones of the body have attained their full development and therefore the
shoulders are said to broaden.
Only very tall people have a height of eight heads. Short people are seven heads or less.
The muscles of the adult account for about one half the weight of the body.
The skeleton always provides the proportions of the figure with slight allowances for the
padding between the joints, between each vertebra, and under the heel and foot. In old age
the figure shortens due to the hardening and shrinking of the cartilages between the bones.

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Stop drawing and painting figures the hard way!...

At Last! You Can Draw People

and Figures Perfectly In Any
PositionWithout a Model
Long-Lost Manuscript Resurfaces With Over 1016 Detailed
Illustrations Of the Bones, Face, Head, Torso, Legs, Hands,
and Feet Covering Every Aspect of Anatomy For the Artist
Dear Artist,
Lets face it, drawing people and the human body is tough!
Theres no doubt, its probably the most difficult lesson for any artist to learn. Too often the
study of anatomy is dull and boring so mastering the human figure isnt even an option.
Frankly, figure drawing is the only subject you cant fake.
Of course, some people will tell you can do fine without an understanding of human
anatomy. WRONG! Just take a look at their drawings and judge for yourself. Their mushysoft forms are an instant giveaway.
However, the big problem is most books on the subject are filled with boring description after
description but not enough actual illustrations and clear drawings. You practically had to be a
brain surgeon to figure it out.
Sound at all familiar?
But now theres good news!...
Recently a long-lost manuscript by highly acclaimed artist and illustrator, Victor Perard, has
been re-discovered. Perards work is the secret resource many top artists used to perfect
their drawing and painting of the human figure.
Now you can discover

The Right (and the Wrong) Way to Learn Figure Drawing

This newly released work called Figure Drawing Secrets by Victor Perard is the quickest
and easiest way to learn figure drawing. Inside this magnificent work youll get over 1016

detailed illustrations of the human body in perspective, from different angles,

both in still poses and in movement. Absolutely everything any artist would need.

Click Here to Find Out More

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