There are many approaches to creating a sketch of a person. There is more than just one right way to go about it. I want to share with you one method that I recently discovered that breaks the whole process down into four simple steps. I knew how to sketch people before, but I didn't do it in this sequence. I find this manner to be really helpful for people considering themselves as beginners. So let's see how to sketch a person in only four steps.
<h2>The Steps Needed to Sketch a Person</h2>
Here is the reference photo for this tutorial so you can follow along and sketch in however many details you are comfortable with.

<a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-reference.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2109" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-reference.jpg" alt="how to sketch a person reference" width="396" height="621" /></a>

First of all, sketch the outline of the person's figure.

-light, loose motions of the wrist

<a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-01-figure-outline.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2108" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-01-figure-outline.jpg" alt="how to sketch a person 01 figure outline" width="569" height="800" /></a>

Next, sketch in the apparent human features.

-sketching process involves lots of loose lines that overlap one another

<a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-02-human-features.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2107" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-02-human-features.jpg" alt="how to sketch a person 02 human features" width="568" height="800" /></a>

Now is the time to sketch in the clothing.

-remember it is just a sketch, no need for ever little fold to be perfectly in place. just general placements

<a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-03-clothes.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2106" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-03-clothes.jpg" alt="how to sketch a person 03 clothes" width="564" height="800" /></a>

Finally, bring greater dimension to your sketch by adding values to it. There are three components of adding values to your sketches. The shade you see in this sketch is just one of those three components. In <a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/more/how-to-sketch/">the book I talk about after</a> this lesson, it goes over this and the other two components needed to bring just the right form to any sketch you make.

<a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-04-values.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2105" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-sketch-a-person-04-values.jpg" alt="how to sketch a person 04 values" width="568" height="800" /></a>
<h2>More on Sketching</h2>
That is how to sketch a person step by step. I learned about this method while reading a how to sketch book titled, coincidentally enough, <a href="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/more/how-to-sketch/">How to Sketch.</a> The author of the book, Kerry Godsall, breaks the process down in very easy-to-follow language. That process includes not only how to sketch people but also how to sketch inanimate still life objects, buildings, foilage, landscapes, and animals. The book also covers in greater detail the three components of adding values to sketches that I mentioned in the tutorial.

Hopefully you will try this lesson out on your own. Try it on different subjects. You can use your own reference photographs, and you can also sketch from life. Since the steps are so quick and easy, and you are only making a sketch of a person as opposed to a complex drawing, you do not have to worry yourself with excessive details (if you so choose). The more people you sketch, the quicker and easier the steps will become!