<h2>Create a Basic Outline of a Person</h2>
Start by creating a soft stick figure sketch or something similar. Consider the space that you are drawing in and the space the figure will take up. When you are drawing, try to approximate the way the woman is standing and where her body parts are.

To draw a woman, start with some basic shapes like circles and lines. Keep in mind that a woman has a round body, so use curved lines for shapes as you structure your sketch. Never draw one large circle for a part of the body like legs or the arms. Draw every part of the body as a separate part. Use several smaller circles to give a rough shape to your sketch. For example, legs would be drawn in 6 different shapes: hips, thigh, knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot.
<h2>Proportions to Keep in Mind</h2>
Woman  are about 7 circles tall. Create a circle to use and draw that shape one over top another so you have about 7 circles. This will be OK to start. You will be making adjustments as you sketch. The full size of the head  is slightly longer than a circle. Add about a half to get the full length. A woman is about two heads wide. Taking the full length of the head to the chin, turn the shape sideways  and create two shapes of that size next to one another at the same level. Her hips are about as wide as her rib cage, where her shoulder meets her torso. Draw the arm in several different circles: shoulders, upper arm, elbow, lower arm, and hand.  To draw the leg, break them up in different circles for the hips, upper leg, knee, lower leg, ankle, and feet.
<h2>Body shape of a Woman</h2>
While there are many different body shapes for woman, there is a general shape that can help you when drawing the woman’s body. Use a figure eight or hour glass type figure to give an estimated idea of the woman’s body. When drawing a model, notice the differences between her body and the standard female figure and make adjustments when needed. While using proportions and body shapes is a good way to learn how to draw a woman, try to keep your sketch similar to the model you are studying to create more classical drawings.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2493" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/1-180x300.jpg" alt="1" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2494" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2-180x300.jpg" alt="2" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2495" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/3-180x300.jpg" alt="3" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2496" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/4-180x300.jpg" alt="4" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2497" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/5-180x300.jpg" alt="5" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2498" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/6-180x300.jpg" alt="6" width="180" height="300" />
<h2>Tips for Drawing the Female Body</h2>
Female breasts can be difficult to draw. Use an "X" over the torso, starting from the top of the shoulder and down to the rib cage. The "V" shape that is created by the "X" will help you draw where the sternum and collarbone are. The bottom of the "X" should be where the middle section starts. If you cut the "X" in half, this will give you a line of symmetry from where the breast line should start. This is slightly different for each woman and you should adjust accordingly. Notice that the female breast is not quite a circle. The chest or pectoral muscle is rectangular and the rest of the breast is made of body fat; so, the overall shape will be basically a combined rectangle, teardrop, and a semi circle.

After building the basic structure, you break those in two smaller shapes and then draw lightly, as you will be modifying your lines so you have a better understanding of how to draw a woman. The arm for example is about 6 shapes: the shoulder, the upper arm, the elbow, the lower arm, the fist, and the hand. Note that from the shoulder to the elbow and the elbow to the hand should be about an equal distance. Finish sketching a full basic figure before working on any details, checking your proportions as you create your drawing.  Keep in mind that depending on the view of the model, you may need to use measuring or figuring out your own proportions instead of standard proportions. If the body is turned, simple basic proportions are hard to apply.

Next work on details like the face. Pencil in the face and clean up any extra marks. Also as you are working on the details, notice the lines that the body makes when you are adjusting them. Use guidelines for the face and for anything you need for symmetry. Now edit the rest of the body. The next step would be to edit any leftover lines that are not needed. Clean up any eraser marks and add shading to finish your drawing.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2504" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12-300x180.jpg" alt="12" width="300" height="180" /><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2505" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/13-300x180.jpg" alt="13" width="300" height="180" /><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2506" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/14-300x180.jpg" alt="14" width="300" height="180" /><img class="alignnone wp-image-2507" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/15-300x180.jpg" alt="15" width="496" height="298" />

The back of a woman is different from the front. You can break down the back in simple shapes; however, placement becomes more important because there is more smooth area on the back. Having a line in the right place will draw attention to the area.

One way to correct the difficulty of drawing the back side is to draw lightly and use shading instead of drawing. For shading technique, you draw a basic outline first. Instead of using lines to draw circles, find a #2 pencil. The shape of the pencil will help with shading, while a mechanical pencil can be harder to shade with. Shade large shapes that imitate the form of the body. Turning the pencil on its side instead of straight over on its head will help do this.

I’ll note that sometimes I sharpen a pencil with a knife. That way, you have a longer point. Try to imagine using as much of the graphite as possible. If you are comfortable with charcoal, this will help create the effect even more. For charcoal, turn the square charcoal or charcoal pencil on its side or on an angle.

Once you have covered all dark area, use your eraser to draw. Instead of using the pencil, the eraser will act as the point of the pencil and help you create a clean line. This will also give it a soft effect. If you plan on going dark and detailed, make your marks as precise as possible because a human back can be more difficult to judge when it comes to placement of shapes and body parts.

After drawing with the eraser, you will go back over dark areas with the charcoal for highlights and contrast and detail. Repeat this process multiple types until you get the effect you want.

Be careful pressing hard with pencil or charcoal when using this technique. Try pressing as softly as possible because it will be difficult to erase marks that are pressed into the paper. For an even better look, find kneaded or other art erasers.

<img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2499" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/7-180x300.jpg" alt="7" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2500" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/8-180x300.jpg" alt="8" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2501" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/9-180x300.jpg" alt="9" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2502" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/10-180x300.jpg" alt="10" width="180" height="300" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-2503" src="http://www.letsdrawpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/11-180x300.jpg" alt="11" width="180" height="300" />

You can draw a woman in many ways, these are just some ideas for you to try. I recommend to always keep creativity in mind when drawing. Find a way to make the drawing yours.

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