Figure Drawing Part 1 - Understanding Planes of the Body
- James Otto Allen
- Oct 27
- 2 min read
Over the last few weekends, I taught anatomy workshops on Drawing Anatomy: The Head & Hands and Drawing Anatomy: Full Body at The Art Academy, London. Many students asked what to study next, so I’ve written this two-part series to help anyone continuing their figure-drawing journey. Each post tackles a common question from class - from simplifying the body into planes to drawing figures in perspective and designing your own characters.
Part 1 - Understanding Planes of the Body
One of the most common requests from students was:
“How do I turn a complex body into simple planes?”
It’s a really good question because learning to see planes in complex forms like a body is what transforms a flat copy of a model into a solid, dimensional figure in my opinion.
When you break the figure into planes, you’re simplifying the body into large geometric surfaces that show how light hits the form. This is also a really great thing to get your brain used to if you want to go onto inventing figures.
Resources to Study:
Andrew Loomis – Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth
In the section on 'Block forms, Planes, Foreshortening and Lighting' on page 68 (arhive.org link on the name above) Loomis simplifies the body into flat planes as well as going into some foreshortening principles thinking about perspective.
George Bridgman – Constructive Anatomy and The Human Machine
Bridgman’s approach is all about wedging and interlocking forms - pretty helpful for conceptualising a figure.
John Asaro’s Planar Models
You might know Asaro’s Planes of the Head - but there’s also a Planar Body version. A digital version exists on Sketchfab, so you can rotate it and study the planes in real time.
How to Practise:
Pick a simple pose from a website like https://line-of-action.com/ and draw it twice - once with contour lines (outlines), and once simplifying everything into planes.
Shade only the major planes - light side and shadow side. I've always found this a great way to make my figures look more sculpted.
If you try this exercise, I’d love to see what you create! Share your studies or thoughts in the comments below or tag me on Instagram if you post them. It’s always great to see how people interpret these exercises in their own way.
Related Posts in This Series:
Part 1 - Understanding Planes of the Body
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