Let's Draw... Male vs. Female Anatomy

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

••• I n t r o 

 

I don't know how "good" i am at drawing guys. But i agree with a lot of people that it's difficult, trying to find resources that help with "drawing and understanding male features"-- i put that in quotes as i do not want to imply that i have some amazing universal knowledge, nor guide on how to draw males.

 

I spent a lot of time practising and learning anatomy; these are basic notes, thoughts, and explanations about drawing males that helped me a lot; hopefully they'll be interesting and helpful for people seeking to have greater comfort in drawing men (or masculine features).  

 

Practise truly makes perfect though. And keep in mind, I draw "anime". (!)

 

 

 

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••• C o n t e n t s

• 2 key rules for drawing a male body
• Comparing a female vs. male face -pt.1: Looking at the anime Bleach's female vs. male protagonist, turning a girl into a guy 
• Comparing a female vs. male face -pt.2: Differences in shading; the effects of makeup
• Comparing a female vs. male torso: More shapes
• Comparing a female vs. male limb and hand: Basic look

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2 key rules for drawing a male body:

 

 

When drawing a basic, male frame, an inverted, isosceles triangle should form from the shoulders to the groin; an inverted, equilateral triangle should form from the shoulders to the navel. This is arguably one of the most important things to remember and practise when drawing guys. You should be able to "trace" this shape with your eyes. 

 

 

Following this triangular shape, we should be able to fit a total of approximately 3 heads along the top of the triangle, shoulder-edge to shoulder-edge. Therefore, the ratio of head to shoulder size is 1:3 in males. It is 1:2 in females.

 

 

Remember these two points if you're having trouble drawing male frames and you'll see a great improvement.

 

 

 

 

Comparing a female vs. male face - pt.1:  

 

Despite what we see in anime, what makes a face female or male isn't only be dependant on eye size. That is a simplistic view, since if we remember Health class, and if we think about it, Estrogen, a key hormone between the genders, affects much more than just our eyes during puberty-- wait, Estrogen? What's Estrogen, and what does drawing gender have to do with that? 

 

Let's look at an example first. Rukia (left), one of the protagonists from the anime cartoon "Bleach", lacks eyelashes. Yet she still looks more feminine than Ichigo (right)-- why? If there aren't obvious gender cues (such as eyelashes or makeup), there therefore must be other, structural cues in their faces that allow the brain to think one as male and the other as female. In comparing their faces, you might notice that :

 

•••

The male's chin, jaw, mouth, and nose are generally broader and stronger-looking; "boxy".

 

The male's eyes are generally closer, smaller, and more rectangular.

 

The male's eyebrows/ brows are generally bolder and straighter.

•••

 

Let's try applying these differences to a female and see what happens. Theoretically, if these differences are what discerned gender in the drawing above, they should work in our own drawing(s) to make it look more masculine. I'll omit "feminine" eyelashes.

These are both the same face. On one, I applied all the points we noted between Rukia and Ichigo-- all except that i did not change the eye size nor chin size. But despite not changing the eyes or chin, one looks more masculine than the other: 

 

• Estrogen, a key female hormone, stops the growth of a female's jaw and chin during puberty. It's also responsible for traits such as large eyes, cheek growth (fat on the face), and curves (fat on the body).
• Because of their facial fat deposits, females have smoother faces for shading and colouring. Males on the other hand, have less facial (and body) fat. They also have less of the bone-growth capping Estrogen.

 

Therefore, when drawing men, it can't be just a difference in eye, eyelash, or mouth size that makes something masculine-- But facially, a combination of changes in the jaw, eyes, mouth, nose, chin, and brows, since Estrogen is a hormone that affects all these aspects of the face; And the more we can incorporate these differences, the more, theoretically, masculine we can make a face. 

 

 

Comparing a female vs. male face -pt.2:

 

We mentioned earlier that females have more curves and a smoother face for shading. In contrast, we described male's features as being boxier and stronger-- 

 

boxier. In other words, cube-like, rectangular. 

How is a box drawn? Relatively cube-like. How is it shaded? Relatively cube-like.

 

 

For females, however, we noted their features as being rounder, less defined--

 

Rounder. In other words, sphere-like, elliptical.

How is a sphere drawn? As something round. How is it shaded? As something round.

 

• Therefore, thought simply: Masculine features are shaded more cube-like since they are cube-shaped.
• Feminine features are shaded more sphere-like since they are sphere-shaped.

 

Similar to pt.1, let's see if we can manipulate the perception of gender once more. Let's try these shading ideas on some faces:

 

 

On the left, i applied the "box-like" shading to the male and "sphere-like" shading to the female. On the right, I directly copied and pasted, but switched, the appropriate shading: We can see that the "sphere"-shaded the male appears more feminine while the "cube"-shaded female appears more masculine.

 

Therefore, a masculine face can be described as having more cuboid features-- and, consequently, more cuboid-type shading. Whereas a feminine face generally has more spherical features and spherical-type shading. 

 

 

*** As an additional difference (that might help during colouring), females tend to have more contrast in their faces compared to males. This is why girls wear makeup-- to add to the contrast. Makeup can also make their eyes or lips appear larger, therefore making a girl appear to have more Estrogen, and therefore making them look more feminine, or appealing.

 

 

 

 

Comparing a female vs. male torso:

 

We can further simplify a male's frame into two, inwards-facing trapezoids with a rectangle/ circle in the middle. The female form, meanwhile, can be simplified into two inwards-facing triangles (yes I used trapezoids).

 

Note that the male's hips aren't as full as the female's; and relative to the chest, the males' hips are slightly narrower. Men's hips are also less curvy and start more abruptly. This is because-- as we mentioned earlier (when drawing a female face)-- males have less body fat than females; consequently, they are less curvy; they are less curvy because again, they have less Estrogen, a female hormone in puberty.  

 

 

The first trapezoid can be made to represent the chest, while the second can represent the hips. Remember to always follow the overall shape of a triangle, however.

 

 

 

 

Comparing a female vs. male limb and hand:

 

 

Males' limbs tend to also be more "strongly" built than females'. The shoulders in particular can have a noticeable difference. The wrist bones in a male tend to also be more recognizable; remember, males have less body fat, and more bone growth than females.

 

Males' hands tend to not only be broader and more defined than females', but also slightly larger; the muscles on the front of a male's hand can also be more noticeable, as well as the knuckles.

 

The fingers of a female's hand tend to be "softer" and end more narrowly, while in a males', they tend to have sharper angles and look broader.

 

 

 

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••• S u m m a r y

• Males have broader features than females. This is because men have less Estrogen, making not only eye size differ, but also jaw, mouth, brow, and general bone size, + fat amount. 
• Males' features are more cuboid than females. Therefore, they're shaded more cube/ rectangular-like than females.
• Males' frames are ~3 heads wide, and can be simplified into an isosceles triangle or two trapezoids and a circle/ rectangle.
• A male's torso should form an equilateral triangle from the shoulders to the navel.
• Males' legs tend to be less curvy/ smooth. Similarly, their hips tend to be less curvy and more slim than females'. 

 

 

Hopefully this helps someone.

 

Last updated June 3rd, 2014.

Last updated September 21st, 2015.

[Neverward 210]

Absolutely awesome 8D I will be practicing my men now hehe! These are some very awesome tips and they gave me a lot of insight into the mysterious realm of drawing men... maybe they will come out less womanly now.

 

The tips about estrogen and facial structure are spot on!

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

Thanks a lot! /o/ I tried.

 

That's awesome though! i wanted people to be more eager about drawing guys. Hopefully they will come out less womanly for you. \o/ And you will like them more. (If you don't already?)

 

Learning about the estrogen thing i found really helped me understand more about drawing guys though. I'm glad you really liked it. : D

I found that learning about the logic behind certain features was better than just being told, "draw them, that's just how it is". lol

[OneCutStudio 353]

This is a nice section of information for people looking for tips. I'd like to add one more:

• Facial hair. Don't be afraid to draw it. Testosterone is the cause behind this feature. Even when shaven, you still might be able to see some stubble.

I haven't done any drawing tuts, but this is a great start. It inspires me to make one in the future.

 

Thanks.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Ah, this is good! (and funny!)  Those guys at the top really appear to be having a lot of fun though  I guess they like drawing tips?

 

I agree that I have more difficulty drawing guys. A lot of the stuff about the hormones and...well, I guess just that haha helps. A couple of points I didn't notice before when studying the difference! ^-^

 

I also want to point out that I love your style in general ^-^ You tend to always draw lower lashes but not always upper lashes, and I actually like it a lot ^-^ Now I'm making too many emoticons ^-^" See? ^^" ^^"

 

Getting off-topic.

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

@OneCut:

That's great! You should go for making one yourself if you want to. I'd be curious to see what kind of drawing tutorial you would do.

 

Thanks a lot. (!) : ) Also, i agree about facial hair. That really made me think about drawing stubble during colouring; even though i admit that im unfortunately a fan of incredibly bare shaving.

 

@Tsarmina:

Thanks! (^D^) i'm glad it was kind of funny. i didnt really think about y the guys up top are so happy though tbh... (o.o) is there something wrong with it?

Thanks again too btw for liking my style. (!) (>^D^)> i really like lower lashes a lot. U draw upper lashes on your guys? Or just girls?I think i might post too many emoticons too sometimes. But i like it when they look cute. |:^D lol

[Spectre 829]

I approve of this tutorial so so much. Nice art style, nice sketch work, and nice research.

Also, go easy on the emoticons, or Tsar might pick you as her personal minion one day. XD

 

And of course, one more tip for anyone planning to draw anything on the body: Don't be afraid to look up realistic images of abs, pectorals etc.; even organs if necessary. It's a little sick, but trust me, it allows you to have a much better picture of what you're doing.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

@Tsarmina:

Thanks! (^D^) i'm glad it was kind of funny. i didnt really think about y the guys up top are so happy though tbh... (o.o) is there something wrong with it?

 

Thanks again too btw for liking my style. (!) (>^D^)> i really like lower lashes a lot. U draw upper lashes on your guys? Or just girls?I think i might post too many emoticons too sometimes. But i like it when they look cute. |:^D lol

 

EMOTICONS :D         ^-^ >.< O_o  :x

I'll stop...*shame*

The guys up top can be happy if they feel like being happy ^-^ There's nothing wrong with it! I just felt compelled to share their happiness XD I guess.

 

I usually don't draw lashes on my guys at all. I like my guys girly, so lashes would just...make them more girly. ^^" They can't totally be sissies! So I keep them reserved for girls. But I usually make upper lashes more prominent than lower lashes. You can seriously pull it off, though *admiration aura*

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

@Kentard: Thanks. (!) ('D' ) (^D^ )

Though no way. >: D I refuse to be anyone's minion. No matter how many emoticons i post. (!) o_o

 

Agree about the real-life references btw. Looking up actual pictures of guys' muscles really helped me. Though I had to do a lot of censorship when i was looking at/ studying the pictures/ bodies.

 

 

@Tsarmina: XD

 

Lol, good though then about them being happy. d: Yea, i would rather they look happy. I guess they're just eager learners-- ...about drawing other guys and their bodies..... (^3^)/

 

Also, hahahaha, thanks a lot! /o/ I can't believe you like my style so much. 

Although i do usually give my girls upper eyelashes as well. : 3 Upper eyelashes on guys though.... yea, i kinda know what u mean about that. Just something about it looks.... too.. feminine..? Even though it's technically more realistic.

[Tsarmina 2,612]

@Kentard: Thanks. (!) ('D' ) (^D^ )

Though no way. >: D I refuse to be anyone's minion. No matter how many emoticons i post. (!) o_o

 

@Tsarmina: XD

 

Lol, good though then about them being happy. d: Yea, i would rather they look happy. I guess they're just eager learners-- ...about drawing other guys and their bodies..... (^3^)/

 

Also, hahahaha, thanks a lot! /o/ I can't believe you like my style so much. 

Although i do usually give my girls upper eyelashes as well. : 3 Upper eyelashes on guys though.... yea, i kinda know what u mean about that. Just something about it looks.... too.. feminine..? Even though it's technically more realistic.

I didn't notice the minion comment before...

 

I love looking at different people's styles~ It's really interesting! Anyway, manga isn't realistic anyway, so beh. Throw those rules out the window ^-^

[Hirei 170]

Just going to...favorite this for later haha.

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

Thanks a lot Hirei! i'm glad you found it helpful. And decided to favourite it; that makes me feel really honoured.

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

Bump for getting around to finally updating this thing! I realized some of what i wrote was a bit confusing.

 

Hopefully this will be informative for some more people. Let me know if there's anything that still sounds weird. lol

[Balter 32]

I found it easier to compare between male and female differences after studying transgender people's transition perweek in a year.

[Dainiri.Art 155]

Where on earth I have been looking for drawing books, when WBRUH have this fantastic tips? I will be refunding my money and just study in WBRUH University. That is more practical and fun than those boring profs. Best and enjoyable tutorial ever.

 

Now time to update my Signature...

Edited October 21, 2015 by Dainiri

[When Bugs Roam Ur House 656]

@Balter: That sounds incredibly interesting! Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check/ try that out sometime myself.

 

Where on earth I have been looking for drawing books, when WBRUH have this fantastic tips? I will be refunding my money and just study in WBRUH University. That is more practical and fun than those boring profs. Best and enjoyable tutorial ever.

Now time to update my Signature...

Was it really that enjoyable? Well, fantastic then!! I have no idea how it sounds lol.   But thanks for the great flattery. (!!) 10 Pts to Gryffindor! Jk; bonus marks awarded for your next assignment entry! ...jk.   

 

Seriously though, i really like that you found this practical. I had the same issue of finding either little information on drawing guys, or what information there was, was kind of wordy/ too non-basic for me. I hoped to just make something to resolve that. 

 

EDIT: Oh geez, thanks a lot for the signature support banner