Learn Techniques for Drawing Feet!

Would you like to learn the tricks for drawing feet? It's quite simple as creating a feet drawing takes what you know about the hands and expands it in many different ways (literally)!

There are just too many times that pictures will look incomplete because the artist has failed to study up how to draw feet and how it generations motion across the entire body.

Unless your character is constantly floating, it is imperative you know how gravity acts on the feet and how the posture is generated from all that pressure.

The great thing to note is that feet share a lot of similarities with the hands. That means you can quickly apply what you know about hands to draw convincing looking feet.

Let's get started with the lesson!

1. Draw a foot with proper proportions

Before we start looking at drawing feet, we must first look at the overall shape and how it relates to the rest of the body that.

That way, you will have a complete view of how long or short you need to make your feet when you are doing an entire character.

For the human body, there are two specific units of measurements: the head and the hands. In these measurements, it is best to split it into three parts.

In terms of length, the feet are about the same height as the head. At the same time, you need to understand that this is an approximation. Depending on your character, it can be longer or shorter.

Then, you need to know that the width of the feet is about one third of its length. Placing it next to the hands, the feet are longer than the hands by an extra one third.

Furthermore, when you look at where the ankles are, you will see that it is located a one third the height of the feet.

See how everything is measured evenly using the rule of thirds?

2. Flow points of your feet drawing

Here is where you will see just how similar the feet are to the hands. One key thing to keep in mind here are the flow points.

Anytime you are drawing the hands and feet, always start with the flow points and then fill in the individual features, like the fingers and toes, later.

Using this method, you can find the proportions relatively quickly and easily.

On the underside of the palm and the feet, you will see that the big toe is shifted upwards to get that entire row of five toes.

Aside from that, the amount of bones, as indicated by the flow points, is the same for both.

Note: always remember that the thumb and the big toe is missing an extra bone as compared to the other fingers and toes.

As long as you make the last section of the toes a round circle, you can create that bending movement in the toes of the feet.

On the flip side of things, your markers here are the tendons of each appendage. This much has not changed through evolution.

The big toe and the thumb have a tendon that runs separately from the other four toes and fingers.

Separating these tendons into its own groups is extremely helpful for getting the perspective down correctly as it creates good reference points.

3. Drawing feet from the front

You will be constantly dealing with foreshortening when you are drawing feet. It is a test of your ability to see objects in space at different angles.

Aside from tendons, another good marker is the heel. If the feet are drawn straight on, you will not see the heel. However, if it is tilted a bit, you can use the heel to give it a little more depth.

Always remember the rule of thirds. If you're drawing the feet from the front, remember where the ankles are and then connect your lines from the ankle bones to your toes.

Speaking of which, always put in the ankle bone as that is always a good measurement point for dividing the feet into thirds.

The toes need to have a special treatment as well. Aside from doing the flow points and adding each individual division line to create the individual digits, you need to round out the entire form.

You can round out the big toe as that is easiest. However, when you are getting to the smaller toes, you need to curve it downwards a bit.

This is because your toes are just like the fingers on your hands in that it naturally curves inwards in a grabbing motion.

Lastly, keep in mind the curvature at the bottom of the toe. That is, there is an indentation between the Achilles heel and the palm where the toes are located.

This is especially important when you are drawing feet from the side. Even when the feet are flat on the ground, suggest that curvature with a little bit of shadowing.

4. Drawing feet from the back and underside

Even though you will not be dealing with the feet from this angle as much, it would still be a good idea to know how in case there is an opportunity that requires you to draw it.

Again, the easiest way to start off is to create the flow points of the toes. Then follow it around to create the Achilles heel (keeping in mind the round curvature on the underside).

Since you do not have the tendons here to help you out with positioning the individual toes, you need to rely on that curved area underneath the feet.

You can also use what you know about the palm to generate some good measuring points.

For example, the budge leading up to the big toe. The palms of your hands will have this budge. You just need to cater the shape to fit the foot.

Any time you are having difficulties visualizing the feet in this position, use a reference and gently outline the shapes of the feet so you can get all your reference points down.

As for the toes, make sure to curve in the four smaller toes. You can do this simply by creating a round circle outlining the curvature inwards into the foot.

Again, you will need to use what you understand about foreshortening here. This is especially true when you are drawing the feet directly from the back.

Use the shape of the Achilles heel to get the initial posture down. Then, add budges at the sides to give an indication that the front of the foot is wider than the back.

Once more, use your ankle bone here to split the feet into the proper one third proportions and create additional measuring points.

As long as you are using your flow points, you can construct the toe in any position with relative ease. The rest is up to practice!

I hope you enjoy this simple gesture drawing lesson on drawing feet.

Submit any artworks you may have as I look forward to seeing your continuing improvement as a digital painting and digital drawing professional!

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