How to Learn Figure Drawing
at The Drawing Source

By Marina Fridman, MFA, BFA


Welcome to the Figure Drawing Learning Path at The Drawing Source. Here you’ll discover how to learn figure drawing in 4 phases – and the suggested drawing skills you should have before starting.

Three figure drawings showing the three stages of how to learn figure drawing. First a gestural block-in drawing, an anatomy and figure construction drawing, and a shaded long-pose figure drawing.Start learning how to draw the figure in Figure Drawing Quickstart
Three figure drawings showing the three stages of how to learn figure drawing. First a gestural block-in drawing, an anatomy and figure construction drawing, and a shaded long-pose figure drawing.


Why Foundations Come First


Figure drawing is an endlessly fascinating area of realistic drawing. It’s dynamic, expressive, rewarding – and one of the most challenging.

The figure is complex. It contains countless proportions, layered structures, anatomy, gesture, nuanced values and edges – all interacting at once.

This is why figure drawing is not a beginner subject. Without strong foundations, it quickly becomes overwhelming. But - the complexity is also part of what makes it so compelling. And why it needs to be learned in the right sequence.

A map of the realistic drawing curriculum at The Drawing Source, showing how foundational drawing skills are needed for both figure drawing and portrait drawing.


Notice that on the curriculum map above: figure drawing does not come first.

It's Foundational Skills that unlock your ability to draw the figure successfully - and enjoy the process rather than struggle through it.

Take measuring, for example – a foundational drawing skill in the Proportion and Shape category. One of the biggest challenges in figure drawing is drawing accurate proportions.

The reason this is such a struggle is that students often haven’t learned the required measuring techniques on simpler subjects first.

We use the same measuring techniques for the figure as we do for a still life.
But because the figure is so much more complex, our measuring skills need to be at an intermediate-to-advanced level.


In the Atelier at The Drawing Source you learn 10 ways to measure and draw accurate proportions early on in Intro to Accuracy and Measurement.

Then, in Figure Drawing Quickstart, you learn how to apply the same measuring techniques to the figure in a lesson called How to Measure Each Step of the Figure Drawing Framework.


The techniques don’t change. What changes is:

  • The complexity of the subject, and
  • The level at which we must be able to use our foundational skills

With the figure, there are more forms and proportions to manage at once – meaning we need to use the same foundational measuring techniques with greater accuracy and control.

That’s why we develop these skills first on simpler subjects — and then apply them to more complex ones like the figure and portrait.


Why Students Are Often Discouraged by Figure Drawing
(and what to do about it)

Many students feel discouraged by figure drawing simply because they attempt it too early, before developing their foundational skills, or because they don’t have a map.


If you’ve ever felt discouraged drawing the figure, it’s not because you “can’t draw” — drawing is a learnable skill.

It’s usually because:

1) Your foundational skills need strengthening
2) You don’t yet have a clear system for starting a figure drawing
3) You haven’t learned the figure-specific knowledge required (construction, anatomy, and how to bring it all together in a rendered, long-pose drawing)

None of these mean you lack ability.
You simply haven’t been shown the full process – in the right order.

The order is essential. Your foundational skills need strengthening first, then you learn a clear system for starting a figure drawing, then you learn figure-specific knowledge on top of that. Out of order, these steps don’t work.


The good news: all of this is learnable, and there's a clear sequence for doing it.


How to Learn Figure Drawing in 4 Stages


Before moving deeply into figure drawing, your foundational skills should already be developing.

If you’re really eager to draw the figure (I understand), you can study figure drawing while building your foundations. Just know that your results will improve dramatically as those foundations grow.


Once your foundations are developing, figure drawing unfolds in four major stages:


Step 1) Learn How to Start a Figure Drawing
2D Proportion, shape, movement

A dynamic flowing gesture drawing next to a block-in for a figure drawing.

We start with a gestural block-in – a simplified framework that captures the main idea of the pose, and establishes proportions and gestures (the flowing lines that run through the body).

Though it may look simple, this is an essential, nuanced step. It’s the foundation on which we’ll layer construction, anatomy, and rendering.

To start a figure drawing effectively, we learn:
-The essential first steps of every strong figure drawing
-How to adapt those steps into an effective strategy for any pose
-How to measure the figure accurately to establish correct proportions early on
-How to balance accuracy and gesture so the drawing feels both accurate and alive


You can develop these skills in: Figure Drawing Quickstart
Never freeze at the beginning of a figure drawing again. Learn the Figure Drawing Framework - 7 essential first steps of every strong figure drawing, how to adapt them into the most effective starting strategy for any pose, and which measuring techniques to use at every step.

Or learn more on these pages:
➤ 5 Ways to Start a Figure Drawing
➤ The Line of Action: An essential first line of a figure drawing
➤ 7 Figure Drawing Proportions to Know
➤ Figure Drawing Gesture vs. Block-In
➤ What Beginners Are Rarely Told About Figure & Portrait


Step 2) Learn to Construct the Figure
3D Volume, structure, solidity

Figure construction drawing of a standing female figure.

Once our 2D framework is in place, we start building the 3D forms of the body.

Our gestural block-in captured movement and proportion. Now we give the figure structure and solidity – building the major volumes of the body as three-dimensional forms that tilt, rotate, and occupy space.

Here we study the skeleton and learn to think of the body as an arrangement of interlocking 3D volumes. The rib cage, pelvis and limbs become forms with depth and weight rather than flat shapes and contours.

Construction is the bridge between gesture and anatomy. It gives the figure structural integrity before surface detail is added.


Step 3) Add Figure Anatomy
Musculature and believability

A realistic anatomical figure drawing showing the muscles of the body.

Once structure is in place, we study and layer anatomy and musculature. If construction gives the body form, anatomy explains its surface.

At this stage we learn:

  • Which muscles are essential to know - their function, shape, and how they change with movement
  • How to recognize them on the body in different poses
  • How to layer muscles on top of construction
  • How to suggest musculature convincingly – creating believable, lifelike forms and contours


Step 4) Learn to Shade a Long-Pose Figure Drawing
Values, edges, and the full drawing process

A realistic figure drawing in graphite of a standing female figure.

Finally, we bring everything together – all of our foundational skills and all of our figure-specific knowledge – to render a long pose convincingly.

This is where the figure comes fully to life: structured, anatomically informed, and rendered with the values, edges, and refinement that make a drawing feel real.


Learn More:
➤ Step by Step Figure Drawing Tutorial
➤ 7 Studies to Improve Your Figure Drawings


How to Learn Figure Drawing: Where to Start

Ready to start learning figure drawing in the right sequence?


If you’re new to realistic drawing in general:
Start with the foundations in the Atelier, a structured curriculum that takes you from foundational skills to figure drawing and beyond. Then take Figure Drawing Quickstart in the same membership to start figure drawing.

The Atelier at The Drawing Source


If you have some drawing experience and want to start figure drawing:
Take Figure Drawing Quickstart - available as a self-study course in the Atelier, or as a live cohort with weekly sessions, practice schedules, and direct access to me (Marina).

You'll learn the essential first steps of every strong figure drawing, how to adapt them to any pose, and how to measure the figure accurately — giving you a clear, reliable system for starting any pose.

If you’re an intermediate to advanced artist looking to take your figure drawings to the next level:
My figure construction, anatomy, and long-pose courses are currently being created. Stay tuned.

Marina from The Drawing Source

By Marina Fridman — a professional visual artist, former tenure-track professor of art, and founder of The Drawing Source, where over 1,000 students have taken drawing courses.


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