Okay, so today I decided to really hammer down on drawing legs. Been putting it off, you know? They always end up looking kinda stiff or just… weird.
First thing I did was grab some references. Didn’t go crazy, just pulled up a few photos online – athletes, dancers, some anatomical diagrams, stuff like that. Didn’t want to copy directly, just needed to get the basic shapes and how things connect in my head.
Getting Started
I started rough, really rough. Just using simple cylinders and boxes to block out the thigh, the lower leg, and the foot. Trying hard not to get bogged down in details right away. Focus was just on the gesture and the main forms. Where does the knee bend? How does the calf muscle bulge out? Basic stuff.
Did a bunch of quick sketches like this. Some standing poses, some sitting, a few bent legs. Honestly, the first few were pretty bad. Knees looked like hinges slapped on, and ankles were just… sticks connecting to feet blocks.
Working Through It
Then I slowed down a bit. Took one pose and really tried to refine it. I started thinking more about the muscles, even though I wasn’t drawing every single one. Like, the big quad muscle on the front of the thigh, the hamstring curves on the back, the shape of the calf. Where do they bulge? Where do they taper?
- Tried to feel the bone structure underneath. The kneecap isn’t just a circle, it has a shape and sits in the leg structure.
- Paid attention to how the leg connects to the hip. That joint area is tricky.
- Ankles and feet are still a weak spot for me. Tried to simplify the ankle bones and make the foot feel like it actually has weight and structure, not just a flat triangle.
It took a while. Lots of erasing. Lots of squinting at my references and then back at my drawing. I noticed I tend to make the lower leg too short sometimes, so I consciously tried to check proportions more. Used my pencil to measure bits on the reference and compare to my sketch.
The Results (Sort Of)
By the end of the session, I had a page full of legs. Some still look wonky, not gonna lie. But a few of them… yeah, they’re starting to look like actual legs. They have a bit more volume, the curves feel a little more natural. The practice definitely helped.
It’s clear I still need a lot more work, especially on different angles and more dynamic poses. And feet, ugh, feet are gonna need their own dedicated session(s). But overall, felt good to just sit down and grind it out. Progress, even if it’s slow.
