Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions - Ultra Pack

"Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions" is a laser focused volume of Comic Art training created specifically to give you the ability to draw your Comic Book Characters in Proportion.

The ideas, techniques and tools you’re about to learn in this Lesson have been carefully developed and refined over years of learning, testing and experience.

I use them every day I sit down to draft out a new Comic Book Character myself, because the truth is everything you’re going to learn in this lesson ACTUALLY works if you apply it!

And I’m not the only one who’s taken advantage of what I’m giving you here - over the years my students have also used these insights and techniques to conquer the most challenging, fundamental obstacle every artist is met with when they set out to improve their drawing abilities - Proportions

You might be asking why I decided to cover Proportions first, out of all the other fundamental principles that go into a well-drawn Comic Book Illustration.

Well here’s the thing.

I didn’t start out as some talented wonder child. I was an amateur just like everyone else - who just happened to like drawing. Most of the encouragement I had back then came from some real nice family and friends who all loved the work I did - regardless of whether or not it was actually good.

But one thing that separated me from the other would be novice’s out there was my unwavering determination to succeed where I was weakest.

When I went to Uni I never showed my sketchbook to anyone – because I drew so many horrible drawings that I myself was embarrassed to look at. 

I was never discouraged by the bad drawings I turned out. They made me stronger and reinforced my motivation to learn, practice and to master the areas of drawing I struggled with most.

The more mistakes I made, the better, because it was always another valuable lesson learned that would at least help me to improve in some small way.

That was the ultimate realization - knowing that as long as I practiced every single day, I WOULD get that much closer to honing my craft. That every drawing I did today, would be better than the drawings I did yesterday.

But the amount of time it was taking to get my art work to the level of quality I really wanted it to be at was just too much. Weeks, months would go by, and despite all the sketchbooks I was filling up, I couldn’t see the jump in improvement I was looking for.

And the reason I was learning at such a slow pace, was because I simply didn’t know what to practice in order to take my art work to the next level.

I soon realized that the best way to improve was to stop flying blind, go back to ground zero and focus on nailing the underlying fundamentals that held up a well-drawn Comic Book Illustration.

And for that, I needed guidance. So I sought advice from the artists I admired most on the various communities I was part of back then, like DeviantArt, Pencil Jack and of course Artists I knew on Facebook.

The really cool thing was that almost all of them were eager to help! They gave all the insight they had to offer on the questions I’d asked them, and pointed me in the right direction telling me exactly what I needed to focus on in order to see the results I was looking for.

Of course it didn’t take me long to realize where my weakest foundation was. The foundation that was taking everything down with it! –

​Proportions!

It makes sense when you think about it. That proportions would have to be the first thing to get down before any other figure drawing fundamental.  

Think about us as real human beings. Every part of our anatomy, every muscle, every feature, the clothes we wear, the hair do’s we don and the makeup we plaster on - it’s all held up by a sturdy, underlying armature of bone - the Human Skeleton.

Now imagine for a moment, how weird it would be if even one part of your skeleton was noticeably out of proportion. It would affect your entire body, muscles, outfit, posture - EVERYTHING. If your skeleton is out of proportion – then you’re out of proportion!

The same rules apply to the characters we draw.

They’re all held up by an underlying structure that determines how the rest of their anatomy will ultimately look. And if that structure isn’t sized up to the correct scale, and placed together in the right way - just like a building with a weak foundation - your entire drawing is doomed to collapse in on itself.

So I realized that Proportions weren’t just something I had to learn to create characters that looked ‘right’, Proportions were a core principle I had to learn and master before I could move beyond them.

The problem was Proportions were never a topic that was covered anywhere in any real depth, especially for Comic book characters. The ‘How to Draw Books’ that did touch on the topic dedicated no more than two pages tops to it.

And they never went into how to keep your characters in proportion when posing and drawing them in perspective. They rarely ever went into any depth as to how to draw characters in proportion at different ages, or how to keep characters who had unique proportions consistent from illustration to illustration. And what about sizing up and placing your characters on the page so that they actually fit?...

The most I could find was only ever one or two pages containing a vague proportions chart of a generic figure.

So I decided to venture out on my own and looked to the real world as well as comics to figure out the easiest, most applicable and repetitious techniques I could develop to ensure my characters were always drawn to size.

I literally sat down for hours, finding photographs of real people and measuring their body parts out against their head to ensure I was getting down the correct size ratios.

Then I compared that to the stylistic decisions pro Comic Artists like Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and Marc Silvestri made to push the human figure to the extreme and accentuate its form in a way that would exude dramatic impact.

I analysed it all, tested out and practiced in the ways I felt would give me the most optimal results - then attempted to create a series of short hand techniques that I could integrate into my own drawing method -

That would ensure my characters had the best chance possible of being proportionally accurate every time I drew them!

Now the bad news is, there’s no one technique out there known to man that will provide the magic pill that gives you the ability to draw your characters perfectly in Proportion, 100% of the time. But I did manage to create some highly effective drawing habits along the way that certainly stacked the odds in my favor.

I was soon able to draw my characters with a solid underlying structure that made them look powerful and full of energy – but most of all they were almost always in Proportion.

I say almost always, because sometimes they weren’t honestly 100% in proportion. But even when they weren’t no one could tell because the Proportions would only ever be off by a hair.

A few years later, when I began teaching in story-boarding and illustration, I realized that I wasn’t the only one who struggled with Proportions when first learning how to draw.

The challenge almost all of my students ran into straight away, was drawing the anatomy of their characters, placed and sized up correctly.

I really empathized with their feelings of doubt and disappointment. Because that was me once, and I remembered feeling the exact same way every time a drawing I thought was going to be great just turned out rubbish.

At least I’d been strong enough to persist – some of my students though just became so depressed with their work that they almost gave up entirely!

Luckily for my students – they had something I never had – someone to take them by the hand and guide them through exactly what they needed to do to overcome their drawing dilemmas.

I taught them the very same techniques I developed for myself, and showed them exactly how to implement them into their own method, to overcome the individual sticking points they had when it came to drawing their characters to the correct proportions.

We broke down the human body, segment by segment, determining the key landmarks throughout the human anatomy that could be used to measure out its entire structure. 

Then we developed specific exercises, designed to weave all their understanding of Proportions into a method of working that would always give them consistent results.

And they did get consistent results.

You know what’s really crazy though? Some of those same students ended up working along-side me later on, inside some of the most amazing studios I’ve ever been apart of.

So I thought to myself. If I can help my students in a live class room to get these kinds of results… what can I do for you? What can I do for every other aspiring Comic Artist out there in the same position?

This is one of the reasons I created How to Draw Comics . NET. Almost over 4 years ago.

But I wanted to take it a step further this time…In fact, I wanted to go all out. And I had the idea to create a comprehensive series of ultra refined Comic Art Lessons that offered the highest caliber of training available in the world.

And it all begins here – with the first fundamental, dynamic drawing principle – Proportions.

I’ve not only put everything I’ve got into creating "Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions" for you! I structured and packaged it in an easy to understand and highly applicable way – where I give you every morsel of insight I’ve got, then show you exactly how to apply it step by step so that you walk away from this Lesson with real tangible results.

Again, I’m not a professional Comic Book Artist. I haven’t worked for any huge companies, you won’t find my work published anywhere. I’ve just made more mistakes than I care to admit… and learned from them. And taught what I learned to others so that they could go onto work in some of the biggest entertainment studios in the world.

In fact, I get offers to work on projects all the time. I don’t say that to brag either. I’m saying it because the truth is my heart lies in teaching this stuff. It’s one of the most challenging and rewarding career paths I could have ever chosen.

Besides… when I do work on my next book Comic Book Project – it’ll be my own. Not someone else’s.

So you’re not being taught by a professional Comic Artist. My talent doesn’t extend to working to deadlines or briefs. But I love to draw, and I love to teach, and that is what I’m offering you here.

When you get "Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions" – you’re going to get a a highly polished compilation of everything I’ve learned through my own challenges, and the struggles I’ve helped my students overcome throughout the years.

If you want to learn how to draw Comic Book Characters in Proportion, this extensive lesson has been created specifically for you! 

I created it specifically so that you can cut away decades of learning and get better in a fraction of the time it took me, and most other aspiring artists who are out there, blindly struggling to learn this stuff on their own.

Beyond any other art form, The Art of Comic Book Illustration demands the most elite level of dynamic drawing skill in order to compose complex visual sequences - purely from imagination.

That’s why learning the fundamental drawing principles is so imperative to succeeding as a Comic Book Artist – because absolutely everything you draw will rely on them to give it a sound structure.

​Now before I move on and unpack what you’re getting in this training package, I should mention first that "Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions" is NOT something I created for people who...

• Already think they’re ‘good enough’ and lack the motivation to push themselves to the next level, beyond stagnation.
• Want to give up, throw in the towel for procrastinating and not put in the effort and commitment it takes to earn a stellar skill set.
• Want to waste time trawling the internet, books and  forums only wind up practicing the WRONG way of doing things - simply because they were given bad information.
• It's NOT just another un-narrated time lapse video of some other artist showing off their skills, without actually explaining what they’re doing.
• It’s NOT a bland 10 hour session of off topic rambling that’s been slapped together and confuses you more than teaches you anything.
• This lesson is NOT for those who want to watch from the sidelines and are NOT motivated enough to take action to improve their skill set.

This IS FOR YOU if you’re serious and you want to move forward with your art RIGHT NOW.

I put over four months of hard work into creating "Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions". It was hard work, and a true labor of love that cost me many sleepless nights. But I loved and cherished every minute I was able to work on it. In fact, it feels strange to finally have finished this, and to now be giving it to you.

It wasn’t easy, but I honestly believe that I’ve created a real gem for you here. Here’s what you’ll find inside…

 “Figure Drawing Foundations | Proportions” Includes:

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions E-Book
  • The 34 Page E-Book holds some of the most concentrated, highly polished fundamental knowledge on Proportions that you will not find anywhere else.
  • Every piece of insight has been carefully articulated with complimentary, high detail Comic Book illustrations to give you clear visual examples, and to inspire. The Proportions E-Book is a must have reference guide for every aspiring Comic Book Artist who wants to get their figure drawing foundations handled – beginning with Proportions.
  • Best of all it’s all digital! So you don’t have to wait to get it in the mail, you get it instantly. You never have to worry about it getting damaged or lost, and you can take it anywhere, having it right at your finger tips whenever you want it.

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• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Core Lesson
  • The Core Proportions Lesson is the 40 minute, narrated, Video adaption of the Proportions E-Book - designed to give you a highly immersive, potent learning experience. The core lesson breaks down the topics step by step, walking you’re through each segment. Instead of just looking at each example, I’ll be highlighting the Proportions of the human figure segment by segment so that you don’t miss a beat.
  • The entire lesson has been narrated, which means you can sit back, listen, watch and learn, giving you a whole new level of educational immersion.
  • Both the Core Video and the E-Book are exceptional volumes of Comic Art training, designed and carefully composed to be delivered in two different formats.

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Templates
  • As well as the training material, I’ve also created a set of high resolution Proportions Templates. These Templates are essentially a height chart for each of the overarching topics covered in the E-Book and Core Proportions Lesson – The Heroic Figure, Proportions at Different Ages and Comic Book Archetypes.
  • These were specially created to serve you as the go to reference guide whenever you set out to draw a Comic Book character – a guide not just to drawing your characters in Proportion, but also to provide a reference for placing in their anatomy.
  • The Proportions Templates are ultra-high resolution image files which means you can set them up as your desktop background, or print them out on giant posters to hang up in your studio or work space. Either way, you can rest assured that every detail will be captured in sharp HD focus.

But I didn’t want to stop there. See, one of the toughest things to overcome when learning is the fact that you’re not here in the classroom with me to guide you through the process of implementing all the cool stuff you’re going to learn.

So I decided to really go above and beyond for you here to GUARANTEE you the results you came here for. Along with the Proportions E-Book, Core Proportions Lesson and Proportions Templates - I’ve also included:

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Workshop
  • As far as content and step by step instruction - this is where it’s at. The Proportions Workshop is a 5 Hour + module of intensive, real-time training designed to help you implement everything you’ve learned in the Core Proportions Lesson.
  • In the first 4 Workshop Sessions you’re going to learn step-by-step how to build a proportionally accurate figure drawing from the ground up. I’ll walk you through the front, and side view of both the male and female figure so that you get a full understanding of how the key forms of the human body are drawn. Literally, you’ll follow along with a sketchbook and pencil as we do the exercise together, and finish up with a set of Proportionally accurate figures in front of you.
  • In the following 4 sessions we enter into the advanced concepts of Proportions where I’ll walk you through a series of examples and exercises designed to get you drawing your figures in perspective – while keeping their proportions intact!

• Each of the Sessions focus on:
  • How to place down, and construct your characters on the page so that they fit within the space you’re drawing them – whether that be the page itself or the panels within a sequential piece of art work.
  • How to draw your characters in different poses, and foreshorten them in Perspective – and how to apply Proportions in those more dynamic scenarios.
  • You’ll learn how to understand the human figure in terms of simple form so that you can take a pose from observation, turn it around inside your mind and draw it down onto the page at any angle, in any view you desire. And I show exactly how to do it – in fact I walk you through it one step at a time so that you can implement the process for yourself.
  • And finally I share practical exercises with you that are specially designed to make drawing your characters in proportion second nature, through repetition. If you practice the exercises you learn in this session, Proportions will be a problem for you no more.
  • Each of the 8 sessions within the Proportions Workshop goes for 40 minutes to an hour, and are aimed at putting everything you’ve learned into action straight away so that you can see an improvement in your drawings right NOW!

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• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Virtual Comic Art Classroom Invite
  • This package gets you an invite to join HTDC’s Virtual online, Comic Art Classroom - an extremely EXCLUSIVE Facebook Group where you’ll join a supportive community of highly driven artists, and have direct access to me so that I can personally help you one-on-one to  pass your greatest challenges
  • Essentially, this online space serves as a virtual classroom for those who are most dedicated to taking their dynamic drawing skills to the next level. And one of the reasons I created the HTDC Virtual Comic Art Class  was to provide a platform that you and I could interact on. A platform in which you could show me your work, ask me questions and where I could give you personalized feedback on the specific areas you were struggling with. The HTDC Virtual Comic Art Class provides the missing link in online training by allowing me to cater my teaching and advice to your personal needs.
  • On top of that, you’ll be mingling with the other dedicated and talented artists that are part of this tight knit group of motivated individuals. This is not only a motivating experience, but an inspiring one where everyone is encouraged and given the help they need to really take their skill set to the top

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Personalized Feedback and Critiques
  • Finally in the top tier Utlra Pack I’m going to go one step beyond just teaching you this stuff – I’m basically going to become your personal Mentor. Here I’m going to offer you in-depth critiques and extensive feedback on your work that will hone in on and get you past your greatest obstacles so that you can level up your skillset in the fastest amount of time possible
  • I’ll give you feedback on your work in the form of comprehensive write-ups that’ll address your concerns, and guide you in the right direction to help you solve them. From time to time I’ll even go so far as to create video critiques where I literally show you how to address the problems you’re having in your art work and exactly what you can do to improve it.
  • Naturally I’m only one person. So I can’t make this offer to everyone. In fact this offer is extremely limited to the first few who order this package. So if you’re truly serious about stepping your art work up to the next level, in the shortest amount of time you possibly can, take advantage of this offer as quickly as possible before it’s too late. I’ve never offered anything like this before but I’m pretty sure spots are going to run out fast with a list of over 5000 registered members on How to Draw Comics . NET.

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• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Video Recordings
  • Get access to 16+ hours of recorded video demonstration showcasing the making of each Comic Book Illustration I created for  Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions. These time-lapse videos give you an inside look into how I actually produce a detailed, Comic Book Illustration from start to finish. The best part is, you’ll actually see my applying the same stuff I teach you in the Core Proportions Lesson and Workshop – as I begin laying in the foundations of each illustration and build it up.
  • Each of these Time-lapse Videos have been compressed from 10 Hours of production time, to a sped up 1 Hour demo. These videos are NOT narrated, so they’re really for the hard-core learners who want to get an inside look and see my entire process in action.
  • What you ultimately get out of these videos is a clear example of my personal workflow in action, and the steps I take to create a Comic Book Illustration from the ground up. This is obviously something which is highly valuable in the development of your own workflow – to see how others actually work. And my hope is that you’ll use these Comic Art recordings to develop, tweak and improve your own production process.

• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Multi-Layered PSD Files
  • Get an inside look into the Layered PSD Files that were used to compose the 40+ Comic Book Illustrations included in the Proportions Lesson. These Project Files are going to give you an inside peak into how I compose the layering of my digital Comic Art as well as my layering process. Once you see inside these files, the method I use for composing an inked illustration becomes clear –
  • Begin with the foundations, establishing the pose, placement and proportions of the character
  • Next, roughly sketch in the anatomy of the character, plotting out the muscle group and key anatomical features of the character
  • Draft the design of the character’s costume, hair style and place in the facial features – Then finally…
  • Ink in the finished line work, beginning with the line weights contours of the image, then move onto the shadowing and rendering passes
  • These PSD’s are an excellent educational resource, again for someone who is ultra-serious about stepping up their art work to the next level and developing a rock solid workflow for themselves that’s going to give them consistent results.

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• Figure Drawing Fundamentals | High Resolution Image Files
  • Here I’m going to give you the High Resolution collection of the illustrations I created for Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions Multi-Layered PSD Files. If you’re a fan of my art work, you’re going to love this – but more importantly, they’re going to serve you as yet another excellent resource of study.
    

Ultimately, when you get "Figure Drawing Fundamentals | Proportions", my hope is that it will not only give you a highly concentrated, deep level of insight into the complexities of Proportion - but that it will also serve as a dependable guide for you to refer back to whenever you need it.

My goal was to deliver ‘the’ guide to drawing your Comic Book Characters in Proportion. And I really do believe that I’ve created that for you here.

-Clayton