I'm not very versatile with whole figures, but my expertise is on making portraits. In most of my portraits, the most important is detailing the eyes and if possible, working on it realistically. The eyes for me is the most striking in living animals possesing it (I won't limit myself to people as I love working on animals too).

There are numerous art books on how to draw and paint figures which might give you the basics of drawing and painting techniques. If you want to draw realistically (apart from modern/ abstract which often defy the laws of proportion and human anatomy), it is necessary to pay close attention and study intricate details and body proportions. An artist friend of mine once commented that "if you want to be a good portraitist or a figure artist, you must be well versed in STILL LIFE Drawings and Paintings. True enough, most proportions, shading and highlights in Still Life drawing can be vastly appliied to simple figure sketches, and to any of your artworks. Do some research and apply some techniques such as SCALING. Dont' be shy to use tools such as pantograph or a projector, or you may use a computer to scale down your figures. This is the space age, and these technology makes life easier for you! With this piece of gadgets, you can never go wrong with proportions. You can make a difference in your shadings or coloring anyway. Rendering your composition's shades and highlights is more important in creating life and dimensions in your artworks. Here's an exercise: Study yourself in front of the mirror. Draw (on the spot) what you see.

But as with any rules applies to learning, no books or any teacher can make you a Master. It is by practice that you can master all techniques in drawing people. Your skills and experience makes you a Master, not the things you've learned from other teachers.

And always remember: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, if you really enjoy what you are doing.

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