Last time we looked at hands – now it is time to look at their downstairs relatives; the feet. Again, I have good news if you hate drawing feet, you are not alone! Famous fantasy and sci-fi artist Frank Frazetta (February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was also seemingly not a fan of drawing feet, if you look at his paintings he would often hide them, I do not know why this is as when he did draw them they came out just as well as anything else he did – but take a look at these examples:

However as with hands, showing that you can draw feet well can really make your drawing, so practice it. Though it is a little easier to get away with hiding feet, as well shown by Frank Frazetta’s paintings, but why do it when you can show off your drawing skills by drawing them well instead? And the earlier you start practicing this, the more experience you will get and the better you will become.

So let us find some reference to help us studying this. Again, the best resource I found was on the blog Academy of Art Character and Creature Design, where Jennifer G. Oliver has been so kind as to post some pages from Jack Hamm’s Drawing the Head and Figure book:

Another great reference selection (also from the Academy of Art Character and Creature Design) for feet are these pages by Jim Macaulay, and animation instructor at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada:

Further I found this single sheet at Hubpages. It has some great examples of how to simplify before you detail the foot, which is really the key to successful anatomical drawing:

Lastly the website How to Draw – had a nice anatomical take on the foot and leg. I will only post a few examples as this is a more elaborate article so I suggest you click the link below and head on over for the full thing.

I hope this collection of references are of use to you, have fun drawing feet! Although I do not find them as difficult as hands I know I will be using many of these examples to study from.

Links:
Academy of Art Character and Creature Design – Foot References
How to Draw – Feet and Leg
The Frank Frazetta Museum

About Kiri

Kiri Østergaard Leonard is a freelance illustrator and artist from Denmark. She works on projects ranging from realistic portraiture to fantasy illustrations. She's available for freelance as well as private commissions.

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