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Leg Anatomy Tutorial (Version 2)
Published: 2012-08-13 21:52:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 127679; Favourites: 6957; Downloads: 4526
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Description
Leg Anatomy and measurement tutorial. Gotta love legs. Mmm.More tutorials can be found in my gallery, in the Tutorials folder.
Currently available tutorials:
Female figure
Basic Hand
Basic Expression
Arm Anatomy
Leg Anatomy
Sometimes people ask me why I use such insanely meticulous and yet unnecessary measurements. The reason? Well, although I personally don't need to measure so incredibly carefully, it's not only extremely beneficial knowing the exact location (hence allowing me to make more accurate estimates), but because it's for your benefit as well.
I've seen a lot of tutorials that gave a nice explanation, but still forced me to estimate the distances and sizes. Those tutorials, while somewhat helpful, didn't allow me to improve my anatomy at all. I always wished there was some kind of exact comparison, some kind of exact tutorial, for me to use.
I have not mastered or perfected anything prior to creating these tutorials. In fact, most of the time, I'm new to the subject!
I make my tutorials through extensive observation from both real life and references.
After studying these references, I am left with a huge canvas filled with images, ideas, measurements, and notes. So, why not organize them and turn them into a tutorial for everyone to use?
Update: Thank you so much for making this a daily deviation! I never would have imagined myself on the daily's page. Both very honored and surprised!
Related content
Comments: 190
Great Tutorial. I have trouble with my leg heights and using the ankle width as a guide is a great idea!
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Wow, thanks! : D
Legs are fun to draw. (but they're so damn difficult!!)
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This was a good tutorial until I got to the part with the feet together..It's definitely possible to stand naturally with only your ankles touched (I just looked in the mirror and the only thing that touches when my feet are together are my ankles) but something about those knees look..off. I'm not good at explaining, but the knees need to curve inward more towards each other. Other than that, this is a very nice tutorial
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Hmm I was actually talking about the feet completely touching, not just the ankles. Both big toes touching each other.
I'll clarify that soon
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this is so well done! all the different little details which make the whole difference between realism and fail 
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Just thought I'd mention that on average a male has a 14-15 degree angle on the knee and women around 17. This is the angle at the knee from a front view if you drew a line from hip to knee to ground. ^_^
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Read through the tutorial very quickly, and also some of the comments. I recommend that you do not make a full-fleshed out tutorials if you're still in the training stage yourself. People tend to believe in everything they read in a tutorial (also ppl never read disclaimers ugh... speaking from personal experience as a tutorial-maker 
When it comes to legs standing straight seen in front, the knees should be able to touch each other (if standing with the feet close together). If the person has a slim body, that pose should create two gaps; one just below the calf muscles and one between the upper thighs/below the crotch. Here's a quick sketch to show you, might come in handy the next time you draw: [link]
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AWESOME tutorial!!!
Making good legs is not easy...
Thanks for sharing!!
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very useful and helpful tutorial 
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tis is so helpful! i always paint the legs sooo looong, but now i can make them very fast! it's only because of you! :joy:
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you don't even know how much you helped me!
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You're welcome, and stay tuned for more!
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going to be referring to this tutorial often, thanks for sharing you're very helpful notes
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You're welcome
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No problem! Glad to be of service
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Favouriting this so I can use it (I'll be needing it) and because it's fantastic.
Awesome work, much-needed tut. ;w;
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going to go strait into my fav's. Thanks for posting this!
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I still think you need to work on the basic understanding of the human leg and anatomy. Your renderings make the leg look less curvy than it is in real life as well as the bending of the knee looks off, too.
Classic Human Anatomy: The Artist's Guide to Form, Function, and Movement by Valerie Winslow is a GREAT book! I have used it in my anatomy classes. The most inaccurate parts in the book, to me, were the hands. The artists clearly has a style, but learning about the muscles and what they do as well as form is wonderful in this book. I recommend this to anyone interested in learning anatomy. It's a college level book! and for good reasons
Over all proportions look well and i can definitely see this being useful to a beginner or even an intermediate- to learn more guides etc. I think the muscles are what you lack- the rounded form of the legs and knees 
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Haha of course, I must practice anatomy as well. My tutorials are really just studies with some notes. I study anatomy by observing photos of friends (creeper alert?!), studying various online photos, and taking notes.
The tutorial is made by amateurs, for amateurs!
I'll look into the book, thanks for the tips
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no worries though 
The book really is lovely. Kinda pricey, but i've learned a lot out of it. (Basically we redrew most of the pictures in personal sketch books as studies! )
I think the guides in that book would help you too- you seem to work well with guides and visual measurements
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Towards the bottom, it says you have a different tutorial for feet and ankles, but I can't find it anywhere in your gallery. Has it been moved or deleted?
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hasn't been made yet xD
I'll get to it as soon as I can
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Ah, that was my next guess. Okay, just checking. I"m looking forward to it, I could really use some help with feet
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No offense, and this is a lovely tutorial and I'm sure very helpful, but it makes me feel like a freak. I am no where near overweight and extremely active (I'm a long distance runner), and my calf muscles are compressed when I stand with my feet touching. There is hardly a gap anywhere on my legs. But my legs are an average size, give or take an inch. Just more defined. The problem is the way that my hips are shaped, something you don't mention. This tutorial is for open hipped women. Only about half of the population has this curvature. The rest of us...well, our calves touch. Our thighs touch. No matter how skinny we are. I think that needs to be mentioned instead of emphasizing it as an 'extreme' case.
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Sorry if I hit a bad bone there, I have no mastery in anatomy whatsoever. My tutorial is really made for amateur artists like myself, who only learn from observation from online women. I basically begin doing a study on something I'm not good at, study it for a while, take some notes, and then compile the images and notes into a tutorial. I've mentioned that in my artist's comments.
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Aaaand it seems I forgot my copy-pasta. Sorry for the confusion!
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Actually, the artist wrote that there is always a gap between "the knee caps and lower legs" while your feet are touching, unless it is an extreme case- not the thighs.
However, it's still wrong because if you have your feet pressed together while standing (ankles together like in the drawing) your calves are probably touching too..
(oh and a lot of people's thighs touch, despite height, weight, etc. It's just a body type.)
(here is a photo of a woman with her ankles together, for reference)
[link]
I hope the artist can correct this point in the future as well
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oh, wait, you did say calves xD
apparently i can't read!
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