How to Draw People Surfing
- 1). Draw a circle in the center of your paper. Because this shape represents the surfer's head, size it according to how large or small you want your final art to be. Smaller will allow you to show more of the action of surfing, larger will bring more focus to the surfer herself. Draw a horizontal line underneath the head to create the shoulder/arm line; this long line should be the length of about seven head circles, showing the surfer's outstretched arms as she maintains balance.
- 2). Draw a 45-degree angled line from the bottom of the head circle to create the body's midline. This line should be slightly longer than the shoulder line. This indicates the surfer is arched over, facing toward the front of the board, looking at the right side of the page.
- 3). Draw a backwards number 7 attached to the bottom of the midline to represent the surfer's front leg, then another 7 connected to the first 7 to make the back leg. The 7's should be half the length of the midline.
- 4). Add the surfboard---remember, the front tip is right-facing---underneath the rider by drawing a horizontal line slightly above the rider's ankles, giving the impression of depth to the board and making the art appear 3-D. The lines should contour and meet at the front point to create the surfboard shape. The board's length should be longer than the surfer is tall to keep the drawing to a realistic scale, and the surfer should be standing in the middle portion of the line/board.
- 5). Finish drawing the surfboard underneath the rider. Flesh out the surfer by drawing the appropriate shaping over the "skeleton" lines you drew, making the surfer appear full-bodied. Don't forget to add small details as you see fit, such as whether you want the surfer to male or female, bare-chested or wearing a wetsuit, etc.
- 6). Add the wave by drawing a vertical line through the surfboard's rear. Erase the board to the left of the line. Add various splash lines around the board to indicate a forward-cresting wave. Draw several brisk upward arching lines to the body of the wave to give the impression of motion as the wave crests.
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