This article was created by the illustrators and manga artists who teach at the illustration and manga school, egaco, based on the knowledge and skills they have honed through commercial production and other work. If you would like to learn more about content that is tailored to what you want to draw, we recommend taking a private lesson at egaco.

Have you ever had trouble getting the tentative picture of the human body in the way you want, and found that it took a long time to draw? Have you ever felt uncomfortable with the balance of the figure, but don’t know what kind of practice you should do?

In such cases, we recommend you a croquis which allows you to practice a lot in a short time.

Since a croquis requires only a few tools and a short time to finish a picture, you can repeat the training to draw quickly.

Let’s practice a croquis to draw poses of human figures more quickly and accurately.

A croquis is a training to accurately capture an object

A croquis is a quick drawing of a person, animal or still life.

There are similar words such as sketch and dessin, but the main difference is the time it takes to complete the work.

It is also called a quick shot because it is completed in a few minutes to a dozen minutes.

Because a croquis is drawn in a limited short time, it is necessary to quickly capture the characteristics of the motif and draw it with simple lines.

Therefore, it is a good training method to capture an object quickly and appropriately.

The purpose of a croquis is to develop the ability to see the essence

Because a croquis is basically done in a short time, such as three to 10 minutes, you can’t draw in detail.

Even in the same amount of time, drawing a croquis is quickly finished than you do with a sketch, and you can draw many of them.

In order to express a picture with a small amount of information, it is important to draw only the necessary information quickly.

For example, instead of drawing each strand of hair, you can capture the silhouette of the hair…

or drawing the silhouette of the fingers without drawing each individual finger, etc.

If you make it a habit to draw a croquis, you will develop the ability to observe and express things in a short time and it will become easier to draw your picture quickly.

<Analog, digital> What tools do you need for a croquis?

There are not many tools you need for drawing a croquis.

Let’s prepare the writing utensils with which you will draw, papers and the motifs.

In case you draw a croquis manually

● Paper
● Writing utensils
● Motifs

When drawing a croquis digitally

● Pen tablet
● Drawing software such as CLIP STUDIO PAINT or Photoshop
● Motifs

Let’s try a croquis! Tips and notes

First, let’s decide on a time limit.

There are no clear rules, but 30 seconds to 10 minutes per motif is a good length of time.

The shorter the time, the greater the difficulty, so if you are doing a croquis for the first time, we recommend a longer time limit.

Five tips for practicing a croquis

There are five key points to a croquis:

● Omit details (focus on drawing the overall outline)
● Follow the flow (draw the motif’s striking lines and silhouettes to finish in a short time)
● Don’t overwrite (try not to draw any stray lines)
● Add emphasis to the lines (to create a three-dimensional effect)
● Capture the atmosphere (express the impression of the pose and motif)

Let’s draw a croquis while keeping these points in mind.

This time, the time limit for drawing a croquis is respectively one minute and three minutes.

The one drawn in one minute drew a rough silhouette of all the parts.

The hair and clothes are simplified and depicted in simple shapes.

The one drawn in three minutes has more detail than the one on the left as it was drawn over a longer period of time, so the wrinkles in the clothes and the tips of the limbs are depicted in more detail.

The amount of information in the picture has increased, and the croquis was drawn showing the motif’s details more clearly.

If you want to practice drawing the human body, we also recommend the 30-second drawing.

Because the time is shorter than before, it omits more details and only captures the silhouette and flow of the body.

When doing a croquis in a short time, it’s okay to have a lot of stray lines, so just keep moving your hand.

Poses that you found difficult to draw will become easier to capture the correct shape by drawing the same pose repeatedly.

What are the points for drawing different croquis of men and women?

If you can draw men and women differently, it will be easier to capture the characteristics of the human body.

The same approach of drawing a normal illustration will be applied when you draw men and women differently; therefore, if you’re having trouble, go back to the basics.

Points to be careful when choosing a motif for a croquis

You can use either real objects or photographs as motifs, but each has its advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to understand the differences.

Merits and demerits of using real-life motifs

Merits

You can draw while feeling the depth, so it is possible to capture a three-dimensional image.

Demerits

The range of poses is limited because a real-life human body takes a pose.

Merits and demerits of photographs’ or image materials’ motifs

Merits

1. You can draw while looking at a flat surface, so it is easy to capture the shape and you can depict the outline beautifully.

2. With 3D materials, you can move the pose to your liking.

Demerits

1. As it is a flat motif, it is difficult to express depth or a sense of three-dimensionality.

The important thing is to draw without using an eraser.

What is important is drawing without using a eraser.

Since you have to finish a croquis quickly, you have to save time for corrections.

Especially when you have to draw in a short time, such as 30 seconds or one minute, you won’t have much time to fix things, so just concentrate on drawing.

At first, you might want to make corrections, but you have to resist the urge as this is a training to capture shapes accurately with a few lines.

Frequently asked questions about a croquis

– Should beginners also try a croquis?

Yes, a croquis is a good way to practice drawing shapes, so it is a good exercise for both beginners and experienced artists.

– Is a croquis useful for drawing original illustrations?

Yes, a croquis is one of the most useful ways to practice drawing original illustrations.

If you have problems when drawing original illustrations, such as it takes a long time to get the shape right or I can’t get the shape right, then it would be a good practice to draw a croquis.

Let’s incorporate a croquis into your daily practice!

When drawing a croquis, it is important to capture only the necessary elements of the motif quickly.

We would especially recommend this to people who take a long time to draw, such as those who redraw the body several times or can’t draw the angle of the face as they imagined.

Let’s draw various motifs by incorporating croquis into your daily practice.