

"High class fashion journals depict women with an extreme length of limb, and decorative art does the same for both men and women. Excessive deviations from the mean were seen as indicative of disease. A Japanese study using the former metric found the same result for male attractiveness but women with longer legs than body were judged to be more attractive. On this (latter) metric, the most attractive ratio of leg to body for men (as seen by American women) is 1:1, matching the 'four heads:four heads' ratio above.
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No other way-not indeed seeing the object itself-will achieve his purpose." The canon then, is of use as a rule of thumb, relieving him of some part of the technical difficulties, leaving him free to concentrate his thought more singly on the message or burden of his work. Almost the whole philosophy of Indian art is summed up in the verse of Śukrācārya's Śukranĩtisāra which enjoins meditations upon the imager: "In order that the form of an image may be brought fully and clearly before the mind, the imager should mediate and his success will be proportionate to his meditation. It is in drawing from the life that a canon is likely to be a hindrance to the artist but it is not the method of Indian art to work from the model.

Some teachers deprecate mechanistic measurements and strongly advise the artist to learn to estimate proportion by eye alone. There are a number of important distances between reference points that an artist may measure and will observe: These are the distance from floor to the patella from the patella to the front iliac crest the distance across the stomach between the iliac crests the distances (which may differ according to pose) from the iliac crests to the suprasternal notch between the clavicles and the distance from the notch to the bases of the ears (which again may differ according to the pose). Main articles: Anthropometry and Outline of human anatomy Most of the additional length comes from a bigger chest and longer legs.

A heroic figure, used in the depiction of gods and superheroes, is eight-and-a-half heads tall.An ideal figure, used when aiming for an impression of nobility or grace, is drawn at 8 heads tall.An average person is generally 7-and-a-half heads tall (including the head).One version of the proportions used in modern figure drawing is: This canon was already established by the Narmer Palette from about the 31st century BC, and remained in use until at least the conquest by Alexander the Great some 3,000 years later. Ancient Egyptian art used a canon of proportion based on the "fist", measured across the knuckles, with 18 fists from the ground to the hairline on the forehead. This unit of measurement is credited to the Greek sculptor Polykleitos (fifth century BCE) and has long been used by artists to establish the proportions of the human figure. In modern figure drawing, the basic unit of measurement is the 'head', which is the distance from the top of the head to the chin.

Though there are subtle differences between individuals, human proportions fit within a fairly standard range – though artists have historically tried to create idealised standards that have varied considerably over time, according to era and region. It is usually important in figure drawing to draw the human figure in proportion. Drawing of a human male, showing the order of measurement in preparation for a figurative art work (Lantéri, 1903)
