Sunday, April 09, 2006

How to Make a Person (tail and background optional)

you have to remember
every head is an egg

every body is just eight eggs
or maybe 7
in the case of a child
4 or 3

it helps to draw a dotted line
down the middle of everything

the eyes are two half moons
floating midway up the face
and for the nose you can use
a sideways “S” below the eyes

the face should be located on the top egg
although you might prefer, for example,
to have a mouth that goes directly to your stomach
or eyes you can hide under your shirt
so that no one can see you watching

part way down the body on the 4th egg
you might want to put a dot for the belly button
that is the place we all start
but for drawings it is best to leave it for step 2 or 3

you can add the genitals if you wish
which are signified by short vertical
lines but they are generally covered up
by clothes so matter not at all

some may want a woman in which case
the breasts are two empty bowls a distance
of two finger spans above the belly button

as stated above the background is optional
but it is important to keep in mind there
is no person without a place and your person
may despair without the sound of a distant
train or perhaps some starling on a telephone wire

some artists recommend adding the hair
last but I prefer to add windows
as a finishing touch, as everyone
eventually needs a way to see in or out

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