Proportions and Planar Analysis
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 The study of one par of the body in relation to another is called the study of proportions. This drawing by Leonardo is also called the Vitruvian man.
- A human's reach is equal to his/her height.
- Height is approximately eight times the length of the head.
- The width of the shoulders is approximately one fourth of height.
- The distance from the ground to the top[ of the femur (hip) is approximately half of his /her height.
 Albrecht Durer, a 16th century artist, also made his attempt at a scientific analysis of the body's proportions. His standard is about 7.5 heads high.
Michelangelo's figure has longer than usual legs and stands 9 heads high.
 Alberto Giacometti 's figure stands 12 heads high. The loss in natural proportion is made up in expressive power.
 Sight measuring is a simple technique using your pencil as a measuring stick as a means of comparing the body's proportions.
 In this example by Luca Cambioso we can observe how the artist has simplified the human form into a series of planes as if carved from wood.
 Giovanni Lomazzo also uses a kind of planar analysis combined with foreshortening to create a view of the body from below.
 This image illustrates how the body 's main reference points such as the feet, knees, hips, solar plexus and head can first be plotted as a framework. Afterwards the forms are built up, starting with a planar analysis and working towards a more rounded form.
You can eliptical cross-contour lines over the trunk legs and other parts of the body. They reveal how the volumes of the body are arranged in space and viewed in perspective.
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