I generally have little artistic talent. I tend to draw the way I tend to dance: mechanically. On the other hand, drawing well takes more than talent; it also requires knowing the mechanics and practicing.
I recently came across a web page that teaches the fundamentals of drawing feet. It is quite fascinating.
The thing is, if you are going to be a good artist, particularly when drawing people, you need to know anatomy. Just ask Leonardo da Vinci. So the web page starts out with some anatomy, and then goes on to tell you little things about the way that real feet look that you might not have even considered.
But if you are trying to draw a realistic foot, these things are critical to know.
For instance, even when drawing a foot from the top, there are hints of the arch that should be included. Here is one of their examples, which also shows what many people do wrong.
Getting that Little Bit of Arch
People also often don’t realize the way that toes normally sit in their relaxed position. There’s another example that they show.
The Toes Knows
The thing I like best about the web page is that they know the difference between regularly shod and regularly unshod feet. Obviously, if you are an artist you want to get that right.
Shod vs. Unshod
It’s the little things that make the difference in a realistic drawing. And it was quite interesting to see that they get it.
Anyways, go take a look at Human Anatomy Fundamentals: How to Draw Feet. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Hands and feet are hard to draw but also the most expressive parts of the body besides the face.
Both of this is because they aren’t rigid objects, they have many little joints and muscles allowing an infinite variety of positions. They can be relaxed or under tension. And the shape changes constantly at every step. Numerous classic artists found nude bodies in motion the greatest challenge and also the best way to get expressive – but even if the rest is clothed you can still express a lot through hands and feet, so don’t hide them and don’t just concentrate on facial expressions.
Just a little note: the foot drawn on the upper right of the second plate is not that wrong at all. I’ve noted that people that have probably spend most of their live partially barefoot or wearing sandals and thongs sandals (and therefore have had no wall against their toes) rest their toes like shown in that figure, I should note also that that’s something I’ve noticed more on those with a little less “white” blood to the most “native” side of population (let’s remember I live in northern south-america), so that’s a little variation to consider, along with different toe length and their relative length to each other.