Draw Apollo: Figure, Lyre, Laurel and Drapery

Object Drawing Lessons

This guide teaches a repeatable method for drawing Apollo as a standing figure with a lyre, laurel wreath and drapery. You will build the pose from simple shapes, place the lyre and laurel using measured guides, and draw cloth that hangs and folds believably. The approach uses a defined drawing convention: x-height is measured from baseline to midline of lowercase letters, and letter styles vary, so treat all lettering as optional and adjustable. All measurements are hypothetical examples; measure your own paper and tools. The practice tasks are self-contained and can be solved from the text alone.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Constructing the Figure

Begin with a vertical center line and mark the total figure height. Divide that height into eight equal parts; this is a common proportional guide, not a universal rule. Place the head in the top part, the shoulders near the second division, the waist near the fourth, the knees near the sixth, and the feet at the bottom. Use light pencil so guides can be adjusted.

Block the torso as a tapered rectangle, the pelvis as a shallow trapezoid, and the limbs as pairs of cylinders. Keep the shoulders and hips level unless you choose a contrapposto pose; if you do, tilt the shoulder line and hip line in opposite directions by a small, consistent angle. Check that the elbow falls near the waist and the wrist near the hip.

1. Draw a vertical center line and mark eight equal divisions along it.
2. Place an oval for the head in the top division and a small cross for the face direction.
3. Block the ribcage and pelvis, then add upper arms, forearms, thighs and calves as simple cylinders.
4. Refine the outline, keeping both feet on a shared ground line.
5. Erase construction lines only after the final contour is confident.

Placing the Lyre

The lyre is held to one side of the torso, with its soundbox near the hip and its arms rising toward the shoulder. Draw a vertical axis for the lyre, then a rounded soundbox about one head-width tall. Add two curved arms that mirror each other and a crossbar near the top. Strings run from the crossbar to the soundbox.

Check the lyre against the body: the crossbar should sit below the chin, and the player’s hand should overlap the strings rather than float beside them. Keep the lyre’s axis parallel to the figure’s center line unless the pose clearly turns.

1. Mark the lyre axis beside the torso and sketch the soundbox as a rounded shape.
2. Draw two symmetrical arms rising from the soundbox and join them with a crossbar.
3. Add four to seven strings as evenly spaced lines from crossbar to soundbox.
4. Draw the supporting hand behind the strings and the plucking hand in front.
5. Check that the lyre does not cover the face and that its base rests near the hip.

Laurel Wreath and Drapery

Draw the laurel as a band around the head, with paired leaves angled outward from a central stem. Keep leaf size consistent and overlap them slightly. The wreath should follow the curve of the skull, not sit as a flat ring.

For drapery, decide on two or three anchor points: one shoulder, the opposite hip, and a hanging corner. Draw the cloth as a soft tube that wraps the body, then add folds that radiate from the anchors. Folds should compress where the cloth gathers and stretch where it hangs free. Use a consistent convention for any labels: x-height is baseline to midline, and letter styles vary, so labels are optional.

1. Sketch the wreath band around the head and add paired leaves along it.
2. Mark drapery anchor points at the shoulder and hip.
3. Draw the main cloth shape as a wrapped tube with a hanging corner.
4. Add folds from the anchors, varying their spacing and length.
5. Check that folds do not cross the lyre strings and that the cloth does not hide both hands.

Worked example

A figure is 16 cm tall on paper. Using the eight-part guide, how tall is each division, and where should the waist fall?

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Making the head too large relative to the eight-part height guide. Re-measure the head against the first division and adjust the oval before refining features.
• Drawing the lyre floating beside the body with no hand contact. Place the supporting hand behind the strings and the plucking hand in front, then redraw the lyre axis to meet the hip.
• Treating the laurel as a flat ring that ignores the skull curve. Curve the band around the head and angle leaves outward from the stem.
• Adding folds randomly so the drapery looks like scratches. Anchor folds at the shoulder and hip, then vary spacing and length from those points.

Self-check rubric

• Figure height is divided consistently and the head fits the top division.
• Shoulders, hips, elbows and wrists are placed with checkable relationships.
• Lyre axis is parallel to the figure and the hands contact the strings.
• Laurel follows the skull curve with consistent leaf size.
• Drapery folds radiate from at least two anchor points.
• Valid alternative poses and letter styles are accepted if internally consistent.

Questions and answers