"How many heads tall am I?" is a question from the world of figure drawing that has become a popular body-proportion measurement. Artists use it to size a figure, designers use it to build characters, and curious people use it to see how their own proportions compare with the textbook ideal. This guide explains what the ratio is, what is typical, how to measure it, and why you should take "8 heads" with a pinch of salt.
What "heads tall" means
The head-to-body ratio expresses your height as a multiple of the height of your own head:
Heads tall = total height ÷ head height
Head height is measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the skull. If your head measures 22 cm and you are 170 cm tall, you are about 7.7 heads tall.
Because it is relative to your own head, the ratio works at any size. Two people of very different heights can have the same number of heads, and two people of the same height can differ. It is a way of describing proportion, not size.
The artists' canon: 7.5 and 8 heads
Figure-drawing teachers have used "heads" as a unit for centuries. The standard classroom canon is:
- About 7.5 heads for an average adult.
- 8 heads for an idealised or heroic figure, as in classical sculpture and superhero comics.
- 9 to 10 heads for exaggerated fashion illustration, where elongated legs are part of the style.
In this canon the halfway point of the body falls near the crotch, the nipples sit about two heads down and the knees about five and a half heads down. These are teaching shortcuts. They help a student place things quickly, and no real body follows them exactly.
How many heads tall are real people?
Most adults measure between 7 and 8 heads tall. Men and women are both centred close to 7.5, with individual variation in both directions.
Children are a different story, because the head grows early and the rest of the body catches up. As a rough art-reference guide:
| Age | Approximate heads tall |
|---|---|
| Newborn | About 4 |
| 2 years | About 5 |
| 6 years | About 6 |
| Early teens | About 7 |
| Adult | About 7.5 |
These figures are approximate, and they explain why children's proportions look so different from adults' without any "defect" in either.
What 8 heads tall means in real height
"Eight heads" is a proportion, so the height it produces depends on the size of the head. Multiply head height by the number of heads:
| Head height | 7.5 heads | 8 heads |
|---|---|---|
| 20 cm (7.9 in) | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) | 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) |
| 22 cm (8.7 in) | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| 24 cm (9.4 in) | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in) |
A 5-foot adult with a head height of about 21 cm works out to roughly 7.3 heads. The same person could be called anywhere from 7 to 7.5 heads depending on how and where their head is measured, which leads us to the next point.
How to measure your heads-tall ratio
You can do it with a tape measure and a helper, or from a photo.
With a tape measure
- Stand barefoot against a wall and have a helper mark your height.
- Measure your head from the bottom of your chin to the top of your skull, using a ruler held level on top of your head. Measure the skull, not the hair.
- Divide your height by your head height.
From a photo
- Take a full-body photo from the front, with the camera at chest height and a few metres away so the lens distortion is small.
- Measure from the top of the head to the floor, and from the top of the head to the chin, on the same image.
- Divide the first by the second.
The camera is the biggest source of error in a photo. A phone held close or low makes the head look bigger or smaller relative to the body, which changes the result noticeably. The guide to taking body photos shows how to set up a shot that keeps proportions reliable, and the Body Proportions Calculator works out your heads-tall ratio, leg-to-torso ratio and arm ratio from a single photo, in your browser, without uploading it.
What your number does and doesn't mean
- It is descriptive. A higher number means a smaller head relative to your height, nothing more. We are not aware of any health reason to prefer 7 or 8, and "8 heads" is a drawing convention, not a goal.
- Hair, posture and angle change it. Hair adds height to the head and posture changes total height, so the same person can measure a little differently on different days.
- It is only one of several proportions. Heads tall sits alongside leg-to-body ratio, ape index and shoulder-to-waist ratio. The body proportions guide shows how they fit together.
- Most of it is fixed. Your head size and bone lengths do not change with training. Posture, clothing and footwear can change how proportions look, but not the ratio itself.
Where it is genuinely useful
Heads tall is most practical if you draw, design characters, sew or tailor, or want a quick sense of your build. For a figure drawing, it tells you where to place the knees and hips. For tailoring, it helps explain why a garment cut for "average" proportions sits differently on you. For everyone else, it is a fun and harmless number that is best read alongside the others rather than on its own.
To see all your proportions together, try the Body Proportions Calculator, or get the full picture with a personal Body Report. Please also read our disclaimer.