Back V
If you analyze a frontal view of the torso you will find that this part of the body comprises the pectoral muscles, a set of thick, wide, pentagonal muscles set in pairs, which expand or contract when the arms are raised or lowered. Notice the distribution of volumes, the profile and expansion of the thorax, from the front and the back, and how the shoulders insert themselves into the thorax in different positions depending on the view.The neck gives the torso a great expressive quality, and...
Attitudes Of The Human Figure
As painters, we seek to use the motions of the body to show the motions of the soul Thus, it is crucial that painters have a perfect knowledge of the motions of the body and learn from nature in order to imitate, however difficult it may be, the multiple motions of the soul Le n Battista Alberti The Three Books of Painting, 1435. Cariant. Figure in Various Poses, 2002. Chalk and watercolor. There are no limits to the possibilities for creating interesting, striking poses. Capturing the energy...
Cross Sections
We are not always able to find standing figures, which lend themselves to the application of the law of proportion, so we must develop a set of rules that allows us to apply the unit system to figures that are seated or lying down. A practical method is to draw cross sections on the body that is, to draw 'horizontal contours onto the nude body to show the imaginary slices that correspond to the different measurements described by the law of proportion. In other words, we follow the same method...
OPEN am CLOSED APPROACHES
The contour of the figure is usually depicted fully in a closed drawing. All of the figure's anatomy, as well as the light that falls on the body, arc clearly defined, leaving little to the imagination of the viewer. Ink produces a uniform, lasting, worn-away line that proves very attractive when making suggestive, rough sketches of open figures. The closed figure is typified by a linear treatment of the figure's outline and a rich interior modeling. It is the closest to a classical or academic...
Solving Foreshortening Problems
We propose the following method as the most effective means for solving some particularly difficult problems, such as foreshortened figures. The only realistic solution to the problem of foreshortening is to draw the figure just as it is, not as one imagines it to be to see it as a geometric figure, observing the negative space surrounding it. Only dexterity and experience can help one to really see and correctly render a foreshortened limb. The application of a countermold is especially useful...
As Artists Objective
Drawing the human figure requires a curious gaze and a will to keep practicing even if our first drawings fail. Observing and drawing the human figure regularly allows us to adjust our visual memory to physical forms, body language, and facial expressions in different situations. The popularity that drawing the human figure has achieved over the course of history is reason enough to attract the artist to its practice. Drawing with the perfection that we observe in the great masters is a...
fo HUMAN FIGUR
In order to understand the figure, it is first necessary to understand its inner structure. We must observe and infer what is hidden underneath every pose. Synthesis, or reducing forms to their essential content, is a key factor in drawing correctly. In order to understand the figure, it is first necessary to understand its inner structure. We must observe and infer what is hidden underneath every pose. In any given era, learning to draw the human figure, whether nude or clothed, is perhaps the...
Applying the Law of Proportions
Thanks to its measurements, the law of proportions is truly a useful tool for becoming familiar with and memorizing the distribution of the relative size of the parts of a figure in relation to the whole. Even if the proportions of a real figure do not match those of a classical model, there is still an adjusted correspondence between the division of the figure into units and the location of different anatomical Another system for applying the classical unit measurements is the overlaying of...
Drawing Negative Space
Often, the success of a pose lies in its negative space, in noticing and rendering the form of the background, the empty spaces surrounding the figure. If we draw the forms of these various spaces, we also end up drawing the figure, but with greater ease. We solve the problem of composition thus the spaces and the forms are united when we give equal importance to all the pieces of the puzzle within the margins that limit the format.
Drawing the Muscles
The muscles are the driving force of the body, putting the figure in action, in motion. Knowing how they move is a great help, because drawing figures in motion means putting visual memory into practice, even when the period of time is very brief. The interesting part of drawing things in motion is discovering, and learning how to depict, the essence of that movement the tense muscles of an athlete, the equilibrium of a ballerina, the speed of a runner. The different muscular tensions are...
Body Height
The law of proportion for the human figure is based on a unit of measurement that corresponds precisely to the measurements of the head. According to the classical laws of proportion, the total height of the human body should be equal to seven and a half heads, or seven and a half units. Praxiteles s law established a new idealization of the human body according to this model, the total height of the human body must equal eight heads. In the early twentieth century, scientific analysis set the...
The Problem of the Lower Limbs
The muscles m the lower limbs present a more complex form, but after a detailed analysis you will be able to recognize each of them. The lower limbs are made up of two essential parts the thigh, where the quadriceps and the sartorius muscle lies, and the leg itself, which consists of the bulk of the tibiae and the calves. The knee lies between these two parts. The knee is the joint that articulates both of these parts, and it should look rounded and prominent when it is drawn. Notice that if...
The Hands Dimensions
If you take the total dimensions of an open hand, viewed from the back, with the palm and fingers extended, you will fmd that the distance between the wrist and knuckles is similar to the distance between the knuckles and the tip of the middle finger. This isn't the only fact that you can ascertain by simply opening up the palm of the hand. For instance, you will find that, with the fingers outstretched, the length of the index finger is equal to that of the ring finger, and that the tip of the...
The Open Drawing
In suggesting the form instead of explaining it completely, the open drawing requires a more poetic treatment, allowing the spectator to complete it in her own imagination. The open drawing, through its brevity and immediacy, can also be a medium for crystallizing ideas. It is accomplished by suggesting certain areas rather than completing them, subtracting a fragment of the drawing for the purpose of interesting the viewer or drawing her attention toward that point and allowing her imagination...
The Frontal View of a Figure
To draw the nude from the front implies personalizing it, transforming it into a particular person rather than a generic model. Thus, this type of pose more closely resembles the idea of a portrait. Although the purpose may not be to make a portrait, the frontal view of a nude forces the artist to pay serious consideration to the face, and this means endowing it with expression. The figure in frontal view requires a more personalized treatment of the face and a sketchier rendition of the rest...
Descriptive Contours
Descriptive lines are those whose only goal and function is to describe the profile of forms and their volumes.These lines are responsible for the stylization of the forms that we have previously discovered, and they reflect the artist's personal vision and stylistic essence. Descriptive contour develops an authentic creation and organization of anatomical form. When drawing modulated lines, not just any stroke will do. The five lines below left represent the most common strokes used by novice...
Obese Figures
There is a layer of fat between the muscles and the skin that fills in the gaps and softens the shape of the bones.The fat is barely visible in the body of an athletic person, because it adds only slightly to the person's girth but in an obese person, it can amount to as much as five or six inches, so it plays an essential role in shaping the volume and girth of the body. This layer of fat is not evenly distributed throughout the body. In men, it is generally concentrated in the chest,...
Head Face
Drawing the head and face is an intimidating prospect, because facial expressions change so quickly that capturing them precisely is a goal that only the most capable artist can attain. Hence, this section will devote no time to studying the action of facial features but will concentrate instead on the relationship of the head, considered as a volume, to the rest of the body. According to the law of proportion, the human head equals three and a half times the length of the forehead, so we will...
The Female Torso
From both the front and the rear, the relief of the female torso is less conditioned by the muscular structure than the male torso in it, the transitions between volumes are smoother. Two of the distinguishing features of the female torso are the lower shoulders and more prominent hips. This contour can be easily represented by two triangles joined by their vertices.These triangles should then round out their profile to achieve the curved lines characteristic of the female anatomy. A good...
The Line of Action or Strength
For a figure to attain an impression of equilibrium and rhythm, it is necessary for it to have an internal line, an imaginary line that extends across the length of the figure, in order to articulate its rhythmic effect. This structural line, known as the line of action, should be the basis for any drawing of a pose or movement. Working with lines of force allows us to approach the internal rhythm without the figure becoming unbalanced. When constructing a pose, it is preferable to first...
SEATED ami RECLINING
Seated or resting figures enjoy special favor among amateur artists, among other reasons because they present few compositional difficulties, and the body seldom presents excessive tensions because the muscular anatomy is relaxed. The greatest problem that we might encounter when drawing this kind of pose is foreshortening, but we will discuss this later on. The seated figure involves several different complications beyond those of the standing figure in it, the joints and members are not shown...
Child
A baby's body features very rounded forms that show the folds of every joint. A child's head begins with two ovals, one for the upper skull, and another for the jaw and cheeks. As the child's body develops, the middle of the body descends. The middle of a baby's body is located at the navel, whereas the middle of a twelve-year-old's body is slightly above the pubic area. As the child's body develops, the middle of the body descends. The middle of a baby's body is located at the navel, whereas...
Figural Problems
Drawing the human body requires the artist to gather all of her skills in working with real form and volume. As a subject, the human figure requires that we put into practice an entire set of representational skills as we arrange the limbs in a proportional relationship to the body it also requires the representation of volumes, articulations, planes, and simple forms and their combination into more complex ones. Once we can accurately render the human figure, it is safe to say that we can also...
DRAWING NUDE in PERSPECTIVE
One of the greatest problems in drawing seated or reclining figures is foreshortening representing the human figure or one of its parts in perspective. The art of foreshortening consists of representing the human body from points of view at which its dimensions are diminished by perspective. But foreshortening is not the same as ordinary perspective there is no need for vanishing points or any of the methods employed in linear perspective. To render a foreshortened figure, it is necessary to...
Constructing The
We must measure the body standing and alive, concretely in nine parts with respect to its length. For able nature has shaped man in such a way that the face is found in the highest place, so that it be admired and offer the other parts of the body the principle of its We must measure the body standing and alive, concretely in nine parts with respect to its length. For able nature has shaped man in such a way that the face is found in the highest place, so that it be admired and offer the other...
The Outline Back and Front
The female outline is softer than the male in its transitions between one area and another. The buttocks protrude beyond the vertical line marked by the shoulders, and the outline of the legs describes a diagonal that is less pronounced than the male's. Viewed from behind, the most outstanding characteristic of the female form is the clear contour of the back and hips, which is clearly defined by the waist. The relief of the female torso is far less dictated by the shape of the muscles. Drawing...
Structuring the Whole from Simple Forms
To sketch a geometrical model we begin by selecting a composite outline in other words, a simple geometric shape on which we can inscribe whatever pose the figure assumes. In this way, the work will present from the start a more satisfactory visual layout.The use of compositional outlines in sketching is an efficient method for arranging the subject and adequately breaking up the pictorial space, thus helping to organize the elements of the drawing so that the viewers attention, and the focal...
The Essence of Synthesis
Once the compositional outline is complete, we add new geometric shapes to describe each part of the body an oval for the head, a rectangle for the thorax, cylinders for the arms, a trapezoid for the pelvis. Geometric shapes contain the essence of synthesis. The goal is to combine simple forms which establish the form as well as the proportions of the figure. All of these geometric figures are articulated amongst themselves by observing the straight lines which define the height of the...
Proportions and Background
A figure's proportions should be harmonized with the dimensions of the background, to make sure that we adjust the figure to the background in a natural manner, and avoid having the margins of the paper cut off a part of the figure because we didn't check the measurements beforehand. If necessary, we can stain the blank page using a paper stump also called a tortillon or with our fingertips, to limit the space that the figure will occupy. These initial marks are guidelines that suggest the...
A Great Disappointment
It is very likely that your first attempts at this type of drawing will prove a great disappointment. Don't be discouraged keep in mind that this method requires a great deal of practice. Once you have gained more experience, you will be able to vary your speed according to your reactions, and your line will be more firm and decisive. The important thing is the experience that you acquire while practicing this exercise. Once you master the ability to synthesize using this technique, you will be...
The Shape
Because the pelvis is connected to the head by the backbone, it is constitutes the body's axis. Several muscles of the torso, the thighs, and the legs meet at the pelvis, which serves as the main support point for this area of the body. One of the most important parts of the pelvis, and the one which most noticeably affects the outer appearance of the figure, is the iliac crest, which lines up with the hipbone. Don't forget to draw this bone, particularly in female figures and slimmer models....
Geometric Sketch
Before making any geometric sketch, it is important to synthesize the figure, to try to include the ensemble form within a simple geometric form. Geometric forms are used for controlling proportions. A tortillon, or even a charcoal-stained cloth, is an excellent tool for practicing geometric sketches. It produces soft lines that are easy A geometric sketch requires a simple treatment with decisive strokes. We must concentrate on the pose and the proportions and forget all the inner details of...