Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art
Look at the same gestures, only now as a skeleton.
The skeleton is the foundation of human form and movement.
While we can't see much of it in living people, the skeleton plays a critical
role in organizing the shapes, bends and twists of the body.
Because of this, rather than just draw what you see of the external structure,
I recommend that you first draw what is inside, a stick-like skeleton. Once
you get used to this way of thinking, you can start with other approaches,
but use the skeleton reference as a helpful guide any time you want to.
Gesture Intro Page 
Skeletal
Foundation
Stick: The following
are the key elements for organizing a "stick" figure:
The line of action Three
ovals -- Head, Ribcage, Pelvis Pivot
points Long bones
Tilts and angles Contour
center lines of front and back torso, and face
Projection
and volume augmentations: While good as a foundation, the stick
figure does not adequately express projection of form, volume, or relative
position in space. There is more you can do to express these important factors
in the posing model:
The shortcomings of the stick figure
Showing projection Application
of the projection concept to the stick figure Simple
volume solutions Relative
position in space
Loosen up: Using
the stick figure foundation with the projection and volume augmentations,
you can loosely organize an expressive gesture sketch:
Compare the "contour" method to the
stick-start method Importance
of the free-going mark The line of
action and stick are construction lines Adding
relationship and rhythm
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Rebecca Alzofon
can be e-mailed at rebecca@art.net
This page created February 14, 1998
1998 by Rebecca Alzofon. All rights
reserved.