Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art
Relative Position in Space
Check the way skeleton parts darken when they
get close, and lighten when they get far.
Loosely create relative position in space with
your gesture sketches this way. It's all about line contrast: Since the
paper is white, and jet black is most contrasting, dark lines will appear
closest. Pale gray lines will recede.
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.