Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art

Adding relationship and rhythm

 


 
It's not enough to just rotely transcribe pivot points, ovals, sticks and volumes. You might wind up with a fairly stiff looking gesture sketch. Instead, look for all-over relationships, either in the pose itself or in the style you work. Above, the model is round and the marks swing roundly. Below, find the relationships and rhythms within and across the figures -- all drawn consecutively from the same model.

 

That's all, folks!

 

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.