Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art
Showing projection
Here is a possible volume explanation for this
stick, drawn between two pivot points. It's a cylinder. But what if this
stick is supposed to project toward you? This stick, defined by the pivot
points, does not describe which end -- the top or bottom -- is coming toward
you. The volume description that you see superimposed over the length of
the stick, does nothing to describe projection. In fact, it is describing
a straight side view.
The illustration below shows the next big step
in understanding the gesture study.
Step-by-step, here is what you do:
1. You've
got your basic stick figure with its pivot points.
2. Looking at the pose,
you are aware that some body part is projecting toward you. Circle the pivot points
for the projecting body parts.
3. Connect the two circles
with straight lines. The stick is now a center-line, defining
the shortest distance between pivot points deep in the joints.
4. Suppress the hidden
side of the far end circle to indicate that the full circle display is the
projecting end. Here, the top end is projecting.
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.