Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art
Application of the projection concept to the stick figure
1. You've
got your basic stick figure with its pivot points.
2. It is important to
lighten the stick figure to allow subsequent line work to dominate. Planning
ahead, you might want to start your stick figure with pale lines so you
don't have to use up time erasing now.
3. You see a body part
projecting toward you: Circle the pivot points on the projecting body parts.
4. Connect the two circles
with straight lines. The stick is now a center line, defining the shortest
distance between pivot-points in the joints.
5. Suppress the hidden
side of the far end circle to indicate that the full circle is the projecting
end. If an attaching body part sits in front of the projecting side of the
cylinder, then you need to lose the full circle, like you see at the elbows.
Lets finish the tin man drawing:
Note: If the cylinders project
less, circles get squashed more.
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.