Life Drawing
Lesson I
Gesture -- The Foundation of Figurative Art
Refinements: Tilts and Angles
1:
Perpendicular to the length of the body, we
find angular or tilt relationships of the shoulder girdle, ribcage and pelvic
girdle. These angles are essential in understanding the gesture. Notice
that since the collar bones pivot independently at the sternum, the angles
of the shoulder girdle can display unpredictable angles in relation the
ribcage angle.
2:
The ovals of the ribcage and pelvis can tilt
and turn against eachother, and you can draw their axes (green
& blue)
to define this exact relationship.
3:
Here the ribcage and pelvis axes (formerly the
green
& blue)
are extracted from their ovals, and can be thought of as interior center-lines.
4:
This is the exterior contour center line on
the chest. As a body part turns from front facing, the exterior-contour-center-line
and internal axis center-line (green
& blue)
visually separate from eachother. The pelvic angle is more frontal, so you
can see a near overlap of the exterior abdominal center-line and the pelvic
center axis (green
& blue).
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.