MEGA BLOG POST-WEEKS 3,4,5 AND 6

Sorry for not posting for a while. I 've been bogged down with projects  and deadlines and there has been no time left in the day or evening to post a blog, so I am making up for it with this mega post.

To start off with, here is a  recap of the exercise from week 1and 2.

Remember we were discussing the positioning of body weight  to create a balanced and credible   pose and how when the weight is shifted to one part of the body it can affect the angle  of the shoulders and hips/pevlis ?

The images below show arrows indicating the  the tilt of the shoulders and hips and the curve of the spine  when the larger portion of body weight is placed  on one leg.

The previous  recap of this exercise can be found here

http://fantasyartclass.blogspot.com/2011/10/sept-dec-2001-week2-4th-oct.html

Although there are no arrows on the two images below, study the stand and notice the dip of the knee creating the  tilt of the shoulders and hips. Although the legs are concealed in the final sketch, it would be difficult to create a believable pose without working the body frame correctly.

In week 4 we looked at lighting and it's effects and also composition.

I was going to post a repeat of the lighting examples shown in class, but fortunately I was e-mailed this fine piece of information which does exactly the same job only in a nice tidy condensed package.

I have posted information about composition  in previous blogs (which you can find if you scroll back a year or two), so I'll try not to repeat much of the same info.

Many fantasy artists use the tried and trusted circle as a framing device or as a visual prop to draw the viewer to the main point of attention. Study the examples below. All of them used the circle for this purpose.

Adi Granov

Boris Vallejo

Jim Lee

Frank Frazetta

Another example by Frank Frazetta. Although the circle is not as blatant here you can make it out in the background if you looks closely. The balance of this piece is created by a pyramid composition.

Other shapes are often used for the same purposes. Here are some examples of arches.

Frank Frazetta

 Jim Lee

I know some of you where/are having a hard time with figure drawing whether it be the features of the face, hands or general anatomy.  If you study every artist and certainly comic book artists , you will notice that they all have found their own way of drawing the head that more often than not breaks with convention, This is absolutely fine because they have become so proficient at drawing all the components of the face  that they can draw it at any angle and in any shape and knit it  together perfectly. Until you become this skilled, I recommend sticking to the basics which can be found in many how to draw books. Many professional artists and  myself  have found  How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way very helpfull

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Draw-Comics-Marvel-Way/dp/0907610668/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321779986&sr=1-1



You can also learn a lot from these books by Burne Hogarth
As I have said many times in class, there is so much to learn about figure drawing that 
  a whole book  can be devoted to just one  the hands or head alone.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamic-Anatomy-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321780926&sr=1-2

You can also learn from shapes and sizes form other visual material such as body building magazines , though  these are best viewed for finishing reference for when you have become familiar with  the basics of anatomy . I would recommend you first try the tutorial books mentioned above.

Learning how the body works and  where and how to place the muscle groups will enable you to build you figure drawing more confidently.