APRIL-JUNE TERM, WEEK1-4 (PART2)

THE BASICS

As most of you attending the class will know, I can't emphasise enough the importance of constantly practising figure drawing. The more hours you put in studying how the body works and transferring that down onto paper, the less you will have to ask "Steve, how  do I draw hands?", "Steve, I can't draw feet. what am I doing wrong?" , "how can I make my heads less wonky?". Of course these are all questions you now have to ask in class, because you are still at the stage where understanding this stuff is new and alien but if you put in the  time and concentration, you will no longer have to ask, you will know how.

Below I will present a few approaches to figure drawing that may be of help. Some will be a help, others may be a hindrance.  Try each one out  and see which works best for you.

The above sketch  is pretty much how I figure out a pose. I think of the shapes and  try and feel my way around the contours as a three dimensional object.
Some of you may find this approach helpfull and easier than plotting a pose using cylinders and blocks.
I think the best way to begin is by thinking about the skeleton. As I have mentioned before, I don't know the ame of every bone, just the major ones but unless you are having to explain the skeleton to anyone, you don't need to know al the names, just how the frame  responds to moment.

  If soemthing looks a bit too complicated, try to simplify it so that breaking down he information is simpler. The skeleton can be simplified to a basic stick form, using oval type shapes to represent the head, rib cage and pelvis. The rib cage  will give you the foundations for the upper body and the pevis will enable to position the legs correctly.

Using the stick form is a quick way to guage a pose and work out how the structure responds to movement such as the tilt of the hips and shoulder

  I often use a mirror to study how my own body works in various poses. I find it very helpful as it is not always possible to find the exact reference material for a drawing.

After becoming aquainted with the stick figue you may find that fleshing the figure out using cylinders and blocks  is a helpfull method of making the figue more three dinemnsional.

Some find that by applying these shapes , it is easier to achieve a realistic outer shape.

Of course, this will not be easy for everyone. An understanding of the muscle structure wil lalso help you produce a better figure drawing., unless you do, the above  diagram may be a little difficult to navigate.
Getting hold a  good solid book on anatomy  for bone and muscle scructure will go a long way in helping your figure drawing progress.

Here are some break downs of poses. Just  focus on the bits that are helpful. No need to draw every stage if it is not helping you.

here's another

The image below is an  example of how I quickly sketch out a pose. I aim for capturing the pose/shape in as few  lines as possible. I also keep the sketching , nice and light. By applying less pressure, it allows the pencil to flow fluidly across the paper  I find it helps capture movement more successfully.

 Here are some links to some books that you may find usefull.
DYNAMIC ANATOMY by Burne Hogarth
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynamic-Anatomy-Burne-Hogarth/dp/0823015521/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401281031&sr=1-6&keywords=hogarth
DRAWING DYNAMIC HANDS by Burne Hogarth
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawing-Dynamic-Hands-Practical-Books/dp/0823013685/ref=la_B000APHOOK_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401281133&sr=1-4
DRAWING THE HUMAN HEAD by Burne Hogarth
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawing-Human-Head-Practical-Books/dp/0823013766/ref=la_B000APHOOK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401281133&sr=1-2
FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT'S WORTH by Andrew Loomis
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Figure-Drawing-All-its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401281246&sr=1-1&keywords=ANDREW+LOOMIS
There are loads of books on antomy. You can probably pick some cheap ones up in The Works bookshop or even study  diagrams online.
I personally learned from this book.
HUMAN ANATOMY FOR THE ARTIST by John Raynes

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Human-Anatomy-Artist-John-Raynes/dp/0600345548/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401281989&sr=1-1&keywords=human+anatomy+for+the+artist+by+john+raynes
It's out of print but this book might be just as  good.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Anatomy-Figure-Drawing-Book/dp/0713490365/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401284100&sr=1-2&keywords=human+anatomy+for+the+artist+by+john+raynes
I've not read it so I can't really vouch for it.
Ok, the ends part 2 of the half term  post. More to come soon.