April– July 2018 Week 3 and 4: Figure Drawing - Medusa part1

Over the next couple of weeks we will continue to look ate figure drawing, and looking at ways to capture movement and form.

I thought, Medusa, would be a good subject to explore both figure drawing and movement and also design.

As I mentioned in class, it is not important that you follow this drawing faithfully. Or that you do a completed drawing. What is important is that you use this exercise to develop in some way. Whether that be by  just focusing on the flow of the shape, and the form of the pose, or the character design, or some other detail, is totally up to you. Within this exercise, there is so much to consider. The twisting and turning of the upper body (that alone is enought to wrestle with), the lower, snake part of the body, and it's scales, the facial expression, the expression of the hands,...lots to consider and play around with.

Here are some of the images from the class session.

These are to be used  as a guide only, and not drawing style guide.

The drawing below is losely based on the Hammer Horror movie, TheGorgon.

 Below is a movie poster for the film and a couple of stills.

Here's some background to the the mythology of The Gorgon/Medusa

(edited from wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa

Classical mythology
The three Gorgon sisters—Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale—were all children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or "Phorkys") and his sister Ceto (or "Keto"), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. Their genealogy is shared with other sisters, the Graeae, as in Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, which places both trinities of sisters far off "on Kisthene's dreadful plain":

Near them their sisters three, the Gorgons, winged
With snakes for hair— hatred of mortal man—

While ancient Greek vase-painters and relief carvers imagined Medusa and her sisters as beings born of monstrous form, sculptors and vase-painters of the fifth century began to envisage her as being beautiful as well as terrifying. In an ode written in 490 BC Pindar already speaks of "fair-cheeked Medusa".

In a late version of the Medusa myth, related by the Roman poet Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.770), Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," but because Poseidon had raped her in Athena's temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. In Ovid's telling, Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Minerva (Athena) as just and well earned.

In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother. The gods were well aware of this, and Perseus received help. He received a mirrored shield from Athena, gold, winged sandals from Hermes, a sword from Hephaestus and Hades's helm of invisibility. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body.

Feminism
In the 20th century, feminists reassessed Medusa's appearances in literature and in modern culture, including the use of Medusa as a logo by fashion company Versace. The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or to connotemalevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster."  The book Female Rage: Unlocking Its Secrets, Claiming Its Power by Mary Valentis and Anne Devane notes that "When we asked women what female rage looks like to them, it was always Medusa, the snaky-haired monster of myth, who came to mind ... In one interview after another we were told that Medusa is 'the most horrific woman in the world' ... [though] none of the women we interviewed could remember the details of the myth."

Medusa's visage has since been adopted by many women as a symbol of female rage; one of the first publications to express this idea was a feminist journal called Women: A Journal of Liberation in their issue one, volume six for 1978. The cover featured the image of the Gorgon Medusa by Froggi Lupton, which the editors on the inside cover explained "can be a map to guide us through our terrors, through the depths of our anger into the sources of our power as women."

In issue three, Fall 1986 for the magazine Woman of Power an article called Gorgons: A Face for Contemporary Women's Rage, appeared, written by Emily Erwin Culpepper, who wrote that "The Amazon Gorgon face is female fury personified. The Gorgon/Medusa image has been rapidly adopted by large numbers of feminists who recognize her as one face of our own rage."

April– July 2018 Wk3: Figure Drawing - Medusa

Here's a heads up for week 3.

We will be drawing Medusa

April– July 2018 Wk2: Figure Drawing part 2

Continuing with figure drawing, here are some more examples of simple body poses.

Another method of figuring out the human form and how it works , is by studying photographs of people. 

Here is an photo of Penélope Cruz in an Esquire ad.

Admittedly, she probably does not represent the average shape of women(in fact, her shape is arguably more representative of standard female form in  fantasy art) , however, this photo allows you to view how simple movements affect parts of the body.

When you shift your body weight to one leg, usually this will cause your pelvis to tilt, creating a shorter area for your other leg to to stand straight, causing it to bend a little. There will be some curing of the spine and also tilting of the shoulders. All of this will cause a slight crunching (shortening / compacting) of the side of the upper body above the leg that carries the most body weight. The opposite side of the upper body will extentd / stretch slightly.

You will see all this in action if you study your own body, in this stance, in a mirror.

The more you study the human form in this way, the more you will begin to understand and "see" how it works.

It comes down to practise. There is no dark art to it,...no magic pencil,...

Just practice. And then, more practice.

Plus, constant study and examination of the subject you wish to draw.

Below are more examples of stripped down figure drawing with simple shadow thrown in to add form and shape.

Sometimes , reverting to cartooning can help you get to grips with figure drawing, as cartooning is often created by using simplified shapes . Movement is also simplified, as you tend not to get too hung up on unnecessary details when cartooning.

April– July 2018 Wk2: Figure Drawing

 The images above are all drawn be Bruce Timm.

I really like Bruce Timm's work. Especially his redefining of Batman for The 90's animated series.

His drawings of the female form are considered in some circles as objectifying and exaggerated.

You can make up your own mind about his work. What I am posting about here is Timm's skill in capturing form and composition.

And just how exagerated is his depiction?

Often the head is larger than it should be for a true and more realistic representaion of the human form, but then, Timm is a cartoonist and  his work is more leaning towards cartoonist than realist.

However, here is a camparison to a catwalk model.

As I have mentioned in class, if you want to draw something competently, you have to understand or be able to "see" what it is you are drawing.

This is especially the case when drawing the human form.

Bruce Timm understands and sees the human form and what it can do.

I believe that a lot of Bruce Timm's work comes down to being able to instantly see and reproduce the line of beauty.

The line of beauty, is what some artists refer to when drawing the human form.

Essentially it is a line that defines the aesthetic of a pose/stance.

Here are some more rough sketches of the upper body that you can use for practice.

I have purposley left out the face details, so you can focus on the body and how it curves.

Just think of body shapes.

 More to follow shortly

April– July 2018 Wk1&2: Figure Drawing

Here is a brief recap of some of the discussion pieces regarding figure drawing from week 1 and 2.

There are many ways of approaching drawing the human form.

When I first began teaching, I figured it would be easy to get people to learn how to draw the human figure.  Because I draw the human form pretty much every day, whether that be in  storyboards, concept art or some form of publishable work, I take for granted my ability to draw the human form.I began to realise that because I draw as a career choice, I naturally make it my business to understand what it is I am drawing , so I can draw it to the best of my ability and understanding.

I  cannot draw something if I  do not know what it is I am supposed to be drawing. I f I was asked to draw a door but had never actually seen a door, how could I draw one?

I couldn't.

The thing about the human form, is that we see it every day. We take it for granted. We all know that we share the planet with millions of other humans. Some of whome we may want to avoid . 

So , because we simply accept that other humans are around, we probably pay little attention to them.

Some people do not even like looking at themselves in the mirror or find shopping for clothes stressful , because it means studying one's self in a mirror.

And there lies the problem. 

We look but we don't see. We don't see the human form. We think we do but we don't. 

To be able to draw the human form, it has to be studied and understood. An understanding of how the body works, even on a superficial level, is paramount.

A  book on anatomy is always a good start. Figure drawing classes are also helpful.

But nothing will actually improve your ability to draw the human form better than practic,e and putting in lots of hours of practice. Because this will not happen over night or in a a few hours or crash course sessions. It is an ongoing process. Even for professionals.

Grasping the basics of the human  skeleton is a good start.

Stripping things down to the basics, to raw content, is a good way of learning to draw anything.

There are a few ways you can approach figure drawing. I cannot advise which is the best. I know which was the best for me but what worked for me  may not work foro you. You have to try as many approaches as possible , so you can find the right way for you.

When producing a sketch of anything, I tend to keep my initial outling of the shape, loose and light.It helps me find the form easily. And also the action, or flow of movement.

This is pretty much how I go about it.

Maybe not the second form the left (that is just to add some clarity) but essentially, I try to capture the form and shape with  a loose sketch

Below are a couple of loose breakdowns for storyboards.

These are drawn really quickly. Just seconds really.

More figure drawing stuff coming soon.

Until then, just keep practising

April– July 2018 Wk1: Communication Through Line

Everyone can draw.

Well, at least that’s what I believe. If you are able to make a mark on paper or any other surface, then you are able to draw.

Of course, we all will draw differently, and develop drawing ability at different speeds.  Most of this is down to brain patterns and how an individual absorbs, processes and translates information.

Drawing is communication through line (at least, that’s how I understand it) . Each line you draw, whether straight, curved , thick, thin, and how they are connected,  are part of a process of communication. If you ask someone to draw a cat (it doesn’t have to be an amazing drawing of a  cat, it just needs to look like one), most people will be able to carry out the task with some success. The result will be the  communication of an image of a cat without using words.

This is what drawing is. The person drawing or painting, is communicating an idea , whether  via abstract, impressionist or classical  channels.
How you will draw and arrange the lines that communicate a visual will define your style of drawing. This style will develop over a period of time. We will be discussing this later during class.

As we have been looking at drawing the human form, let’s look at how that is communicated via different styles of drawing.
Here are some images that display various interpretations of the same subject matter.

Look closely at what makes them different. What defines each style of drawing.

During class, the tutorial I conduct are drawn via the communication of line that is my style of drawing. It would be easy for a beginner to be influenced by that style of line work, but I believe it  is important that what I draw does not influence your style of drawing, and merely shows you a way forward in either constructing the human or animal form, or composing a picture.

This painting by Vanessa Guy clearly shows that she has developed her own style. If her drawing ability has improved due to the class tutorials, it will be because she has applied the the approach or process offered to her own method of drawing. She has always retained her unique style. I think if Vanessa had faithfully copied my way of drawing, it would have been to the detriment of her art and a loss to those who now enjoy her work.

 Andy West has also developed a consistent and strong visual style with his work.

I love these two drawings by Sarah N. Dipity. The line work is bold and direct. The images display That she is capable of transfering her imagination down onto paper with much success. Her style reminds me of Ted McKeever's work.