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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Life drawing is a passionate and rewarding pursuit, which inspires a wide range of styles from photographic to abstract. This practical book, packed with images and enjoyable exercises, is designed for the beginner or untutored group and the more experienced artist or teacher. It encoruages students to overcome their fears and expand their mark-making vocabulary. Covers: how to achieve accurate proportions; using line and tone; an awareness of body structure; experimenting with different tools, marks and textures; developing a personal style. Both a troubleshooting handbook and reference work, Life Drawing celebrates the individuality of the artist and the model, and is essential reading for anyone drawing the human figure.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013
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Life Drawing
A journey to self-expression
Bridget Woods
Copyright
First published in 2003 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
This e-book first published in 2013
This impression 2005
© Bridget Woods 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84797 668 0
Illustration previous page: Expressive Tone used for a short pose, side-lit by sunlight.
Photographic Acknowledgements All the photographs in this book were taken by the author, unless otherwise credited.
All the illustrations in this book are the work of the author, unless otherwise credited.
Dedication To Mary Oak-Rhind (née Sewell) and Sam Rabin for their infectious inspiration and to all the life models I have ever worked with, for their patience, stamina and creative involvement.
Note: throughout this book, the pronouns ‘he,’ ‘him’ and ‘his’ are intended to apply both to men and women.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to Chichester College, The Earnley Concourse and West Dean College for providing the fertile ground in which I have thus far developed my teaching ideas and to Rob Newton for a warm sense of affirmation.
To all my life drawing students, past and present, for their open-minded enthusiasm, especially those who generously offered many fine drawings for inclusion in this book, which would have been twice as long to adequately accommodate them all.
To all the models who may or may not recognize themselves in this book and especially to Oliver Dawson, Frank Dunn, Nikki Rose and Jessica Train.
To Martin Davey, Richard Banister and Evan Morgan for respectively launching, maintaining and frequently life-saving me on my journey into ‘computer world’.
To John Hill, Carolyn Genders and Julie and Tim Simmons for their ideas, words and energy input and to Ian Aston, Clive Quick and Helen Wyatt for calming advice and help on the photographic front.
To the dance tutors and students of University College, Chichester, who kindly allowed me to draw them while they were rehearsing.
To Graham Pollard for invaluable support and Paul Pridmore for meticulous indexing. To the Crowood Press for encouragement and guidance.
Lastly, for cheering me on, many thanks to my family and other friends, especially Denis Hughes: model, mentor and chum.
INTRODUCTION
Why do we want to draw the human body?
Because we all have a body, and we know the look and feel of it, outside and in, and have an innate interest in other people for our physical and emotional survival, we are ‘finely tuned’ to its visual shapes and proportions and to the messages that another body conveys. So not only are bodies fascinating to us, but we know instinctively when making a drawing of one, if it looks right and can, therefore, get instant feedback.
Life drawing, far from being the preserve of the professional artist, is a perfect subject for the absolute beginner to any kind of drawing, including those who believe – or have been told – that they have no aptitude for drawing. An interesting subject will usually kindle the desire and confidence to discover more.
So why is life drawing so rewarding?
Because of the diversity of poses and shapes a human body can create; the study and collection of them can become quite addictive.
As a visual limbering up, and to keep the eye ‘in’, life drawing is the ideal complementary activity for practitioners of all two-and three-dimensional studies.
It also acts as a great ‘unblocking’ process for artists because the model is physically present ‘here and now’ for a limited period (unlike a still-life arrangement) so there is less time to worry about the outcome, and more of an impulsion to experience now.
Therapeutically, life drawing can, in the same way, drag worriers away from past and future concerns, and hold them in the present.
Drawing another human being is an absorbing engagement between artist and model because the dynamics of the process are less about object and subject, and more about mutually active participation.
As a pursuit of individuality, life drawing can be a personal expression of the artist’s response to many factors, from the human condition in general, to the model or pose in particular.
Because everyone is interesting to draw, our awareness of other people as individuals is enriched, and the yawning gap between standardized ‘heroic’ statuary and pornographic imagery becomes populated with ‘real’ people. Students often remark that, after starting to draw from life, they begin to see people differently, appreciating them more as individuals and less in terms of age or sexuality.
Can anyone do it?
Yes, absolutely anyone who wants to, can learn to draw well. Consider the fact that all around the world, almost regardless of age, gender, religion or nationality, people are driving cars. Why? Because they choose to. Driving is an extremely complex skill, requiring not only different activities for each foot and hand, but also several modes of looking and thinking. What is more, most cars, most of the time, avoid hitting each other! Driving is neither a talent nor hereditary and, generally, people can choose to drive well with concentration and practice. Drawing, by contrast, is a much easier skill, requiring the co-ordination of eye, brain and hand (or mouth or foot) – and in no way is it physically dangerous!
This book is intended for anyone who is committed to learning to draw, or for those who, already experienced, wish to expand their visual awareness and appreciation of the human body. It can be used as a teaching aid by tutors, as a workshop manual for untutored groups or individual artists, or as a step-by-step course of lessons; with the help of the indexing system at the back of the book it can be used for troubleshooting individual problems, or purely for reference.
The main aims of the book are that it should:
help overcome students’ fears about drawing;
give them control of their drawing, and the confidence to explore the visual world;
help them develop an accurate visual awareness of individual models;
expand their drawing vocabulary of ideas and marks beyond an ‘art school look’, a rigid path, or solely ‘photographic’ imagery;
encourage the artist to make personal choices and develop a unique visual language.
(a) The familiar front view, the spoon approaching the mouth. (b) The known, ‘fuller’ picture.
Is what we see, what we ‘know’?
In short, it is a celebration of the individuality of both artists and models as people!
Different Realities
Why do we tend to draw what we know, and not what we see?
Objective drawing is not a mystery, but depends upon the simpler process of ‘knowing what we see’ rather than the more sophisticated process, ‘knowing what it means’. From the moment that we open our eyes as babies we begin not only to receive visual information (what we see), but also to interpret this visual information into meaning (what we know it is), and we then store that information and its definition for future reference. It is crucial for our survival that we do this, and we quickly become experts.
For example, the front and side view of a spoon are totally different images, but if we have logged and cross-referenced the two images correctly, then we soon know that a is another view of b. By hiding and shortening, or foreshortening, the real length and shape of the whole spoon, a does not tell the whole story, so b is logged as a fuller, more definitive meaning of a.
If you are fully aware of the speed with which this happens and can speculate on the number of people you have seen since birth, then you will understand why the urge to draw what we know, and not what we see, is so powerful.
Added to this background information is a profound physical knowledge of our own and, often, other bodies, received through our other senses. When any part of our body touches another part (most of the time), we are reaffirming our knowledge of the real dimensions of our body. But again, these are not necessarily the dimensions that we see.
All three of the following experiences are very different kinds of truth.
1. WHAT WE KNOW: VISUALIZATION AND MEMORY.
Close your eyes and visualize your own body as you think it looks. Is your image of yourself standing up or sitting down? Are you mentally rustling through photos of yourself, or remembering the person in the mirror?
2. WHAT WE FEEL: PHYSICAL SENSATION.
Close your eyes again, and with your hands, explore the feel of your own body. Feel the textural difference between bone, muscle, fat, skin and hair, and the dimensions and volume of your upper arm, for example, as compared to your thigh, or little finger or heel. Tense and relax a leg muscle, and note the different sensations both internally and externally.
3. WHAT WE SEE: VISUAL SENSATION.
Stand up and look downwards at your body. Look at the size of your feet compared to your chest. How much visible space is there between your chest, knee and foot? Now, bring your hand, turned palm downwards, slowly up towards your face and watch your body ‘disappear’. Can these three ‘realities’ be compared or expressed?
Now, look at the image below: can you see what it is?
It is, of course, seven black lines: a flat image that has only two types of dimension, height and width. If you answered table, top of box, inside of ceiling, square trampoline, you will have some idea of how swift and brilliant is the brain to interpret very little information with split-second zeal and imagination, translating it into a three-dimensional idea that has not only height and width, but also depth. Even complex information is supplied, such as the ratio of the dimensions – square – and the fact that the fourth leg of the ‘table’ is hidden by the top.
Ten expressive lines. ARTIST: BONITA BOELLA
Life Drawing is not Life-Threatening
Objective drawing means recording reality as the eye sees it, and would be easy if, as beginners, we could simply draw what we see. However, because the eye cannot draw, a hand is needed to make the marks, a hand that is directed not by the eye, but by the brain. Situated so close to the eye, the brain immediately takes the incoming visual information and interprets it into ‘known’ dimensions – it has a lifetime’s memory to refer to, and adds a little prioritizing for good measure. As an example, to the brain, a head is more important than a foot, and so most early life drawings tend to feature large heads and small, or non-existent, lower legs. Moreover it is in no way surprising that the brain should want to do this – after all, as management ‘headquarters’ it has kept us alive so far with its assessment of road widths, cliff edges and car speeds.
‘Life drawing is a safe pastime.’ Quick line and tone sketch. ARTIST: PETER HILL
Nor is it surprising that the brain should sense confusion, sometimes humiliation, and often conflict, when our eyes tell us that this fine example of the fuller, more complex picture, with its real, ‘life-saving’ dimensions, is, as a drawing, ‘laughably incorrect’. It is ironic to think that accuracy in objective drawing can be impeded by this brilliant processing system. If you are a beginner you may become conscious of this confusion, or sometimes find your hand wavering uncertainly over the paper. Be reassured that this is a good sign, signifying that brain–eye negotiations are now under way and that, in a short while, a settlement will be reached in which your brain is satisfied that drawing is not only a rewarding pastime, but a safe one.
The first exercises are specifically designed to help the artist draw what is seen, while staying in harmony with these brain processes, rather than banishing them. This foundation is exceptionally important for the next step, which will explore the artist’s personal response to the model, pose, lighting, mood and so on. If a comfortable relationship and dialogue between eye and brain is already in place, then the transition from objective drawing to self-expression and feeling will be a smooth one.
Guidelines for Using This Book
A study of anatomy has been placed, after some consideration, in the middle of the book in order not to interfere with the student’s natural perception of individual models by introducing non-visible information too soon. Also a basic understanding of counterbalance and the skills of objective line and tone drawing will already be in place by then for the subtle description of structure and musculature. However, for reference, the anatomy section can be used at any time.
It is suggested that a project be well absorbed in the first part of a drawing session and that, for the remaining time, the artists play with and develop the technique in any way, allowing imagination and individuality to direct the process. During this time different media can be used, and previous exercises, similar or dissimilar, introduced into the ‘current’ way of looking and drawing. This will simultaneously keep learning and creativity alive.
When a medium is not specified for an exercise, use either pencil or charcoal.
Whenever a question appears in the book, it is hoped that you will consider some answers before reading on, in order to develop your imagination and a personal approach.
Do keep all your drawings together, and dated, so you can see how your work develops.
Always, whether you are working in a group or on your own, put your work on the wall or down on the ground after completing a new exercise or several drawings, to compare and discuss your reactions to the experience with each other as a group or with yourself, saying not just which you like, but also why. (Remember when you are admiring other people’s work to accept that they are probably looking at yours in the same way.)
Be as objective, practical and positive as you can about your own drawings without focusing only on the faults. While being brutal and overcritical of yourself may seem to help progress in the short run, it not only takes the joy out of drawing, but wastes valuable energy, and wearies both you and those around you. It can also, in the long run, sabotage the confidence of a whole group if it is not balanced by an equal amount of self-admiration and respect for your own work and development. The quickest way forward is to understand how you and others have achieved both successes and failures, by sharing your discoveries. Drawing is a non-competitive ‘sport’, so celebrate your different strengths.
Remember that nobody springs from the womb already able to draw. Drawing enjoyment and success is conceived by the ‘idea’ of possibility, instigated by choice, and developed by practice, not talent.
I have gained so much in skill simply by looking at other people’s drawings, and so much pleasure from the mutual support and encouragement of the group.
Dynamic use of Circling. ARTIST: CLAIRE REDGROVE
Economy of line captures the essence of the pose. ARTIST: HELEN WYATT
CHAPTER 1
GETTING STARTED
Many people would like to draw from life but are held in check by persisting taboos regarding nudity. However, you can find classes, models and other life-drawing students by contacting the nearest art college, school art department or residential college; and if you already have a group of keen beginners and are looking for models, there is a growing number of life-model registers (for example, RAM-Register of Artists Models: www.modelreg.com). Aim to draw from a wide range of models.
Looking after Your Life Model
Life drawing is an activity for two live participants: the model and the artist. Just as drawing what is seen cannot happen without light, life drawing cannot happen without a model. It is, therefore, very important that your model feels cared for at all times. Hopefully, the days when the model was treated like a servant or a still-life arrangement and left to suffer with numb, blue limbs in a cold and draughty art room are long gone. The best model is a respected one.
Some groups make you feel relaxed and open – then I’ll try to give them whatever they want.
MODEL
As an artist, I know when I’m modelling that I’m the centre of attention, the most important thing in the room.
MODEL/ARTIST
Expressive marks were used for this dynamic pose by an athletic model.
While a pose may last from thirty seconds to several weeks, and perhaps even years, a model will usually take a rest after twenty to forty minutes – though poses vary greatly in comfort, and often inexplicably so (an experienced model will know which apparently comfortable reclining pose is a ‘killer’!). Different men and women have their own pain threshold and degree of muscular stamina, but one factor is common to all: to know that they can have a rest when necessary benefits both models and artists alike. It is far better for a model to have regular rests than to suffer in silence or fidget. If the pose is a long one it can be useful to put chalk marks at significant joint-points on the ground, cloth or chair around the model at the beginning of the pose; then ‘slippage’ can be easily checked without a riot of differing opinions.
Although the artists may outnumber the model by many, the ambient temperature must suit the model, for the simple reason that the artist can take off layers of clothing if necessary. For the sake of good drawing, it is worth ensuring that both parties enjoy a comfortable local temperature and an adequate flow of fresh air (not under-door draughts); to this end a personal cold/hot air fan should be provided for the model.
Ensure that a changing room, or at least a screened area, is available for your model.
Pay is also important: the skill and effort necessary to hold a pose should never be underestimated, and a model should be paid accordingly. Try holding any pose without moving for at least ten minutes – then you will really appreciate your models!
I really love the feeling that I’m part of a creative process.
MODEL
Materials
All media have their own special properties and advantages. Drawing, in the initial stages, is about exploration, discovery, and recording, so for a good adventure you will need tools that will allow you to step forwards tentatively, try several routes, change direction (or your mind) and, finally, affirm the best of your discoveries. Pencil and charcoal both allow for experimental beginnings. On the one hand, pencil requires a greater amount of pressure to make a dark mark and is therefore ideal for making many light ‘suggestions’, and for strengthening little by little as you feel more certain of your proportions. If the marks become too confusing they can be rubbed out with a plastic eraser.
Charcoal, on the other hand, requires less pressure to make a dark mark, can easily be rubbed away with the hand or a cloth (especially when using smooth paper), and can, therefore, engender a feeling of boldness in the beginner. You will feel more confident about taking risks if marks can be changed, selected or erased quickly.
A list of materials that might be useful is as follows:
small range of pencils (B to 6B);
refillable mechanical pencil (2B leads);
charcoal, thin and thick (2cm diameter);
erasers, both plastic and rubber (for different surfaces);
plenty of inexpensive (not glossy) cartridge/newsprint-type/lining paper from household shops, preferably A1 or A2 size, but not smaller than 420mm × 297mm (A3 size);
strong, lightweight board;
4 × bulldog clips;
easel, strong enough to take considerable pressure.
The Best Drawing Position
The best position for drawing is to stand with your body facing the model – i.e. not looking over your arm – at an easel that displays your drawing alongside your view of the model. Like this you can:
at a glance, compare the image to the reality;
move your whole body, which keeps the muscles relaxed and the blood supply flowing;
have all the articulation points of spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist and knuckles freely available so you can make with ease any directional mark you wish;
stand back easily to compare your drawing with reality (this is a golden rule);
maintain a healthy space between yourself, your drawing, and the model; be aware that the bond between the first two can often shut out the information from the third, particularly if the artist stands or sits too close to the drawing.
An example of materials and their marks.
Try to avoid hunching over the drawing, which causes muscle strain at the neck and shoulders, and a feeling of tension that can erode confidence. Clutching a pencil in a tight stranglehold near the point can invite bad posture, whereas holding it far from the point, without resting your hand, will give you maximum manoeuvrability with the minimum of effort.
If you do need to sit, lean the board on a low easel, a ‘donkey’, or the back of a chair, and sit well back without hunching your body or resting your arm or hand on the paper. Above all, make sure that you are comfortable and ready for action.
Preparing to Draw
Line, the Versatile Mark
Where do we draw lines? With a pointed, mark-making tool such as a pencil, a line can be used to describe many aspects of the world around us. In fact, the most familiar uses of line in drawing do not represent a line that is actually visible in reality, and could therefore be called symbolic, like letters or numbers. We take for granted the idea that a line can create a visible description of an object, but – just as a map is not territory and does not look like earth, water, trees and rock – none of the examples in the drawing below would appear to us in the real world as black lines.
This black and white drawing is, like a map, merely an abstract description of perceived edges, boundaries, tone, texture and movement. Two eyes can see edges ‘three-dimensionally’ because each one supplies a slightly different image to the brain, informing us not only of height and width, but also of the third dimension, or distance from our eyes. Sometimes we can ‘see’ an edge that is not actually visible simply by its context, or because, from memory, we expect to see an edge.
Symbolic or non-visible use of line.
1. where the body edge, as we see it, meets the background or foreground;
2. where the edge of one part of the body meets another;
3. where there is a change of tone (e.g. a shadow);
4. where there is a change of texture;
5. where there is a change of colour;
6. to describe tone, or shadow, by drawing lines close together or overlapping;
7. to describe texture using the same method;
8. to accentuate a visual statement;
9. to convey movement;
10. for linking points to each other (inside or outside the body shape);
11. to create an abstract boundary or decoration.
Examples of visible lines.
1. where two parts of the body overlap or meet and cast a thin shadow;
2. where a part of the body casts an immediate and thin shadow on the ground or another surface;
3. where the skin creases or wrinkles like a narrow crevice where little or no light can reach.
Line drawn to express visible line is less common, simply because there are relatively few conditions that cause narrow, dark, finite marks. Examples of visible lines are shown in the drawing (above).
As you can see, line is used far more for imaginative reasons than literal ones.
PREPARATORY EXERCISE: USE OF LINE
— POSE: Standing
— TIME: 5min
— MEDIUM: Pencil
Draw the model using lines only to illustrate what you see. Now count, from the lists above, how many different types of description you have used.
The Theory of Relativity
The following exercises explore different uses of line and are intended to loosen up, empower and develop a curiosity in the artist about relative lengths and angles directly as they are seen. They constitute a basic drawing toolbox, and will help the eye, brain and hand to enjoy working together, and develop good drawing habits.
The secret of successful objective line drawing lies in the practice of assessing and marking relative lengths as they are seen, two-dimensionally, as cleverly and accurately as we assess relative lengths as they are known, three-dimensionally. The exercises will help by looking at the bigger picture of visual reality and then adding velocity to the equation! First, however, it is important to know a little more about our normal day-to-day processes of looking. How exactly do we use our eyes and brain?
PREPARATORY EXERCISE: OBSERVING HOW WE SEE
In order to directly understand more about the way we look at an object, follow this exercise without reading ahead:
— POSE: Standing
— TIME: 10min
Using line, draw the model in a way that feels most natural to you, observing how you are looking and what attracts your eye. As you draw, are you aware of small or large shapes? Are you following an edge? How conscious are you of the edges of the paper?
Now look around you. How do your eyes move? Smoothly, or in jumps? If they jump, what kind of information are they jumping from, and to? Are you aware of large or small areas? The brilliant teamwork of the eye and brain can peripherally and unconsciously scan a scene, and in nanoseconds be concentrating on the detail. So, because we tend to ‘hop’ from one specific point to the next (taking the large-scale information for granted), we also tend, at the beginning, to draw in the same way, journeying (usually from the head, of course!) down the body, piecing and tacking together one small area to another. However, if asked to divide a length into sixteen, most of us would not start at one end, travelling hopefully down the length, but would look, firstly, for the middle point, comparing the large lengths and then work methodically towards the smaller sections.
running out of space, leaving no leg room;
heading off in the wrong direction, the drawing looking as if it is ‘falling over’;
a change of scale on the way – big head and shoulders, short legs, tiny feet and hands, ‘frayed’ at the ends with fingers and toes;
running out of time to draw the legs.
Does your drawing suffer from any of these beginner’s problems? If it does, do not worry, the next exercises will help to cure them and relax you.
EXERCISE: RHYTHM AND CURVE
What will you learn? You will be able to describe the weight, balance and ‘intention’ of the pose, and thereby achieve better proportions. By rewinding the ‘tape’ of the visual process to the preliminary scanning stage you will learn to focus on the larger shapes first, and will therefore not be tempted to draw unrelated detail too soon. These exercises also encourage a physical freedom of movement when drawing.
PREPARATORY EXERCISE 1 (NO MODEL)
Take several large sheets of different paper and, without resting your hand or arm on the paper, simply make marks with first pencil, then charcoal. Vary the pressure and feel the difference in friction or ‘bite’ on the surface. Holding both together, compare their behaviour simultaneously. By swinging your arm in a circular movement, try making ‘aeroplane’ marks, landing and taking off from the paper as smoothly as possible, approaching the runway from many different directions. Now think of your body as an articulated crane (legs, spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist, knuckles), and see how many subtle manoeuvres and marks you can make.
PREPARATORY EXERCISE 2 (NO MODEL)
This exercise is good for control. Draw two dots approximately 15cm (6in) apart, and very slowly make an aeroplane (not a helicopter!) mark, gently landing on the first dot. As you do so, immediately transfer your gaze to the second dot and, preparing to take off smoothly, leave the paper at that point. Repeat this exercise, drawing in different directions and at greater lengths, remembering not to obscure the view of the second dot.
Now you are ready to start life drawing with a model.
EXERCISE
— POSE: Ask the model to freely swing the arms, bending the body, until an expansive standing pose is found
— TIME: 3min (intentionally short to inhibit dallying with detail!)
— MEDIUM: Pencil
First, assess the general dimensions of the pose, and turn your board accordingly to allow for maximum drawing space. Then scan the pose and, ignoring the detail, look for the longest single curve (only bending once) that runs imaginarily through it; it often links the top and bottom, or right and left, of the body. To do this, point your pencil at the model and, swinging your arm, trace across and through the whole shape until you find that curve. It might not follow a body edge continuously, but just touch the bumps; it might cross the body, for example from right shoulder to left foot; it might even be a direct link in space between external points. Remember, however, that it must be a single curve, and not an ‘S’-shape.
A dynamic pose.
Treat this as a worthwhile game, because the identification of this longest curve usually describes the intention of the whole pose as you see it (note that your choice may not be the same as your neighbour’s). Now, using ‘aeroplane’ marks, and still swinging your whole arm, gently and very lightly draw this curve. Concentrate only on length, direction, and whether the curve is concave or convex. If it is not right, draw it again and again until it is, and you are pressing a little harder. Make large, expansive sweeps of the arm, and avoid ‘knitting’ (making short hesitant marks). Remember, these initial marks do not have to be perfect first time.
I feel liberated! My drawings suddenly have energy and have come alive!
BEGINNER
Three of these at the beginning of every session really help to get my eye and hand in.
PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
The first curves.
Now look for the second longest curve and see how it relates to the first, in both position and length. If the marks are wrong, just press a little harder in the right place but keep moving, swinging your whole arm and stepping back to see the ‘big’ picture. With a standing pose, ensure at an early stage that the legs are long enough. If the model’s feet are apart, draw the arc between them because, while the brain knows that they are on horizontal, flat ground, they may not visually be at the same height. Also, if the arm or leg is bent, establish its general placing as a whole shape, by converting the angle to a curve. Often both arms will make a single curve, running through the shoulders from fingertip to fingertip, and even a circle or oval (which is a continuous single curve). Look out for the spine, or the central surface lines of the torso and head, as these are also important and helpful statements.
The finished sketch.
TIMING
The time limit on quick poses must be respected, as models will feel better inclined to take up more dynamic, strenuous poses if they trust the timekeeper. A ‘one-minute-to-go!’ signal is very galvanizing.
Gradually work towards the shorter curves, such as leg and arm muscles, and the curves around the body – the collar bones, abdomen, ribcage and waist – until you reach the smaller curves of face, hands, feet and so on.
What does this drawing convey? A sense of movement and life because the lines are not continuous or sealed, but fade at the ends and, being multiple, give it a breathing, transitory, or ‘becoming’ feel. Also, all parts of the body usually work together to perform a task or create a pose (such as stretching, reaching, or lying down), and the long curves convey that sense of unifying intention.
AN OBJECTIVE EYE
Stand back/turn around/walk away from your drawing as often as possible in order to re-see it objectively.
Draw several completely different, but equally dynamic, 3min poses, then change to charcoal and note the difference. If the marks are confusing or wrong, simply wipe them away with the hand, feeling your way towards a strong, dynamic, dark line drawing.
If you are working in a group, set up a comfortable pose, then choose and draw your first three curves, and number them in order. Then, with the model still in pose, walk around the room to see what other people have seen. Do you agree with their choices?
THE ADVANTAGES OF RHYTHM AND CURVE
‘Rhythm and Curve’ is excellent for kick-starting a life-drawing session.
FOR THE ARTIST:
He/she stops worrying that ‘this drawing must be perfect because it’s a long pose’.
There is no time to worry about what their drawing looks like to others.
The technique loosens up hand/arm/body movement, and opens up eye/brain/hand channels, and because the artist must work at speed, this stops the brain ‘correcting’ the drawing.
Short poses can be more dynamic, and therefore visually stimulating.
The artist gets to know the model’s natural body language or idiosyncrasies; longer poses that have to be comfortable do not always express these.
FOR THE MODEL:
He/she stops worrying that ‘this pose must be comfortable because it’s for a long time’.
A new model has no time to worry about what he/she looks like to others.
Because shorter poses can be more dynamic, muscles can be flexed and so become less exhausted, and the quick changes can exercise the whole body.
A model can have greater freedom to think of the next pose and express her/himself.
A new model can ‘get to know’ the group by facing in different directions in a short space of time.
In short, this is an opportunity for model and artist to engage with each other in the same space.
RHYTHM AND CURVEThree potential ‘starts’, and the finished sketch.
GROUP EXERCISE: COMMUNAL RHYTHM AND CURVE
This exercise is instructive as well as great fun: with a 15sec timer, all move around the room building up communal drawings by adding one line to the next drawing. No erasing of lines this time!
EXERCISE: CIRCLING
Circling establishes the relative scale and direction of the body components. Because detail is not required with this method, Circling, like Rhythm and Curve, is particularly useful for comfortably easing the beginner into mark-making, working broadly across the paper and allaying fears of inaccuracy. Scanning general dimensions and angles is the main aim of this enjoyable exercise, which can become almost hypnotic.
Weight, balance and intention. ARTIST: CLAIRE REDGROVE
What will you learn? You will understand how the body shapes are articulated and relate to each other proportionately, and how to draw shapes that are foreshortened (or tilted towards the viewer, like a bent leg seen from the front). Circling also improves the control of mark-making, and helps the artist to relax while drawing a two-dimensional flat image that the brain knows to be three-dimensional. By simultaneously looking at, understanding and drawing what is seen, this exercise opens up and treads the pathway between eye, brain and hand, which develops their smooth co-ordination.
By asking simple questions and using gentle, exploratory marks before making a final decision, this process allows time for the brain to consult the eye about the larger dimensions and their placement, rather than racing to draw the detail. Also, because pencil-circling continues all the time, even while looking at the model, the brain has less opportunity to instruct the hand to draw what it ‘knows’ the shape is three-dimensionally, and is obliged to instruct the hand to draw what the eye is actually seeing.
Ask your model to stand symmetrically with arms and legs straight. How many major components make up the human body? Sixteen, if the neck column is included and the smaller finger and toe joints are not. Ask your model to bend arms, legs and body. Look for the joints and dimensions of the body components between those articulation points. The trunk will sometimes follow one directional intention, but the upper and lower sections of the trunk can turn and bend independently due to the articulation of the spine at the waist between the ribcage and pelvis.
EXERCISE: CIRCLING – SIMPLE SHAPES
This exercise is only concerned with describing these shapes very simply in terms of their general width, length and direction.
— POSE: Standing, with the weight mostly on one leg
— TIME: 5min
— MEDIUM: Soft pencil
Start by swinging your arm in a circling movement, like a pendulum, in order to draw circles, ovals or ellipses. This movement should be continuous, so that the pencil stays on the paper all the time. Now move the pencil, very gently, onto the paper to ‘circle’ the largest component shape. If the trunk, leg or arm is not bent or twisting, describe it as one shape. While circling very lightly on the paper, look at the model and ask:
How big is this shape? (Keep circling.)
Where on the paper should it be placed so that all the model will fit in? (Keep moving while feeling your way around the paper before settling the shape.)
How high is this shape in relation to its width: narrow and elliptical, or wide and round? (Keep going, and press a little harder.)
In what direction is this shape inclining? (Now press hard, but don’t stop circling.)
Without taking your pencil off the paper, move to another big shape, asking ‘where is it, relative to the last shape?’; ‘does it overlap?’; ‘how large, high, wide, what direction?’ and so on.
Keep circling round all the major body parts, moving from the larger to the smaller shapes until you’ve drawn the figure. (Don’t stop swinging the pencil until the five minutes is over, but circle from shape to shape, refining and perfecting their proportions and angles.)
The sixteen major articulated body components.
Identify the largest component shapes.
Establishing local and relative dimensions, and the angles of the large shapes.
Medium shapes within the large shapes.
How does your drawing look? Does the slim model you see before you look like a tyre advert in the drawing? If so, slim down the ellipses in the next drawing. Did you fit all of the body into the paper? The answer is probably yes, but if not, look more carefully at the available space with the next exercise.
