Barrington Barber - The Fundamentals of Figure Drawing

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The Fundamentals of

FIGURE

DRAWING

Contents

Introduction

First Steps to Figure Drawing

Drawing the Whole Figure

Drawing Clothed Figures

Drawing from Life

Composition

Figures in Action

Figures in Detail

Styles of Figure Drawing

Step-by-Step to a Final Composition

Index

Introduction

From the mid-1500s onwards, composition was considered to be the most prestigious area of art, which made it of primary interest to the greatest artists of the time. Of course they were skilled in all areas of drawing and painting, but when the great art workshops (bottegas) of the Renaissance period were in full swing it was the master painter who would often be the only artisan to put in the figures, leaving the rest of the composition to be completed by his pupils. So be prepared for the most interesting and most difficult stage in your drawing career but dont feel too daunted. I have found in many years of teaching that anyone can learn to draw anything competently, with the combination of a certain amount of hard work and the desire to achieve success.

The aim of this book is to explore all the practices necessary to achieve a good level of drawing of the human figure. I shall first look at how the human body is formed, from its skeleton the scaffolding that all figures are based on down to the details of the limbs, the torso, the hands and feet and the head. It is always useful to have some idea as to the body formation beneath the skin, and some knowledge of how the muscles wrap around the bone structure and each other is of great use when you look at the shapes on the surface of the body. Without any knowledge of the underlying structure it is much harder to make sense of the bumps and furrows that are visible.

I shall also look at the balance of the limbs when the body is in motion, and how the artist can produce the effect of movements that appear natural and convincing to the viewer of the picture.

The techniques of drawing will also be examined, and the different ways in which different artists have made efforts to show us how the human figure can be portrayed, from the most detailed to the most expressive. The book also includes a look at the ways that clothing helps to convince the viewer that there is a solid form under the surface material. Of course this book does not pretend to be exhaustive, as figure drawing has been developed and explored over centuries as artists sought new ways of portraying the human form. Nevertheless, enjoy this foray into the challenging but fulfilling task of portraying the human figure, and revel in the development in your own ability as artist.

First Steps to Figure Drawing

The first section of this book explores the basic physiology of the human body, looking at the proportions, the structure and the obvious variations between male and female, child and adult. To draw the human figure successfully it

is essential to have some acquaintance with what lies beneath the skin, for if you lack that your drawing will at best have a superficial slickness and at worse will not be at all convincing.

The bone structure is the basic scaffolding of the body, more visible in some places than others but everywhere dictating size and proportions. To a greater or lesser degree, the skeleton is enveloped in muscles, again with varying visibility. Consider the way the wrist bone is so obvious to the eye, while the thigh bone is hidden by muscle that, in someone athletic, forms distinct bulges that disrupt the smooth line of the thigh; such observations should become second nature to you as you study the model you are drawing.

All artists, certainly since the Renaissance era, have studied the structure of the human body with great interest and this has enabled them to produce drawings of distinction and conviction from which we can also learn. There is nothing like studying the underlying structure of the form to understand how best to portray it in your art and the more you practise drawing the forms of the body the more you will find yourself looking to see how the particular surface shape and appearance comes about. Your knowledge of this information will be translated into your drawings and will help to carry conviction that you have seen not just the surface of the body but also have some understanding of the way it works.

This is perhaps the most academic part of the book, but dont be tempted to skip the diagrams to get on quickly to drawing the whole figure. Putting in the groundwork at this stage will make your figures look more solid and more real, and will make viewers see exactly the human quality you wish to portray. You probably will not remember all the scientific names any more than I do, but the effort to learn something about them is never wasted and, in my experience, often comes back to help you when you least expect it. When you come to draw the figure from life you may also wish to refer back to these diagrams to clarify in your own mind what you have actually seen and drawn.

PROPORTIONS OF THE HUMAN FIGURE

Here I have a front view and a back view of the male and female body. The two sexes are drawn to the same scale because I wanted to show how their proportions are very similar in relation to the head measurement. Generally, the female body is slightly smaller and finer in structure than that of a male, but of course sizes differ so much that you will have to use your powers of observation when drawing any individual.

These drawings assume the male and female are both exactly the same height, with both sexes having a height of eight times the length of their head. As you can see, this means that the centre of the total height comes at the base of the pubis, so that the torso and head are the upper half of this measure, and the legs alone account for the lower half. Note where the other units of head length are placed: the second unit is at the armpits, the third is at the navel, the fifth mid-thigh, the sixth below the knee joint and the seventh just below the calf. This is a very useful scale to help you get started.

These two examples are of the back view of the two people opposite, with healthy, athletic builds. The mans shoulders are wider than the womans and the womans hips are wider than the mans. This is, however, a classic proportion, and in real life people are often less perfectly formed. None the less, this is a good basic guide to the shape and proportion of the human body.

The mans neck is thicker in relation to his head while the female neck is more slender. Notice also that the female waist is narrower than the mans and the general effect of the female figure is smoother and softer than the mans more hard-looking frame. This is partly due to the extra layer of subcutaneous fat that exists in the female body: mostly the differences are all connected with childbirth and child rearing; womens hips are broader then mens for this reason too.

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