FIGUREDRAWINGFORARTISTSMakingEveryMarkCount

ST EVEHUST ON

Contents

INTRODUCTION:GETTINGCOMFORTABLEWITHYOURMATERIALS

partone:THEELEMENTSOFDRAWINGCHAPTER1:STRUCTURE

CHAPTER2:BASICGESTURE

CHAPTER3:ADVANCINGTHEIDEAOFGESTURE

CHAPTER4:PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER5:THELAWSOFLIGHT

parttwo:BREAKINGDOWNTHEHUMANBODYCHAPTER6:THEHUMANBODY:ANOVERVIEWOFBASICFORMS

CHAPTER7:THEHEAD

CHAPTER8:THETORSO

CHAPTER9:THEARMSANDHANDS

CHAPTER10:THELEGSANDFEET

CHAPTER11:FINISHINGDETAILS:LIGHTANDSHADOWS

CONCLUSION:FIVEMINUTES

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

GETTINGCOMFORTABLEWITHYOURMATERIALS

Whatisart?Itcouldtakethiswholebooktoanswerthatquestion.Infact,itcouldtakeawholelibrary—anddoes.Criticsandtheoristscontinuouslyaddtothecanonexploringandexplainingart.Theiressaysarethoughtprovokinginmanyways,buttheirtheoriesdon’tturnusintobetterartists.Theirtheoriesdon’tcoaxthepencilintomakingbettermarks.

Karen,c.2001,bySteveHuston.Charcoaldrawingofarecliningfemalefigure.

ArtIsanIdeaIlovedrawing,alwayshave—so,Ichoseitasacareer.Thatmadethewhole“whatisart”thinganimportantissueforme.

Ineededananswerthatmademythumbnailsketches,lifestudies,comps,andfinishesexcellent.Andmore,Ineededananswerthatledmetowardaprocessthatspokewithonevoice,onevision—onestyle.

Artcriticismhelpedme,butnotinthatpursuit.So,Ididwhatanyself-serving,creativetypewoulddo:Imadeupananswerthatwould.

Ididn’tcarewhethermyanswerhelduptotherigorsofcriticalthinking.Infact,itdoesn’t.I’mheretotellyouwhatI’mofferingispuremake-believe.

AndIbelievethat’sexactlywhyitworks.

Fantasy,myth,make-believe:noneistrueforthehead.But,theyarealltruefortheheart—andtheheartiswhereartthrives.Artisnotdesignedtoconvincetherationalmind.Sciencehandlesthat.Art,atitsmostpowerful,appealstotheemotions,asmythologydoes.

Andmythologyhasonlytworequirements:

1.Nomatterhowfantastictheworldorworldviewis,itneedstobeabsolutelyconsistent.Onlythen,willtheheadrelaxandletthehearttakecontrol.

2.Thehero(andaudience)takesajourneythatshowstheworldworksthroughsomesecret,simpletruth.Atruthsuchasit’ssometimesanupside-down,absurdplacewelivein,ormagichidesinplainsight,or,even,there’snoplacelikehome.

Make-believetruthsliketheseareimportant—critical,really.Theyactasemotionalroadmaps,helpingusnavigateourmessyday-to-dayaffairs.Adultsneedtheminsomewaysmorethanchildrendo.Thebestroadmapsshowushowtobecometheheroofourownlives.Afterall,evenswitchingjobsorstartinganewhobbyisarealadventure.

Rightthismoment,you’rereadingamake-believestoryforadults.You’renearlytothepartaboutthesecrettruth—two,actually.Asthepagesturn,you’llreadthattheworldofdrawing,thoughitpresentsogre-sizeproblems,isafarsimplerplacethanyoususpected.Simpledoesn’tmeaneasy,though.Where’stheadventureineasy?

Thisyarnsaysthecraftofdrawingthehumanbodysucceedsthroughonlytwoideas(herearetwoofthesecrettruths):gestureandstructure.Itsaysthesetwoideasworkforthebiggestpartsofyourdrawing,andforthesmallest.

You’llreadaboutthingsliketheeyesocketisawhistlenotch,thearmisacleverlycurvedtube,themanypartsofthebodyareconnectedthroughinvisibledesignlines—thesearethedesignsoflife.Theseareallliesasfarasthescientistisconcerned—andyet,Ibetyou’llseethattheyringtrue.Andthey’llallowyoutodrawwithavisionandcontrolyoucan’tgetanyotherway.

Mypromisetoyouisthis:Ifyou’rewillingtowearoutafewpencils,thisbookcanhelpyounavigatethedifficultlandscapeofthedrawnfigure.

ThelasttruthI’llsharefornowisthatIdidn’tmakeanyofthisup.TheOldMastersdid.We’vebeenstaringattheseheartfelttruthsforcountlessgenerations,butforthelastseveralwesimplyhaven’trealizedit.

Greatartwithitsgreatstylisticdifferenceshasbeentellingthistalesincethebeginning.TotheOldMasters,itwascommonknowledge.It’sjustbeenforgotten.Whatagiftthesetwofundamentalideas—structureandgesture—inalltheirincarnations,giveusthroughthegreatestvoicesinhistory.

Art,then,isreallyjustanotherlanguage.Justasthewordsexpressconcepts,thelinesandtonesartistsmakedothesame.Thisbookexistssowe’llknowwhatwe’retalkingabout.

Withpractice,alotofpractice,youcanbegintellingyourownstory.Startthinkingoftheframearoundyourartworkasawindowintoyourworld.Themarksyoumakeexplaintherulesofthatworld.Theyhadbetterbeconsistent.

SO,HOWTODOTHAT?Drawingthehumanbodyisnoteasy.Weneedtoapproachitcarefully.Thepremiseforthisbook,andformyentirecareerasanartistandteacher,isthatthedrawingprocessreducestothosetwofundamentalideas—gestureandstructure.Tomakesenseofthem,then,weneedtoplumbthemsystematicallyanddeeply.Keepinmind,structureandgestureare,inasense,twosidesofthesamecoin.Iftheydon’tworktogether,theydon’twork.

Iwillbeginthisexplorationbyfirstexplaining,anddemonstrating,structureatitsmostbasiclevelandfollowwithanequallyaccessibleexplorationofgesture.Then,we’lldigalittledeeperintostructure,andthendeeperintogesture,andsoon.Thisisamethodthatcantakeyoufromthesimplestquicksketchtothemostfinishedofrenderingsandmakethembothringtrue—butonlyifyoulearnitstepbystep.

Thismethod,inonewayoranother,isthemethodoftheOldMasters.Somewherealongtheway,itbecamearcaneandmysterious.Idon’tbelieveitshouldbe.That’swhyIwrotethisbook.That’sthereasonIthinktheseideas(whicharenotmyideas)arewonderful,beautiful,and,mostofall,useful.

Therearecertainimmutabletruthsingreatworksofart.Ifyouknowwhattolookfor,youcanseetheminthemasterpiecesofeverygreatartmovement.YouseethosetruthsplayoutinvariouswaysinmovementssuchasCubismandPost-Impressionismand,likewise,inmanyofthemodernisttalentsoftoday.

WhatIwanttogiveyouisachancetoachieveyourpotential,tomasteryourcraft,andtofindyourvoice.Thisplanetneedsmorecreativevoices.

So,insteadofbeingintimidatedintoinaction,let’sbreakfreeandexpressourselves.Let’slearntospeakeloquentlyinthelanguageofstructureandgesture.

Withthatinmind,turnthepage,dipyourtoesintoart’sdeepwaters,andwadetowarditsshiningdistantshore—anddon’tworry.Ihavethelifepreserverrighthere.

StandingNude,1998,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.

Sara,1998,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.

MakingArtaRitualTheart-makingprocessistiedtoritual,andthatrepetitionputsyouinthecorrectmind-set.

Thereareendlessmaterialsfromwhichtochoose.I’llgiveyouafewofmyfavorites,but,everysooften,grabanewpenorpenciltotryout.Testnewpapers.Standratherthansit.

Artislikealchemy.Thealchemistattemptstomakesomethingpreciousfromthemundane—artists,too.Ritualwasall-importantinalchemy—theprocesswasconnectedintimatelytothematerialsused.That’strueforanyspiritualorcreativeendeavor.

Youneedtodevelopyourownritualformakingart.Cleanthestudioormakeitmessy;sharpenyourpencilswitharazorbladeorcrumbleupyourpastel,smearitonwithyourfingers,anderaseitmostlyaway.Experimentwiththeprocessuntilyouhaveapracticethatworksforyou.ThatalsoincludestheprocessIdemonstrateinthisbook.Butmyprocesswon’tworkforyouunlessyouchopitup,mixitaround,throwoutsomethings,andaddsomethingsin;inotherwords,itwon’tworkforyouuntilyoumakeityourown.

WheretoWork?Ifyoudon’thaveastudiowithtwenty-footceilings,northern-facingwindows,andapersonalassistanttosharpenyourpencils,usethecornerofabedroomorsitatthediningtable.

Youcanstandataneasel.Youcansitataneasel.Youcanbuyatiltingdraftingtableorhavea3/8-inch-thick(1cm)pieceofplywoodor1/4-inch-thick(0.6cm)pieceofMasonitecuttoabout20x26inches(51x66cm)longandgrabacoupleofalligatorclamps.Laythebottomedgeacrossyourlapandleantheboardagainsttheedgeofadiningtable.Ifthat’salittlelow,useakitchencounter.You’rereadytowork.

Iusedtohavetofallbackwardfrommycanvasbackchairontomybedtogetupfrommyworkstation.Youcouldspendafortuneontheperfectsetup,but,really,youdon’tneedmanyresourcestobeanartist.Startsimply.Startcheaply.Youcanalwayseaseintomassivedebtlater.There’snohurry.

MaterialsandToolsEverymaterialhasitslimitations.Don’ttrytogetdeepdarksfromahardpencil.Don’tdoaminiaturerenderingwithasquarestickofcharcoal.Takethetimetoexperimentandlearnwhatyourmaterialscando.Herearethebasictoolsandmaterialsyou’llneed.

1.CarbOthelloPencils.Iusepencilsinearth-tonecolors.Why?Abrightlycoloredpencildoesn’tworkwellforshading.Shadowistheabsenceoflight.Brightcolorssuggestlight.Thetwodon’tmix.OtherpencilbrandsIlikeareGeneral,ContéàParis,Faber-Castell,andPrismacolor.Theselasttwoareslightlywaxyandwon’tworkwellonnewsprint.

Paper:Copypaper(anybond),newsprint,vellum,andmarkerpaperaregreat.Also,Iliketonedpaperinlighttomiddlevaluesandearthtonesforthesamereasonasstated

previously.IlikeStrathmore500series,Ingres,andCansonbrands.Cansonhastheheaviesttextureand,so,isalittlehardertoworkwith.Youalsowantsomethingwithminimaltoothtoit.It’smuchhardertodoanykindofrenderingordetailwhilefightingarough-texturedpaper.

2.ContéàParissticksinH,HB,and2B.Notethat2Bisasofterchalkandgivesyoudeeperdarks,butit’salsomessier.HandHBareharder,butyoulosethedeepervalues.

Paper:YoucanusealloftheprecedingpaperslistedaswellasStrathmore,Bristolfinish,1-plyandup,andillustrationsheets,butnotplateorhotpress.Thesehavenotoothtoholdthechalk,andthepigmentwillcomerightoff.Oruseanyhigher-quality,acid-freepaperdesignedfordrawing.Again,youwantminimaltexture.

3.Alphacolor.Really,anybrandofpastelswilldo.Blackandearthtonesworkfordrawing.And,ofcourse,youcanworkinfullcolorfor“drypainting”pastelwork.Usethebetterbrandsforpaintingandthecheaperfordrawing.Alphacolorarebig,clunky,andnotdesignedforsmall-scaleworkorfinedetail.

Ididthisbook’scoverdrawingusingStrathmoreBristolpaperandAlphacolorforthedeepdarks.IusedContéchalkandastumpforthefinelineanddetail.

Paper:Youcanusealloftheprecedingpaperslisted.Canson,withitstoothiness,isgreatforholdingmorepigment.Pastelsbuildupquickly.You’llfindthechalksblowawaywithasneezeifyouuseasmoothstock.

4.Ballpointpen,anycheappen,orfountainpenwithbrownorblackink(makesureyouusefountainpenink).Pensareafavoriteofmineforsketchbooks.Ilikenotbeingabletoerase.Ilikehatchinginthevalue.ItsuggestsbrushstrokestomeforwhenIswitchtopaint.

Paper:Youcanusealloftheprecedingpaperslistedandalmostanythingyoucanthinkof,suchasthebackofanenvelopeorcopypaper.Iuseacid-freescrapbookpaperalot.Ithasacardstockthickness,andIcandolittlepaintedstudiesingouachealongsidetheinksketches.

5.Graphitepencils.Anyofabout3millionbrandsarefine.IlikeHorHBforhardness.Youwon’tgetcharcoaldarksoutofit:youneed4Bto6Bforthat.Butgraphitegetsalittleglossywhenitgetsdark.Iuseitforunder-drawingforgouacheorwatercolorpaintingsortolayinaninkdrawing.Mainly,IuseitwhenIwantasensitivetechnique.Itdoesdelicateanddetaillikenoothertool.

Oneofthebestwaystolearntovaryyourpaintstrokesisbyusingpenandink.

StudyforDraw,c.2004,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.

StudyforCaryatid,c.1998,bySteveHuston.AlphacoloronStrathmore,Bristolfinish.

6.Craftknife,sharppocketknife,orone-sidedrazorblade.Youneedsomethingtosharpenyourcharcoalpencilswith—andno,notamanufacturedelectricsharpener.I’llshowyouhowthesharpenedpencilshouldlookhere.

7.Kneadederaserandharderaser.Eitherwillwork,butIlikethekneadederaserbecauseitissimilartoputty—youcanshapeittogetintotightareas.Itissoftandwon’ttakeyourpaperbacktowhiteifthereisalotofpigmentdown.That’swhatharderasersarefor.You

canevenuseelectriceraserstobuffawaystubbornstains.And,yes,allthepigmentsdiscussedwillstainyourpaper.Actually,applyingpigmentcandamagethepaperfibers.Oncethathappens,youmaybestuckwithit.

8.Sandpaperorasandingpad.Youcanbuylittlesandingpadsfromtheartstore.Iusesandpaperfromthehardwarestore.Itsharpensyourpencilstoafinerpointthanjustusingaknife.IsanddownalittlebitofanAlphacolorsticktoloadpigmentontomystump.

9.Stumps.Thesecylindricaldrawingtools,madeoftightlyrolledpaperinapencilshape,areusedtoblendorsmudgemarks.

10.Markers.Chooseacoupleofgraystoshadeoveryourpendrawings:that’swhatautodesignersandentertainmentdesignersuse.Thethingwithmarkersisyoucanstartwithalightgrayandkeepmarkingdownanewlayerovertheoldtogetdarkeranddarker.It’sagreatwaytoeaseintothecorrectvalues.

11.Touchdisplaycomputer.IuseoneformydigitalteachingatNewMastersAcademyinCalifornia.IusedaWacomTouchformostofthisbookandPhotoshopandSketchBookProforsoftware.Theymimicmyriadtools.

AstudyfrommyShadowBoxingseries.WatermanParisfountainpen,veryfinenib,onoatmeal-colored,acid-freescrapbookpaper.

ThePencilMark

Holdthepencilasifyou’rewritingaletterbutrelaxyourfingers.Don’tpinchthembackinatightgrip.

Arelaxedgripissoimportantbecauseyouwanttomakesweepingstrokeslikeanorchestraconductor,meaningfromyourshoulderandnotyourwristorfingerjoints.Yourlinequalitywillbenervousandscratchyifyourdrawfromyourfingers.Practicethisasyouwouldatennisstroke.

Ahard,crisplineandathick,softline—thesearetheonlytwomarksyouneed.Now,forthegradation.

Thezigzagtechniquewillgiveyouagradationinanymediumyoucaretouse.Hardedgesandsoftedges—masterthoseandyou’vemasteredyourmedium.

Trythesenewstrokes:Sketchahouseholditem—acoffeecup,screwdriver,pencil,orasliceofbread.Learntodrawtheshapesyousee.Canyoudrawtubes,boxes,andballsfromyourhead?We’regoingtopracticealotofthatinthenextchapter.Youwantacatalogofsimpleshapestorelyonasyousketch—thebiggerthementalcatalog,thebetter.

That’sallyouneedtoknowtogetstarted,solet’s!

Leaveapproximately1/4inch(6mm)ofcharcoalorleadexposed.Someartistsprefermore.Itendtobreakthemiftheygetlonger.Youwantthewoodcarvedbackatataperedangle.Thisallowsyoutomakethemarksyouneed.Itendtousethepencil-across-the-palmgrip(seeright).

Thepencil-across-the-palmgrip.

Figuredrawingataneasel.

Turnthepencilagainstthestrokeandworkthepencilbackandforth.You’vemadeasoftzigzagline.Doitagain.Now,compressthezigzagandslowlylightenthepressureonthepage.Bycompressingthelineontopofitselfwhilelighteningyourtouch,youmakeagradation.

Turnyourpencilinthedirectionofthestroke,andyou’llgetahard,crispline.Turnthepencilagainstthestroke,andyou’llgetathick,softline.Thisiswhythewoodhastobecarvedbackasitis.

Usealayerofatleastsixorsevensheetsofpapertodrawon.Theextrasheetsunderneathprovideaslightpillowingeffectthatwillmakeyourmarkmaking,especiallygradations,easier.Trydrawingwithandwithouttheextrasheets.Canyoutellthedifference?

PART oneTHEELEMENTSOFDRAWING

CHAPTER1STRUCTURE

Wehaveideaswewanttogetdownonthepage,butweneedmaterialstodothat.And,weneedsomelevelofcontroloverthosematerials.That’swhatthischapterisabout.We’llstartwithareviewofafewmaterialsandthencouplethosewithafewbasictechniques.Thisbookisnotjustaboutmakingmarks.It’saboutmakingtherightmarksfortherightjob.And,really,it’snottoodifficult.Wejustneedtomakesurethematerialsdon’tgetinthewayasweworkthroughourbigideas.

RecliningNude,c.2000,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalksonStrathmore,Bristolpaper.

EssentialIdeasinDrawingStructureandgesturearethetwoessentialideasofdrawing.So,howcanwedefinethem?

Tounderstandandusetheideaofstructurewell,it’sbesttothinklikeasculptor,meaningwebuildourdrawingandpainting(asinsculpture)throughaseriesofconstructedforms.Structure,then,isthedistinctthree-dimensionalpart(s)ofanyparticularobject.Atreewouldhaveaseriesofpartsknownastheroots,trunk,branches,leaves,and,possibly,fruitornuts.

Forthisbook,structureisanyandallpartsthatmakeupthehumanbody.

TheSages,c.1996,bySteveHuston.BrushandinkonStrathmorepaper,kidfinish.Todrawwellfromyourimagination,youmustbeabletoconceiveofsimplestructuresinspace.

Gestureisadifferentidea.Gestureisthelifelineembeddedinsideanylivingformandmimickedinmostorganicones.Thisgesturalideamakesyourartlooknatural.Youdon’tneedtoworryaboutgestureifyou’redrawingsomethinglikeaskyscraper.Everythingthereisstiffandmechanical.Thepiecesjuststackorlocktogetheronastraightaxis.Youdostillhavetoworryaboutthosemeasuringpointsandvanishingpointsthathappeninperspective,though.

Sometimesthebiggestthingshavethesimpleststructures.Eventhemightiestskyscraperusuallyisjustmadeofboxes.

Ifwe’redrawingathumbnailsketchof,forexample,ariverinalandscape;orananimal;orabreakdownofthelightandshadowpatternsonanude;orastudyforafine-artpainting;oranaerodynamicjetairplane;orafantasyillustration;orathousandotherobjects,weneedtounderstandsomethingaboutgesture—andthemoreweunderstand,thebetter.We’lldeepenourunderstandinginchapter2.

Everyfinefigurepaintingstartswithawell-constructedfigure.

Alandscapeandafigurearenotasdifferentasyoumightthink.Bothcontainnature’sbeautifulorganicdesign.

Wheredoyouthinkengineersgettheiraerodynamicdesignideas?

WhatIsStructure?Let’stakeacloserlookatstructure.

Structureisthepartsandthepieces—thethree-dimensionalforms.Initssimpleststate,structurecanbereducedtoballs,boxes,andtubes.Thegoalistotranslatetheworldintosomethingmanageable.Onlywhenyoutranslateitdoyouhaveanideaofitsmeaning.That’sstructure.That’sthefirstofourtwoideas.

Westartwiththesimplestpossibleforms.

Structureinthehumanbodyisdefinedasthejointedparts.Forexample,fromshouldertoelbow,that’stheupperarm,fromshoulderstowaist,that’stheribcage,andsoon.We’llgetabreakdownofthefullfigureinchapter6.

Thisconstructedwayofworkingcanbelooserortighter,fullfiguredorsmallvignettes.Itworksforthumbnailsketches.Itworksformonumentalmuralcommissions.Structureisgoingtobecomeoneofyourtwobestfriends.Youjustneedalittletimetogettoknoweachother.Letmeintroduceyou.

Volume,mass,three-dimensionalconstruction,form,structure:theygobymanynames.Thenamesdon’tmatter.Thepointistogettheideaontothepaperassimplyandeasilyaspossible,tostayincontrol,andtomakeitworkforyouonwhateverlevelyouneedittowork.Thinkofitasthescaffoldonwhichtohangyourdesignsandrenderingtechniques.

Injustafewlines,wewanttofindalltheessentialelementsthatmakeupaspecificposeandeventhetypeofmodelinthatpose.

FigureDrawing,c.2002,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.Itcomesdowntothefactthatwewon’tmasterthiswithanykindofconsistency...

...unlesswestartwithsomethinglikethis.

DimensionHere’swhatthree-dimensionalstructuremeanswhenworkingonflatpaper:Ifthemarksmadeonthepapermovetheviewer’seyeovertheform,thenshefeelsasolidthree-dimensionalstructure.Ideally,everymarkwemakeshowstheviewerstructure(or,aswe’llseeinthenextchapter,gesture).Thegoodnewsisthisisaloteasierthanitsounds.

Turkeyfingersdon’tworksowell,dothey?Theylayflatbecauseoureyegoesaroundthefingershapeslikeashadowonthewallinsteadofoverthem,asthatsimplecylinderdrawingdemonstrates.

Constructedformsautomaticallyfeelthreedimensionalwhendonewellbecausethelinesmoveovertheform.Anotherwaytothinkofitisthateverymarkwemake,whethercarefullyrenderedorlooselysketched,shouldactasavisualarrow.Themoreconsciousweareofwherethearrowspoint,themoresuccessfulourdrawingswillbeintermsofstructure(andeventuallygesture).

Structure=movementovertheform.

Everylinewemakeisavisualarrow.

TheThreeBasicFormsLet’slookmorecarefullyatourthreeconstructedforms:

1.Thesphere

2.Thetube

3.Thebox

Variationsofthesefoundationalstructuresreplaceandsimplifythetrickyanatomyofthehumanbody,makingwhat’sverycomplexsimpler.

Tryit.Ifyouneedto,rereadtheprevioussectiontoreviewtheprinciplesofmarkmaking.

Withpractice,wecandrawanythingwiththismethod.Usingever-greatervariationsofourthreefundamentalforms,we’llbecomeevermorecomfortableintheseeingandtranslatingprocesscalled“drawing.”

Thethreebasicforms.

IfyoudrawatubelikeIdo,youstartwiththelength,addthewidth,andthenbuildontheends.Wedrawthetwo-dimensionalsidesandthethree-dimensionalends(theendofthetubeisthe“movementovertheform”idea).Untilwebuildthoseendsontotheconstructedshape,itwon’tmovetheviewer ’seyeoverthevolume.Itliesflat,incomplete.

Buildingtheendsontotheconstructedshapemovestheviewer’seyeoverthevolume.

Whenweworkwithcomplicatedsubjectssuchasthehumanfigure,wewillcompleteeachstructurebeforeaddinganewone.

I’llleaveyoutoworkthroughtheotherforms.Butkeepinmind,justaswithballsandeggs,youcandrawtubesandboxeswithouteverdrawingastraightline.Thisiskeytodrawingorganicformssuchasthehumanbody(moreinchapter2).

Areminder:NoticehowI’vedrawnseverallinesforeachstepinconstructingmyshape.ThisslowsmedownandallowsmetoreallyseethewholestructureI’mdrawingandnotgetlostinrandommarkmaking,whichisveryimportanttoavoidbutveryeasytogetsuckedinto.

ADVANTAGESOFDRAWINGTHEWORLDWITHSIMPLECONSTRUCTEDFORMS

•Wegetourcompositionsorunderlyingdrawingdownquickly.Iusethisverymethodtodrawbigger-than-lifeheroicfiguresonthecanvasbeforeIpaint.

•Wecandesignandredesignvariouselementstoourheart’scontent,makingthemmorefluid,morestreamlined,moreheroic,morechallenging,ormoreofanyqualityyouwanttoinstillinyourart.

•Drawinglikethisallowsyoutoanimatetheobject.That’sright—thisisthestyleofchoiceforalmosteveryanimationartistintheworld.Howelseareyougoingtodrawacharacter40,000timesinincrementallydifferentpositionsandgetitright?Andevenif,likeme,youaren’tananimator,youcan“animate”yourdrawingintoslightlyorgreatlymoredynamicposes.

•And,probablymostimportantforbeginners,theconstructionlinesactasthevisualarrowscriticaltomovingtheviewer ’seyeoverthepartsinexactlythewayneeded.Theybecometheroadmapforourrendering.Theygiveimmediatecontrolandexcellentcriteriaforcorrectingamistake.

Completeeachstructurebeforemovingon.Whenyoubecomeamaster,takeanyshortcutsyouwant.

Keepinmindthattwo-dimensionalstructureisjustasvalidanideaasthree-dimensional(3-D)structure.Wearefocusingon3-Dherebecauseitgivesusabetterunderstandingofhowtotranslatetheworldandmorecontroloverrenderingitinaconvincingmanner.

ChoosingtheRightFormsWenowhaveasenseofhowtodrawabeginningstructureandwhyit’simportant.So,howdowechoosetherightstructurefortherightjob?Afterall,therearenearlyendlessvariationsofourthreebasicstructures(sphere,tube,andbox).

Which,exactly,arethebestchoicesforanyparticulardrawing?

Whenshouldweuse,say,atubeinsteadofasphere?Andjustwhatkindoftubeshoulditbe?Long?Short?Taperedintoacone?Bentlikeagardenhose?

Ifthatsoundsabitintimidating,it’sreallynot.Wejustreduceittotwocriteria:simpleyetcharacteristic.Here’swhatthatmeans.

BadgerandMolefromTheWindintheWillows,twentiethcentury,PhilipMendoza(1898–1973).Privatecollection/LookandLearn/BridgemanImages.

SIMPLEWewanttopickthesimplestpossibleformwecan.Simpleissimplyeasier—noteasy.Thinkofitthisway:Wouldyouratherdrawtheorbicularisoculi,thezygomaticarch,thecorrugatormuscles,andawholelotofothertongue-twistinganatomicalfeatures,orwouldyouratherdrawaballinahole?Thatisyourchoicewhentacklingtheeye.

Here’swhatelsesimpledoesforus:

Simpleisquick.That’sgreatfordeadlinesorforpeoplewithshortattentionspans.It’salsogreatforseeingwhetheryou’restartingyourdrawingwell.Ifit’snotworking,it’sarelativelyquickfixtoreplacetheproblemareawithanothersimplesolution.

Simpleallowsustoconstructanythingwiththesamemethodsandprinciples.Forexample,it’sinterestingtothinkBadgerandMole(top)arebuiltthroughthesameprinciplesasApollonios’sBelvedereTorsoatright.

Thinkaboutit.Rubens“animated”hismodelsintodynamicpositionsjustascomicbookdraftsmen,illustrators,andmostotheraction-ormovement-basedartistsdousingthesameprinciples.Thatsumsupmythoughtsonsimple.

CastoftheBelvedereTorso,originalbyApollonius(firstcenturyBCE).Plaster.UniversityofOxford,UK/BridgemanImages.

CHARACTERISTICCharacteristicisthesecondcriteria.Ifsimpleweretheonlyissue,we’djustdrawsnowmen.Butwewantthestructurewechooseforthehead,orthefingers,orwhatever,tobeascharacteristicaspossible.Findingstructurescharacteristicofwhatthefinishedproductwillbeensureswe’reontherighttrack.Itmeansfarlessworktofinishitoffinwhatevermediumwe’reworking.Itmakessure,rightaway,thatourpartsfittogetherwell.Fittingtogether,bytheway,isalsoimportantforgesture,butI’mgettingaheadofmyself.

TakeabrieflookbackatsomeofthedrawingsIdidandlookmorecarefullyatthesimpleyetcharacteristicformsused.

NoticethisLucaCambiasodrawingissimplebutnotalwayscharacteristic.Somethingthisoversimplifiedisfinefordesigningacomposition—includingpointofview,asCambiasointended—butnotforbuildingfigurestoberenderedincharcoal,paint,orclay.

ChristLedAway,sixteenthcentury,LucaCambiaso(1527–1585).Penandinkwithwash.NationalMuseums,Liverpool/BridgemanImages.Cambiasoisfamousforhisbox-headcompositions.Wewanttotakethingsabitfurtherforourpurposes.

Itissometiculousthat,tobeginadrawingwiththismuchdetail,itissimply(punintended)overwhelming.Theotherthingaboutfocusingontoomuchdetailtoosoonisitleadsyoutocopythesubjectratherthantranslateit.Andthen,theregoestheunderlyingidea.ThishighlyanatomicaldrawingbyAlbinusiscertainlycharacteristic,butagain,alittletoomuch.

Avoidthesekindsofradicalstylizationsoroverwhelmingdetailsuntilyou’vemasteredthesimpleyetcharacteristicprinciple.

Noneofthegreatartistsorartmovementscopiednature.Infact,Albinuswascriticizedforlettingtheengraverputinfancifulbackgrounds.Theiruniquevisioniswhywerecognizetheirwork.It’swhytheyhadstyle!Allofthatembodiesthesimpleyetcharacteristicprinciple.Eachofuswilldoitdifferently,andthatisagoodthing.

Musculature,illustrationfromTabulaesceletietmusculorumcorporishumani,1741,byBernhardSiegfriedAlbinus(1697–1770),publishedbyJ.&H.Verbeek,bibliop.,Netherlands.Engraving.HumboldtUniversityofBerlin/BridgemanImages.

OLDMASTERstudyOnthesefinalpagesineachchapter,wewillcloselyexamineanOldMasterpiece.ThroughthelineworkthatI’veaddedontopofeachpainting,youcanseehowourfundamentalconceptsfordrawingapply.Onthefacingpages,you’llfindsuggestedpracticeexercisesthatwillhelpyouapplyourconceptstoyourwork.WebeginwithawonderfuldrawingbyRaphaelSanzio.

TheTriumphofGalatea,sixteenthcentury,Raphael(RaffaelloSanzioofUrbino)(1483–1520)(after).Redchalkonpalebuffpaper.UniversityofOxford,UK/BridgemanImages.Thesesimpleyetcharacteristicchoicesarejustright.

I’vemarkedoffjustafewoftheballs,boxes,andtubesinRaphael’slovelycomposition.Canyoufindothersbylayingtracingpaperoverit?

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Laytracingpaperoverthisdrawingandcopythesimpleboxes,balls,ortubes.FindtheonesIdidn’t.Then,tryitwiththeOldMasters.SeewhetheryoucanfindthesimplestructuralsolutionsforallthatstuffourgoodfriendMr.Sanziotossedourway.

Awell-constructedfigurehappensonestepatatime.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Startasketchbookdrawingeverydayobjectsaroundthehouseoroffice.

Almostanythingiseasiertodrawthanthehumanfigure,butwegetwhateverwechoosetodrawonthepageusingthesamemethod.

CHAPTER2BASICGESTURE

“Structureandgesture”arefancywaysofsayingthepartsandtherelationshipbetweentheparts.Ifyouholdontothosetwoideas,ifyouusethemtoguidethemarksyoumake,youwillexecuteexceptionaldrawings.If.Justif.

StructureisIdea1(seechapter1).GestureisIdea2,whichwefocusonhere.

Westartedwithstructurebecauseit’seasierthangesture.Gestureismorefundamentalandmoreimportantthanthesimple-yet-characteristicstructurewemightchoose.Gestureistheconnection,therelationshipbetweentheshapes.Gestureisthelifeline.Itkeepsourdrawingsfromlookingstiff,mechanical,andpiecedtogether.It’swhatgivesthesubjectalivelyandorganicquality.Bylivelyandorganic,Isimplymeandrawingstructureswithlongaxiscurves.We’lldigdeepintothisshortly.

Lynn,c.2004,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.There’snothingmorebeautifulthanafiguredesignedoffafewgracefulcurves.

Whyisthecurvedqualityofgesturesodifficultandsocritical?It’sdifficult,amongotherreasons,becauseit’ssneaky.Noviewers,andpreciousfewartists,canactuallyexplaintheideaofgesture.It’sliketherhythmsofafinebassguitarist.Wejustfeelit,yet,it’scritical.It’stheonlywaytobringourdrawings,paintings,andsculpturesalive.

Whymustitbecurved?

Anythingaliveis,mainly,water—fluid.Thehumanbodyisabout60percentwater.

Everyorganicthing—rivers,clouds,fire,smoke,drapery,branches,vinesandflowerpetals,rockandsoilformations,abladeofgrass—hasthatwateryquality.Organicstructuresevolve,stress,weather,calcify,aresubjectedtochaostheoryandwindshear,andsoalmostneverdevelopsymmetrically.Organicthingsgrowoffaxis,acquiringthatexquisitefluidity:wanderingthiswayandthat,surprisinganddelightingusintheirinfinitevariations.Ofcourse,thereareexceptions,butaslongasthestructurehasanasymmetricaldesignorsitsinadynamicposition,itwill,inalllikelihood,havealongaxiscurve—agesture.

TheIdyll,c.1997,bySteveHuston.BrushandinkonStrathmore,kidfinish.Theworldisfullofwaterydesignlines.Justlookaround.

Forartists,thismeanstheessentialqualityofanyliving,organicthingisitswatery,fluid,graceful,curveddesign.Assumeithasagestureandfindit.Seehowyourforearmrisesandfallsalongitswave-likecontour.Lookatthecurvatureofthespine.

NoticethatifIomitsomeofthelesserstructuresinthisdrawingwedon’tmissthem.But,ifIfailwithevenonegestureline,Imaylosetheessenceofthefigure.

Thestructureitself—thebones,muscles,andsinewoftheforearm,thevertebraeofthespine—isinherentlyimbuedwithafluiddesign,notjustwobblysurfacevariations.Thesestructuresshowtheirwateryorigins.

Thefirstlineshowsafundamentaldesign.Theotherlineshowsinterestingvariationalongwhatisstill,essentially,astraightstretch.Wealwayswanttogetthebigsimpleideasdownbeforeweindulgeinthesmall,complexones.

Eveninaquicksketch,therecanbealotgoingon,andgestureshowsupinonlyverysneakyways.Tryingtounderstanditcanbeblink-back-the-tearsdifficultifit’snotapproachedtherightway.Wecandobetter.Let’sstartslowly.

ThechallengeforusbecomeshowtokeepyourcarefullystructuredfiguredrawingfromlookinglikeFrankenstein’smonster(below).Whydoyouthinkwecallcorpses“stiffs?”

Withoutdoubt,stiffnessisthebiggestknockagainstaconstructedstyle—andrightlyso.

Ifyoufollowatwo-stepprocessofgesture/structure,youavoidboththestiffstructuresandstickfigures.

Ontheotherhand,ifyoutrytoputgestureintoyourartwithoutagoodstrategy,youendupwithastickfigure(above)thatismainlyuselessforbuildingon.Gestureneedstoaccomplishtwothings:

1.Thegesturelinemustactasthefundamentaldesignline.

2.Thegesturelinemustactastheconnectingline,somethingtowhichthestructurecanattach.

Putsimply:

gesture=thelongaxiscurveofanystructure

Gestureprovidesthefundamentaldesignlines.

ThrowingaJab,c.1999,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.Nomatterhowbeautifullyexecutedthefinalproductis,thegesturehastobethereorthedrawingdoesn’tcomealive.

Let’slookagainatourthreebasicforms.

Rememberhowwedrewthelength,width,and,then,depthtogetourtubeandboxforms?Theballtookcareofitselfintermsofprocess.Fortheothertwostructures,thetubeandbox,wedrewthetwo-dimensionalsidesandthenthethree-dimensionalends.Ifwesimplycurvethesidesabit,wehavegesture.And,notice,wecandrawaboxformwithouteverdrawingastraightline.Thatmakesitlivelyandorganic—notmechanical—andthat’sexactlywhatweneed.

Payattentiontotheredlinesthroughouttherestofthebook.Theirpurposeittohelpyoumapthestructuralandgesturalmovementsinthevariousartworksshown.

Herearethethreepossiblesolutionsforgettinganoverallcurved,longaxis—agesture—toanyform.

Foreachcurveddesign,thereisabulgingsideandabindingside,orrather,onesideisconvexandtheotherisconcave.I’mdefiningourgestureasthebulging(convex)side.

Don’tallowthesidestoopposeeachotherunlessthestructureisaneggshape.Thatwillcanceloutyourfluidgesture.

Here’sanotherthoughtaboutthatcurved,longaxis,orstructure:alwayserronthesideofthemoredynamic.Thatmeans,ifthegestureiscurved,makeitmorecurved.Iftheshadowisdark,makeitalittledarker.Thinkaboutit:whenwritingacomedy,it’sbetterandsafertomakethejokestoofunny.Infact,canyouevenimaginecomingoutofatheaterwiththatcomplaint?

Downed,2010,bySteveHuston.Oiloncanvas.Gesturecanbringnotonlylifebutactiontoyourwork!

Itispossibletobendalongaxiscurvetoomuch,butoddsareyouwon’t.Ninety-fivetimesoutofahundred,youwillstiffenratherthanloosen.Icanalmostguaranteeit.Andifyoudooverplayitabit,evenquiteabit,whenyouaddallthelumpsandbumpsofdetail,itwillnaturallystiffenupanyway.So,fornow,livealittle.Pushthatcurve!

Wheredoesthatleavetheballforms?

Thegoalisalwaystokeepthestructurewhilestillgettingthegesture.

Noticetherearethreewaystogetanicelongaxiscurve.Justchoosetheonemostcharacteristicofwhatyousee.Anywouldlooksuitablyaliveforthehumanbodyoranysuchorganicform.

Rememberthestraight,redlineinthatballshape?Ifthesidesopposeeachother,theycanceloutthefluiddesign,andthere’snogesture.Sooddlyenough,thecurviestformofall,theball,isstraightandstiffasfarasgesturegoes.

Avoidopposingcurvesthattakeupmostorallthelengthofyourjointedpart.

Gesturecanorganizeseveralsmallstructuresunderonebigidea.

Takeafewminutestostudythesefiguredrawings.I’vefloatedsomeredlinestoshowwheresomeofthegesturesareandhowtheytrack.Keepinmindthateverystructurewithanysubstantiallongaxishasalongaxiscurveworthcapturing.Canyoufindtheothers?Trylayingtracingpaperoverthepage.We’llbuildonthisinlaterchaptersaswelayoutthestructureandgestureofeachbodypart.

Theviewer’seyeflowsovertheforms,asoverawaterfall,whenthegesturesarewellconceived.

Thelongerandmoregracefulthegesturalcurve,themoresmoothlytheeyemovesoverthevariousforms.

OLDMASTERstudy

Don’tbefooledbyallthelittlewobbles.Wewantthebigsweepingcurvesthatdefinethebigstructures.Andtrytolookpastthatincrediblelinequality...okaydon’t!Pontormowasphenomenal,wasn’the?Canyouevenfindastraightlineinthiswholedrawing?Now,thisisalive!

StudyforaGroupofNudes,byJacopoPontormo(1494–1557).Chalkonpaper.Galleriedell’Academia,Venice/BridgemanImages.

Remember,useonlyonelongaxiscurveforeachjointedpart.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Laytracingpaperoverthisdrawingoroveranydrawinginthechapter.TrytofeelthelongaxiscurveineachjointedbodypartinthisBoucher.

NudeYoungWomanSitting,Asleep,byFrançoisBoucher(1703–1770).Chalkonpaper.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

CHAPTER3ADVANCINGTHEIDEAOFGESTURE

Sofar,we’vefocusedongesture(thefundamentaldesignline)asawaytogivelifetoeachbodypartandlinktothestructure.Whenconsideringthehumanbody,itismadeupoflotsofparts,andtheyallneedtoworktogether.Inchapter1,Idefinedstructureas“themovementovertheforms.”Thinkofgestureasthemovementbetweentheforms.

HerculesStranglingtheNemeanLion,c.1620,PeterPaulRubens(1577–1640).Chalk,ink,andgouacheonpaper.TheClarkArtInstitute,Williamstown,Massachusetts/BridgemanImages.

TheDesignofLifeGesture’sgreatestgiftistoshow,onafundamentallevel,howtomovegracefullyanddynamicallyfromtheheadtotheneck,fromtheribcagetothehips,allthewaythroughthebody.Gestureiswhatmakestheseparatepartsonewhole.Inotherwords,gesturecomposes.

Ideally,apainterdoesn’tpaintsevenpeachesandanapple.Shepaintsonestilllife.Awriterdoesn’twritetwelvecharactersintosixty-fourseparatescenes.Hewritesonestory.MozartsoundslikeMozartonlywhennotesandinstrumentsareorchestratedtogether.Anyartistwhojustfocusesonthepiecesendsupwithpieced-togetherresults.

Art’sjobistoorchestratelifeintosomethingpowerful,effecting,andmeaningful—somethinggreaterthantheindividualparts.Artchallenges,harmonizes,ordramatizes.Itcanbecathartic,itcanbeinfuriating,butit’salways,alwayscomposed.Onesong.Onestory.Onedance.Onemeal.Onefigure.Gestureisthechef’ssecretsauce.Gestureisthedesignoflife!

So,thenexttimeyougetoutyourpencil,grabholdlikeit’saconductor ’swandandgetreadytoplay.

THEWAVEWe’velearnedthatanythingaliveismainlywater—fluid.Thatmeanslifeisdesigned,fundamentally,offthelongaxiscurve.Howdoesthatwaterydesignideaworkinacomplexofstructures?Itworksthroughthewave.

Likeallanimals,thehumananimalisdesignedtobeabletoholdstillinhopesthecavebeardoesn’tseeitandthentobeabletorunlikethedickenswhenitdoes.Allanimalsneedthestabilityofatreeandtheexplosivepotentialofatension-filledspring—togofromstillnesstoactionintheblinkofaneye(orthegrowlofabear).Thewavedesignaccomplishesthismarvel.Thewavedesignisthedesignoflife.Itstabilizeslivingforms,yetallowsforquickmovement.

Thehumanbodyisabalancingact.

Anysetofformswithanasymmetricaldesignorinadynamicposeisabalancingact.Whenalltheformswithinthatsethavealongaxiscurveasthebasisoftheirdesign,thebalancingactbecomesawavedesign.

Followtheturquoiselinesfromheadtotoeinthefigureatlefttoseeallthelongaxisgesturesforallmajorbodyparts.Noticeanythinginteresting?Gesture1(G1)ishighandtotheleft.G2islowerandtotheright.G3islowerstillandtotheleftagain,andsoonallthewaydown.Ifwetakethosegesturesandmovetheminside...thereisthatmarvelous,wondrouswave.

Thewavebecomesazigzagifwecompressit.Noticeeachzigandzagisstillalongaxiscurve.Thewaveislifeinrelaxationorsubmission.Thezigzagislifeinactionoraggression.Thereisthedesignoflife,andwearegoingtofinditstwoincarnationsthroughoutthebodyunderlyingthebigsimpleideasandthesmallcomplexones.

Intheimageopposite,seehowthebodycroucheslikeacoiledspring.Whenthatpotentialenergyreleases—WHAM!—itthrowsoffgravityandmovesthebodyintoflightorfight,ordancingthatSlavickickdance.

MotionStudy:BoyJumpingtotheRight,1884,ThomasCowperthwaitEakins(1844–1916).Gelatinsilverprint.PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt/BridgemanImages.Thezigzagis,generally,theessentialelementingettingmovementintoyourart.

LandscapeSketch,c.2004,bySteveHuston.Oilonpanel.Anexampleofthewavedesign.

Thewavemakesthepaintingaboveseemcalmandrelaxed.Artistsusethewavedesigninmanysituationstoevokejustthatkindoffeeling.(Bytheway,simplifyingthedetailandmakingyourdesignhorizontalratherthanverticalalsorelaxesthemood.)

Aboutmy“calm”landscapepainting:Itreallylookslikeastormiscoming,doesn’tit?Itriedtoquietitdownevenmoreinthisoilsketch.ButIcan’tseemtostayawayfromthoseaggressivezigzagmarks.Seewhetheryoucancalmthestormbysketchinginmorewavesandpullingoutmostofthezigzags.

StraightShot,2011,bySteveHuston.Oiloncanvas.Youcanseehowzigzagsarethebreadandbutterformyboxingpaintings.Eventhepaintstrokesthemselvesaremainlyzigzags.

CONTRAPPOSTOWhenIfirstheardaboutcontrapposto,Ithoughtitwasapastadish.Actually,itmeans“counterpose”andcomestousfromtheGreeksandRomansbywayoftheRenaissance.

Let’slookatthekouros(nudemaleyouth)figureatright.OurearlyGreekfriendisveryproperandsetinaperfectlysymmetricalpose.Hisfeetareplantedsquarelyandhiscenterofgravityissetrightbetweenhislegs.He’sstable.Lifeisbalanced.Suchbalanceandsymmetrydon’tshowofflife’sdesignprinciplesverywell.Theydon’tcurve.Andifyouwalkpasthimfortheninety-ninthtimeonyourwaytotheBacchanalia,he’salmostboring.

However,Ms.deMiloshowsussomethingverydifferent.IimaginesomeanonymousGreekgeniusstormingaroundhisstudio,furioushehastocarveanotherkouros.Andbeinganervousfellow(likeallartists),hekeepsshiftingfromfoottofootashecomplains.Hehappenstoglanceintoamirrorandseeshisweighthasshiftedmoretoonefootthantheother—whatadiscovery!Theideastrikeshimlikeathunderboltfromhisfavoritedeity.Contrapposto!—it’swhatRodincalledtheclassiccurve.

Here’showitworks:Whentheweightshifts,evenalittle,toonesupportingleg,theotherlegrelaxes,flexes,andthehipfallscomparedtothesupportingside.Thattiltisthenbalancedbytheshoulderstiltingtheotherway.Onesideofthetorsoendsupstretching,theothersidepinching—contrapposto.That’sthewave.Exactlywhereeachcurvebeginsandendsdepends

onhowthevariouspartsarticulate.But,it’sthere.AndeveryartistsincewellbeforeMs.deMilo’screationhasusedittocomposeafigurativeworldintoagracefulanddynamicwhole.

MarbleFuneraryStatueofKouros,c.sixthcenturyBCE,Greek.NationalArcheologicalMuseum,Athens/BridgemanImages.Beautifulorboring?

AphroditeofMilos,knownas“VenusdeMilo,”c.secondcenturyBCE,Greek.Marble.Louvre,Paris/BridgemanImages.Whendealingwiththeconceptofcontrapposto,it’sallaboutsymmetry,whichmeansdynamicdesign.Andthat’sthewave!

Seethecontrappostonow?

Here’sthegreatthing:Asyouwalkaroundthesculpture,nomatterwhatviewyoutake,thatcurveiscomposingtheheadandtorsointothosetwo,bigsimple,opposingrhythms.Thelimbsworkwithoragainstthoserhythmswiththeirownlesserrhythmslikegoodsubplotstothemainstory.

Whyisthissoimportant?Becauseassoonastheweightshifts,theposebecomesdynamic.Itbecomesasymmetrical.Theposehasmorepotentialenergy,andthatfeelsmorealivetous.

It’stheplaybetweensymmetryandasymmetrythat’stherealmeatofgooddesign.Itimplieschangeisabouttohappen.That’sinteresting.Instorytelling,theycallitdrama,anditwillkeepyoubusyfortherestofyourcareer.

RearViewofAphrodite,the“VenusdeMilo,”c.secondcenturyBCE,Greek.Marble.Louvre,Paris/BridgemanImages.Thoughtherearealwaysseveralgesturesineverypose,thetwokeygesturesaretheribcagetothehipandthehiptotheleg.

OLDMASTERstudy

Rodin(oneofmyfavorites),waskeenlyawareoftheOldMasters,particularlyMichelangelo.AsMichelangelotookfromApollonios’sBelvedereTorso,RodintookfromMichelangelo.Bytheway,Michelangelo’snicknamebyotherartistswas“IlDivino,”thedivineone.

InAgeofBronze,Rodintooktheclassiccurveabitfartherbycarryingitupthroughthatraisedarm.Seehowthehiptoelbowgestureplaysohsosubtlyagainsttheopposinghipandleg?Infact,hecarriedthatsecondgesturealittlefartheraswell.Itgoesupalmosttothechest.Thedivineandtheaugust—quiteapair!

AgeofBronze,c.1877,AugusteRodin(1840–1917).Plaster.StateHermitageMuseum,St.Petersburg/BridgemanImages.

AfineexampleofwhatRodincalled“theclassiccurve,”whichiswhatIcall“thegesture.”CanyouseehowthesetwoprimarygesturelineswerethefoundationsforRodin’sentiredesign?

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Laytracingpaperovertheimagesonthesetwopagesanddrawwell-constructedformsoverthemajorbodyparts.

Don’tgetseducedbythebulgingmuscles,forexample.Wewanttolookforthesinglelongaxiscurvethatrepresentsthecompletepartorparts.Gettingthatlongaxisgesturerightismoreimportantthanpickingthisorthatsimplestructure.Findasmanygesturesaspossiblewithaneyeonthatside-to-sideswing.Thisishowwebuildourall-importantwaveorzigzagactions.

Remembertotakeitonelongaxiscurveatatime.Ifyouhavetrouble,gobackandreviewthePontormoanalysisfromthepreviouschapter(seehere).

Dagmar,1911,byAndersLeonardZorn(1860–1920).Oiloncanvas.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

CHAPTER4PERSPECTIVE

We’velearnedourbasicapproachtodrawingbeginswiththesimple-yet-characteristicidea.Now,weneedtolayeronperspective.Mostofusthinkofperspectiveasmathpretendingtobedrawing.Butthisisn’ttheoldvanishingpointperspective.It’spretendperspective.

RecliningMaleNude,c.twentiethcentury,NikolaiFechin(1881–1955).Charcoalonpaper.UniversityofOklahoma/BridgemanImages.Whentheposemovesintoadynamicposition,proportionscanchange.Inthiscase,pickaconvenientstructureinthepose(thehead,ahand,orafoot)andusethatasyouryardstick—howmanyhandsdownuntilyoureachtheforeshortenedbellybuttonandsoon.

TrianglesandT-SquaresAsideLet’sdefineourterms.Perspectiveisjustacomplicatedwayofsaying“position.”Inathree-dimensionalworld,therearethreepositionsinspace:lean,tilt,andface.

Remember,we’redrawingthehumanbody.So,we’renotconcernedwithabackgroundwithvanishingpoints,stationpoints,oranyofthestickytanglesoftraditionalperspective.Allweneed,infact,isoneeyeandthepenciltest.

Tobeclear,therearewaystomakeformalperspectiveaccessibleand,yes,evenfun.AndIabsolutelyencourageyoutopursuethatwhenyou’rereadytogofromsketchingtofull-blownpicturemaking—justnottoday.

You’vealreadybeendoingperspective,bytheway.We’vebeenworkingwiththree-dimensionalstructuresforafewchaptersnow.Threedimensionsarethreepositionsinspace.Andremember:

position=perspective

Ifyouknowhowastructureleans,tilts,andfacesagainstaflatverticalwallliketheoneattheendoftheroomyou’reinrightnow,thenyouhavealltheperspectiveyouneed.Whenyoudraw,justimaginethesurfaceofyourpaper—calledthepictureplane—isawindowonthatwall.Themodelfacesaway,leansagainst,andtiltsinandoutrelativetothatplane.That’sit.Whatfollowsismeremindingyouwhatyoualreadyintuitivelyknow.Infact,afterafewshortparagraphs,youwon’tseetheword“perspective”fortherestofthebook.Ipromise!

Let’sconsiderourthreepositions.Structureisallaboutcorners.Themorecornersyouhave,themorestructureyouhave.Tomakethatdefinitionasusefulaspossible,I’mgoingtoaddthatstructureisnotthesameasthree-dimensionalform.Instead,we’lldefineitthisway:

structure=form+position

Pretendallfourformsintheimageonthispagehaveplentyofvolume.Infact,theyarerenderedperfectly,madeoftitaniumsteel,andevenweighthesame.Thespherehasweight,volume,andmass.Ithasform.But—byourdefinition—ithasnostructure.Theboxhasformandithasalotofstructure.What’sthedifference?Corners.

Intheimagebelow,theredlinestellthetale.Aswelookatthelonelysphere,wecan’ttellwhetherwhatweareseeingisitsfront,side,top,orbottom.Weknownothingaboutitsposition.Meaning,wecan’ttellifit’sleaning,tilting,orfacing.Newsflash:sphereshavenocorners.(Iknowyouknowthat;I’mjustputtingitincontext.)

Theegg,tobeanegg,hasalongandashortaxis.Wefeeltheinteriorcornercreatedbythemeetingofthelongandshortaxes.Weknowoneofitspositionsinspace.Weknowitleans.

Thetubehasthesamelongandshortaxis.Itleans.Wealsoknowitstoptiltsintothepictureplanebecausethebottomplanecreatesacorner.Wenowknowasecondpositioninspace—andyou’reprobablyaheadofmehere.Theboxhastheleaningpositionandthetiltingposition.Butbecauseithassideplanes,weareaffordedanothercorner,andsoweknowthethirdpositioninspace:howitfaces.

Leaning.Tilting.Facing.Threepositions.Threedimensions.That,myfriends,iswhatwecallperspective.

Thesphere,theegg,thetube,andtheboxinposition

THEPENCILTESTForthis,it’sbesttouseatubularpencil,ormarker,orsuch,somethingwithanicestripeofcolororametalerasercasingthatclearlytracksaroundthewidthofthetubularstructure.Now,setitdown.Wedon’tneedit...yet.

Let’sstartwiththefacingposition.Lookatthecenterlineofthefaceortorsointhefigurebelow.Bothareintuitive,but,sometimes,weflubthem.It’seasiestwhendrawingthefaceinanykindofthree-quarterpositiontolooktothefareyesocket.Howmuchsocketdoyouseeonthefarsideofthenose?That’swhereyou’llseethecenterlineveryclosetothefarsideofthehead,andsoyou’venaileddownthefacingposition.

Forabackview,howclosedoestheearcrowdthefrontoftheface?That’saboutit.Profiles,front,andbackviewstakecareofthemselves.We’llsavethemoredynamicpositionsforlater.

Usingthepencilformorethanmarks

Tofindthefacingpositionsofthetorso,weneedtolooktothewaistandnottheshoulders.

Thefront,back,andprofilepositionsofthetorsoareobvious.However,theshoulderscanfoolusinanykindofthree-quarterview.Eveninaprofile,theshoulderscanfoolyouintothinkingit’sathree-quarterview.

Thetrickistolooktothewaist,astheturquoisearrowsshow.Howclosedoesthecenterline(thespineorbellybuttontocrotch)cometothefarsideofthewaist?Whenyouhavetocheckproportionsvisuallyorotherwise,alwaysmeasureontheshortornarrowside.It’seasier.Nomatterhowwidetheshouldersget,youareonlyconcernedwithdrawingawaist-widetubefortheribcageuptothepitoftheneck.And,ofcourse,itcantaperintotheneckbywayofthebottleshapeifyouwish.Itisnotaffectedbythewidthoftheshouldergirdle.(We’lllookatthismorecarefullyinchapter9.)

Whataboutthelimbs?Thelimbswillorientbythecorrectplacementofthekneesandelbowsandbyhowtheyattachtothetorso.That’sitforthefacingposition.

Usingthepenciltofindtheleaningposition

Fortheleaningposition,wedoneedourpencils.Looktothecenterlinesagain,inthiscase,forthetorso.Usethelongaxislandmarksasshowninchapter3.Startwithaconvenientsectionifyou’redealingwithalongaxiscurve,asyouusuallywillbe.

Closeaneye.Leanthepenciltomatchtheleanofthebodypartyou’redrawing.Bringthepencildowntoyourpaperwithoutalteringthepencil’slean.Drawtheangle.Itcanbethe

centerlineoroneofthesidesifit’satubeorbox.Youcanbuildoutthefullgesture,sectionbysection,byrepeatingthesteps.Itwillendwiththecurvedidea,justachiseledversion.I’veshownthatonthefigureoppositewiththedottedredlinesaboveandbelowthesolidone.You’redonewiththelean.

Theleangivesusourtwo-dimensionalsides.Withthetilt,weaddthree-dimensionalends.Thetiltgivesusthemosttroublebecausewearetelling,ineffect,alie.Thepaperisflat.Ithasnodepth.Andyet,wewantouraudiencetofeelthetorsobendingandtiltingintothatflatplane.Aswebuildoutthedrawing,wewantthemtofeelthatmuscleandbonebulgeoffthesurface.Wearen’tcreatingdepth,space,oranythinglikethat;wearecreatingtheideaofit—curvesandcorners,myfriends,curvesandcorners.

Returntothefigureatleft.Closeoneeye.Lineupyourpencilwiththetopofthebodypartyou’reworkingon.Tiltthepencilinthesamemannerthatthebodyparttilts.Ifthepitoftheneckisfartherfromyouthanthebellybutton,tiltthetopofyourpencilthatway.It’sbesttoexaggeratethetiltabit.So,whenindoubt,erronthesideofthemoredynamic!Pushitintoadeepertiltthanyouthinkitreallyis.Idon’texpectevenaNewYorkartcriticwillcomplainthatyourdrawinghastoomuchdepth,doyou?(Right,theyprobablywould.)Pushingyourideas,however,caneventuallybecomethebasisofyourstyle!

So,thatisallthreepositions:facing,leaning,andtilting.Congratulations!Youhavedecipheredperspective.

EYELEVELThereisasecretaspecttoperspectivethatsometimeseventheprosmiss.Thereisthepositionoftheformitselfasexplainedbyfacing,leaning,andtilting.Wejustdidthat.But,thereisalsoourpositiontotheform.Andbyour,Imeanbothartistandaudience.

Thissecondaspectiscritical.Withoutit,you’llneverbeabletoplaceyourfiguredrawinginaconvincinglyreal-worldenvironment.

Thinkaboutit.Ifaguardstandsatattention,histhreepositionsarefixed.Wecanwalkaroundhim.Obviously,thefacingdimensionchangesinrelationshiptoourmovement.But,whatifwedecidetolieonourstomachtodrawhim?Whatifweclimbaladder?Bothwouldbe,shouldbe,verydifferentdrawingseventhoughhehasnotmovedamuscle.

Whatweneedtoknowtodrawanyforminafullystructuredposition,then,isoureyelevel.It’snothard.It’ssimplyoneofthosequiettruthsthatbecomesapparentonlywhensomeonepointsitout.Otherthanliningupthetopofyourpencilendwiththetopofabodypart(ifyou’relookingatsomethingbelowyou,you’lllikelywanttosightbottomtobottom),it’sthesamethingasourtiltingtest.Fromnowon,justdothemasonestep.Thepenciltesttakescareofthisone,too.

Thethinkinggoeslikethis(seeFig.A):Ifweseeatubeinaperfectlyverticalpositionintermsoftilt,inperfectalignmentwiththepictureplane,asinschematic1(S1),andoureye

leveldropsunderneathit,thenwedrawtheribcageasIdidindrawing1(D1).

Fig.A.Therearethreevariationstoconsiderwhenunderneaththesubject.

But,ifoureyeleveldropsunderneathitandit’stiltingawayfromusatthetopasinschematic2(S2),thentheunderneath-ness,thecurvatureoftheends,doublesupsotospeak,andweendupwithamoredeeplytiltingpositionlikedrawing2(D2).

Holdyourpencilverticallyandliftitsoitsflattopalignswiththetopofthetubularribsandtiltitintothepictureplaneastheribsdo(seeFig.B).Asalways,it’sbettertoerronthesideofthemoredynamicandoverdothetilt.Anycurvingstripeacrossthepencilwillshowyouhowtoconstructyourthree-dimensionalends.(Testtheideaagainstsomereal-worldobjectseveralfeetaboveyou.Afewinchesmightbesosubtlethatthepencilendlooksflat.)

Fig.B.Drawingwiththeeyelevelinmind.

Last,ifthetubetiltstowardusatthetopandremainsaboveoureyelevel,asinschematic3(S3),thenweendupwitharibcagethathasmoreorlesscanceledthedepthcluesandwedrawflatends,asindrawing3(D3).

Ihopeyoucanseehowtheeyelevelalwayshasaneffect.ThelittlefigurebeforethegiantRomancolumninFig.Cseeseachsegmentinadifferentpositionrelativetohiseyelevelandsomustdraweachsegmentwithdifferentthree-dimensionalends.Whentheeyelevelishigh,thelogicisthesame.Forthenextset,I’lljustusestraighttubes.

Fig.C.Usingthethree-dimensionalendswitheyelevel.

Ifweseeatubeinalignmentwiththepictureplane,Fig.D,asinschematic1(S1),andoureyelevelrisesaboveit,thenwedrawtheribcage,moreorless,asIdidindrawing1(D1).Ifit’stiltingawayfromusatthetop,asinschematic2(S2),thenthe“ontop-ness”cancelsthingsoutagain,moreorless,andweendupwithsomethinglikedrawing2(D2).Andlast,ifthetubetiltstowardusatthetopandremainsbelowoureyelevelasinschematic3(S3),thenweendupwitharibcagethathasdoubledupandwedrawdeeplycurvingendsasindrawing3(D3).

Fig.D.Drawingfromahigheyelevel.

DoesFig.Elooklikeatubetoyou?Ihavetotellyouit’satubebecausethecontourdoesn’tsay“tube.”Ofcourse,Icouldrenderitwiththeappropriategradations.But,thedesignitselfisnotsupportingtheideaoftube-ness.

Fig.E.Canyouguesstheproblemindrawingstraightlinesforthethree-dimensionalends?

Let’srevisitthetouristinFig.C.Noticeonlythehorizontalsegmentathiseyelineisstraight.Thesegmentbelowthatlinecurvesdown,andthesegmentsaboveitbowsup.ThatmeansonlyoneendofthattubedrawinginFig.Ewouldbestraight.Theotherwouldbecurvedslightly,atleast.Thisisabetterdesign.

Betteryetwouldbeamoredynamicdesign.Tiltthewholestructureslightlyinoroutofthepictureplane.Ifit’ssocloseitlooksflatonthepage,thenpushingitonewayortheotherwill

readilybeacceptedbytheaudience.Ijustpushittowardmydesignidea.Forexample,ifit’smostimportanttometoshowviewersthey’reaboveorbelowtheform,thenItiltitwiththatinmind.Ifit’smostimportanttoshowtheformbreakingthepictureplane,thenIgowiththatidea.Butremember,thisisjustforclosecalls.Ifit’sclearlytilting,stickwithwhatyouseeandusethepenciltesttodrawit.

OLDMASTERstudy

StudythislovelyBoucher.We’relookingdownonit,aren’twe?Infact,oureyeleveliswellabovethetopofthepage.Forfun,I’vedoneasomewhatsimplerredrawwithoureyeleveljustoverthetopofthefigure’shead,andanothersmalleronewithanevenlowereyeline.Inboth,I’veremovedthedraperyforclarity.Theturquoiselinesshowtheapproximateeyelines.They’requitedifferentdrawings,aren’tthey?

RecumbentNude,c.eighteenthcentury,FrancoisBoucher(1703–1770).Pencilandchalkonpaper.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

SeeingtheBoucherfromdifferentperspectives.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

TrythesamewiththisWatteau.Let’ssaywe’reatthebottomofherseat.Trygoingevenlowerandexaggeratethetiltintothepaper.Ortrycominguphigherandbackingoffthatdepth.Keepinmind,theposeitselftilts,andyouwouldhavetocomewayoverthetoptogethertorsobackinlinewiththepictureplane.

Thepointisnottogetitmechanicallyright,buttofeeltherearedistinctdifferencesinthepositionoftheposeasourpositiontoitchanges.

Ifitstumpsyou,don’tworry:it’stricky.Instead,practiceabasicconstructionasWatteauconceivedit.That’sworkenough.

Flora,c.1716,JeanAntoineWatteau(1684–1721).Chalkonpaper.Louvre,Paris/BridgemanImages.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

DoananalysisoftheNicolaiFechindrawing(seehere)atthestartofthechapter.Canyouchangetheeyelevel?

Or,drawsimpletubes,boxes,andsphereswiththree-dimensionalendsthatshowtheformstiltingdeeplyintothepaper.Noticetheendsmaybecurvingbecausetheformistiltingdramaticallyorbecauseyoureyelevelisdramaticallylower,orhigher,toit—orboth!

CHAPTER5THELAWSOFLIGHT

I’vebeenveryclearthatIdeviseself-servingdefinitions.Obviously,thebodydoesn’thavetubeshiddeninsideitnoraretherelongaxiswiresflowingthroughit.Wecreativetypesperformallsortsofmentalgymnasticstogetahandleonthisthingcalled“art.”

Butthelawsoflightaresomethingwecantakeintothelaboratoryandprove.It’sscience.Natureworksbyphysicallaws.Peoplediscoverthem.Soon,wecometodependonthem—thescientistsandtheartists.Theselawsaresoconstanttheytakeusintotheouterrealmsofspaceorinnerrealmsofquantumphysics.But,thinkaboutthis:anotherwordforlawsisrules.Anotherwordforrulesisformulas.

AMaleNudeSeatedwithHisBackTurned,c.sixteenth/seventeenthcentury,byAnnibaleCarracci(1560–1609).Chalkonbuffpaper.PrivateCollection/BridgemanImages.

TheJumpRoper,1998,bySteveHuston.CharcoalandchalkonStrathmoreBristolpaper.

FormulasUsingTwoorThreeValuesUsingformulasisconsideredolderthanoldschoolandit’satotalpartykillerforthecoolcrowd.But,it’salsoaveryimportantbaseline.Laws,rules,formulas—thisisthemechanismbywhichnatureactsnatural.Naturalisconsistent.It’sdependable.Andifyouplantomakeartwithevenamodicumofrealism,youneedtoknowafewofthelawsofnature.

YoumaybeplanningtogoallPicassoafteryoufinishthisbook.Finewithme.IlikePicasso.Thelawsofnatureareagreatplacefromwhichtomakethatjump—asPicassohimselfdid.It’sthatwhole“youhavetoknowtherulestobreaktherules”cliché.Clichésaretruismssotruetheynolongersurpriseus.Theybore.So,it’sourjobasartiststofreshenthingsup.So,backtoformulas:Rule1...

Rule1:DifferentValue=DifferentPlane

Allthingsarepossibleinthisworld.Butforthisbook,andfrankly,formostrealisticartwork,theartistusesonedirectlightsource.

Lightcomingfromonlyonedirectionmakestheprocessinfinitelyeasier.Twoplanesequallyfacingthedirectionofthelightsourcelookequallylight.But,whenoneplaneturnsawayfromthelight,thatplanegetsdarker.

Rule1:differentvalue=differentplane.

Fromthislittleideacomesgreatthings!

Itmayseemimpossibletotheuninitiated,buttheruleofdifferentvalue=differentplaneletsartiststakebrushorpenciltoflatpaperorcanvasandmakeitlooklikerocks,orwater,orafigure,orallofthosethings.

Whenthosevaluesarepushedtowardtheextremesoflightanddark,asinthisfiguredrawingatright,it’scalledchiaroscuro,aRenaissancetermmeaninglight-dark.Itmeansplayingonevalueagainstthenextfordramaticeffect.

Alwaysknowthedirectionofthelightsourcebeforebeginningyourshadowwork.

Molly,c.2000,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.Thechiaroscuro(lightandshadeindrawingandpainting)designisinfinitelyeasiertorenderand,ofcourse,moredramatic,thansubtlelighting.

Ifwetrytocaptureallthesubtlevaluesonemarkatatime,aswemightassumeZorndid,it’soverwhelmingandwe’llalmostcertainlyfail.So,wefallbackononeofourearlieststrategies:bigandsimple,followedbysmallandcomplex.Westartwiththefoundationalideasandsavethesubtledetailsforlater,ifatall.

Weonlyhavetworesponsibilities:separatinglightfromshadowandforegroundfrombackground.That’sit!Andevenbetter,thisisafigure-drawingbook,notadrawing-the-whole-worldbook,sowedon’tneedtoworryabouttheforeground/backgroundrelationships.Leavingblankpaperaroundthedrawnfiguredoesalltheseparatingneeded.

Itdoesn’tevenneedtobedoneverywell.Thereisnolineinnature.Therearenohatchingtextures.Natureisfullofcolor.But,becausewehavethebigsimplefoundationalideasdownclearly,allelseisforgiven.Andtheloosey-gooseytechniquecanevenbecharming.It’swhatwecallasketch,lettingtheprocessshowwhilestillrespectingthebigideas.

Thebeautyofasolidmethodiswedon’tneedtosweatthesmallstuff,asthesayinggoes.Startbig—ifyouwantto,staybig.

Addingabackgrounddistinguishestheforegroundandrootsanobjectinspace.

Whenwedrawtheshapeoftheshadowontheball,theballlooksbetter(meaningalittlemorereal).Ifwedrawitwithasoftedge,asIdidinthelastball,itlooksbetteryet.(Ifyouneedareviewofhowtomakesoftedges,rereadtheIntroduction.)

ATWO-VALUESYSTEMAsstatedpreviously,theonlyvalueswe’reobligatedtoshowouraudiencearethelightandshadowvalues.Andwe’rethinkingbigandsimple,soweonlyneedtofindtwovalues;onevalueforthelightandonevaluefortheshadow.

Wecancertainlyaddrendereddetailontothosetwovalues.Infact,wecanaddasmuchdetailaswewant.Thatbecomesanaddedstepbyturningthetwovaluesintotwovalueranges.Let’sstart,though,withatwo-valuesystemandathree-stepprocess:

1.Drawtheshapeoftheform.

2.Drawtheshapeoftheshadowontheform.

3.Givetheshadowadarkervalue.

So,you’vedrawntheformandtheshapeoftheshadowontheformandthengiventheshadowadarkervalue.Howdoweknowwhenit’sdarkenough?Thebestthingtodoistakea

cuefromthechiaroscurocrowd.Weusethe“squinttest.”

TakeamomenttosquintattheZornpainting,Dagmar(shownhere),thatstartedthischapter.Noticethatthelightandshadowonthefiguredonotseparatefromeachotherverywell.Rather,theforegroundfigureseparatesfromthebackgroundwhenyousquintatit.Thatonechoicemakestheconstructionofaconvincingfiguremuchmoredifficult.Asyousee,itcanstillbedone,andbeautifully.

It’sstillallaboutvalue.Zornusedsubtlervalues,meaningmoreroomformistakes.Bettertostartwiththedramaticchiaroscurostrategyandensurealltheshadowsgroupagainstallthelights,evenifthereisrendereddetailgoingoninoneorboth.

Now,lookatZorn’sMadonnaattherightandsquint.Despitethedetails,theshadowslookdarkandthelightslooklight,andthetwodon’tcompete.

Themasterartistmaychooseamoresophisticatedwayofdealingwithforeground/backgroundandlight/shadowrelationships,althoughrealismdemandsitbebasedontheruleofdifferentvalue=differentplane.Andwhensketchingideasorobservations,sometimestheshadowsdon’tseparatewithgreatcontrast.Looktotheearlierchaptersandyou’llseeplentyofexamples.Theyarestillbeautiful.Manyaremasterpieces.

However,nothingbeatschiaroscuroforthedramaticeffectofshowingforminspace.It’stheeasiestwaytoaddvalue,complexity,andrealismtoyourwork.Ifthelightandshadowsdonotseparate,thentheformwon’tpopoffthepage.ThinkaboutdaVinci,Giorgone,Caravaggio,Rembrandt,vanDyke,Gainsborough,orSargentportraits,Innesslandscapes,andmyriadothers—theyallpassthe“squinttest.”And,ifyouwanttolearnquicklyandefficientlytoharnessthepowerofvalue,yourdrawingsandpaintingsshouldtoo.

Underanylovelyrenderingorfantastictechniquearetherealbonesofthework,andthatiswhatpainterscallthetonalcomposition.Theeasiestwaytoputatonalcompositioninplaceiswithourtwo-valuesystem:separatinglightfromshadowthroughthesquinttest.

Madonna,1899,byAndersLeonardZorn(1860–1920).Oiloncanvas.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

BOXLOGICLookattheimageabove.Justsowe’reclear,theredlinesshowthecorners.Youcansee,intermofrendereddetail,theballandtubearestillveryboxy.Onlytheircontourssay“round.”That’softenasfaraswe’lltakeasketchbookdrawing.And,oddlyenough,thevieweraddstheroundnessforus.Oneofthenicethingsaboutartisifwegetthebeginningright,theaudiencewillfinishtherest.

Ourrule,differentvalue=differentplane,turnstheform,anyform.NoticeIdrewaballandatubewiththesameprocessIusedforthebox.Icallthisboxlogic.Inotherwords,byfindingtheedgebetweenlightandshadowonanyform,we’vefoundtheprinciple“corner”forthatform—anotherarbitrarydefinition,butausefulone.

Herearesomesimpleconstructedformsdonewiththethree-stepprocess,butwithdifferentshadingtechniques.

Bythinkingofthebeginningofanyshadowasacorner,wehavecomebacktoourdefinitionofstructure.Cornersarecornerswhetheryoucreatethemwithlineortoneandwhetheryouintendtoroundoffthosecornerslater.Notice,too,thedrawingdoesn’thavetobedonemasterfullytogettheideaacross.Itcanbeasketch.Ibetyoucandoitjustaswell,probablybetter.

Findingtheshapeoftheform,findingtheshapeoftheshadowontheform,andthengroupingtheshadowsdarkeristheonlyresponsibilitywehaveforachievingrealism.Findingtheshapeoftheformandtheshadowestablishesacorner,andshadowgivesaninstantanddeepsensethatwhateveryou’redrawingisafullythree-dimensionalform.

Thesefive-minutedrawingsusethethree-stepprocesstoaddshadowshapestoabasiclay-insoyoucanseetheapplication.Wewillwalkthroughhowtomakebelievableshadowsonfullfigures.

Halftones,Highlights,andaNewRuleTwotypesofvaluesmakeupthelightsideofanobject—halftonesandhighlights.Let’slookateach.

HALFTONESThehalftoneiseverythinginthelightsidethatisnotahighlight.Thismeansthehalftonecanbealmostasdarkastheshadowandalmostaslightasthehighlight.Whetheryouaddalittleoralot,thecharacterofthehalftoneisgradation.

Ifthebeginningoftheshadowisacorner,thenthehalftone’smostimportantjobistoroundthecorner.Themoregradation,theroundertheformgets.Thatmeanswecanrenderthosespheresandtubessotheyarecompletelyconvincing.Ourtwo-valuesystembecomestwovaluerangesonceweaddhalftone.(Bytheway,itstillneedstopassthesquinttest.)

Timetomakethethree-stepprocessafour-stepprocesswiththehalftoneadded.

Theillustrationatrightshowssomecommonmistakesartistsmakewhenaddinghalftones.Theseinclude:

A.Drawingthecoreshadow(beginningcorner)withahardedgeratherthanasoftedge.

B.Drawingastraight-linecoretodescribearoundform;curvedformsgenerallyneedcurveddetailstoexplainthem.

C.Drawingthewholeshadowsolightthattheviewerdoesn’tgetthatchiaroscuropop.

D.Drawingthecoreshadowmuchdarkerthanthebodyoftheshadow.

E.Notaccentingthecornerwithaslightlydarkerbeginning.

F.Makingtheoutlinesignificantlydarkerthantheshadowvalue.

G.Makingthehalftonedarkerthantheshadow.

IrepeatedE,F,andGinmarker(H,I,andJ)tomakethepointthatit’sthefundamentalswe’retalkingabout.Thetechniqueormediumhasnothingtodowithit.

Thesedrawingsshowsomecommonmistakes.

Keepinmind,thesquinttestsolvesmostoftheseproblems.Itensuresthelightsstaylightandthedarksstaydark,andthetwodon’tcompetewitheachother.

It’skeythatyoudrawthebeginningoftheshadowshapeasanicesoftedge.Thatsetsthingsupforthehalftonerendering.

HIGHLIGHTSTounderstandhighlightsweneedapooltable.

Lightstrikesanobjectandbouncestooureye.That’showweseeboththevalueandthecolorofanyobject.

Studytheimageatright.Thinkofthepoolcueasthelightsource,theballasthelightcomingfromthesource,thefarbankastheobjectbeinglit,andthepocketsasthepositionoftheartist/viewer.

Thelightsourcewashesovertheform.Astheformslowlyrollsawayfromthelightsource,thelightglancesoffofitwithanever-weakeningeffect.Thatisourhalftonegradation.

Togettheballintopocket1,youhavetobounceitoffthefarcushion.Lightworksthesameway.Itbounces.

Thehighlightisalittledifferent—ittendstostayintheareamostdirectlyfacingthelightsource.But,thereisroomformovementinthathotspot.That’sgoingtobeagoodthingforus.

Noticethatifneitherthelightsourcenortheobjectmovesbuttheviewerchangespositions,thenthehighlightcanshift.Theturquoisetrajectoryintopocket1showsthis,asopposedtotheredlinetrajectoryintopocket2.

Allthisistosaythatlightbounces.Or,astheysayinthebusiness,lightreflects.Reflectinglightexplainshowthehighlightcanmovearound(didImentionthatwasagoodthing?)anditexplainswhyshadowsaren’tdeadblack!

BOUNCINGLIGHTLightbounces.Itbouncestooureyessoweseewhatwesee.Italsobouncesintoanythingelsethatturnstowardit.ThatbringsustoRule2.

Ifwedecidetorevisitthatdreadedforeground/backgroundidea,thingsgetmorecomplicated.

Rule2:EverythingthatReceivesLightIsaSourceofLightAsthelightstrikesthestairsteporanoff-camerawall,itbouncesbackintotheballsittingthere(seetheturquoisearrow),atleft.Itwon’tbounceintothelightsidebecauseit’saweakerlightsourcethanthespotlightorsunlightthat’spoweringthescenetobeginwith.

Thewayitworksis,thelightthatbouncesupoffthestepwilllightentheplanesthatfacedown.Thelightthatbouncestotherightfromtheoff-camerawallthatfacesrightwilllightentheplanesthatfaceleft.Asyousee,theballisalittlelighterthanthecoreatthebottomandbottom/left.

Thiscangetconfusing,Iknow.Foranintroductiontodrawing(evenafairlycomprehensivebookasthisis),messingaroundwithbouncinglightonafaceorbodyistoomuchtohandle.

TherearetworeasonsImentionthis.Weneedtoknowthatlightbouncessowecantakecontrolofthehighlights.Andwearealreadygivingagoodrepresentationofbouncinglightwithouteventrying!

Thatshadowcornerweaccentwithacoreofdarknessdidseveralthingsforus:

•Itmadesurewespottedthecornerforourstructure.

•Itwascreatedasasoftmarktorenderourhalftonegradationsmoreeasilyoutofit.

•Itcreatedasenseofbouncinglightwithoutgettingboggeddownwiththetheory.

Whenonemarkcanserveseveralpurposes,it’sagoodmark.

That’smorethanenoughtomakeourartworklookimpressive.Infact,rememberdaVinci,Caravaggio,Rembrandt,andtherestofthosemastersofchiaroscuro?Whatwejustdidiswhattheymostlydidfortheirfinishes.

Inthetwocentralfiguresinthissketch,theshadowsgetverylightandbegintocompetewiththelightside.Theselightsanddarkscanbemadetowork.Butinthebeginning,keeptothetwo-valuesystemandoursquinttesttodeterminelightsanddarks.

HIGHLIGHTSAGAINI’llmakethisquick.Becausehighlightsmovearound(ifyouforgetwhy,itdoesn’tmatter),wearegoingtomakethemworkforus.

Aswecanseeintheimagetotheright,highlightsarecorners.Highlightsarestructure!

Usingwhiteanddarkcharcoalontonedpaperisanexcellentpreparationforpainting,andyougettoplaywithhighlights.

Thebeginningoftheshadowisacorner.Weknowthat.Well,thehighlightisacorneraswell.It’sjustacornerbetweentwoplanesinlight.

JoeinCostume,c.1999,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.TherearelotsofhighlightsontheheaddrawingIdid.Howmanyyoucanmapout?I’llgofirst.Wherethesideofthenosemeetsthefrontofthenoseonthebridge,wehaveahighlight.Threeplanescometogetherwherethetop,front,andcornerplanesmeetatthehighlightonthetipofthenose!

Trackthosehighlights.Iftheyarenotquiteataperfectcorner,it’llmostlikelybecloseenough.

Remember,highlightsmovearound.Thetrickistokeepthemawayfromtheshadowcorner.Thatway,thehighlightalwayssuggeststwoplanesinlight.Theprocessshouldbeshadow,halftone,andhighlight,eachhavingitsownspace.

Highlightsdootherthings,too.Theycanblastoutahalftoneareatomakeitpopawayfromtheshadowsevenmore.Highlightsandhalftonescangradatedownacurvetoshowit’sfading

outoflight.Theycanalsogradateacrossaflatplanesuchasatabletoptomovetheeyeinandoutofspacealittlemorenaturally.

Noticethateveninthequicksketchesonthesetwopages,Ikeepalittleofthepaper’stonebetweenthepenandinkshadowsandthewhitechalkhighlights.

OLDMASTERstudy

ThisportraitbyJohnSingerSargentfeaturesawell-constructedhead.ImagineallthelittledetailsSargentleftoutandyou’llbegintoappreciatethevisioninvolved.Asalwaysinchiaroscuropieces,theshadowsanchortheimage.Lookhowthedarkspullthecheekandskullintosideplanes—likewiseforthebottomplanes.

AndlookatthatfinehighlighttrackingdowntothecornerofMr.Brabazon’snose.Lookhowthehighlightonthechinstaysawayfromthecoreshadowcorneronthechin.Also,thehighlightsonthechinandlowerliparemuchreducedcomparedtothatonthenose,whichI’veaccentedforemphasis.

Theearhighlightisalonggesturefinishinginstaccatostrokesateitherend.Thefarmuttonchopandmustachehighlightisalongzigzagthattiesthetwoformstogether—there’sagreatdealofvarietytokeepourinterest.Fineworkthroughout.

HerculesBrabazon,c.twentiethcentury,JohnSingerSargent(1856–1925).Oiloncanvas.NationalMuseumWales/BridgemanImages.

Laytracingpaperoverthisdrawingandtryalittletrick:thickenupthehighlightonthenosesoit’sabitfatter.Dothesameforthecoreshadowthathelpsdescribethehollowofthecheek.Now,boththehighlightandthecorehavebecomelittlecornerplanesinandofthemselves.Areyoustartingtoseethepossibilities?

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Findonesimpleshapeinsomeofthedrawingsfromthischapter.Maybeit’satubeforanupperarmoraneggforahip.Andthen,addtheshadowshapetoyoursimpleconception.Ifyouchoosewell,yourshadowshapeshouldbeveryclosetotheshadowshapeinthesourcedrawing.Ifnot,tryanothersimpleshape.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Getsometonepaperandwhitechalk.SeethesupplylistintheIntroductionforsuggestions.Drawsimpleballs,boxes,andtubes.Drawthesamewayyouwouldonwhite

paper.Addtheshadows.Then,addalittlewhite.Keepawayfromtheshadowcorners.It’sbettertoaddtoolittlethantoomuch.

Whenyougetcomfortablewiththat,tryabodypartortwofromthischapter ’sdrawings.Remember,westillhavetofigureouthowtocomposetheshadowonmashed-upbodyparts.

RecliningNude,c.2002,bySteveHuston.Carb-OthellopencilonStrathmoretonedpaper.

PART twoBREAKINGDOWNTHEHUMANBODY

CHAPTER6THEHUMANBODY:ANOVERVIEWOFBASICFORMS

Tocapturetheessenceofthehumanbody,eveninbasicposes,weneedastrategyfordividingitintomanageablepieces.It’showtheOldMastersconceivedofthefigure,andisthesametechniqueusedbytoday’sanimators.

Kouros(sideview),525–550BCE.Greek.Sculpture.NationalArcheologicalMuseum,Athens/BridgemanImages.Wewillprimarilyanalyzeourfiguresfromformalpositions,likethisGreekkouros.

HowtoBegin

I’lltakeyouthroughthebodyfromjointedparttojointedpart,alwayswithaneyetoourmethod:gesture/structure,gesture/structure.Thischapterisourpracticalbeginningandlaysthefoundationforprogressingfromsimpletodetailed,fromformaltodynamic,andfromlinetotone.

Awordaboutthechallengeofproportions:thelooking,themeasuring,themeasuring,thelooking,well,I’vesavedthatuntiltheendofthechapter.Measuringisthelastthingweneedtoworryaboutwhilejumpingheadfirstintothecomplexitiesofthehumanbody.Fornow,justobserveanddraw.Doyourbestwiththeinformationathand.Partofourgoalhereistobuildgoodinstinctssotheartcomesnaturally.

Here’sasuggestionasyouread:Stopandsketchafewoftheinstructionaldrawingsaftereachsectiontotestthesenewideas;itisonlybydrawingthatyouwillsoakupthematerialinalastingway.Ifyouwanttogotheextramile,aftereachnewsectiongobackandreviewsomeofyourdrawingsfromearliersectionstoseehowyoudid—andcelebrateyourprogressandimprovement.

Eve,c.twentiethcentury,AugusteRodin(1840–1917).Bronze.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

Thiskindofdedicationteachesyoutoseewhat’sinfrontofyouinadeepway.You’llbeamazedbywhatyoumissedbeforeandatyourgainsasyoumoveforward.Workthosecreativemuscles,andyouwillseeasyou’veneverseenbefore!

Aswebegin,scanthesefiguresandmentallytickoffthebigsimpleformsyousee.Theartisthasaneyethatconstantlyseesandtranslates.

AsIpointoutthedifferencesbetweenmaleandfemalestructures,keepinmindthenumberandcharacterofthebonesandmusclesinbothsexesarethesame.Theproportionsandconstructedformsofeachsimplyvaryabitduetodifferingfatdepositsandmusclemasses.However,thegesturesstaysubstantiallythesame,thoughwiththegenerallyless-muscle-boundfemalethosegesturescanshowsomesubtlevariationsinthecurvesofthelimbs.Thereisahugeamountofdiversityintheworld,makingforamazingvariationsonthesethemes.WhatI’mgivingyouhereis,ofcourse,thebasics.Thespecificsforeachbodypartaretackledindetailbeginningonthenextpage.

RecliningRedhead,c.2005,bySteveHuston.Gouacheandpenandinkonscrapbookpaper.

TheHead,theNeck,andtheShoulderLineBecauseIsaidthatthegestureismoreimportantthanthestructure,wewon’tlookateachpartintotalisolation.Remember,theideasofstructureandgesturereallymeantheparts

andtherelationshipbetweentheparts.Gettingeverythingtofittogetheriswhat’stough.Weneedtoconsiderthatrightfromthestart.

FRONTVIEWAswefindthefirststructure(S1),wewantalreadytohavedrawnthefirstgesture(G1).So,theprocessbecomes:G1/S1,G2/S2,G3/S3,andsoon.

This,then,becomesthetwo-stepprocessthatisourdrawingmethod.Gotit?Good.Youmasterthisbasicapproach,anditwillhelpkeepFrankensteinfromkickingdownyourstudiodoor.

Forthehead,thegesturelineisconceivedasaverticalcenterlinethatrunsthroughthespotwheretheeyebrowsmeetthebridgeofthenosetowheretheundersideofthelowerlipmeetsthechin(seeFig.A).Theheadisbuiltontoitsgestureasaneggwithahorizontalcenterlinefortheeyelevel—gesture/structure.Noticehowthetiltoftheheadtorquestheneckandcoaxesourbelovedcurvebackintoexistence.

Fig.A.Thecenterlineofthehead

Whenyouhaveasymmetricalsituation,asinthefrontalorbackpositions,thegesturelinebecomesstraightandstiffforthehead,neck,andtorso.Youareforcedtosacrificethecurvedgestureidea—agreat,butnecessary,loss.Ofcourse,youhaveallsortsofchancestogocrazywiththelimbsorevenhavethehairblowinthewind.YoucanalsomaketheeggintoacapsuleshapewithflatsidesasFig.Ashows.Ittracksthegesturelinebetter,whichisnotabadidea.

SIDEVIEW

IntheFig.Bside-viewsketch,drawing1(D1)risksbeingtooroundedintheface,creatingaslopingforeheadandaweakchin.Drawing2isfine.Really.Itdistinguishestheroundcharacteroftheskullfromtheangularplanesoftheface.That’sagoodthing.Ipreferthetriangularsailshapeindrawing3,however,becauseit’ssimpler.It’salittlepointyinback,butI’lladdacoupleofbellsandwhistlesandmaybeyou’llchangeyourmind—ornot.

Fig.B.Simpleyetcharacteristic.Aslongasyoufulfillthesetworequirements,therearealwayschoicesforanygivenbodypart.

Drawasmalllinebackfromthechinasitflowsintotheneck(thislittleundersideplanekeepsthemaskofthefacefromlookinglikeapapercutout).Thegesturelineoftheneckisgenerallyanicefullcurvethatswingsdownovertheomittedwindpipetothepitoftheneck.Theneckconstructioniscompletedbyanothercurvecomingoffthebackoftheskull(moreonthatfollowing).

Notice,inprofile,howthegesturelineinFig.Chasmovedtothesimplifiedcontouroftheheadandisnolongerstraightlikethefrontview(shownwithredlines).Alsonoticetheearanglesbackabitfromthatgestureline.Payattentiontohowthelongaxisoftheskullgoesbackandslightlyupasitmovesfromfronttoback—acriticaldetail.

Fig.C.Everythinglooksalittleflatwithoutourtrademarkends.Theheadistoughtogetright.So,whenindoubt,simplify.

Evenmoreimportanttodrawingasuccessfulprofileistomakesurethebackoftheskullstayshighcomparedtotheplacementofthechin.Lookingstraightahead,useyourfingerstofeeltheplaceinbackwhereyourskullmeetstheneckatthetopofthespine.Nowdragyourfingeraroundfront,stayinghorizontal.Yourfingershouldenduprightoveryoureyeball.Whateverconstructedshape(s)youuse(andyoucouldcertainlyfindothersolutionsthanthese),makesuretheskullsetshighinback.Withoutthat,theneckneverfitsasitshould.

Whistlenotchdrawings

Addingspecificfeaturesgetstrickyso,first,let’slearnhowtodraw“whistlenotches”torepresentthem.

WhistleNotchImaginecuttinganotchoutofatube.That’sthewhistlenotchidea.Thisideabecomestheeyesocketthathousestheeyeball.We’llfindthateachfeaturehasitsownbasicstructure.

Thereasonthewhistlenotchissoimportantisallfeatures,excepttheear,areonthefrontoftheface.Drawingafaceonapaperbagwillgiveyoutheidea.Whenyoujuststartdrawingfeaturesofabasicprofile,oddsarethey’lllookflatandcartoony.Notgood.Notstructural.Remember:structureneedscorners.Thewhistlenotchactsasthecornerfortheface.

Ifyouusetheeyebrowandthecheeklineasitmeetsthelowereyelid,that’llgiveyouthenotch.Asthecheekdescends,itsuggestsenoughofthecornerfortheviewertofeelthefrontalfeaturesareastheyshouldbe.

Cartoonydrawing

Eyesockets

THREE-QUARTERVIEWAswiththeprofile,thetriangleconstructionalsoworksgreatforathree-quarterview.

Thisbackthree-quarterviewshowshowthosefeaturesarehidingaroundthefront.Noticehowthewhistlenotchhasbecomethebarestdivot.Also,noticehowtheearbeginstocrowdthefrontoftheface.It’smarkingoffthesetwolandmarksthatturntheheadcorrectly.

Whatyouhavetobemindfulofinathree-quarterfrontviewisthecenterline.Alwaysmeasurehowcloseitgetstothefarsideoftheface.

Startwitha“T”madefromthecenterlineofthefeaturesandtheeyebrowline.Then,markoffthefeatureswithappropriatelyplacedconstructionlinesendingwiththechintomakesurethe

lengthiscorrect.Allareonthefrontplaneoftheface,somakesurethey’reparalleltoeachother.

Ifyoudrawinthehairline(simplyormorecharacteristically)tomeetthejawline,theearattachestothesideburnarea.You’rewelcometodothisontheprofileaswell.Theneckcomesfrombehindtheear,bothfrontandbackviews.Ifitfeelstoofatortoothin,youknowthewidthofthefaceisoff.

Astheearssitonthesideoftheface,relatingthembacktotheeyeoreyebrowlinegetsyouafairlyaccuratecornerfordynamicpositionsofthehead.Placethecornerattheendorarchoftheeyebrowforbestresults.

Backthree-quarterview

Frontthree-quarterview

Twoboxed-outheads

BACKVIEWThebackviewmaybethemostdifficultofany.Youseeverylittleoftheface.Theskullblocksitandtheneckdoes,too.Andtheshruggingmusclesthattoptheshoulderlineoverlapagain.

Asyoucanseeintheimageatright,theskullbecomesaballshapefromtheback.Theneckisasimpletube(againwithoutits3-Dends).Weseeaweebitofthefacepeekingoutoneithersideoftheneck.I’vecolor-codedthemwithanochrecolor.Finally,addasimpleconstruction

linefortheshouldersandthesaggingtrianglefortheshruggingmuscles.Thatlastcanbendandchangeshapewithvariouspostures.

Eventually,thearmsandtorsowillbuildoffoftheshoulderline,asinthedrawingbelow.Makesureyoutakesometimetogetthehead-neck-shoulderconnectioncorrectfirst.

Step-by-stepofthebackview

Simpleyetcharacteristicmeans,inpart,anyobjectyoubegintosketchshouldbesuggestiveofthesubtletiesyettocome.Itmeansyoucanmoveseamlesslyfrombeginningconstructiontofinishedrendering.

TheTorsoThetorsoincludestheribcage,waist,andhips.Thisiswherethesexesshowtheircleareststructuraldifferences—again,withthequalifier,onaverage.

FRONTVIEWTherearemultiplewaystoconceiveoftheribcage.Itexpandsfromthenarrownecktothewiderwaist.Beyondthat,seeingamodelwitharibcagethatbulgesawayfromthewaistorseamlesslyblendsdownintoitguidesmeinchoosingthemostcharacteristicformforthejob.Seetheimagesbelowandonthetopofthenextpage.

Inthedrawingofthetorsosabove,noticehowI’vedrawnthewaistastwosimplelineswithouttheconstructedends,verymuchasIdidwiththeneck.Letthesolidmassesoftheribsandthehipsdothework.Themiddledrawingwiththebulgingwaistismoremaleincharacter,theothertwo,morefemale.

Startwithagestureline,straightandstiffaswedidwiththehead,andhaveittouchtheshoulderline.Justremember:simpleyetcharacteristic.

Thereisnostructuraldifferencebetweenamaleribcageandafemaleribcage.Youmay,ofcourse,observethattheribsonaparticularfemalelooksmallandaparticularmale’slookbig.It’sagoodgeneralization.Intheclassicideal,themaleistopheavyinribsandshouldersandthefemaleisfullerthroughthehips,bycomparison.

Forthehips,thebulgingboxisthemosttypicallymaleofthethree,butitcanbeagoodfemalesolutionincertaindynamicposes.Thekeydifferencebetweenthesexesisthemaletendstocollectalittlemoremuscleandalotmorefatatthewaist—affectionatelycalledlovehandles.Thefemalehaslessbulkatthewaist,butmoreatthelowerhips.Theseoftencreateclearstructuraldifferencesbetweenmenandwomen,butnotalways.Again,payattentiontothespecificmodelandhowthemodelconformsto,ordepartsfrom,thesegeneralities.

Onewaytotightentheconnectiontothehead-and-shoulderassemblyistousethebottleneckstructurefromtheribsuptoaroundthenippleline.Noticehowittakesyourightthroughtheshoulder-girdleinterruption,whichmightotherwisefightyouonconstructingacohesivewhole.Itcreatesahiddenconnectivitythatwillbeinvisibleinthefinisheddrawing.

Maleandfemaletorsos

SIDEVIEWOnekeytocapturingtheprofileviewisthattheribs-to-neckconnectioninbacksitsveryhigh,whileit’smuchlowerinfront(seetheimagesonthenextpage).Thisissetupbythathighbackoftheskullwetalkedaboutinthesectiononthehead(seehere).Ashirtcollarornecklacehangsinthesamehigh-to-lowmanner.Wemustcapturethisatonceifwewantthatgesturalflowtokeeponkeepingon.

Noticetheshouldersarelostinsidethecontouroftheribsintheprofileposition.Thebottleshapethatletstheneckflowintothewiderribsisparticularlyusefulhere.Keypoint:Makesurethebottlebendsstronglyintotheneckfromthisposition—animportantdifferencefromafrontorbackview.

Frontviewsoftorsoarticulationswiththebottleshape

Anotherkeyistopaycarefulattentiontothebackoftheribsand,inanuprightposesuchasthis,makesuretheconstructedribcagehasaverticalsectiontoitthatcorrespondstotheplacementoftheshoulderblades.Thestomachandlowerbackalsohavethatverticalitybeforethedynamictiltofthehipskicksin.I’veaddedturquoiselinestocallthemout.Oddsareyourstandingfigurewillfeellikeit’stippingoffthepageiftheseverticalmomentsaren’tshown.

Anyofthevariousshapescanworkformaleorfemaleribcages.Iuseabulgingboxshapeoraneggforthehips(noticethetilt).Thebulgingboxtendstoworkforthefemale,andtheeggforthemale.But,afigureinadynamicpositioncanchangethat.Ineithercase,makesurethehiptiltsinoppositiontotheribs.Thecurvinggesturecreatesabalancingact.Itiscriticalwecaptureitcorrectly.

Makesureyourdrawingskeepthiscorneratthepitoftheneck(PoN)forasharpchangeintotheforwardthrustoftheribs.

Asinthefrontview,Fig.Ashowsafewsimplearticulationswithamash-upofthebasicshapes.Ifwesimplifytheprofileabitmore,weseethatstapleofcuteanimalanimation—thebeanbag.

Fig.A.Sideviewarticulationofthetorso

BACKVIEWNoticehowthathighback-to-neckconnectionwekeeptalkingaboutshowsupinFig.Bwhenthetopoftheribcageendsslightlyabovetheshoulderline.Ifyouwant,makethepitoftheneckinfrontdropslightlybelowit.

Fig.B.Torsobackviewwithvarioushipshapes

Ofcourse,allthesilhouettedshapesforthebackviewarethesameasthoseonthefront.But,becauseofthecurvingspine,amongotherthings,thesearedealtwithalittledifferently.Forone,thestomach,legs,andpubicareadon’tblockthehipsastheydofromthefront.Thatmakeslifealoteasier.Also,noticehowthehipstipupandtheribstipdowntobindintothelowerback.Theconstructedendscurveaccordingly.

Hereweseetheaccordionactionoftheunjointedspineandflexiblewaist.

TheArmsandHandsThearmsoriginateinthetorso,ofcourse,andareengineeredtododifferentjobsatdifferenttimes.Theyneedtheflexibilitytomaneuverthosefantastictoolswecallhandsintotherightpositiontoarticulatewhattheyneedtoarticulateormovewhattheyneedtomove.Theyneedthespanto,occasionally,helpbalanceaparticularbodypose.And,theyneedadifferentkindofflexibilityandstrengthtosupportorpropelthefullbodyfromadead-weightpositionintobalanceorevenaction.Thedesignofthearmsandhandsshowsanearmiraculousmixtureofthesevariousnecessities.

THEUPPERARMSForallitscomplexity(andlaterwe’llseehowcomplex),theshoulderassemblyisprimarilycorners,tostartthearms.Whenbuildingthearmsontothetorso,always,always,alwaysmakethatcornerconnectionstrong.Later,intherenderingprocess,youcanrounditoff.

You’reprobablywellconvincedbynowthatIdon’tlikestiffandstraight,especiallywhenitcomestoanasymmetricalformsuchasthearm.Asyouseeonthedrawninserts,bycappingthearmwiththeshouldershapeyougetthatniceflowbackthatweassociatewiththebody.

Thefrontviews(thebackview,too)showarmconstructionsthatarestiffandstraight—averyrareoccurrenceasyoushouldknowbynow.Asyouwillseefollowing,thesideviewtakesusbacktoanicecurvedgesture.

Theupperarmisprobablytheeasiestparttodraw.It’sjustatubewithsidesperfectlyparallelfromshouldertoelbow.Youcanseetheshouldercapminimizedandmaximizedfromarmtoarm.Takeyourpick.

Here’saschematicoftheshouldergirdleassemblyjustsoit’sclear.

Onecaveat:Sometimesyou’vedrawnafigurewithcurveaftercurveandyoujustfeelitmightbenicetomixthingsup.Onthoseoccasions,findingastubbornlystraightgesturemightbetheverythingthosecarefullyflexedlinesneed.Sometimestheaesthetic,thedesign,justwantssomethingthatallthewonderfultheoryhasspentalotoftimefighting.Theoryisgreat—butdon’tletitstopyoufromdoingwhatyourartneeds.

Here,thearmbecomesnaturallycurvedagain.Remember,curvesgiveusgestures;cornersgiveusstructures.

Noticehowtheshoulderbladeunitcreatesastrongcorneragainstthebackoftheribcageandasubtlecurvemovingintothearms.

THELOWERARMSANDHANDSNoticetheadditionoftheforearmtakesusrightbacktoacurvedgestureoffthestraightorstraighterupperarm.I’mpostponingthechallengeofdrawinghandsbygivingyouasimplifiedversionhere.Wewillexplorethehandindetailinchapter9.

Armsandhandssupinatedandpronated

Backviewvariations

Profileviewvariations

BASICARTICULATIONANDTHEELBOWTESTOncewe’veconceivedofthejointedpartsassimplegesturesandstructures,it’snotahugejumptobeabletoarticulatetheminbasicways.Noticewhentheelbowpointsdown,boththeupperandthelowerarmswingup.Whentheelbowpointsup,theupperandthelowerarmswingdown.Whentheelbowisclosertothetopcontour,again,theupperandthelowerarmswingdown.Andwhentheelbowisclosertothebottom,uptheygo.That’stheelbowtest.Useitandyou’llalwaysgetthegestureofthearmcorrect.

Studythesedrawings,thensketchvariouselbowarticulations.

Whatistherealsecretofsuccess?Alwayscompletethegesture/structurestepsforthefirstpart(G1/S1)—inthiscase,theupperarm—beforebeginningG2/S2fortheforearm.Don’tfudgetheconnection.Then,andonlythen,gototheoutsidecorner.Theeasiestplacetoconnectthenextgestureisusuallytheoutsidecornerofthelaststructure.

TheLegsandFeetAlthoughthearmscantakeupthetask,usuallythelegsdothemajorityofworkmaintainingthebody’sstabilepositionordrivingitintoexplosiveaction.Thearmsareabletomovethebody’sweight,butonlywithgreatdifficulty.Thelegs,however,easilyhandlethatweightandplentymorebesides.Anydrawingofalegmustshowthepowertosupportand,yet,thepotentialenergytomovequicklyinanydirection.Allthewhile,thefootactsasbothaplatformofsupportandashockabsorbertosoftenthewearandtearfromdecadesofaction.

THEUPPERLEGSThethighscomeoutofthemiddletotopareaofthehips,dependingonhowthehipsareconceivedandhowthelegsarearticulating.Thethighstartsasasmoothflowoutoforasubtlebumpawayfromthehip.Eitherchoiceisgood.

Fromaprofile,seehowthelinedropsofffromthetopoftheconstructedhipbeforecurvingintothemeatofthethigh.Someverymuscularthighswilldoawaywiththatdrop.Butifyouseeitonyourmodel,itspeakstoananatomicalconnection,andforusgivesamorenuancedand,therefore,moreconvincingconnection.

Malehipsinback,front,andsidepositions

Morenuancedconnection=good!

Alwaysgiveextraattentiontohowyoubeginandendaconstructedpart.Wewantouraudiencetofeelconfidentinhowtheymovefromoneparttothenext.Finishingthestructurecorrectlymakesforabetterconnectionforthenewgesture.

Comparethefiguresinthetoptwodrawingsatright.Noticehowthedifferencesbetweenthemaleandfemaleconstructionsshowup,mainly,inthehipsandnotinthethighs.

Femalehipsinfront,back,andsidepositions

Neverstickthethighontothebottomofthehip.Itwillfeellikeitwantstobreakawaywhenittriestoarticulateagainstthehip.Asyousitreadingthis,noticewhereyourlaprests.It’sclosetothetopofthehips,right?Thatisthewayweneedtodrawit.

Incorrectattachmentofthethightothehip

THELOWERLEGSANDFEETFromtheprofile,youseethefullthighcurvethrustingforward,thenapullbacktothethinshin.Fullthigh,thinshin—thatgivesthesimplegesturalS-curvefortheleg.

Fromthefrontorback,youcanseethedouble-bumpsilhouetteofstandinglegs.Drawabig,full,bulgingcurvefromthemiddleortopofthehiptotheknee—thegesture.Then,addanotherbig,bulging,fullcurvefromthekneetotheankle—anothergesture.Thatgivesyoua“B”design.

Seehowthelowerleghasamightygesturalcurvefromkneetoankle?Thisgestureisusuallythemostofanyofthefourlimbsections.Almosteveryoneisalittlebowlegged.Don’tunderstatethat.

Andwhatabouttheknee?Doesthekneebelongtotheupperlegorthelowerleg?We’llexplorethatveryimportantquestioninchapter10.Fornow,groupthekneeareawitheithertheupperorthelowerleg,whicheverseemsmoreappropriate.Andtheappropriatenesswillvarydependingonanglesandarticulations.

Let’slookatthelowerlegalittlemoreclosely(seeFig.Aontheoppositepage).I’vedrawnitasjustatube.That’ssimpleyetcharacteristicofwhatIsee.But,bycarefulobservation,Icangetevenmorecharacteristic.And,ofcourse,thatisexactlywhat’shappeningineachsuccessivedrawing.

Fig.A.Anever-greaterrefinedtubeintoalowerleg

Thisishowwebuildourcraftinstructure.Wewanttofindsolutionstowhatwe’reseeingthatareevermorecharacteristic.Thisisprimarilywhy,whenwelookattheOldMasters,weseldomseelay-ins.They’vedonetheirhomework.Theyknewthestructuresofthehumanbodysowelltheywentdirectlytothemostcharacteristicchoice—somethingclosetoafinalcontour.

DidtheythinkitthroughexactlythewayI’vejustdescribed?Inmostcases,probablynot.ButthisisthebestwayIknowtounderstandtheirresults.Afterall,thebodyismadeofrealvolumesinrealspace,fittingtogetherinaveryspecificway.Thatiswhythismethodworksforsculptors,animators,andchiaroscuropainters.It’sthemethodbehindthemadness!

StudyofLegs,c.sixteenthcentury,byJacopoCarucci,knownasPontormo(1494–1557).Drawing.UffiziGalleryMuseum,Florence/BridgemanImages.NoticetheBdesignsontheselovelylegs.Whenthelegbends,thatB(orS)willbreakagainsttheknee’scorner.

IstudiedwithBurneHogarth—anincrediblytalentedandverygivingteacher.HetaughtmetheB-andS-curveideasforthegesturaldesignofthelegs.It’sagreatwaytorememberhowtokeepthoselegsniceandfluid.

THEFEET

Thefootisasimplesaggingtrianglefromtheprofileanglingbrieflybackattheheelandswingingforwardtothetoes.Fromthefront,drawitasasimpletaperingconethatcutsoffatthetoes.Addthetoesgroupedintoasingleshape.Thebackviewhastheheelandattachingtendon.Itlookslikealittlechimneystackifyousquaretheheel.Thefootshapepeeksfrombehind.Thisisgoodenoughfornow.

There’saterrificgesturaltransitionfromankletofoot.Thinkofitasabumpyorsmoothskislopetakingtheviewer’seyedowntothefinishline.

Footconstructions

ARTICULATINGTHELEGSThefull-thigh,thin-shintrickworksformostpositions,evenbentones.Isay“most”positionsbecauseifthelegbendssomuchthatthebackofthethighpushesthemassofthecalfforward,itcanreversethatcurve.

I’vejustthrownyouabitofacurve(punintended).Noticetheselegdrawingsaremorecomplicatedthanthearms.Laysometracingpaperoverthemandfindthesimplestlay-inshapesyoucan.Losethekneecap,theanklebones,theeggadditionsforthecalves,andsoon,andseehowmuchyoucandistillitdown.Then,takethesimplestofthelay-insandbuilditbackup.

Legsflexingattheknee

Whatyouwantistofindthehappymediumbetweensimpleandcharacteristic.Itwillvaryfrompersontopersonandfromsituationtosituation.Yourchoiceswillevolveovertime,asyoubecomemoreandmorethedrawingninjayouaremeanttobe.Ittakespracticeandabitofexperimentation.Here’stheequation:

timein=craftsmanshipout

ProportionsProportionsareveryuseful,especiallyasameanstodouble-checkyourdrawing.Theyarealsolikegoodethics:botharesituational.Along,languidpose,suchasIngres’sLaGrandeOdalisque,mightneedfiveextravertebraetomakeitwork.ThewealthyoldwomanofaJohnSingerSargentportraitmayhaveneededthelongneckanddeepeyesocketsofHera,QueenoftheGods,tofulfillthecommission.

TheartistsIlovedon’t“capture”life(asifsuchathingwereevenpossible).Instead,theytranslateit.Theyshowsomethingnewaboutit.Thereisarhythmtogoodproportionthatmakesitringtrueinawaycalipersandpinchingfingerswithoneeyeclosedjustcan’t.

Thereareallsortsofwaystoproportionthehumanbody.Thereareallsortsofcanonsofbeauty.I’vepickedonethatusestheheadastheyardstickandchosenproportionsthatfitreasonablywellwithmostpeople’saesthetics.Seetheimageshownhereforthefemaleequivalent.

So,evenasIshowyouthepinchingfingersstuff,trustyoureyeandyourgutfirst.Drawitlightlyfirst.Then,ifitdoesn’tfeelright—measure.

NudeinAction,JohnSingerSargent(1856–1925).Charcoalonpaper.DavisMuseumandCulturalCenter,WellesleyCollege,Massachusetts/BridgemanImages.

OLDMASTERstudy

WhatyouseewithouroldfriendslikeRaphaelistheywouldcompress.Theywouldskipstepsbecausetheywere,well,masters.But,whenwelookbackattheirworkwithgroundedanalysis,it’sallthere.

Thatbringsupanotherpoint.Youcouldjustdrawaway—especiallyifyou’veinternalizedthisstuffthroughpractice.Andthen,whenyouneedtogobacktotroubleshootaproblemarea,thismethodisreadytohelp.Youdon’thavetodrawthisway—myway.Butmaybeyoudon’tfeelthesolidityyoushouldintheribcageyousketchedout.Nowyouknowhowtocheckit.Iftheconnectionfromtheneckdoesn’tfeelasthoughitfitsnicelyintotheribs,youcanfixit.

Andthatistheprocessforthewholehumanbody...fornow.Masterycomesthroughimmersion.Themoredeeplyyouwanttoconnecttothismaterial,themoreyouneedtolivewithit,becomefriendswithit.Read,copy,andtrytoconceiveitfrommemory.Allthattestsyourknowledgeanddeepensyourunderstanding.Then,whenithasclicked,moveontotheexercisesopposite.

BattleScenewithPrisonersBeingPinioned,c.sixteenthcentury,RaphaelSanzio(1483–1520).Penandinkoverchalkonpaper.UniversityofOxford,UK/BridgemanImages.

Raphaelusedconstructedformsandgesturalrelationshipsinhisart.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Laytracingpaperoverthestep-by-stepdrawingswestudiedinthischapter.Followtheprocessofmakingmarksthatareassimpleandascleanasyoucan—thatis,simpleyetcharacteristic.Feelfreetotryothershapes.Lookatyourfavoriteartistsandseehowtheysolvedthisproblem.

Ifyoumessup,grabanothersheet(ordoitdigitally).Startwiththeheadanddrawthesimpleconstructionsandsimplepositionsuntilyoudoitwithoutthinking.Then,startonanewbodypart.

It’slikepunchingthebaginthegymordancing.It’sallaboutmusclememory.Knowthemoves.Knowtheforms.Workthroughthiswholechapterforamonth,maybeless,andyou’llhaveitdown.

Now,mixuptheorder.Startwiththestructure.Then,drawthegesture.Drawtheendsbeforethesides.Inventyourownshapes.Playwithit.

I’vesaidthisbefore:Readandstudythisbook;makeityourown.Makeyourownmethod.Startwithmine.Maybekeepalotofit.Butthishastofityou.Ithastoconnectwithyouandflowoutofyouandontothepagelikeanybeautifullyfluidgesturemust.

Ifyouworkhard,somedayyou’llfindyoudon’tagreewithmeoneverything.Thatiswhereyouwanttobe.Thatmeansyouarefindingyourownvoice.Weneedyourvoice.

Asyougoaboutit,bepatient.Havefun.Cherishthelittlevictoriesevenwhenyousometimeslosethewar.Andkeepatit,alittleeveryday.Itonlyhastobealittleforthatnesttoquicklygettoosmall.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Don’tforgettodosomeobjectdrawing.Keepbuildingthatmentalwarehouseofgreatandinterestingshapes.

Ifyou’reablubberingpuddleoftears,gobacktothechaptersongestureandstartagain.You’llgetthere.

CHAPTER7THEHEAD

Nowthatwehaveenoughstructure,it’stimetohangfeaturesonit.

Remeberthatthebestheaddrawingintheworldisuselessifitdoesnotflowbeautifullyintothebody.Makesureyoutrackthatlifelinewecallgesture.Itmakesallthedifference.Makeahabitofsketchingpartoftheneckandshoulderssoyou’realwaysthinkingabouthowtoconnect.

Gatti,1997,bySteveHuston.CharcoalandContécrayononStrathmoreBristolpaper.Whenit’stimetotakeyourdrawingalittlefurther,awell-structuredheadbecomesamapforthedetailstocome.

Thebigsimplestructuresoftheskullmeetthebigsimplestructuresoftheface,andweendwithfrontplanes,sideplanes,tops,andbottoms.Thatgivesuswhatweneedforthefeatures.

Inaformalfrontalorbackpose,there’snothingtoconsider.But,movetowardthedynamicprofileand—wow!—thatwaveactionkicksininabigway.Intheimagesabove,notehowtheneckjoinsthegestureofthefrontofthefacewhenthechinliftsortheribcagepullsback.Likewise,theneckjoinsthebackoftheribcagewhenthechinmovestowardthechest.Makesureyoucatchwhichbiggerstructuretheneckgesturejoins.Itoftenmakesorbreakstheheadtoribcageconnection.

Theshouldergirdlehidesthemuchmoreimportantconnectionofheadtoribcage.Let’sconsiderthatmorecarefully.

Theseposesareabitmoredynamic,buttheprincipleisstillthesame.

Asyouseebytheredlinegestures,there’salotgoingon.Wewilllookateacharea.

ThePrimaryStructuresoftheHeadTheheadisacombinationoftwolargemasses:thecraniumandtheface.Byfirstmappingthebroaderlandscape—thecranium—wecanthenmoreeasilyconceiveandplacethefeaturesontotheface.Gettingoutthetrustymeasuringstickcanhelpusplottheproportions,butitwon’ttellthewholestory.

Thetrickforaddingsecondarydetailtoourworkisthesametrickwe’veusedallalong.Wedrawthebigsimplestructuresbystartingwiththebigsimplegestures.Itdoesn’tchangeforthesecondarystructures.Itneverchanges.

Thelesserformsflowfromtheirlessergestures.Thewaterydesignoflifecomposesastructureateverylevel,fromahangnailtoaroomofartistsdrawingthemodel.That’sthegreatsecretofthegestureandstructurepartnershipandjustanotherreasonthegestureisthefundamentaldesignline.

Whatwe’lllookforisthecornerwheretwoplanesmeet.Cornersarestructure.But,ifwetraveldownacorner ’slongaxis,itbecomesagesture.So,youcanimaginewe’llwanttomakethosecornerswithcurvedlines,asshownatright.

Structure/gesture.Corners/curves.Allthemarksthatwillmakeupourinteriordetailwillpotentiallybeintheserviceofbothideas.

TheSecondaryStructuresoftheHeadThecraniummeetsthefaceattheeyeline/cheekbonearea.Thisisaswideastheheadgenerallygets.

Therisingcheeksnarrowslightlyintotheforeheadandlikewisecascadetothemuchnarrowerchin.Thismaskconstitutesthemultifacetedfrontplanesoftheface.Andthelong

axesofthosecornersbecomethegesturalmovementsbetweentheforms.I’vemarkedtheseinredinthefigureatright.

Theskullcapintrudesintothecenteroftheforeheadfromabove.Thistransitionsthefrontplaneintothetop.Thefrontalcapmayswellfromorbecompletelysubmergedintothebroader,squarer,browridge,dependingonthecharactertype.

Whenwelookclosely,weseethefaceisbuiltfromanamazingsetofformsthatflowintoandlockovereachother.

Wecanthinkoftheforehead,cheek,andchinstructuresasrounderorsquarerandsimplerormorecomplicated.Themoreweplaywiththosecharacteristics,themoreopportunitiesopenup.

Thecheeksandchintransitionbacktothetemple,ears,andjaw,creatingthesideplanes.Thesecanberounded,chiseled,orevenconcaveincharacter.Thinkofthecheeksasonewiderollingplanewiththewedgeofthenoseandbarrelofthemouthstackedontop.

Consideringhoweachuniquestructuremovesintothenextishowgesturecomesbackintothemix.I’msureyouwon’tbesurprisedtolearnthatthisstepiscritical.Weneverquitwalkingthattightropebetweencornersandcurvesnomatterhowdetailedweget.

Thegestureshouldn’tjustgoovertheform.Itrollsoverit.ThinkofdrawinganS-curveonarollofpapertowels.AstheSflowsdowntheform,italsodescribestheroundcharacteroftheform’svolume.

Obviously,theskullhasmuscles,fatdeposits,andskinclothingit,letalonehair,wrinkles,compressionpoints,shadowshapes,andevenpencilstrokes.Allcanaddsubtlenewgestures,butthekeyrhythmsarecreatedbytheskullasdescribedpreviously.

ThegesturalrhythmsareoftenS-curvesorevencompoundcurvesasopposedtothesimplecurvesweexperiencedwiththejointedbodyparts.That’sbecausewe’redealingwithseveralsubtleformsblendingtogether.Youdecidehowdetailedyouwantittobeandhowboxyorfluid.Justremember:whenindoubt,simplify.

Thegestureshowsusnewwondrousrhythmswitheverychangeofposition.Drawingfromlifeletsyoutapthatever-changingsource.Capturingtheserhythmspullsourdrawing

togetherandmakesitringtrueonthedeepestpossiblelevel.

Whenyoulookatphotographs,anatomicaldrawings,ormasterworks,trythesekindsofredlineanalyses.Youwantarichanddiversecatalogofpotentialrhythms.

Whenyoustudyanatomy,thinkofitasthesourceofgestureaswellasstructure.FollowtheredlinestoseewhatImean.Therearealmostendlesspossibilities.

Therearesurprisingnumbersofgesturalroutestochasedependingonthestyleyouwantandthecharacteryou’reafter.However,itmustfollowthetopography.Andkeepinmind,themoreyouseparatethelesserstructures,themoremale-likeandolderthefacewillgenerallyappear.

Hereweseehowthoseexquisiterhythmsbegintoshiftastheposeshifts.They’restillthesamegestures.Theysimplylookalittledifferentnowastheytrackovertheforms.

It’sagoodtimetorevisitthoseoverlappingstructuresofshruggingmuscles,neck,andhead.Theoverlapsstaystrong.Thisisjustamorenuancedtakethanwe’veseenbefore.

Alittledisclaimer:Thedrawingsherearemyconceptions,withalittleaddedflair,ofbasicanatomyforabooknotpredominatelyaboutanatomy.Meaning,aninterestedpartycouldfindafewanatomical“errors.”Iputerrorsinquotesbecauseaslongasthemarkstrackgestureorstructure,andaslongasthey’redonewithconsistency,theaudiencewon’treadthemaserrors.They’llreadthemastheworkofastylist—whichisexactlywhatyouwant.BravoBuonarroti!

TheEyesThekeytoconstructingbelievableeyesisknowingtheyare,basically,ballsinholes.

Infact,allfeaturesmustbeconceivedassimplestructuressittingonthebiggerstructureofthehead.That’swhyitissoimportanttomapoutthefacialarchitectureinparticular.

Somethingaspressure-packedasdrawingtheeyesisstillprimarilyaboutstructureandgesture.Ifyoubeginwiththosetwofundamentalideas,evenportraiturebecomesmoremanageable.

StudiesfortheLibyanSibyl(recto),c.1510–1511,MichelangeloBuonarroti(1475–1564).Chalkonpaper.MetropolitanMuseumofArt,NewYork/BridgemanImages.Michelangelohadtosethiseyebackintotheplaneofthefaceandawayfromtheinsideedgeoftheeyebrow.Inotherwords,hehadtogiveussubtlecluesthatthesmallereyestructurerestedinthelandscapeofthebiggerface.

EYESTRUCTUREWealwaysworkfromthecenterlineoutwardtodrawawell-constructedface.

TakeacloselookatthepartialheadinFig.A.Theredkeystonestepsbackfromtheforeheadtostartthenose.Itseparatestheeyebrowsand,so,theeyes.Thesphericalshapeoftheeyeshowsitselfclearly,whethertheeyelidisopenorclosed.Theeyesocketiscoveredbythe

skin.Theonlyrealsenseofitscave-likequalityishowfarbackintothesockettheeyeballsits.

Otherthingstonotice:Thesidesofthenoseendatthecheek.Someofthecheekisvisiblebeforetheeyeballsstart(markedinred).Theinsidecorneroftheeyelidanglesdownslightlybecauseitisofftheballatthatpoint.Thelowerlidnicelytracksoverthebottomoftheeyeball.Makesurethereisplentyofcheektotheoutsideoftheeyeballs(again,markedinred).

Fig.A.Itstartswiththemostimportantlandmarkonthehead.That’sthekeystoneshapebringingtheforeheadandnosetogetherandkeepingtheeyesapart.

THEPROFILEOFTHEEYEWehavetolookforthethicknessofthelidsanytimewecanseethem.

NoticeinthedrawinginFig.BthatIcaneasilyfitanothereye/eyelidshape(inred)infrontbeforereachingthecontourofthenose.Alsonoticehowfarbacktheeyeballsitsfromtheeyelid.Thisistoshowthegreatthicknessofthatawningstructure.

Fig.B.Theupperlidanditslashesactlikeanawningdressingastorewindow.Itshadesandprotectstheeyeball.

Infact,fromtheeyebrowtothecreaseoftheupperlid,totheupperlid,totheeyeball,everythingstepsback.Thisisbecausethebrowridgepushesforwardtoprotecttheeyeasdoesthecheektoalesserdegree.

Iexaggeratedthethicknessofthelidshereandtheylookjustfine,don’tthey?Alwaysknowwhichwaytoscrewup—inotherwords,whichwaytopushtheidea!

NowlookatthoseeyesinprofileinFig.C.Thepupilandiris—theblackandthecoloredcirclesthatare,ineffect,paintedontheball—becomeverythinellipseswhenseenfromtheside.

Fig.C.Here’sanalternatestructurewhenathickerupperlidexists.

THEFRONTVIEWInthefrontviewoftheeye,thelids,again,hintattheballshapeunderneath.Careful,though—themorelinesyouadd,themoreyouageyourmodel.YoucanseeI’veagedthisyoungwomanaboveabouttenyearswithmy“extras.”

Noticetheinnereyelidstepstotheoutsideoftheplacementoftheeyebrow(shownwiththetworedverticallines).Thisgivesthefeelingthattheeyeisbackintothatsocket.Theinnermeetingoftheeyelidsisoftenalittlelowerthantheoutermeeting(shownwiththetworedhorizontallines).

Forbeingasimpleballinahole,theeyedisplayssomeveryinterestingasymmetries.Andaswe’llsee,sometimeslessismore.

Itisusuallybesttodrawtheeyelashesasonemassratherthanindividualhairs.Noticethetwistedribboneffectbetweenthemassoflashesandthethicknessoftheupperlid.Noticealsohowintherenderingthisawningoftenshadestheirisandpupilintoagroupingvalueofdarkness,allowingthehighlighttopop.

IntheprofileeyeballI’vesketched(aboveleft),youcanseehowournaturalcontactlens—thecornea—coversthepupilandiris.Thisdistortstheupperlid,creatinganapextothelid’scurvethatshiftstotheinside.

Thelowerlidsitstoolowtobeaffected,butrathertucksuptightlyintotheupperlidattheoutside.Inthisway,ithasanapexfavoringthatdirection.Thetiltingredlineshowsthisasymmetry.

THETHREE-QUARTERVIEWInthetopreddrawinginFig.A,noticethethicknessofthelidcomingintoviewasitgoesaroundthefarside.I’vetakenawaytheverticaldroptomakeitmoreapparentinthisthree-

quarterview.

Weneedatleastone“out”fromeachfeature.The“out”isthegesturalmovementtakingofffromthefeatureandontothesurroundingstructure.Theeyehasafew.TheS-curveoftheeyelashesisone.Itcomesofftheballandontothecheekwiththatgracefulsweep.Itworksbestonfemalemodels,asyoucanimagine.

Becausethelidswrapoveraball,theyshowtheirfullthicknessonthefarsideandfalloffdramaticallydowntheverticalityoftheball(showninredline).

Thereareseverallinescomingofftheinsideoftheupperlidthatsweepintothebridgeofthenose,aroundtheeyeball,andontothecheekbelowit.Examinetheredlinearrowsonthetopleftdrawing.Another“out”istheeyebrow,whichcantakeusintothefurrowedbrowline.

Whetherit’stheeyesorwhateverdetailedstructureyou’reworkingon,makesureyouplanforouts.Itwilllookmoresophisticatedandlesscartoon-like,guaranteed.

Here’sanotherfuller-liddedmodel,meaningnodramaticcreasetostarttheupperlid.IsayfullerlidbecauseitmaynotbeanAsiancharacter.Forexample,gravitypullstheupperlidcreaselowerasthecharacterages,andgettingpunchedintheeyeforyourjobbuildsscartissueoverit.

Noticehoweacheyeisdrawnwithabsolutefidelitytoitsstructureand,yet,Imakesuretoshowthevisualpathway(thegesture)offtheeyeandbackintothegreaterstructurethatsupportsit.

Anydetailwechoosetoaddmustactassmallergesturesandstructuresthatsubmittothepositionandcharacterofthefacefromwhichtheyoriginate.

TheNoseThenoseandthebarrelofthemouthtogetherconstitutethemuzzle.

Thegesturelineoftheface(G1)actuallypassesthroughthekeystoneandthepointatwhichthebarrelmeetsthechin(showninredlineinthedrawingbelow).Thesilhouettedlikenessofapersonisbasedlargelyonhowthemuzzlebuildsandthenrecedestothechin.

Fromaprofile,weseethatthenosestartsontheplaneoftheface,butthrustsoutfromitonceitmovesdownfromthekeystone.

Thenoseisawedgethatsitsonthebiggerplaneofthecheeks.Itbeginsatthesamekeystonelandmarkfromwhichwebuilttheeyes.

Thebridgeofthenosebeginsfromthekeystone.Itdescendslikeadaggerblade,piercingtheballofthenose.Theballendcanberounderorsquarer,butitcan’tbejusta“tip.”Meaning,itmusthavefront,side,andbottomplanestobecomefullyrealized.Withtheball,thewingsofthenosespanthebarrelofthemouth,creatingbridge-likestructuresthenostrilshidebeneath.

Takespecialnoteoftheredlinearrowsshowingthemouthbarrelemergingfromunderthewingsinthefigureabove(showninghostedlinestotheright).Thesideplanesofthebridge/wingsbevelout,andbothcanbeseenfromafrontview.Theydon’tcutintothecheeks,butrollsmoothlyontothem.

Let’srevisitacoupleofthosemoredetaileddrawingsIshowedyoupreviouslysowecanunderstandhowthepartsofthenoseconverge.

Herearesomeanglestoshowhowstronglythemouthbarrelaffectstheendofthenose.

TheMouthWejustsawhowthestartofthemouthisconnectedintimatelytotheendofthenose.Aspartofthatmuzzle,themouthbulgesoutofitsbeginningsandseparates,sometimesstronglyandsometimeslessso,fromthelowercheekandjaw.

Thechinpushesupfrombelowandthebottomofthebarrelsagsovereithersidelikealooseshirtoverabigbeltbuckle(seeFig.A).Onamatureorgrinningface,thebarrelripplesintoeachsideofthejaw,creatingthedimplelines(shownwithredlinesbelow).Thephiltrumisasmalldivotintheupperbarrelandnicelymarksitscenterline.

Fig.A.Thekeytothemouthisthebarrelstructureroundsoverfromlefttorightandfromtoptobottom.Seeingtherichvarietyoflipshapescanhidethatbulgingcharacterifwearen’tobservant.

Thelipsstair-stepoverthebarrelwhilethelineofthemouthtracksperfectlyoveritsvolumefromwhateverpositionyoudrawit(seeFig.B).Theupperlipfallsintoshadowquickly,asdoestheplanefromthebottomedgeofthelowerlipbacktothechin.

Fig.B.Fromeveryangle,themouthbarrelbulgesofftheplaneoftheface.

Thecontouroftheupperlipandthelineofthemouthbothtendtolooklikestretched-outcapitalMs.(SeeFig.C.)Thecenterthirdorsoofthebottomofthelowerlipbecomesastrongstraighthorizontallineortiltedtowhateverangletherestofthefrontplanefeaturesareconstructedon.

Fig.C.Thelipsaremembranesand,so,haveadeepercolorandgreatertexturethanskin.Theirpillowyformsarefullinyouth,butthinwithage.Theupperlipcanbebrokenintotwoorthreedistinctshapes(showninred).

YoucanseefivedarkaccentsalongthelinesofthemouthinthemiddleleftinFig.D.Thisiswheretheupperandlowerlipshapesdon’tsealtightly.Drawingyourlinedarkerhereisagoodstrategy.

Fig.D.Practicefindingthestructureswejusttalkedaboutundermycarefulrendering.

TheEarTheear’sshapecanchangeradically,butthefundamentalstructureissurprisinglyconsistent.Thinkofitasasliceofftheendofacylinderandthencutastraightedgeoffthat.Itcanbesquarer,rounder,short,long,orwobbly.Whateveritscharacter,itattachesandflowssmoothlyintothecheekplane(showninredarrowlineinFig.A).

Fig.A.Theearissimilartoasliceofacylinderconstruction.

Now,whattodowithallthoseconvolutionsthatgiveanearitscharacter?StartwithaC-shapethathasthecharacteryouwant.Addaquestionmarkjustinsideit.Makesureitwandersalittle.Wedon’twantthemtotrackinaparallelfashion.Rather,makeitpinchandspread,astheredlinesegmentsshowinFig.B.

Fromtheback,weseethebigdishshapethatfunnelsinthesoundandthesmallbowlthatconnectsittotheskull.

Fig.B.TheearsaremadeupofCsand?s.

Addanotherquestionmarktighttothefirst.Addathird,butletittiltforward.Don’tgiveitaperiod.Instead,wrapthetailrightintoanotherlittleC-shape.Thisgivesusanouterandaninnerrim,andthelittleflapthatblendsintothecheek.

Lastly,takealittledivottomakeaYoutoftheinnerrimandwraptheouterrimdownintotheinsidebowl.

It’sabeautifullandscape,isn’tit?Itjusttakessometimetolearnhowtotraverseit.

OLDMASTERstudy

Michelangelo’sStudyfortheLibyanSybilisoneofthemostfamousdrawingsinarthistory.Lookattheabsolutefidelitytostructureandgesture.Allthebigandlittlefrontplanestrackalmostperfectly.Becausethey’reorganic,theydon’thavetobeperfect.

Asistypical,thesideplaneswanderaround,butstillrespectthecorner.That’sboxlogic.Thegesturesgocrazygettingoneformtoflowintothenext.Andlookatthose“outs.”Ilovethisguy!

StudiesfortheLibyanSibyl(recto),c.1510–1511,MichelangeloBuonarroti(1475–1564).Chalkonpaper.MetropolitanMuseumofArt,NewYork/BridgemanImages.

Isthereabetterdrawingfromwhichtolearnaboutthehead?It’saveritablemaster’sclassofknowledgeandfacility.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

AsIjustdidontheMichelangelo,doyourownstructuralandgesturalanalysesonthisfineself-portraitbyFantin-Latourbylayingtracingpaperoverit.

Self-Portrait,1859,IgnaceHenriJeanFantin-Latour(1836–1904).Pencilonpaper.UniversityofCambridge,UK/BridgemanImages.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

HereisapageofsketchesshowinghowImightbeginadrawingwheretheheadconstructioniscarefullytiedtothebodygesture.Findthosegesturallinesanddrawsomeofyourown.

Apagefrommysketchbook.Fountainpen,brownink,whiteCarbOthello,andgouacheonoatmeal-coloredscrapbookpaper.

CHAPTER8THETORSO

Let’stalkgesture.Again.

ChristontheCross,c.sixteenthcentury,MichelangeloBuonarroti(1475–1564).Chalkonpaper.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

Contrapposto:OpposingPositionsWhenartistsusetheterm“contrapposto,”itchieflyreferencesthetiltoftheshouldersagainsttheopposingtiltofthehips.Thisisduetoashiftinbalancesoonelegbecomesthedominantsupport,lettingtheotherlegrelax.Thathip,then,fallsabitwiththerelaxation,andtheopposingshoulderrisesinresponse.

Theoriginalideaofcontrappostowastobringalittleasymmetryintothepicture(orsculpture)tomaketheposeseemlessformal—morenatural.KritiosBoyisthefirstexampleinhistorywehaveofitsuse.Comparethistothekourosinchapter3—asubtlebutpowerfuldifference.Infact,youarelookingatthemostpowerfulideainfigurativeart.

TheKritiosBoy,c.fifthcenturyBCE,Greek.Marble.AcropolisMuseum,Athens/BridgemanImages.

Laocoon,firstcentury,Hellenisticoriginal.Marble.VaticanMuseumsandGalleries,VaticanCity/BridgemanImages.

Here’sasimplebreakdownoftheoriginal“relaxed”contrappostoposeandmoreextremepossibilities.

Asartiststendtodo,theystartedplayingwiththepossibilities.The“opposingpositions”ideathenbecameevermoredramatic,includingthetorsotwistinglefttorightandfronttoback.Suddenly,thefigurecouldbreakthepictureplane.Artworksnowhadthepowertobreakintoourspaceordrawusintotheirs.Toseetwoofthemostfamousexamples,lookatLaocoön(left)orthetragicallybrokenimageoftheBelvedereTorsofromchapter1.

OrjustlookatanythingMichelangeloevercreated!

Contrappostocanshowupinnearlyunlimitedways.

Becauseofthenaturalcurveofthespine,evenastiffposesuchasthekouroshasasortofcontrappostogoingon.Thestraightfrontviewgivesusachestwherethetoptiltsbackintospace,astomachthatisflattothepictureplane,andhipsthattiltintospaceatthebottom.Astheribsandhipsbalanceoverthesupportinglegs,theytiltforwardandbackinopposingpositions.

Thespinecouldlookrubberyandyoucouldstillmissgettingtheribsfacinginadifferentdirectionthanthehips.

TWISTItis,ofcourse,thewonderofthespinethatallowsforcontrappostoinallitsvariations.Thetwististheribsturninginadifferentdirectionfromthehips.Thisplaysfastandloosewithourfacingdimensionandcanbeconfusingtodraw.

Here’sthetrick:AnS-curveisn’talwaysatwist,butatwistisalwaysanS-curve.Onthetorso,youfinditthroughthecenterline.However,tryingtodrawthetorsooffanS-curvecanmakeitlookweird.

Thinkaboutaropeorwringingoutatowel—thetopgoesoneway,thebottomanother,butthewholestructurestaysasimplecurvedtube.

Makesurethecenterlinefortheribsstaysclosetotheactualcenterorcrowdsoneside.Thehips,then,facetheotherway.ThatgetsyoutheS-curveyouwant.

Thesilhouettemaychangeverylittlefromanon-twistingtorsotoatwistingone.So,IdrawthebasicstructureandaddthecenterlinewithitsdistinctiveS-curve.

We’vetalkedaboutthetorsoasabeanbagconception(seeFig.A).Let’saddthedrumsticktoit.Thedrumstickisathinshapeintrudingintoathicker,morebulbousone.You’llseeitalloverthebody:neckintohead,thumbintohand,andribsandwaistintohips.It’sverysimpleandveryuseful.

Fig.A.Beanbagsanddrumsticks.Wefindtheseconstructsthroughoutthebody,andtheycanmakedrawingthetorsomucheasier.

AsshowninFig.B,makingafullermassatthebasegives,generally,amorefemininelook.Playitwaydownandstepitinbeforeitreachesthepubicarea,anditbecomesmasculine.

Fig.B.Asalways,thelongaxisofthestickpartcanbecurved.Makesurethatstomachgoeswaydownintothehips.

INTERLOCKINGTheotheradvantageofthedrumstickisitcreatesaninterlockingconnection.Considerthethreewaysstructurescometogether(asshownintheillustrationatright):

1.Theytouchendtoend.

2.Theyoverlap.

3.Theyinterlock.

Twostructuresinterlockingisthebestkindofconnection.It’slikeawrenchlockingontoanut,orevenbetter,aboltinthenut.Whenoneformintrudesandlocksintoanother,it’sgoodengineering—andanatomyisexcellentengineering.

Bonemeetsboneatthejoint.Butmuscleoriginatesononeboneandintrudesintothemusclemasscoveringtheother.Itmakesforagoodfitandevenbetterleverage.Thishappensalloverthebody.Findtheinterlocks.Usethemwheneveryoucan.

Thedrumstickshowsupevenmoreofteninthesecondaryformsandlocksthoseformstogether.

Findtheinterlockingconnectionsinthisdrawing.

THEV-SHAPEDMUSCLEInfitnesscircles,it’scalledthe“lats.”Itlookslikethehoodofacobra.Startingatthearmpits,itcutsacrossandcontoursovertheribs,descendingintothecablemusclesofthelowerback.Thisisoneofthemostvisibleinterlocksonthebody.Careful,though—whendrawnlargetheylookverymale.

Thegreatestthicknessofthelatsisfromthemid-backupuntilthemusclereachesthearmpits.Onceitdescendsfromtheribcage,itthinsquicklyanddisappearsintothebaseofthespine.Itcanbehighlyvisiblemostofthewaydownorhintedatonlybyaveryslightwideningintothearmpits.

ThelatissimusdorsimusclecreatesaV.

Thelatscovermorerealestatethananyothermuscle—byfar.

Makingthelatsvisibleisaterrificwaytotiethearmgesturesintothetorso.However,youcanseehowitcouldquicklyleanintocomicbookheroics.

THEFRONTOFTHERIBYoucanseehow,inmanyoftheribconstructions,thenipplestrackthecornerwherethefrontplanemeetstwocornerplanes.However,intherecliningfemalesketchabove,thebreasthasslippedtothesideandmissesthemark.

Thepointinchoosingastructureistofindasolutionthattracksthegesturalpath.Aslongasitisgenerallycharacteristicofthehumanform,itwillringtrue.Remember,youaren’tdrawingaribcage.You’redrawingyourideaofaribcage.Itmightfeelintimidatingatfirst,butit’sactuallyliberating.Ifyouletthatbethemotivationforthemarksyoumake,itwillsetyoufree.

Iactuallysketchedtheinterlocking-stomach-into-hipsideabackinchapter6,butneverexplainedit.Here,itisrealizedmorefully,andI’veaddedasecondaryinterlocktakingtheribsintotheabdomen.Canyoufeelitsabsoluteconnectedness?

Whenyourarmsliftaboveyourheadorwhenyouliedown,yourribcagewantstoexpandandthesimpletubeoreggshapechangeslikeso.

Toreview,gesturecangiveusthesewonderfulrollercoasterridesthatviewersfeel,butonlysubconsciously.Keepinmindtheseareseveralgesturesstrungtogether.

TheHipsThehipsarethefulcrumofthebody.Theyhavethethickestmusclesandtheheaviestbones.Thehipsarethebaseforthearticulatingtorsoandthelocomotivelegs.

Thehipsaretheonlystructureonthebodythatiswiderthanitislong.Squarenessseemsappropriateforitsfoundationalstrength.Ontheotherhand,roundnesssuggestsitspivotalqualities.Thebiggestdifferenceinthemaleandfemalesilhouetteisseenofteninthehips.Amale’shipsmovesmoothlyintothelegswhilethefemale’sresemblesmoreofadiamondshape.

Thehipsareapivotpointfortheupperandlowerbody.

Severalmalehipstructures

Severalfemalehipstructures

Thehipsinrecliningpositions

RECLININGTohelpvisualizethis,thinkofafoot.Theheelpressesagainsttheground.Theballofthefootandthetoespressagainsttheground.Andthearchliftsoffbetween.

Thatis,essentially,whathappenswiththehips,ribcage,andwaist.Inthefigureabove,noticewherecontactismadewiththegroundIcutoffthetubeoreggshapetoshowtheweightcompressing.Thisisveryimportant.Youcanaddsomeroundnessintherenderingstage.Youcanalsoaddalittlecontrappostotwist!

PullingItTogetherThetorsohastwomajorstructures,threeifyouseparatethewaist.Therearemanyvariations(morethanI’veshownhere),and,yet,they’reallsimplestructureswithsymmetryaroundthecenterline.Aswe’velearned,secondarystructurescanbeadded,shadowscanbeadded(we’llbringthatbackinchapter11)—youcanpackallsortsofextradetailsintoyoursketches.Staysimple,though.Getthebasicsdown.It’slikepracticingscalesonthepiano.Therestfollowsnaturally.

Varioustorsodrawingsingouacheandpenandinkonscrapbookpaper

OLDMASTERstudy

NoticehowMichelangelotooktheideaofcontrappostotothelimitandmaybebeyond.Michelangeloaddedextralengthinthewaist(ashelikedtosometimesdo)togivecredenceandemphasistothatmightyrotation.

Noticealsohowthelegsaredrawnalittlesmall.Isthataproblem?Youdecide.Shouldhehavepuncheduptheproportionsordotheshorterlegskeepthefocusonthatdynamictorso?Itisquiteallrighttoquestionthegreats.That’showyourvisionbecomesyoursandnotsomeoneelse’s!

ASeatedMaleNudeTwistingAround,c.1505,MichelangeloBuonarroti(1475–1564).Penandinkwithwashonpaper.BritishMuseum,London/BridgemanImages.

LookatthealmostimpossiblecontrapposopresentedinMichelangelo’swarriorfigureasheturnstowardtheaction.Theseideaswe’reworkingwitharen’tjustcraftconcepts.TheycanusedtomakeemotionallypowerfulstatementsasMichelangelohasdonehere.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Everydayforaweekdoabasicbreakdownofoneofmysketchbookdrawingsorgouachestudies.Youwanttolearntoseepastthecrosshatches,theshadowshapes,thecolorgradation,andalltherestandfindourtwofoundationalideasthatholdittogether:gestureandstructure.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Doaquickbreakdownofonebodypart.Thinkhowfaryoucouldgetinayearbyjustcommittingfiveminutesaday.

Masteringyourcraftisallaboutmileage,andthere’snobetterwaytogainmileagethanbykeepingasketchbook.Noneoftheworkhastobeperfect.Instead,justsearchforanswersandhavefun.

CHAPTER9THEARMSANDHANDS

Toachievethefullestrangeofmotion,thearmshavethemostcomplicatedengineeringofthebody.Forthehaplessartist,thatmeansjustknowingthestructureofthearmswon’tcutit.Weneedtoknowabitofanatomyforthemtofeelmobileandnotjuststuckon.Understandingtheinterlockingconnectionsiscrucial.

StudyofaMan’sRightArm,HisHandHoldingaStick,c.sixteenthcentury,FrancescoParmigianino(1503–1540).Chalkonpaper.ChatsworthHouse,Derbyshire,UK/BridgemanImages.

Musculature,illustrationfromTabulaesceletietmusculorumcorporishumani,1740,byBernhardSiegfriedAlbinus(1697–1770).Engraving.HumboldtUniversityofBerlin/BridgemanImages.

TheShoulderGirdleThechestandcollarbones,theshoulders,andtheshruggingmusclesandshoulderbladestogethermakeuptheshouldergirdle.Thinkofitasshoulderpadsonafootballplayer.The

shouldergirdleiswhatcreatesthedelicatebalancebetweenstrappingthearmsfirmlytotheribcageandkeepingthemagileenoughtoscratchyournoseorswingtothenexttree.

Thetrickisthatthearmboneconnectstotheshoulderbladewhiletheshoulderblade“floats”androtatesoverthetopoftheribcagebecauseofaningeniousseriesofmuscles.

Thebasicmechanismisthis:Whenanarmhastoexertforcebypositioningitselfawayfromitsrelaxedpositionsagainstthetorso,theshoulderblademusclesrotateovertheribsastheshouldermuscleraisesthearmtothecorrectangletodoitswork.Itvariesfrompersontoperson,buttherotationispartoflateralmotionsandbeginsasthearmslifttowardahorizontal.Thechestmusclesmovethearminahuggingaction.Thelatsmovethearminayawningaction.

Itdoesn’tmatterhowtheshouldersmove—theneckandribcagedon’tnecessarilymovewiththem.

Theredarrowindicatestheshoulderbladehasnotrotatedinthisaction.

TheUpperArmTheupperarmcanbetreatedasasimpletubewithparallelsides.Welearnedthisinchapter6.Herewewilltakeitfurther.

Theshouldermuscleiscalledthedeltoidbecauseofitsdelta(Đ)shapebelow.Itintrudeswellintothearmand,onanathleticbuild,theaxisofittotheupperarmcrisscrosses,pushingoutlaterallyastheupperarmmovesforwardandback.Thisconceptisvisualizedbestbyturningthearmintoatwo-by-four(5x10cm)board.

Fromthisfrontviewyoucanseehowthetricepsarewiderthanthebicep.Again,thisdifferenceismostapparentwithamusculararm.Thebicepsplitsintothelowerarminmuchthesamewaytheshouldersplitstheupperarm,thoughitisusuallylessdramatic.

Theforearmintrudesfrombelowinmuchthesamewaytheshoulderdoesfromabove.Noticehowbothshoulderandforearmsplitthebicepsandtricepsaway.Themoremuscularthearm,theshorterthedeltoidbecomes.Thebulkybicepandtricepsriseuptheshoulderlikearisingtideonthebeach.

Therichvarietyofchoicesfortheupperarmcomesfromthedeltoidmuscleaboveandsupinator/extensorgroupbelow.

TheElbowTheelbowisstructurallythecornerbetweentheupperandlowerarm.Whateverbonecomestothesurfaceisrelativelyrounded.DuringtheRenaissance,andforalongtimeafter,theelbowwasdrawnjustthatway.ThedrawingontheleftinFig.Agoesthatway.

Fig.A.PartofmyprocessincludesworkingonjointswheneverIhavemoretimetodraw.Findingthosesecondarystructuresmakesthetwoprimariesconnect.Ofcourse,bringingthepieceintoawell-conceivedwholeisthehardpart.

Modernconvention,astheotherthreedrawingsshows,oftentiesacoupleoftheroundedheadstogethertomakeasquare.Itspeakstotheideathathardboneshouldbesquarer(andmanytimesdarkerinline)andsoftmusclerounder(withatouchlighterline).Thesekindsofvisualmetaphorsareusefulforcreatinganaesthetic“worldview,”sotospeak.

Whateveryoudo,ifyoucanseetheelbow,distinguishitfromtherestofthearm.

TheForearmWhenthepalmofthehandturnsforwardorup,theforearmgetswideacrossthefrontandnarrowacrosstheside.Whenthepalmturnsbackordown,theforearmbecomesmoreegg-ortube-like.Thewristneverchangesshapeandtendstobelikethetwo-by-four(5x10cm)boardshape.

Rememberthatthefrontoftheupperarmisstiffandstraight,andsoistheforearmforaboutathirdorsoofitslength.YoucanseethatontheinsidecontourandtheredgesturelinejustinsideitinthearmatleftinFig.B.Afterthatinitialcontinuationoftheupperarm’sstraightdesign,theforearmtakesoff,flowingawayfromthebody.

Fig.B.Supinatedviewoftheforearm

Youcanseeinallconceptionsthattheupperhalfoftheforearmismorebulbousandthewristissleeker—noticethedrumstickshape—followingtheflowofthegesture.

Whenthearmbendsmorethan90degrees,theelbowcornerbecomestwocornersasthetwopartsofthearmmakethattightturn.We’llseesomethingverysimilarwiththeknee.

TheHandThegesturalconnectionofwristtohandhappensbywayofthetendonsinthewrist.Tendonsaregreat.They’relinesthattakeyouwellintoonepartfromanother.The

relationshipbetweentheparts—that’sgesture.Tendonsaretailormadetohelpwithgestures.Theplacestheyaremostevidentareinthehands,wrists,ankles,andfeet.

Followthehandconstructionjointbyjoint.

THELAY-INOFTHEHANDThebackofthehandisgenerallywiderthanthewristandaboutthesameshapeandproportionastheribcage.Theknucklelineofthehandandeachjointedsectionflowsoffagesturalcurve.Themorewidespreadthefingersare,thebettertheyalign.Watchforthisinsubsequentdrawings.Itgoesalongwaytowardorganizingthewigglydigits.

Markthehalfwaypointonthehand(shownbydottedlinesinillustrationsabove),makingthethumbsidealittlefatterthanthelittlefingerside.Addthefirstjointofeachfinger.

Asyoubuildfromtheknucklestotheendofthefinger,eachfingerjointisaboutone-quartershorterthanthelast.Thethumbstartswithatriangularwebbinginsteadofthefirsttubeshapethefingershave.Addatubeonthatandahookingtubetofinishit.

Backofthehandintwocolors

Thepalmsidehasthreesoftpadswiththefingerandthumbsectionshavingtheirown.Theseprotectthedelicatejointsandcreatetractionforgrip.

Thebackofthehandhasatransitionalwedge-likeformasshownbythebluetintonthehandabove.We’llseeamuchmorepronouncedversioninthefoot.ThiswedgewasanegginRenaissanceworks.Christianartbeingalltheragebackthen,theegghadtheaddedbenefitofconnotingthebirthandrebirthidea.Artisalanguageasrichasanyother.

Palmsideofthehand

THEFINGERSThefingersaresimpletubesuntilyougettothetips.Thesetaperintomoreconicalormorewedge-likestructures.Asalways,youcanmakerounderorsquarerchoices.Andletthatpaddedsidesagatouchtoshowtheirsoftcharacter.

Startwithasimpletubetounderstandthefingertip.Sketchthenailatthetopendofthetube.Thekeyisnottohavetheneatlytrimmednailintrudeintothefrontofthetube.Ifitdoes,itwilllooklikethepoordrawingofftotherightinFig.A.

Fig.A.Structureinthefingernails

Thebottomdrawinginthesamefigure,theonewiththeredarrow,takesitabitfarther.Here,I’vedistortedtheendofthenailintothecontouroftheendofthetube.Lookattheendofyourowntrimmednailsandyou’llsee,atsomepoint,thenaildoescurvethatway.I’vejustmadeithappenalittlesooner.AsI’vesaidbefore,erronthesideofthemoredynamic;pushthingsasmuchasyoucantowardyouridea.You’llseldombedisappointed.

Whataboutthegestureofthefingersthemselves?Afterall,they’reshort,straighttubes.Abentfingermakesachiseledgesture(seeFig.B).Better,wegetthiswonderfulwaveactionwhenweaddtheknuckles—theirriseandfallreinforcedbythesaggingpads.Maketheknucklessquaredormoredome-like.It’sverymuchlikethewedgeshapethattakesusfromthewristtothebackofthehand.

Fig.B.Gestureintheknuckles

THETHUMBPuppydoghead,spoon,andkidneybeanarethethreeshapesthethumbcantakeon,dependingontheangle.Themorechoicesyouhavethroughoutthebody,themoresuccessfulthelay-inandthelessworkanyrefinementwillbe.

Thumbshapes

Handsacrossthefaceingouacheonscrapbookpaper.

OLDMASTERstudy

Asround,soft,andfeminineasLely’sdrawingsare,heusesasurprisingamountofboxes.Noticeinparticularhowthehighlightspickoutthoseboxycornerswhilemovingfluidlydownthelongaxiscurves.Forthemasterfulartisan,that’shisjob!Thebentwristhe’streatedintwoways.Inthetopdrawing,he’sgonefortheRenaissanceeggs;forthelowerleft,it’sthebox.

StudiesofHands,seventeenthcentury,bySirPeterLely(1618–1680).Chalkonpaper.UniversityofOxford,UK/BridgemanImages.

Remember,nomatterhowcomplicatedastructureis,justworkitoutonejointedpartatatime.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Breakdownsomeofthehandandarmstudies,suchasintheexampleonthispage.Payspecialattentiontothejoints.Looktotheinterlocksandworkontheswellingknuckles.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Onceaweek,drawyourownhand,lookingatitdirectlyorinamirror.Don’talwaysjustdrawthewholecomplex.Sometimesdrawthefingerandthumb.Seehowmany

conceptionsyoucandiscoverasyouturnthemthiswayandthat—buildingthatcatalogofshapes,alwaysbuilding!

Studiesofhands

CHAPTER10THELEGSANDFEET

ImagineifthestandingstonesofStonehenge,afterholdingstillforsolong,simplydecidedtowalkoff.Thatjustbeginstodescribethemarvelofourhipandlegdesign.Further,imaginethosestonesrootedintosmallflyingbuttressesthatnotonlydistributetheweight,butalsosoftentheimpactofthatactive/inactivedynamic.Thatdescribesthefeet.Thelegsandfeetarebeautiful,powerful,andcanbeachallengetocaptureonthepage.Let’sseehowwecanrefinethosestrategieswe’vealreadydiscussedasweexplorethelowerextremities.

StudyofaMaleNude,StretchingUpwards,c.sixteenthcentury,MichelangeloBuonarroti(1475–1564).Chalkonpaper.BritishMuseum,London/BridgemanImages.

You’vegottomakethelegsandthehipsateamwhenyoudrawthem.Together,theyaccomplishamazingthings.

PostandLintelHowtosupportgreatweightandstillimbueitwiththepowerofquickanddecisivemotion?Enterthepostandlintelsystem.ThinkStonehengewithoutthecracks.Noticehowthepelvisintheleftfigurebelowacceptsthelegbonesfromthesidesinsteadofthebottom.Thesinglecolumnofheadandtorsostillsitscomfortablyonthetwinpillarsofthelegs.

Thebodyneedsarelativelywidebasetobeabletoholditspositionindefinitely.That’swherethismodifiedpostandlintelsystemcomesin.

Profileschematic.Byforgoingbottomjoineryforside,thelegsareabletoarticulateoffthehipfulcrumandmovetheupperbodyasneeded.

GestureandStructureThereareonlysubtlevariationsofformontheinsideofthelegssotheycancometogetherwithoutdisruption.Theoutsidegoesalittlecrazytoallowforthebigsweepinggesturesofthelowerleg.Thisistruerightdownthroughthefeet.

ThetubestructurethatholdsthekneeinFig.Aandmakesforaneasiertransitionfromthightoshin(seehere–111)alsoleadsusintoimportantsecondarygestures—oneupintothehipandtheotherdowntotheinsideanklebone.FollowtheturquoiselinesinFig.B.

Fig.A.Frontviewarticulation

Thelegmustshowboththestrengthtosupportitsbody’sweightandafluidgracetobeabletomoveit.Observethisimportantbalancingactinyourfavoriteartists’works.

Fig.B.Constructionofthelegwithgesturelines

THECORNERSINTHECURVESBecausethecurvedgesturesareorganiccurves,theyareimperfect.Someofthoseimperfectcurvesspeedup,turnmorequickly,andgiveusapexes.Thatequalscorners.WhatI’msayingistherearecornersinthecurvesthatwillkeepanycontourlinefromlookinglikerubber.Itwillmakethemfeelorganic,sophisticated—andreal.TheturquoisearrowsinFig.1showthemajorcornersinthecurves.

Whereveryouseeabulgingcontour,lookforthecorners,andseewhetheryoucanmakeaneggshapeoutofitagainsttheopposingcontour.I’vemarkedtheminFig.1withturquoiseeggs.

Fig.1.Nature’slittleimperfectionsgiveusachancetoplaywithwonderfulsecondarygestures.

Thecorners-in-the-curvesideaissomethingtolookforthroughoutthebodyand,forthatmatter,throughoutnature.Wetalkaboutroundingoffconstructedcornersallthetime.Infact,that’sthekeytaskofgradation.Now,wecansquareupthecurvesifwelike.

Noticehowthedifferentideasofstructureandgesturehavesomethingincommon.That’sagoodthing.Therearecornersinthecurvesandcurvesinthecorners.Asartistswithuniquevoices,weshallplaywonderfulgamesbringingourtwoideasclosertogetherorpushingthemfartherapart.

TheKneeThekneenestlesintothegreaterformsinstraight-leggedpositions(seeFig.2).Therelaxedformsinalegwiththejointlockedrippleoverthekneelikewaveswashingoverapebbleinthesand.

Fig.2.Alockedkneejoint

Whenthoserelaxedformsjustbegintoflex,thekneebecomesacorner.Butalso,itshowsoffitstendinousconnectionsintothoseupperandlowerforms.Noticeeverylineyoumakeflowsupordown,tyingthelesserstructuresaroundthekneeintothegreaterlegstructures.

Thekneebecomesthefull-fledgedcornerweknowandlovewhenthelegbendsdecisively,asinFig.4.Andliketheelbow,aboxyconstructioncanbeagoodwaytogo.

Fig.3.Aslightlyflexedknee

Fig.4.Bentlegs

Thekneecapanditssurroundingstructurescanseparatefromthebiggerthighstructure.Drawthefulltubeorboxstructureforthethighandthencapthatfullthicknesswiththeknee.Don’tletthethighdeflatedowntoatinykneeending,asshowninFig.5.

Fig.5.Incorrectstructure

Schematicsandsketchesoffrontandprofileviews

TheFootThefootisasnowshoefortheankle,awideplatformofsupport—withatwist.Itneedsstabilityandmobilityliketherestofthebody.Sothattheentirebroadbasecanflex,ithas

anarch.Thearchisalsoashockabsorberfortheimpactthefoottakeswhenallthatweightcomesdownonitinaleap,sprint,orwalk.(Seetheimagesabove.)

Thearchworksfronttoback.Butitalsoworkssidetoside,expandingorcontractingasthefeetspreadwideorclosetogether.

Theanklelocksaroundthefootlikeayokearoundabell—and“rings”thesameway(seeFig.A).

Fig.A.Ankleconnection

Thinkofthebillofacartoonduck.That’swhatthewedgeofthefootlookslikefromthefront(seeFig.B).Torefineit,thewedgeishightothebigtoesideandangleslowertothelittletoeside(shownwiththeredlinearrows).Boththebigtoeandlittletoeknucklesflarewidelytosuggestthatplatformidea.

Fig.B.Theplatformandwedgeofthefoot

Drawingthebackofthefootissimilartodrawingthebackofthehead.Thereareaseriesofsubtleoverlapsthatarecritical,evenmoresoforthefootbecauseabackviewthruststhetoesdeepintothepictureplane.

Backviewsofthefoot

TheheelandAchillestendonmakeafireplaceandchimneystructure(markedinpaleyellowinthefigureabove).Behindthatistheankleandanklebonesection(markedinorange).Makesuretheanklebonesorienthigh/lowtoeachother,asshownbytheredlinewitharrows.Theturquoisesectionisthebodyofthefoot.

THETOESUnlikethefingers,thetoeshaveonlyanarrowabilitytoarticulate,sotheystaygroupedcloselytogetherandwehaveonlythreebasicstructures.Whenanyofthosestructurespressesthegroundastheyusuallydo,reallyflattenyourlinetoshowthecompression.

Weconstructthetoesverymuchlikethefingers.Theyhaveapadontheundersideforgrippingandprotection.Imaginethewholeweightofyourbodyslappingthosepoorlittledigitshardonthegroundandyouseewhythepadsareevenmorerobustthanthefingers.Thismakesthetoeendsveryroundedinshape;withthenailinserted,theylooklikecartoonfaceswithparkason!Theyhaveacertainasymmetryasthetoesconvergeonthecenterlineofthefoot.

Constructionsofthetoes

Toeconnections

Unliketheothers,thebigtoehasaknuckle,generally,thatiscloserincharactertothethumb,anditisoftensquarerincharacter.Whenyouaddtheoriginatingknuckleofthefoot,yougetakindofarchbetweentheplantingballofthefootandthetoe’send,asseeninthetopfigure,opposite.Then,whenwelineupthetoestogether,weseetheirthreestructures.

Noticeinthefigureabovehowtheknucklespushoutoneithersideofthebigandlittletoes.Thisisthatsnowshoeplatformspreadwidebelowthewedgeofthefoot.I’vemarkeditwithredlines.Thetoesexhibitniceinterlockingtothefootstructure.

Thebigtoewithitsarchlookslikeaboxybarbell.Thethreemiddletoesaremorelikefingers.Longandsimple,theycurvedownorstepdowntothetoetips.Iftheygriptheground,theytakeonastrongstair-steppingappearance(theturquoisearrowinthefigureabove).Thelittletoecanlooklikeashorterversionofthemiddlethree.But,moreoften,itlookslikeanegg.

Thebigtoe

Bigtoeknuckle

Finisheddrawingofafoot

OLDMASTERstudy

InthisimagefromRaphael’sSchoolofAthens,thereiscontrappostoeverywhere(followmywhitelines).Icouldn’tresistcallingoutafewexamples.Particularly,noticethewildgesturelinesgoingeverywhichwayonthesprawlingfigureatthebottom.Thehorrorofhissituationcomesacrossmuchmorestronglyfromhisposethanfromtheexpressiononhisface.

Noticehow,asthelegsbendinsupportandaction,thebackhamstringtendonsstretcharoundthelegsandattachbelowthekneelikereinsonahorse.I’vemarkedthesewithredarrows.Thatkindofcuttingacrossattachmentgivesasenseofpower,somethingyoudon’twanttomissinthesekindsofposes.

ThePanelBeneaththeStatueofApolloin“TheSchoolofAthens,”afteradrawingbyRaphael,c.sixteenthcentury,RaphaelSanzio(1483–1520).Chalkonpaper.ChatsworthHouse,Derbyshire,UK/BridgemanImages.

Asyoufollowmymarks,don’tjustlookateachindividuallongaxiscurve.Lookatthewholecomplexofcurves.Gestureinitsgreatestsenseisawondrousdanceofrhythms,eachoneneedingtheotherstomakeitallcometogether.Now,lookattheconstructionofthelegsandhowtheyaresmaller,buteverybitasbeautifulasthegesturesinthoselesserforms.Artisallabouttherelationships.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

RedrawtheMichelangelo(seehere)fromthebeginningofthechapter.Payspecialattentiontohisownredrawoftheright-sidelegandconsiderwhyit’ssomuchbetter.Lookathownicelyhe’sconnectingthefeettotheankles.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

FindtheopposingeggsintheSchoolofAthens,opposite.Remember,ifyouseeabulgingcontourontheleftside,findanopposingbulge(eitherhigherorlower)ontheright.Youshouldbeabletofindseveralineachleg.

Areyoustilldrawinginyourobjectsketchbook?Congratulations!Iknewyouwere.

CHAPTER11FINISHINGDETAILS:LIGHTANDSHADOWS

Chapterafterchapterofgestureandstructurepractice,andstillwehaven’tdonemuchwithshadows.It’stime.

Shadowsarecorners.Theirdarkvaluestietheelementsofacompositiontogetherandgiveitweight.

differentvalue=differentplane

StudyofaMaleNude,c.1715,GiambattistaPiazzetta(1683–754).Blackchalkheightenedwithwhiteonpaper.DetroitInstituteofArts/BridgemanImages.

TheDarksStayDarkRemember,thedarksstaydarkandthelightsstaylight,andthetwodon’tcompete.Weusethesquinttesttoseethemodel(orthereference)inthesamemanner.

Theartistislimitedtoflatpaper.Naturehasnosuchlimitations.Inaddition,thewhitevalueofthepaperisnowherenearthevalueofsunlightoraspotlight.Wecan’tmatchnature’sscope

andwecertainlycan’t“capture”itonpaper.Allwecandoisfindavaluerangethatringstruetonature’srelativelightanddarkrelationship.

Putthatrelationshipinsolidplanesdescribingsolidforms,tieittogetherwithcurvedgesturelines,andwehavesomethingworthhangingonthewall.That’swhatpeoplerespondtoinachiaroscuropiece.

BIGANDSIMPLETOSMALLANDCOMPLEXWegetconfused,lost,andfrustratedchasingthesetheories.Remember,whenindoubt,simplify.Focusonthebigstuff.Findtheformsthattakeyouacrossthewholewidthofthatbodypart.That’sthefoundation.That’sallyouneed.Themediumandsmallstructuresfollow(ornot).

Agreatwaytopracticeiswithtwoorthreebigsimpleformsandhowtheyconnect—likethehipandthighortheribcage,waist,andhips.Letmeshowyou.

Toreview:drawthelongaxisgesture(G1)andthenfollowourprocess.I’vesloweditdownevenmore:

1.Connectingoffthegesture,drawthebeginningoftheform.

2.Drawtheendoftheform.

3.Drawtheshapeoftheshadowinthemiddleoftheform.

Thinkofitastellingastorywithabeginning,anend,andamiddleinbetween:Starttheform,endtheform,andfindthemiddleoftheform.

Usethisprocesstoworkacrossasmallcrosssection,andthenmoveupordowntoanewcrosssection.I’vemarkedthatsection-by-sectionprocesswithA,B,andCinthedrawingabove.Youcanseeitplayoutonthemiddlesetoffigureswiththethree-stepprocessoutlinedpreviously,andinmoredetailonthefarrightfigure.

Usethisprocesstoworkacrossasmallcrosssectionandthenmoveupordowntoanewcrosssection.I’vemarkedthatsection-by-sectionprocesswithA,B,andCabove.

Asingle1(connectinggesture),canplayagainstseveral2s(endoftheform)and3s(shapeoftheshadowinthemiddleoftheform).

Sometimesasidemaybehidden—say,behindthearm.That’sokay.Whatiskeyisfindingtherhythmfromsidetosideandfromsidetoshadow.

Inthesamefigure,lookattheturquoiseballstoseehowthoserhythmsmovelikealoop-the-looprollercoasterthroughthebeginning,middle,andendsequence—that’sveryimportant.Very.

Gestureisdefinedbythelongaxisbecauseallbodypartsconnectendtoend.Thingsdon’tlastlongsidetoside,andtheyhavedefiniteendingsthere.That’sacrosstheform.

Goingdowntheform,astomachmusclerisesup,submerges,thenanotherrisesup,andsoon.Youhavetobuildthevolume,andthenexplainitaway.Makingthosetransitionsfromoneformtothenextistricky.So,workacross,thendown,thenacrossagain,andthendownagain.

Workyourwaythroughtheentirebody,bigsimpleformbybigsimpleform,orstartwiththebigformacrossandthenconstructallthelesserformsacrossontopofit.Whenyou’vefinished,moveontothenextbigsimpleform.

ThebreakdownsfromFig.A,right,followonthenexttwopages.Noticehowtheproportionsinthebreakdownsvaryfromthesourcedrawing.IliketomixthingsupasIgo—searchingforgreaterheroicproportionsinoneormorelengthinanother.Leanthefigurebackmore,tiltthingsintodeeperspace—I’lldoanythingtofindaninterestingtakeonthematerial.Inotherwords,I’mdoingmybestnottocopyit.I’mtryingtogiveitavision.

Fig.A.FigureStudy,c.2001,bySteveHuston.AlphacolorandContéchalkonStrathmore,Bristolfinish.(1)Findtheshapeoftheform;(2)findtheshapeoftheshadowontheform;(3)givetheshadowadarkervalue;and(4)addhalftonegradations.That’sourfour-stepprocess.

Whenpeopleseeyourdrawinginabookoronline,youwantthemtoknowimmediatelythatit’syours.

That’salotofinformation.Let’stakeanotherlook.

I’mworkingfromFig.Aandremovingallthoseintimidatinglumpsandbumps.I’mjustgoingbigandsimple(seeFig.B).TherestwillfollowifIhavethetimeandinclination.Keepinmind,I’vedoneacarefullay-inofthewholebody(orasmuchasIplantodrawofit)beforebeginningmyshadingwork.

Fig.B.Alwaysstartwithasolidlyconstructedfigure.

A.Istartwiththebigsimpleribcage(seeFig.C).Ionlyseeabitofitunderthebreast.That’sallIneed.Followitwith1,2,and3(seetheright-sidedrawing),thenfillitinwith4(theshadow),andmoveon.

Fig.C.Beginningtoaddtheshadows

B.I’maddingthebreastbecauseit’sintheway.IcouldhavestartedwithitbecauseitisinterruptingthebigsimplestructureIneeded.Followwith1,2,and3—castitsshadowovertheribs.Makesureittracksoverthatsimplifiedsurfacelikeanantoverapicniccloth.I’mleavingouttheshadowvalueonstepBtodistinguishitfromstepA.

Hint:NoticethatIwobbletheshadow(#3)ofthebreasttosuggestthenipple.Idon’thavetostructureoutthenipplebecausethefoundationalstructureofthebreastissolid.Ifyougetthe

bigstuff,wobbleaway,andthelittlestuffwillusuallytakecareofitself.Butthestep-by-stepprocessisalwaystherewhenyouneedit.

Now,Icankeeprenderingacrosstofindthelesserstructures.I’veaddedsomemoreribs.Theegg-likerhythmsinturquoiseinFig.Dshowhowtheytiebackintothegreaterribcage.Everythingconnects.Thatistheideaofgesture.

Fig.D.Gettingthelesserstructures

I’veerasedorlightenedthelay-inlines.Normally,I’djustleavethem,butIwantedthenewadditionstobeclear.I’vealsodarkenedandrefinedthecontours.Noticetheaddedribswobbleandsodoesthecastshadowoffthebreast.Forthecastshadow,Ijustdrewadarklineoverthelighterone.Noneedtoerase.

Staylightwithyourlinesforaslongaspossible.Itpaysoff.

Ontotheshoulderandshoulderblade(seeFig.E).Irefinemylay-inalittle,makingsureeverythingtracks.Then,it’sbacktomyprocess.Alwaystrusttheprocess.Youcanalwaysshortcutlaterwhenyoufeelconfident.ThetinystuffbetweenshoulderbladeandbreastIcanpickupassubtledetail.Givethemaconnectiverhythmtosomegreaterstructureandyou’llbefine.

Fig.E.Addingtheshoulderblade

Thesafestthingtodo,untilyou’vereallynailedthechiaroscuroidea,iskeeptheshadowdetailsimple.Useline.Stayawayfromthereflectedlightstuff.Itjustmakesdrawingharderinthebeginning.Whoneedsthat?

HighlightsandLighterHalftonesUsingmiddle-valuepaper(notabright,coloredone)givesusagroundonwhichtoaddhighlightsandlighterhalftones.Theyperformmanyfunctionsfortheartist.Theyincreasethecontrastbetweenlightanddark.Pushingthechiaroscuroeffectisusuallyagoodidea.Theyaddnuanceand,potentially,moreroundnessand,evenpossibly,texturetothelightside.Andhighlightsfindmorecorners.

Cornerhighlightshavethemostbenefit.TorepeatwhatI’vesaidpreviously,thecoreshadowistheprimarycornerforthestructure.It’swheretheplanesinlightmeettheplanesinshadow.Ahighlightiswhereatleasttwoplanesmeet,butallplanesareinlight.Highlightsgiveusmorestructure.

Makesurethehighlightstaysawayfromthedarkerhalftoneandthecoreshadowedge.Thinkofthetoneasthecolorvalue.Ifyouaredrawingafigure,thenthetonedpaperistheskintone.

Ithelpstheeffectifyouaddaslightgradationtothehighlightasitmovesdowntheform.Itmightbethedrop-offoflightoraflaringeffectfromtheangleviewed.Eventhatsubtlechangemovestheviewer ’seyeandhewillfeelmorevolume.

Iftheobjectisbacklit,thehighlightmightblastoutthelightswithlittleornogradation.Typically,theartistthenputstherenderingintotheshadowside.JoaquínSorolla’sbacklitfiguresonthebeachareprobablythemostfamousexamplesofthis.

AsI’vementioned,highlightscanbeusedtopushthecontrast.Inthetopleftobjectinthedrawingabove,noticehowthehighlightsnugglesrightuptothecastshadowedgeonthebox,poppingthevaluechange.Thisistotallydifferentfromtheideaofkeepingthehighlightawayfromthecoreshadowedges,asdemonstratedeverywhereelse.

Youcanseeinthefountainpensketchatrightinthebottomleftfigure,thathighlightscanbeusedeveninquicksketches.Justchasethecorners.

Tonedpaperobjects

Tonedpaperfigures

Step-by-stepforrenderingshadowsontonedpaper.Alwaysstartwiththebasicconstruction.

Remembertofollowthegestures.That’sright.Highlightsaregestures,too,astheytrackthecornerdownitslongaxis.Iftheyfollowthecurvedcharacteroftheform(andwehopetheyalwaysdo),that’sthedefinitionofagesture.

Didyoualreadyfigurethatout?Ifnot,don’tfret.Thisbookisaboutonlytwoideas—butthey’rebigideas.Theyarealottoholdonto.

Beawareofthedirectionofthelightsource.Ifit’scomingfromtheupperleft,everythingturningdownand/ortotherightwillgetdarker.Lookwherethehighlightspushupagainstcastshadows,creatingnewcornersawayfromcoreshadows,andtheyworkgreatforcreatingzigzagpinches.

Iusethisstylealot—almostexclusively—inlifedrawing.It’sanoverblownstyleintermsofshapedesignandhighlightuse.Typically,youwanttosubmergebothintoamorecohesivewhole.However,Ihaveabig-budget,Baroque-kindofstyle.AndI’mreallyexaggeratinginthesketchasnotationsforaneventualpainting.Makingthemark“loud”actsasareminder.

Infact,thetonedpapertechniqueisagreattransitionintopainting.Youstartwithamiddle-valueground(thepaper),knockdownthedarks,andaccentwiththelights.ThatishowmostchiaroscuropainterssuchasvanDyke,Rembrandt,andSargentworked.

Thesamedrawingwithnewhighlights

Hereisthesamefigureagain(above)withtamed-downhighlightsandhalftones.Evenhere,they’restillquitestrong.LookatthePiazzettaatthestartofthechapter(seehere)toseehowtametheOldMastersmadethem.

Everyhighlightisdoingitsstructuralworkofcreatingoraccentingcornersanditsgesturalworkofmovingdownthelongaxisorfindingan“out”fromoneformtothenext.We’retryingtomakeeverymarkcount,remember?

OLDMASTERstudy

Let’slookattheshadowpatternfromthisCarraccimasterpiecefromchapter5.Noticetheincrediblerestraintintheuseofhighlights.I’veremovedmostofthesecondaryformstomaketheanalysiscrystalclear.

Carracciwasoneofthegreatestdraftsmeninhistory,andthispieceshowsit.Lookathowfaithfultheshadowshapesareintermsofgestureandstructure.Herewegetamuchclearerexampleofhowshadowsshowcorners.

Idustedbackthebulgeoftheshouldermuscletomakethatcornerobviousanddidsomethingsimilartotheknee.Buttherearecornerseverywhereifyouknowhowtolook.Andbynow,youdo!

AMaleNudeSeatedwithHisBackTurned,AnnibaleCarracci(1560–1609).Chalkonpaper.Privatecollection/BridgemanImages.

Solidshadowsgiveweighttothemanyvariedpositionsofthisdifficultandnuancedpose.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise1

Warmupbydrawingtheshadowshapesofballs,boxes,andtubesfrommemoryorfrommyearlierattempts.Addshadowshapestothem.Now,gobacktothestep-by-stepanalysesweworkedthroughandselectonlyoneconstructedshapefromthatdrawing—say,aneggfortheribcage.Doour1-2-3process:(1)Drawthebeginningoftheegg.(2)Drawtheendoftheegg.(3)Drawthemiddleshadowshapeoftheegg.Dothiswithseveraldrawings.Thatshouldhelptheprocesssinkin.

GIVEITATRY:Exercise2

Usingtonedpaperandpickingtwoorthreebodypartsfromanyofthedrawingsfromthischapter,doacarefullay-in.Then,breakdownthebigsimpleshadowshapesonthe

bigsimpleforms.Doitagain.Thistime,addsomesecondaryforms.Doitagain.Addthehighlights.

CONCLUSION

FIVEMINUTES

HowtoStartIhopeforyoucountlesslittleimprovementsthroughoutalongandfruitfullife.

Artwantsyouforthelonghaul.Paceyourself.Anathleteisoldatthirty-four.Artistsarecatchingtheirstrideatsixty.

There’safamousanecdoteaboutAndersZorn.Itmaybeapocryphal.Zornwenttoartschooleighthoursaday,sothestorygoes.Notenoughforthisprodigioustalent,sohewenthomeandpaintedforfourmore.Twelvehoursaday:that’showmuchdedicationZornputintohiscraft.

Goodforhim,andgoodforyouifyoucandoit.Andyoumaybethetypethatcan.But,ifyou’renot...

You’lltryitforaweek—failmiserably.You’llgiveupyourdream,convincedyouneverhadit,whateveritis.

VariousfiguresinmarkerpenandbrownandwhiteCarbOthellopencilontonedpaper

Justasthere’sanarttodrawingabeautifulfigure,there’salsoanarttoreinventingyourself.Bothneedaprocesstobuildon.

•Iwanttobeafineartist.

•Iwanttobeananimator.

•IwantahobbyotherthansurfingtheInternet.

•Iwanttodrawmygrandchildorgrandparentandbeproudenoughtoframeit.

Whateveryourdreamis,trythis:Drawforfiveminutesaday.Drawatube.Drawafigure.Drawtheeyeofafigureorwhateveryoucandrawinfiveminutes.Dothatfortwoweeksandonlythat.Ifyoumissadayortwo,forgiveyourselfandstartagain.

Whenyou’veaccomplishedthose,makeittenminutesaday.Dothatforanotherweek.

Thestrangeandwondrousthingaboutthehumanconditioniseachofusneedstomotivateourselvestobecomethepersonwereallywanttobe.Motivate!It’susuallyaboutforming

goodhabitsandbuildingoncountlesslittleimprovements:improvementsincraft,inworkhabits,incuttingourselvesabreakeveryonceinawhile.So...

•fiveminutes

•tenminutes

•fifteenminutes

Focusongestureandstructurewitheverymarkyoumakeanditwillleadyoutogreatthings.

Eventually,you’llfindagoodhabithasformed,andyounolongerhavetofoolyourselfintodoingwhatyoureallywantedtodoallalong.You’llalsofindthefiveortenminutesoftenturnintotenorfifteenminuteswithoutevenrealizingit.

Now,howareyoufeeling?Likeawinner?Anartist?Youshould.Artistsdoart,andyou’vebeendoingiteverysingleday.

Howmanyhoursdofiveminuteseverydayovertwentyyearsequal?Alot.Beinitforthelongterm.Andwhenyou’renotdrawingwithapencil,drawwithyoureyes.Seetheworldasanartistbecauseyouareanartist.Bemodestinyourgoals,atfirst.

Fiveminutesadayandsoonyou’llbeputtinginthelonghourswithouteventhinkingaboutit.Why?Becauseyouprovedweeksagowhoyoureallyare!

So,Iwishforyouthosesmallimprovements.Because,then,Iknowyou’llbemakingnewonesnextyearandtheyearafterthat,justlikeIwillbe.

I’llknowbothofusaremakingourworldalittlemorebeautiful,fiveminutesatatime.

HowtoKeepGoingIhopethisprocessofmakingthingscometogetherbeautifullyhasbeenanenrichingexperienceforyou.Makingthingscometogetherbeautifully—that’sametaphor,isn’tit?MetaphorispartofthemythicideathatIspokeaboutontheveryfirstpageofthisbook.Metaphorsandmythconnectstraighttotheheartandbypassthehead.Andthatisart’sgreatpower,aswell.Havingavisionofhowthingsshouldcometogether,andthendoingit,isanendeavorthatcanseepintothesoulandwhisperlittlewisdomsaboutlife,wisdomswedon’tevenhavethewordstoaskabout.

Don’tgetmewrong.Inbetweenthemeditativemomentsyoumightbetemptedtotearyourhairout.Artcanbehard.But,oh,whenthosesublimemomentscome,itisyouwhofeelsconnected,andthehairlossiseasilyworthit.

“Cometogether.”Thataestheticwisdomdeservesitsownschoolofphilosophy,itseemstome.Well,atleastwecanpreachitwithourpencils!Andthatisnotsuchabaddeal.

I’vespentmylifebeinganartist,mostofitasaprofessional.Iwishthatforyou,aswell,ifyouwishitforyourself.Manyofusmayjustwanttohavefunandimprovealittle,orusetheprocessasalovelyreleaseoftension.Andthatisasitshouldbe.Onwhateverlevelyouchoosetoparticipate,artenrichesyou.Andwhenyouhavethecouragetodoadrawing,whetherit’sfromtimetotimeorallthetime,well,theworldisbetterforit.

It’sbeenaprivilege“talking”artwithyou.Thankyou.Ifeelricherforitaswell.PleaseletmeknowonmyFacebookpagewhereyournewadventuretakesyou.Onwhateverlevelyouchoosetoparticipate,I’veexperiencedwhatyou’reabouttoand,Imustsay,I’malittlejealousaboutwhat’sinstoreforyouasIthinkbacktothoseoldfeelings.

Gohavefun.Gohavethetimeofyourlifeandmakeusallbetterbydoingso.

AbouttheAuthor

SteveHustonisanativeofAlaskawhoreceivedhisdegreefromtheArtCenterCollegeofDesigninPasadena,California.Hefirstestablishedhimselfasasuccessfulillustrator,commissionedbysuchhigh-profileclientsasParamountPictures,MGM,andWarnerBrothers.

AfterholdingafacultypositionattheArtCenter,inadditiontoteachingcoursesinlifedrawing,anatomy,andcompositionfortheartistsandanimatorsofDisneyandDreamworksSKGstudios,Hustonearnestlybeganhiscareerasafineartist,winningtopprizesattheCaliforniaArtClubGoldMedalShowtwoyearsinarow.Astringofgalleryshowsfollowed,firstinLosAngelesandtheninNewYorkandelsewhere.

Hustoncontinuesexhibitinghisworkwidely.Hisworksarepoetic,poignant,andmasterfullypowerful,andhisfiguresareiconicarchetypesofmasculineandfemininelineandform.Hisworkismuchsoughtafterbyprestigiousprivatecollectors,distinguishedfellowartists,andothercognoscentiofthecontemporaryartworld.Hehasbeenanextraordinarilyeffectivementorwhoseinstructionandguidancehaveproducedanimpressivenumberofaccomplishedacolytes.

Acknowledgments

AsIofferthisbookasateachingguidetoyou,Iwanttotakeamomenttothankthosewhowereatleastasgenerousintheirguidanceofme.FirsttoVernonWilson,thekindestteacherIeverhadthepleasureofstudyingunder.VernistheonlyartistI’veeverseendrawwiththerhythmandgraceofanorchestraconductor.Vern,theimageofyoudrawinghasbeenaninspirationtomemywholecareer.Thanks,myfriend.You’reagoodman!

ThankstoDanMcCaw.Hestartedasmyteacherandquicklybecamecheerleaderandfriend.Danisthekindofsoulwhowouldgiveyoutheshirtoffhisback.Hiskeenguidanceduringtheyearshasgivenmegiftsfargreater.IalsowanttothankHarryCarmeanforhismasterfuldemonstrationofnotonlyhowtodraw,butalsohowtoremainastudentofartevenintoyournineties.DavidMocarskiforgivinggenerouslyofhistimecritiquingmyworkagoodyearafterIleftschool.Thanks,David.AndtoRichardBunkall.Richarddiedfartooyoung,butwasaphilosophicalcoachformeinhislastmonths.ThankyouRichard.

Andyou,myreaders,willbenefitimmenselybyexploringeachofthesefineartist’sworkontheweb.

Last,Iwanttothankmyfamily,mydearfamily,includingbutnotlimitedtomyparents,mylovelychildren,andtheloveofmylife,mywifeJen.Thankyoumostofall,sweetheart.Forme,thehoneymoonhasneverended!

AlsoAvailable

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“SteveHustonisoneofthemostuniquelypowerfulartistsoutthere...amodernmaster.[FigureDrawingforArtists]isaphenomenalresource.Steve’sinsightandloveforwhathedoesinspires.Thisbookshouldbeineverystudent’slibrary.Thatbeingsaid,it’sforeveryartist—studentsandprofessionalsalike.”

—CarlosHuante,artdirector,IndustrialLight&Magic,adivisionofLucasfilm

©2016QuartoPublishingGroupUSAInc.

FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericain2016byRockportPublishers,anImprintofQuartoPublishingGroupUSAInc.100CummingsCenterSuite406-LBeverly,Massachusetts01915-6101Telephone:(978)282-9590Fax:(978)283-2742QuartoKnows.comVisitourblogsatQuartoKnows.com

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformwithoutwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightowners.Allimagesinthisbookhavebeenreproducedwiththeknowledgeandpriorconsentoftheartistsconcerned,andnoresponsibilityisacceptedbyproducer,publisher,orprinterforanyinfringementofcopyrightorotherwise,arisingfromthecontentsofthispublication.Everyefforthasbeenmadetoensurethatcreditsaccuratelycomplywithinformationsupplied.Weapologizeforanyinaccuraciesthatmayhaveoccurredandwillresolveinaccurateormissinginformationinasubsequentreprintingofthebook.

Digitaleditionpublishedin2016

Digitaledition:978-1-63159-178-5Softcoveredition:978-1-63159-065-8

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataavailable.

Design:PrancesDesign,Inc.CoverImage:SteveHustonPageLayout:meganjonesdesign.comInteriorIllustrations:SteveHuston,exceptwherenoted.