DrawingSculptingTheFigure_book1.pdf

Drawing & Sculpting The Figure Author: Lance Dooley

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Table of Contents Part 1: INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION TO FIGURE DRAWING .................................................................... 5 The Language Language of Art ...................................................... ............................................................................................................. .................................................................... .............7 7 Elements of a Figure Drawing...........................................................................................................8 Gesture ................................................................................................................................................9

Proportions .....................................................................................................................................10 Values (Light & Shadow) ................................................................................................................14 Artistic Anatomy .................................................. ........................................................ ............................................................................ .................... 15 Composition (Design).......................................................................................................................16 Block in (Contour) ...........................................................................................................................17 !

Gestural Block in Studies ....................................................... ............................................................................................................... .........................................................18 .18 !

Block in, Shading .............................................................................................................................19 !

Line To Mass.....................................................................................................................................20 Shadow Mapping..............................................................................................................................21 Compression & Tension...................................................................................................................22 Conveying Naturalistic Mass...........................................................................................................23 Contrapposto ....................................................................................................................................24 Foreshortening (Inferior View).......................................................................................................25 Foreshortening Foreshortening (Superior (Superior View) ..................................................... ..................................................................................................... ................................................ 26 Foreshortening Foreshortening (Superior (Superior View with Theme) Theme) ................................................... ............................. 27 Hands.................................................................................................................................................28 Feet.....................................................................................................................................................30 Mood..................................................................................................................................................31 Design Quality Quality – Contour and External Geometry.......................................... Geometry.......................................... ............................. 33 Creating Atmosphere.......................................................................................................................34 Drawing From Sculptures Sculptures ...................................................... .............................................................................................................. .........................................................35 .35 Conceptual Drawings.......................................................................................................................36 Clothed Subjects...............................................................................................................................37 Figure Drawing Drawing Example: Example: Fail Safe Method Method.................................................... ................................................................................. ............................. 38 Figure Drawing Example: Dancer..................................................................................................40 Figure Drawing Drawing Example: Locked Legs......................................... Legs......................................................................................... ................................................ 41 Figure Drawing Example: Mandolist.............................................................................................42 Figure Drawing Drawing Example: Example: Sarah Sarah & the Sword ................................................ ............................. 44 Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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3 Figure Drawing Drawing Example: Example: Reclining with a Twist........................................................................ Twist........................ ................................................ 46 Principle of Design: Design: Geometry Geometry............................................... ............................................... ........................................................ .........................................................47 .47 Part 2: UNDERSTAN UNDERSTANDING DING THE PORTRA PORTRAIT IT ........................................................ ............................................................................ .................... 48 The Skull ...........................................................................................................................................49 The Eye..............................................................................................................................................50 The Nose ....................................................... ............................................................................................................... ..................................................................................... ............................. 52 The Mouth.........................................................................................................................................53 The Ear..............................................................................................................................................54 Portrait Drawing Drawing Example: Example: Elderly Elderly Man ................................................ ...................................... 55 Portrait Drawing Example: Example: Woman Woman ........................................................ .............................................................................................. ...................................... 56 Portrait Drawing Example: Example: Rebasong Rebasong ..................................................... ........................................................................................... ...................................... 57 Portrait Sculpting Sculpting Example: Example: Rebasong Rebasong .................................................... .......................................................................................... ...................................... 58 Sculpting Stands Stands and Studio Concerns .................................................... .......................................................................................... ...................................... 61 Proportions Proportions & Measurements Measurements of the Adult Portrait Portrait ................................................. .................... 62 Portrait Sculpture: Sculpture: Clay Block-in to Bronze Cast .................................................... ........................................................................ .................... 64 Profile of Southern Southern Italian Woman ................................................ ................................................ 66 Mask of Native American American Man....................................................... Man ....................................................................................................... ................................................ 68 Drawing The Profile: Profile: the Rudder of the Face .................................................. ............................. 69 Portrait of a Peruvian Woman........................................................................................................70 Portrait of African American Man.................................................................................................71 Portrait of a Thin Woman...................................................... Woman .............................................................................................................. .........................................................72 .72 Modeling Form: Form: Ukrainian Ukrainian Woman.................................................................. ............................. 73 Portrait of an Italian Italian Man ...................................................... .............................................................................................................. .........................................................74 .74 Profile of Elderly Native American American Man ............................................................................ ...........76 ........... 76 Posterior Posterior View of Skull .................................................. ....................................................... .................................................................. ...........77 77 Drawing Into Painting .....................................................................................................................78 Part 3: FIGURE FIGURE SCULPTING SCULPTING ....................................................... ....................................................................................................... ................................................ 79 The Torso (Male)..............................................................................................................................80 Maximum Gesture............................................................................................................................83 Contour Line in Sculpture...............................................................................................................88 Clothing in Sculpture Sculpture ..................................................... ............................................................................................................ .................................................................. ...........89 89 Figure Sculpture Example: Example: Traditional Anatomical Anatomical Pose ........................................................... ..................... ...................................... 90 Figure Sculpture Armature .................... ...................... ....................... ...................... ....................... ......... 90 Shaped Armature .......................................................................................................................................91 Proportional Assessment............................................................................................................................92

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4 Block-in Torso, Legs, Head........................................................................................................................93 Torso Block-in.............................................................................................................................................94 Shoulders & Arms ...................................................................................................................................... 95 Complete Block-in ......................................................................................................................................96

Figure Sculpture Example: Heroic Sized Figure Sculpture.............................................. ...........97 Maquette to Monumental Scale Portrait ............................................................................ .........100 Anthropomorphism........................................................................................................................103 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 105 Table of Contributing Artists........................................................................................................105 Appendix A: Relative Proportions..................................................................... ........................... 106 Appendix B: Artistic Terminology ............................................................................................... 107 Line, Shape, Form, Gesture.....................................................................................................................107 Spatial Relationships ................................................................................................................................ 107 Light & Value ...........................................................................................................................................108 Composition ..............................................................................................................................................108

Appendix C: Anatomical Terminology ................................................... ..................................... 110 Appendix D: FIGURE DRAWING SYLLABUS ........................................................................111 Syllabus for Figure Drawing I, II, III ..................................................................................................... 111 Course Description & Objectives............................................................................................................111 Textbook and Recommended Reading...................................................................................................111 Grading......................................................................................................................................................112 Weekly Topics...........................................................................................................................................113 Materials List ............................................................................................................................................ 113 Homework Assignments & Sketch Book................................................................................................115 Tiers of Mastery & Progression of Skills ...............................................................................................116

Appendix E: FIGURE SCULPTING SYLLABUS ................................................... ..................117 Syllabus for Figure Sculpting I ...............................................................................................................117 Course Description & Objectives............................................................................................................117 Textbook and Recommended Reading...................................................................................................117 Grading......................................................................................................................................................118 Weekly Topics...........................................................................................................................................119 Materials List ............................................................................................................................................ 120

Appendix F: SCULPTURE PROJECT GUIDE TEMPLATE.................................................. 121 Appendix M: A GUIDE TO MOLD MAKING................................................ ........................... 122 Citations ..........................................................................................................................................146


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Part 1: INTRODUCTION TO FIGURE DRAWING Figure drawing is the art of drawing the human body. Life drawing is the art of drawing the human body while observing a live model. In this publication We use the term figure drawing to encapsulate all activities and forms of drawing the human body, weather it is from imagination, reference material or observing a live model. We will discuss a variety of topics in an attempt to introduce the reader to the field of figure drawing.

This publication is not all inclusive and the serious artist or art student will build their knowledge and skills in the area of figure drawing by acquiring as much reference material as possible, as well as practicing the art of figure drawing on a regular basis. Many artists dedicate a large p ortion of their work to figure drawing, figure painting and figure sculpting. This type of artist is referred to as a figurative artist and when the term artist is used for the remainder of this publication, it is implied we are referring to the figurative artist. The section on The Language of Art will introduce some vocabulary used by artists. At the core of this publication is the concept of learning and knowing how to create a harmonious figure drawing by balancing the five elements found in a figure drawing: gesture , proportion , values , anatomy & composition . With a trained eye and strong but delicate command over one’s motor skills, it is possible to create a higher level of aesthetic in one’s figure drawings. While taste is always important in any conv ersations about art, it is always possible for the artist to become more skilled at depicting the human figure accurately. The artist is then free to use this ability to his own ends, whether for realism or something more fanciful. Therefore, the bulk of the material in this publication is dedicated to understanding how to create and recognize figure drawings that convey a naturalistic look. To the professional, this means honing in o n the Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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6 largest broadest movements of a figure and reproducing these accurately. In contrast, the amateur will focus on the details first and try to build a drawing around that.

Without the fundamental knowledge of how to create a well!structured figure, the skills of an artist would be stunted and maximum potential may not be reached. Inversely so, pure skill with no creativity produces dead work. Hence, the delicate balance of knowledge, motor skills, and creativity is the holy grail of the artist. This publication has included examples from a variety of styles to promote maximum awareness. Examples on techniques, approaches and methods to drawing and then sections on special topics will collectively address a variety of important concerns an d concepts for the artist. The art student will especially benefit from these sections, which will show many examples concerning how the human body appears and what problems to avoid.

A section on drawing from sculptures has been added because drawing classical sculpture casts is a stable of an academic education. A section on the portrait has been included because of the challenges presented to the artist when confronted with drawing the portrait. It is often said, “the portrait sells the drawing”.

Before we begin, another point to be aware of is how the artist views the model. It is impossible to leave behind all of the preconceived notions of what we think the human body looks like. However, when drawing a specific human body, the artist must remember not project oneself onto the paper. The power of seeing is the greatest ability an artist can possess. Once the forms are seen as they truly are, then motor skills can be learned to render the specific shapes and character of the model.


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The Language of Art Drawing is a visual language and no amount of verbiage can make up for what can be instantly recognized by our eyes and minds. The language used by artists is a set of terms and phrases used to describe lines, shapes, forms and colors. In its most basic sense, representational art is form. The more va ried and intriguing the forms an artist can create or mimic, the more interesting the art will be. Art that is amorphous or without form is often dull and boring. Art that lacks structure will quickly lose our attention and hav e no relevance to the viewer. Hence, there is a need to understand the structure of the human figure and to describe it with minimal subjectivity. Shapes found throughout the figure are exact and vary from subject to subject. Forms are conveyed to us optically through an understanding of light, shadow and variation in the value changes along the borders between light and shadow.

An adult can predict the tactile nature of an object optically. We begin learning the lessons of object softness and hardness from the moment we enter the world. Much like a dog explores objects with its mouth, we explore objects with our hands. The relation between the tactile nature of an object and its appearance are recorded in our minds and as we age, we no longer need to touch everything in front of us to predict its tactile properties.

The trained artist will use the knowledge of optics to manipulate any medium to create the illusion of form. When the artist’s ability to render form has reached an advanced state, he or she can trick the viewer into believing that what has been created on paper, canvas or clay has a life of its own.


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Elements of a Figure Drawing The primary elements of a figure drawing are: gesture , proportions , values , anatomy & composition . These terms will be used extensively throughout this text. In an ideal setting with the best materials and media at hand, the drawing with the most thoughtful balance of these five aspects will often have the greatest appeal to the viewer. It is of course possible to dedicate more energy to any of the singular elements at the expense of the others in order to achieve a style that brings one’s attention to the expression and mood. This can be an important thing for the artist to do and it will affect the style. Remember these 5 concepts as you create your drawing and think of these concepts in a circular manner in which each aid in the development of each other: Gesture

Proportions

Values (Light & Shadow)

Anatomy

Composition

Composition Gesture

Anatomy

Proportions

Light & Shadow


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Gesture Gesture refers to the overall movement, twisting, and dynamic aspect of a figure. The human body can be oriented in countless positions to maximize gesture and the artist will often push the model or use the power of observation to look for more gesture. Gesture is the primary mean s by which emotion is conveyed in a drawing. The initial strokes of a drawing can greatly influence the eventual progression of a drawing. The more advanced or professional artist will recognize the largest movements of the drawing and begin plotting those onto the paper. A drawing without gesture is static. Gesture is often thought of as the most important element in a drawing and that is why we discuss it first. If an artist neglects or fails to employ any of the other four elements, then the drawing could still be saved if the gesture was extremely well done. The term “gesture study” refers to the exercise of drawing only the gesture of a figure. In and of itself, this can be a valuable exercise. As the artist’s skill progresses, the gestural element of a figure drawing will always remain of paramount importance. Howev er, without giving consideration to proportion, values, anatomy and composition, the gestural studies may never blossom into a balanced drawing.


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Proportions The proportions of a figure refer to the relative lengths, sizes, thicknesses and distances of the various elements of the body. A system of proportions uses a body part as a unit of measurement: the head being a popular choice as it's essentially bone and does not change in size. If one says that a figure is an X headed figure, what is meant is that the length of the head can be stacked up X times and it would equal the figures height from foot to top of the head.

Ideal Proportions Through the centuries there have been various cannons of ideal proportions used by artists. Michelangelo used a 7 and a half head figure. Other artists used an 8 or even a 9 head figure. Using a higher head number figure will make the figure look more heroic and increasingly unrealistic and stylized. The ideal proportions therefore have changed throughout time and are different between cultures. Regardless of race, most adults in the world are between 6.5 to a 7.5 heads tall. Leonardo da Vinci created a famous drawing called the Vitruvian Man that was an attempt at demonstrating the ideal proportions. Vitruvian Man is depicted with outstretched arms and legs in two superimposed positions inscribed in a circle and square relationship derived from a passage about geometry and human proportions in the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio.

Natural Proportions Even though the heights of people are different, the human body tends to be structured in a proportionate manner. Unless you are creating a fictional character from your imagination or trying to alter your figure drawing to achieve some type of style, it is best not to adhere to an ideal proportion. The artist should always be aware of what is in front of him and that should be the basis of the figure drawing, not a prefabricated generic figure in the mind’s eye. When observing the proportions of a live model, one must always keep in mind that unless the figure is standing perfectly erect and facing the artist, there will invariably be foreshortening . Since a drawing is a two dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object, we must have at our disposal a way of discerning the proportions that is more robust. Because parts of a figure are often eclipsed by other parts of the figure, we cannot always rely on using the head as a basis of proportions. It is therefore recommended to use Relative Proportions as a more reliable guide. Appendix A – Relative Proportions, contains a list of relative measurements based on the bones.


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Male Female Proportional Differences There will be some slight proportional variations between the male and female adult. In general, the rib cage of a man will equal the width of his hips. The neck of a female will often appear longer. This is because the clavicles are more horizontal in orientation and her shoulders will appe ar lower. The clavicles of a man will be slanted more upwards towards the lateral. The arms of a woman may be proportionately slightly shorter for her body when compared with the arms of a man. Women tend to pack more weight onto the pelvic region, whereas a man will pack more weight onto the abdomen. Regardless of gender, the Greater Trochanter will be approximately the halfway point between the ankles and top of the head.


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Relative Proportions Example At this point it is wise to see an example of how a figure drawing progresses, with an emphasis on relative proportions. For all practical purposes, creating relative proportions means to apply the concept of relative comparison. See the definition of relative comparison in the glossary at the back of this publication.

In this example, we show a woman sitting on a low bench. The first order of business is to create an accurate block-in of the woman with charcoal. This drawing shows the completed block-in, which will be the foundation of the rest of the drawing. Take your time when blocking-in and don’t be afraid to erase some of your lines, while leaving some construction lines exposed until the very end of the drawing. Remember to draw very lightly, so you can make changes as the model adjusts into a more comfortable posture that will be more naturalistic.

This may look simple and thoughtless, but actually quite a bit has happened in the mind of the artist. Many decisions were made that allowed the artist to arrive at this block-in. Looking through the lens of proportions, we can examine the drawing in a different way. Notice the two straight lines. Each line is exactly the same length, but connecting at the buttocks of the model. In real life, the artist was holding up a stick and taking optical measurements of the model. It was found that the distance from the buttocks contact point on the low bench was equal to both the top of the head and to the bottom of the calcaneus. This is how the artist knew how long to make the legs and how high to make the top of the head.


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13 Now, we use a second set of comparison distances. This time we find equidistant lines from the contact point of the buttocks to the upper right should and another line from the rear of the buttocks to the left patella. You should be aware of the fact that the reference points chosen are tightly coupled with anatomical landmarks, which you will learn about later. Always try and chose a reference point that is near a bone or a point on the model that is less likely to move and sway about. This has the direct effect of making more reliable measurements throughout the drawing. This process can be repeated with multiple comparison distances. However, always use the greatest distances possible and avoid getting trapped into details.

Now, we superimpose both sets of lines on top of the final drawing. One set of lines is colored red and other set of lines is colored blue, which can only be noted if your printout of this publication is in color. If not, then refer back to the earlier examples to show the two different sets of lines. A professional artist who is concerned with creating a correctly proportioned naturalistic figure can benefit greatly from this method. Another method used to the draw correct proportions of a figure would be to create a grid in space and a grid on your paper and recreate each square on the grid exactly as seen in space. However, that method is extremely tedious and mechanical. The grid method will take you further away from what you should be learning. Your goal should be to develop a natural sense of identifying the optical and natural proportions of the figure in front of you. In a real time situation, where the model is in front of you in real life and there are many variables in the environment, this method of identifying relative proportions and distances on the figure will be one of the most useful skills you can learn. Learn and practice this skill until you are very proficient. In this example drawing you can see there is some shading done. You can even use the method of relative proportions and distances with shadow borders as end points. We now move on to shading and values, which will introduce a new host of terminology.


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Values (Light & Shadow) The term “values” refers to the illusion of light and shadow effects as seen by the observer. In the Renaissance, the light and shadow effect of a drawing or painting was referred to as chiaroscuro. This is the effect of light and dark when the forms in a drawing seem to exist in three dimensions. Using a value scale is helpful in achieving a full range of light and shadow. If correct values are employed in a drawing then the drawing can take on a very life like quality. Reducing the value scale will result in a more simplified light and shadow e ffect. Increasing the value scale to use many values will result in a very complicated light and shadow effect as we see and experience in daily life. The artist will have to decide which value scale is appropriate to convey the illusion of form and create volume in the drawing. Both drawings on this page rely upon values to convey a sense of volume and light direction. The drawing below shows a value scale and some geometrical objects to help illustrate lighting effects. The value scale has five discrete values. It should be noted that in this case, the lowest value is where there is a complete absence of light. This can occur in the instance of a cast shadow, such as the sphere casting a shadow on the cube.


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Artistic Anatomy Artistic anatomy is concerned with the anatomical topology of the body and how it can be conveyed in a drawing. Knowing the skeletal structure and musculature is key for anatomy. Being able to identify where the bones come close to the surface of the skin (bony landmarks) will aid the artist in identifying and creating believable anatomy in a drawing. These bony landmarks can also serve as markers for relative proportional measurements. The artist needs to have a working knowledge of the most important anatomical markers. Anatomical markers of the portrait can be found in Part 2 this publication: Understanding the Portrait. Here is a list of the most important anatomical markers and bones that should be understood: supra-sternal notch clavicle acromion process scapula ridge of scapula th 7 cervical vertebra olecranon head of ulna arch of rib cage th 8 rib (widest point of ribs) naval anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) sacrum greater trochanter patella head of fibula anterior tuberosity of tibia inner & outer ankle calcaneus


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Composition (Design) The composition of a figure drawing refers directly to the pose(s) of the figure(s) and how they are placed and arranged with respect to each other and the environment they are in. Discussions on composition are often controversial and subjective, howev er, a strong composition will often please the eye without the viewer understanding why. Usage of abstract shapes and harmony between the elements plays an important role in composition. There are a host of terms associated with composition: unity, emphasis, focal point, balance, proportion & scale, contrast, movement, rhythm & pattern, variety, harmony, rule of thirds, geometry and gestault. The painting on this page started out as a figure drawing of a woman. Other animal figures were added in the foreground and receding into the background. Also, a vantage point was chosen to be slightly off to the right of the picture frame and some architecture was added. The figure must harmonize with its surroundings and every attempt was made to create a seamless environment.


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Block in (Contour) !

Blocking!in the figure is a reliable method of beginning a drawing. Blocking!in is the procedure of creating a simplified contour and internal information of the model that inherently contains the gesture of the figure. This process is sometimes referred to as contour drawing. The term block !in is used here because the contour lines will overlap as necessary and the block !in will also contain some internal information such as curved lines to indicate the path of the spinal column and rhythms occurring throughout the body that pass between internal and purely contour. The shadow shapes can also be blocked in to enhance the internal information. Blocking!in a figure may use action and gesture lines to establish gesture; hence the gesture of the figure is inherent in an accurate block !in. The initial lines of the block !in are often straight, which allows the artist to more easily make corrections as the block-in progresses. The drawings on this page are examples of how to block in a figure. On the far left we can see the initial lines that are used to gauge the dimensions of the figure. The second from the left is the finished block-in that has some shadow information added.


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Gestural Block in Studies !

Returning a moment to the concept of gesture, we want to ensure that your drawings always have maximum gesture. It is tempting to engage in an over-legalistic approach of blocking in the figure that will result in a loss of gesture. As a form of practice, it is recommended blocking-in the torso in a loose but accurate fashion as is shown on the top drawing.

When doing quick but accurate torso gestural studies becomes easy for the student, then progress on to full body gestural blockins and do not worry about detail of any kind.

Imagine your drawings are made of clay and you can only create flat surfaces with a tool pressing onto the clay. Stick with this concept and your work will become more firm and solid looking. Corners and harder looking areas can be rounded out later if need be, but it is more important to attain the critical information of where form turns in space while working from the model, in the beginning of a drawing.


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Block in, Shading !

The drawing on this page demonstrates how the block !in technique was used to draw a seated man, twisting to one side. The proportions are be lievable and all the elements of a figure drawing are working well. As the artist moves from line to mass, he must consider how to indicate value. One strategy to accomplish shadow mass is to use the Cross Hatching technique. As the name implies, the medium is laid down in a crisscross fashion to produce intersecting straight lines. The density of the Cross Hatching will determine the darkness or value. In the drawing, we can see how the artist has used Cross Hatching on the gluteus region. In fact, Cross Hatching and various other hatching techniques have been used throughout the drawing to control the value. Note how the bottom of the un!rendered section of leg is blocked in with straight lines. These will be refined as the drawing progresses.


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Line To Mass Progressing from line to mass allows the artist to create an ac curate block !in drawing combined with a full spectrum of values. As seen in the sample drawing below, the first step entails creating an accurate block !in drawing. The artist incorporates some internal information and maps the shado w shapes. All of the shadow areas are given nearly the same value in this step and more time is spent refining the contour, internal information and shapes of the shadows. The intermediate step involves pushing the darker shadow areas down to a lower value. The process of establishing highest and lowest values in a drawing is referred to as “keying” the drawing. Some modeling of form in the shadow areas is a good idea at this point. There are different schools of thought on whether the majority of modeling should be done in the light areas or in the shadow areas. It is up to the artist to determine which is appropriate. The final step involves keying the drawing again to find the absolute lowest value that can be achieved by the charcoal or the medium. This will allow the maximum breadth of value change within the drawing. The artist must be careful to leave some of the light areas untouched by the charcoal. If the paper is mid!toned, then the possibility exists of using white ch alk to further model forms in the light areas.


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Shadow Mapping Another technique used to accurately mimic the forms seen on the figure is called Shadow Mapping. The goal of shadow mapping is to exactly replicate the shadow shapes seen on the model, as if they were pieces in a puzzle. When the shapes of light and shadow are mapped accurately and the borders between light and shadow vary between soft and sharp then the result can be a convincing illusion of form. Shadow Mapping works best when combined with a convincing block !in of the figure. Without a correct block !in, shadow mapping will be ineffective because the shadow shapes on your drawing will never exactly correspond to what is seen on the model. The big picture must be correct before placing smaller details. Shadow Mapping is dependant on a strong or singular light source. The light source traditionally comes from above and slightly off to one side. However, interesting optical effects can be achieved if the light source is from the side or below the model. One pitfall to be aware of in Shadow Mapping is if the model moves too much. Too much movement in the model is like trying to map a moving target and will require a great amount of finesse on the part of the artist. This approach works best if the overall shape of your sculpture or outline of your drawing is fairly close to that of the person in front of you. Like anything, it may help to think of the shadow shapes as abstract shapes and the artist can have a lot of fun imagining what the shadow shapes (or corresponding) light shapes resemble. For example, see how the light shape on the shoulders looks like the tail of a whale.


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Compression & Tension The concept of compression and tension in human anatomy is essential to understand. Compression and tension occur in pairs, on opposite sides of the figure as each other. The human body can be oriented in endless positions, forcing the torso, head, neck and other appendages into strange or awkward orientations. On a local level it must be understood that if a muscle is flexed then opposing muscles will not b e flexed. If one side of the body is in compression then the opposite side will be in tension and vice versa. The body may seem be to at rest, but it is constantly striving to find balance through flexion or relaxation. In this drawing, the woman’s rib cage and pelvis are rotated with respect to each other and there is tension on the down side of her rib cage and oblique muscles. On the upside, we can see the sharp line of her rib cage digging into the oblique muscle, as this area is under compression. Remember, compression pushes two forms together and tension pulls a form apart.


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Conveying Naturalistic Mass All body types are valued in the fine arts. When presented with a larger person, be attentive to the unexpected shapes and portray mass in an honest way. Only this way will you produce work that is naturalist and is not fabricated looking. Gravity is constantly pulling the human body downward. The skeleton is a rigid structure that is balanced and moved about by the muscles. Fat and other tissue will succumb to the visual indication gravity more easily than muscles and bones. Even thin people will show signs of the fleshy parts being pulled down by gravity. Indicating a downward pull of flesh in a drawing will bring a sense of life to the work.


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Contrapposto The contrapposto pose is an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the tilt of the rib cage contrasts with the tilt of the pelvis. When in standing position, the leg carrying the majority of the weight is referred to as the standing leg. The other leg will be bent and used mostly for balance, hence named the balance leg. The side of the pelvis that is on the standing leg side will be higher than the side of the pelvis of the balance leg. This tilting of the pelvis means that the lumbar portion of the spinal column will also be angled slightly to one side. Because the contrapposto pose is usually a standing pose, it is necessary for the rib cage to be tilted or leaned in the other direction as the pelvis to retain balance. This tilted and leaning back and forth of the spinal column creates a snaking line, often referred to as an “S Curve”. In the sample drawing here, we can see a female standing in contrapposto. The left leg is locked at the knee, which carries the majority of the weight. The other leg is bent and is balancing the figure. Study the contrapposto pose carefully because it is seen in the art studio often, as well as throughout everyday life. When humans are standing in one spot, it is very common to shift the weight onto one leg and the body naturally falls into contrapposto.


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Foreshortening (Inferior View) This section introduces one of the main visual impediments for the beginner. In normal ev eryday life we are most apt to observe people standing on two feet and facing us. The problem encountered by the artist is when a human is not in this type of pose, but instead limbs and other portions of the body are turning away or receding from the viewer. When portions of the body are receding away from the viewer, then we call this foreshortening. Foreshortening is often seen in reclining poses. The most common mistake made when drawing a foreshortened object is to draw it more elongated than it appears optically, because our minds are use to seeing and recognizing humans in a fully standing up right position with arms and legs e xtended fully. In this inferior view of a woman sitting and leaning forward, we can see the dramatic effect of how the pelvis and rib cage can be rotated with respect to one another. In this case, the rotation in the pelvis and ribcage enable us to understand the foreshortening that is occurring. The pelvis and gluteus are only slightly foreshortened, while the ribcage is extremely foreshortened. The upper right arm is almost vertical and only slightly occluded, which helps the viewer understand the foreshortening.


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Foreshortening (Superior View) Here again, we see a foreshortened view of a person. In this case, we are looking from the superior, at a reclining woman on her back with her right shoulder stretched back. The right thigh is almost perpendicular to the viewer and has no foreshortening. The left thigh is extremely foreshortened. In this case, it is important to correctly articulate the patella so the viewer can recognize the form of the leg. The right forearm is very foreshortened as the wrist bends and the back of the hand is somewhat braced under the lower back. In the spirit of a stronger sense of design, the background and drapery the woman was lying on are minimized and only a strong ground line is drawn.


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Foreshortening (Superior View with Theme) Here is another foreshortened view of a person. This model is twisted to her right and the feet are showing. This was done as a classroom demonstration. When the drawing was completed, I added in a fanciful hair addition along with a set of wings. This was done in order to create a theme and pull the viewer’s eye left and right.


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Hands Hands are the most complicated part of the human body to draw, after the portrait. When drawing hands, it might be useful to break them down into the following components: wrist, palm, thumb, and fingers. Drawing the outline of where the ends of the fingers will be placed is more advisable than drawing each finger and getting the placement of joints incorrect. Do not focus on drawing the fingers first and then drawing the palms. First, draw the wrist and palms and then draw the fingers. Always drawing everything from the largest forms and work your way to the smaller or more complicated forms. Also to note, is the length of the open hand from the base of the palm to end of the longest finger is approximately the same distance as the length of the face (the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead). Open your hand and place it on your face, the base of the palm touching your chin and fingers touching forehead. This often over looked comparison can prevent your drawing from having hands that appear to short. The hands shown on this page all belong to the same person, a 25-year old male. Never forget, the hands can impart an emotional or even intelligent affect on the viewer. Women’s hands are often made to be more pointy and narrowed at the fingertips. When you see this, it is often done to create a more feminine hand. The male hand is often drawn to seem stronger or bonier. In either case, you can’t go wrong by just drawing what you see.


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Knowing how much detail to incorporate into the hand is also an important factor. Always remember, viewers will usually see the contour or line quality of a form first, then the shadows, then smaller modeled forms. Therefore, put most of you r effort into drawing correctly proportioned hands with strong contour lines. Do not fret about every little wrinkle. Only after you have rendered a well-structured hand and decided where the shadow borders will be, will you want to start considering wrinkles or veins. Also to note, is when the hand interacts with foreign objects such as the sphere above. It would be wise to create the outline of the foreign object early on in the drawing to make sure its dimensions or forms won’t have to be skewed in order to fit into the hand. Knowing the anatomy of the hand will enable you to alter the pose of a hand from it’s observed state, in order to accommodate foreign objects. Drawing hands can be a therapeutic exercise that will strengthen your overall drawing abilities. Again, as a reminder, the two most common mistakes when drawing hands are; drawing a hand smaller than it should be and creating too much unnecessary detail in the hand.


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Feet The full weight of the human body is placed on feet everyday and therefore the feet are engineered to withstand incredible forces. Unlike most quadrupeds, the human foot has most of the weight placed near the rear of the form, when standing in a normal balanced position. The forms at the front of the feet are used more for balance, agility and articulation, when needed.

When drawing the feet, it is most advantageous to draw the outline or contour before drawing any details. Think about the structure and purpose of a foot and what is its function. As with the hand, draw the largest masses first and then draw where the ends of the toes are and then subdivide as necessary. Always draw the big toe and then the other four toes in that order. From the bottom view of a foot, we can see how the toes fall into groupings. The first and most important toe is the big toe, equaling the mass of the next two toes combined. The next two toes are seen in descending order, yet seemingly grouped together. The last two toes seem to be grouped together as well. When viewed from above, the big toe is obviously the most important, yet the other toes may not seem to be as separable as when viewed from below. In that sense, just draw the delineation between the big toe and draw the other four toes as a group. This will reduce the complexity of the task at hand. If you have time, and if it is necessary, then draw the delineation between the smaller toes.


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Mood Mastering many of the topics already discussed will ena ble the artist to create mood in a drawing. Color is often the most efficient way to create mood and painters will leverage their knowledge of color to create it. The artist working only with charcoal or other monochromatic medium will have to indicate mood by relying upon their knowledge of rendering form with gesture, proportion, value, anatomy and tying it all together with an effective composition. Indicating mood in a drawing is not an easy task. Use creative shading or enhanced gesture to create more mood. Some simple eraser work to pick out areas of light above a persons head can imply meaning. Drawing the eyes looking up, down or sideways will each indicate a different mood or emotion. In this drawing, we have chosen a sedentary pose with the model seated and leaning forward. The mood of this scene is perhaps more inward reflective. Poses like this are easy to set up and are much less taxing on the models because they don’t require the model to stand for long periods of time.


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32 Another intriguing example that conveys mood moo d is shown on this page. In this case, the artist Juan Cbbos has left in remnants of the early phases of the drawing and alternate poses of the same model. Drawing like this can reveal a series of moments in time. Many of the Old Masters (renaissance) would leave remnants and contour con tour lines of other poses in their drawings because it was part of the process of studying the figure.


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Design Quality – Contour and External Geometry Producing drawings with a sense of design will incite interest from other artists and viewers alike. Choosing what to include or not n ot to include in a naturalistic na turalistic figure drawing is called “selective rendering”. This is a topic concerning the philosophy of drawing and is a segue-way into discussions about style preferences. The drawing at the top shows a minimalistic naturalistic representation of a woman on her side. The contour line of her shape is emphasized and works in concert with the contour line of the surface she is laying on, creating a sense of harmony.

The drawing on the left has the seating surface omitted and the external geometric shape of a circle is integrated into the scene. I used reconstructive realism to manipulate her left leg so its contour aligns up with the circle. The circle and the woman work together and create a composition. The lower right leg extends outside the confines of the circle and provides a counterbalance to the otherwise contained feeling.


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Creating Atmosphere As your skill increases you will want to add a little more atmosphere to your drawings by incorporating props or playing with tricks of shading a round the figure. In this drawing I have used the natural transition that occurs between the pelvis and legs as an opportunity oppo rtunity to crop the drawing in that region in a way that feels natural. Some heavier shading around a round the figure with some eraser work to pluck out a hint of a halo and the drawing becomes slightly angelic. Be clever in how you create atmosphere, but don’t over do it.


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Drawing From Sculptures Drawing from sculptures is an excellent exercise because another artist has predigested the visual material and rendered it in an easier to understand form. The sculpture is not moving and there is no rush to draw it. The drawings on this page present various styles of drawing, all of which were done of sculptures throughout Italy.

On the right, we show a pencil drawing of L’Arco in Piazza Dalmazia in Florence, Italy.

On the right is a drawing of Young David, after the sculpture by Donatello.


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Conceptual Drawings Conceptual drawings are created when the thought to be conveyed is more important than the finished drawing. For this reason, conceptual drawings are usually less academic in nature. The gesture and composition of the drawing usually dominate the eye. Conceptual drawings are often done to help generate ideas for a longer study or project. Because conceptual drawings are done with minimal restraints and maximum expression, they can often b e some of the artist’s best work.


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Clothed Subjects The best strategy for drawing clothed or partially clothed figures is to focus primarily on establishing a convincing figure with correct gesture and proportions. Clothes will be pulled along or form fitted over the body, respectively. The larger masses and bony projections of the body will push at the surface of the clothes. If any of the bony landmarks of the body are visible, then take advantage to render them accurately and sharply: knees, ankles, elbows, wrist, hands, clavicles, jaw line.

Clothing material has it’s own weight and will fold in the direction it is pulled. Not all clothing is equal and we notice the boots on the woman in this drawing have a much more rigid feeling than the other clothing present.


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Figure Drawing Example: Fail Safe Method There is a simple and fail-safe method for drawing a proportionate and well-gestured figure that I teach in my college level figure drawing classes. Following these steps each time y ou create a figure drawing will dramatically increase your success rate for depicting the person in front of you. Step 1: Carefully block-in the contour of the figure from head to toe. Use mostly straight lines and or large swooping lines. This is often referred to as the Envelope Method. Optically measure and compare the distances between the lines and resulting shapes. This is referred to as Relative Comparison. Step 2: Continue refining step 1, while at the same time begin blocking in the shadow borders. Add some slight value (darkness) to the shadow areas to begin the process of Shadow Mapping, which is simply separating the light and dark areas into separate pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.


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39 Step 3: Continue adding more shadow borders and refine the edges to be either soft or sharp. At this point it would still be completely appropriate to make another pass as the entire contour of the figure for more accuracy to give a sense of flesh and bone, as well as refine the line quality to be heavy or light. Step 4: The final step of the drawing is to really push the low values as dark as they can go (as appropriate) and erase out any areas that you want to be the lightest (higher values). If you have mid toned paper, you could put subtle highlights in with chalk (very sparingly). If all the steps in this sequence have been done faithfully, then the artist could spend many hours on the final step by continuing to refine the subtle shapes of the shadow borders to indicate the anatomy of flesh, fat, muscle and bone. Additionally, the artist can add a slight background value surrounding the figure to reduce or minimize the contrast of the contour line of the figure.


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Figure Drawing Example: Dancer In this example, we outline the steps involved in how to draw a figure by first creating an accurate block-in and then proceeding with blocking in shadow shapes and then rendering light and shadow effects to create volume.

On the far left is the initial block-in. When drawing standing figures, it is recommended to make horizontal lines on the paper to indicate the bottom of one of the feet, the top of the head and also the exact optical center of the figure. Standing figures present an especially d ifficult problem of vertical proportions that must be overcome. Making horizontal ticks on the paper to indicate the vertical orientation of key landmarks will aid the artist in finding correct vertical proportions. The second and third steps in the drawing encourage more refinement of the initial block-in. Shadow shapes and shadow borders are given special attention because a light & shadow effect is one of the best ways to create volume in a drawing. A ground shadow is added in order to give the figure a sense of existing on a solid surface.


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Figure Drawing Example: Locked Legs In this example, we again outline the steps involved in how to draw a figure by first creating an accurate block-in and then proceeding with blocking in shadow shapes and then rendering light and shadow effects to create volume.

On the far left is the initial block-in. The goal is to capture the gesture and in this case the most highly gestured region of the figure is the lower body. The second step is a restatement of the highly gestured legs and the upper portions are blocked in. The third step is the beginning of a long refinement process. As the shadows are blocked in, it is possible to use the shadow borders as anchor points to check the proportions again. Notice also the ground shadow is added. In a drawing that takes the artist 2 or 3 hour to complete, it is a good idea to take a long break half way through. This will allow the eyes to become fresh again. On that note, it is also recommended the model not stand for more than 20 minutes at a time, as the pose will become labored. Even as the drawing is seemingly progressing, the proportions are constantly checked for believability and the drawing is constantly scanned for odd or deformed looking areas. In the case of this drawing, the foot on the right has been fidgeting around and it is decided to go with a more frontal and almost completely foreshortened version.


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42 In the final phase of the drawing the artist will use all his available skills to emphasize volume and create the feeling of flesh and bone. Manipulating the shadow borders to maximize the soft and sharp transitions that exist between light and shadow will increase a sense of volume and reality.

The head is casting a shadow onto the upper part of the chest and shoulder. The border of this shadow will be mostly sharp, as are the shadow borders below the breasts and under the knee on the right. We leverage off our knowledge of anatomy and articulate the form shadow that occurs between the division of the sartorius muscle and the rectus femorus muscles on the leg on the right. The belly button is a well-defined small crater in the lower abdomen and in this case there is a slight depression above it that also falls slightly into the shadow region. Your knowledge of anatomy and optics should work together cohesively to produce form that represents the human figure in front of you.

Figure Drawing Example: Mandolist Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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43 As you begin to master the method of accurately blocking in a figure to achieve correct proportions and gesture, you will want to begin tackling more advanced poses. In the example on this page, the model was sitting on a tall chair and her legs were braced within the legs of the chair to appear is if she was floating.

At the second drawing shown above, much attention was devoted to mapping in the shadow borders. At this point, you should not worry about obtaining correct overall values. Your focus is on the shadow borders, which help convey how form is turning in space. On the left is an enlargement of the lower legs in the finished state. Study the different levels of value. This is simply a value scale being applied to a living object.


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Figure Drawing Example: Sarah & the Sword This drawing incorporates extreme foreshortening of an arm and shows how gesture can still be maximized even while in a seated pose. The woman is seated with legs crossed and the weight of her torso is resting upon one arm while the other is outstretched holding a sword. The first few lines I used for the drawing were large sweeping lines that indicated the angle of the top of her shoulders, the arc of the center of her torso, the line going from the ground up to the shoulder with her weight on it and a line down the center of the face. After these lines, subsequent lines are made indicating the boundary of her cranium, an arcing line connecting her nipples and an arcing line connecting her knees. Once confident of the angles and sweeping motions the forms made with respect to each other, I began to block-in the contour and shadow shapes. Contour line and shadow shapes are continually refined while checking to make sure her proportions are convincing. Several soft layers of charcoal are applied in crosshatching motion in the shadow shapes to darken the value of those areas. The hilt and blade of the sword are drawn in.

In the final version of the drawing we can see a full value scale has been used for the mid toned paper and a ground shadow has been drawn in.


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45 Two areas of extreme importance include the cast shadow over the leg on the bottom and the correct angle and tapering of the foreshortened arm holding the sword. The part of the woman’s body that is furthest away from the viewer is the thumb on the hand supporting her leaning weight.

The head neck and shoulder region is shown larger so you can study how I treated the shadow borders. Note the specific shape of the shadow border that appears on the shoulder on the left.


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Figure Drawing Example: Reclining with a Twist This pose shows a model that is fully reclined with her ribcage and pelvis sharply twisting with respect to each other. The first image shows the important blocking in step that is done in order to obtain the correct gesture and proportions. The second image shows a zoom in of the abdomen and pelvis. Note the importance the shape of the naval plays in conveying the twist. Also note the angled line that appears to the left and above the naval, which is conveying a crease between the lower ribs and the fleshy part of the abdomen. The last image shows the finished drawing with a value scale incorporated in order to create more volume.


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Principle of Design: Geometry Incorporating principles of design can greatly increase the aesthetic value of your drawing. See Appendix on Artistic Terminology for a list of all of the principles of design. One of the most common and practical principles of design is to mimic known geometric shapes into the pose of the model. The geometric shape will subconsciously resonate with the viewer and increase connectivity with the image. The drawing on this page incorporates the triangle and pyramid shapes.


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Part 2: UNDERSTANDING THE PORTRAIT The portrait contains the highest density of visual information on the human body. It is a canvas on which our lives are constantly being written. We project our greatest joys and worst defeats for all to see. The terms face and portrait are often used interchangeably. The face is the area on the front of the skull that is bounded by the ears on the side, the hairline of the forehead on the top and the chin on the bottom. The term portrait implies the entire face as well as the entire skull and also the neck, and often the clavicles, upper trapezius muscles and the bony point at the base of the back of the neck called the seventh cervical vertebrae. By discussing primarily the structure of the portrait the reader will begin to understand the face and the portrait. We will review the facial structure of specific people from various cultures in order to show how there is a wide variation in the appearance of the portrait, yet all of the ethnicities adhere to a set of guidelines that describe the portrait. Every drawing or sculpture shown in this guide is of a real person and is done with the utmost respect for that individual.


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The Skull The framework for the human body is the skeleton. Without the skeleton, gravity would pull us to the ground and even the most basic movements in free space would be incredibly difficult. The skull comes very close to the surface of the skin in many places. It protects our brain from being damaged from impacts and hard objects. Four of our senses (sight, sound, taste, smell) can only be accessed through organs found on the skull. Therefore, protecting the organs in the skull is vital for the human body. The skull is composed of 8 cranial bones, 14 facial bones and 6 bones of the inner ear. But for all practical drawing & artistic purposes, the skull can be thought of as not changing in shape, except when the mandible opens and closes. This simplifies the task of drawing or sculpting the skull. Note the downward and outward slanting manner of the bone above the orbital cavity. This almost always causes a shadow in that region, connecting the shadows of the orbital cavities. This effect is sometimes coined the raccoon eyes, because a raccoon has a dark patch of fur around its eyes.


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The Eye The eye is located within the orbital region. It is bound above by the supraorbital arch, on the lateral side by the external angular process and below by the tear bag. The most important components of the topographical eye region are; superior orbital grove, upper lid (palpebrae superioris), lower lid (palpebrae inferioris), lateral corner of the eye (lateral can thus), medial corner of the eye (medial canthus), cornea, iris, pupil, plica semilunaris, lacrimal caruncle. The eye moves within the orbital cavity with the aid of six extraocular muscles. The muscles are inserted onto the eye in a fashion that allows very precise rotation around all three axii. The extraocular muscles cannot be seen from the external viewpoint, but it is useful to know they exist to better understand how the eye moves within the eye socket.

In a normal gaze, the bottom of the iris will just barely touch the border of the lower lid and the upper iris will be partially occluded by the upper lid. When the eye is looking upwards as shown in the diagram below, the upper lid will fold back and some of the lower eyeball can be seen. The shape of the upper and lower


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51 As we can see from the sculpture of the eye on the left, the forms around the eye are as important as the eye itself. The upper lid is the first form found near the eye that has the most impact upon the eye. From the sculpture we can see how it casts a sliver of a shadow along the upper part of the visible eye. This illustrates how the upper lid is similar to a hood of a car and it has it’s own thickness.

The lower lid also covers a portion of the eye. However, the lower does not open and shut like the upper lid. It is similar to the lower lip in the fact that it rests upon a form that is below it. In this case the form is the tear bag. The older we get, the more noticeable our tear bags become and the associated wrinkles in the flesh along the lower portion of the tear bag.

As we lower the viewing angle we can see how the mass above the eye becomes the dominant form. Our eyes are protected by the bony supraorbital arch from harmful objects falling from above and provide shade from sunlight from directly above. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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The Nose The nose is at the bilateral center of the face and is shaped primarily by the effects of the nasal bone and the cartilage at the end of the nose and the cartilage that forms the wings of the nose.

Just above the nose is a key region called the glabella. The glabella is a smooth area bounded on the sides by the eyebrows, below by the transverse nasal furrow and above by the forehead. The shape of the glabella is similar to an Isosceles trapezoid with the long side on top and will often form a slight down plane, hence when the head is in normal position there will often be a slight form shadow in this region. The root of the nose is just under the glabella and can be marked by the transverse nasal furrow. In some adults and the young, the transverse nasal furrow will be absent. Slightly below the root of the nose, the nasal bone creates a convexity and this spot is referred to as the bridge of the nose. The shape and amplitude of this convexity varies tremendously amongst different ethnicities and it is often the single most important indicator of a pe rson’s ethnic origins. As the nasal bone terminates downwards, one can often see a tapering inwards indicated by a slight shadow. At this point, the cartilage of the nose begins to blossom. In the two drawings on the left, the septum dips below the wings of the nose. The reverse will never be true, though sometimes the septum and lowest point of the wings of the nose may be on the same level, as shown in the drawing on the far right. Between the wing of the nose and the cheek, there will usually be a noticeable furrow that separates these two forms that is called the na solabial furrow.


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The Mouth The mouth region can assume an infinite variety of gestures due to the orbicularus oris muscle that completely surrounds it. The mouth is bounded above by the philtrum, on the sides by the cheeks and below by the mentilabial furrow.

Understanding the shape of the lips at rest is a good starting point in understanding the mouth. The mouth at rest will usually exhibit a slight space between the lips, especially in the region of the upper middle tubercle and median sulcus of the lower lip. Towards the corner of the mouth the upper corner will always overlap the lower corner, creating a small shadow. In people with thin lips this may be difficult to observe, but it is always the case and is easily observable in those with pouty or pudgy lips and cheeks often found on young children. Between the lower lip and bottom of the chin will be a horizontal crease called the mentilabial furrow. It is often curved convexly upwards.


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The Ear The ear, like the other features of the portrait, adheres to a “form follows function” p rotocol. The purpose of the ear is to funnel sound into the auditory hiatus, so the internal ear can process the sound waves into electrical nerve impulses and send them to our brains to be analyzed.

For most practical purposes, the ear can be viewed as an object that does not contort or deform like the other features unless acted on by another body or form. The outer ear is composed entirely of cartilage and as the body ages the ears often appear proportionately bigger when compared to younger people because cartilage continues to grow throughout our life. The most important parts of the external ear are the helix, anti!helix, Darwin’s tubercle, tragus, antitragus, lobe, and the crura (upper part of anti helix that splits into the two ridges called superior crus and inferior crus just before under !lapping the helix). The negative spaces of the ear are: triangular fossa, cymba, cavum and the tragal notch (often referred to as the ear notch).


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Portrait Drawing Example: Elderly Man In this example, we demonstrate how to draw a portrait by first creating an accurate block-in and then proceeding with blocking in the smaller features and rendering light and shadow effects to create volume.

The casual observer might be convinced that most of the work was done in the third step, when actually the first step took most of the artists skills and patience. When creating accurate drawings of people, the most important step is to first create an accurate block-in of the subject. Focus on creating accurate gesture and proportions for as long as possible before proceeding with unnecessary details. After accurate gesture and proportions are blocked in, proceed by finding shadow borders and the smaller features. Each step is a refinement of earlier steps.


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Portrait Drawing Example: Woman Here is another drawing example showing the logical progression from an accurate block-in to a more volume oriented light & shadow rendition.

At the top left is the initial rigorous analysis of proportions. The distance between the tip of the nose and the back of the hair was equal to the distance between the chin and the crown of the head. After establishing the overall proportions, many of the construction lines are erased and more attention is given to the shadow borders. The final step is a refinement of the shadow borders and modeling of features.


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Portrait Drawing Example: Rebasong Yet another drawing example showing the progression from an accurate block-in to a more volume oriented light & shadow rendition. This drawing is a study for a portrait sculpture and hence the bottom of the drawing is cropped, as it will be in the sculpture.

In the drawing on the far left it is possible to see a vertical line bisecting the model’s face. The line does not optically separate the mass of the skull into equal left and right halves because the model has tilted her head. Therefore, the line appears further to the left. In the drawing on the far right we can see how much more mass of the cheek and jaw are visible than the right. This is typical in foreshortening and the artist must be aware of it from the moment the drawing is first started. In order to gain the appearance of more volume in forms, it is necessary to understand modeling. Each shadow and light area has an irregular shape and the where the shadow and light converge; by convention we call this the shadow border. The shadow border has sharp and soft transitions. Notice how the e ye is modeled and how the shadow shapes seem abstract in nature. The accumulation of many abstract shapes arranged perfectly will create a shape we recognize in reality.


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Portrait Sculpting Example: Rebasong The first step to creating any sculpture (other than decided what and who to sculpt and how big or small to make it) should always be armature construction. Here I have started with a metallic armature constructed of plumbing pipes, elbows, T sections, flanges and bendable aluminum sculpting wire.

The armature serves two purposes: supporting the clay for stability and mimicking the gesture of the subject being sculpting. As you can see, the head part of the sculpture is tilted and I have created two points equidistant from the centerline that will aid in keeping the cheeks symmetrical. As stated throughout the portrait section of this publication, the most important aspect of creating a portrait should be to obtain the exact profile contour of the model. I sometimes call this the “rudder” of the portrait. A metaphoric parallel for the no se of a human face is the rudder of a naval ship. The orientation of the rudder will effect a ships movement and direction. Likewise, the orientation, size and shape of a nose will affect the accuracy of a portrait sculpture. Shown on this page are photos of the sculpture as it is completely blocked in and cropped. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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At this point in the progression of the sculpture, little or no attention is given to the treatment of the surface. We are only concerned about the gesture and proportion of the forms. A knife or other metallic edged tool can be used to draw directly upon the surface of the clay.

A blown up portion shows the orbital cavity and forms of the eye. When sculpting the eye, you must not think of making just the eye. First create the correct shape of the forms surrounding the orbital cavity; supraorbital arch, nasal bone, upper cheek. Then sculpt the lids of the eye, paying close attention to the borders of the eyelids. Lastly, put clay into the whites of the eyes, then the iris and then create a small highlight for light that is reflected off the pupil.


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60 In the final rendition of the sculpture, the surfaces are brought to a higher level of finish around the face, while the back of the head was cropped and left more roughly hewn. Since the emphasis was on the gestural relationship between the model’s left shoulder and face, the right shoulder is severely cropped off at about the halfway point along the clavicle. The sculpture is approximately 27” high, making it about 1.6 times life size.


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Sculpting Stands and Studio Concerns This is an appropriate point to discuss some studio concerns. With a larger than life portrait sculpture, it is necessary to have a special stand to accommodate the weight. The clay weight of the sculpture in this demo is around 155 pounds. Inside the clay is the metal armature that is connected to a steel plate, which in turn is bolted to a project board through a series of floor flanges. I created a heavy-duty steel stand that has wheels so it can easily be moved around. Under the stand is a shelf to place clay and other materials, as necessary. This metal stand could actually withstand a thousand pounds if needed, so there is no worry of collapsing. Use caution when working with large clay projects, because the weight will often creep up heavier as the project continues. The setup is shown in this image. Clear away obstacles on the floor so you are encouraged to take a few steps back often. Obviously you cannot always stand back because you need to put clay on the sculpture. But, standing back and just looking at your work with an eye of scrutiny will encourage good proportions to manifest on your sculpture.


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Proportions & Measurements of the Adult Portrait When discussing proportions, there is always deviation from any set of established measurements. However, for all practical purposes the proportions in this section can be relied upon to arrive at a very close approximation. When discussing vertical distances on the portrait, it is most beneficial to use a side view. The height of the head is established as being the distance from the bottom of chin to the crown on top of the head. If the crown of the head is obscured by hair, then it can be found by tracing a line along the jaw and up along the inner border of the ear all the way to the top of the head. The height of the head from chin to crown is always greater than the depth of the head. The depth of the head is from the glabella in front to the occipital bone in the rear of the head. The most useful measurements: CC (chin to crown) GO (glabella to occipital) ZZ (zygomatic arch to zygomatic arch) CE (outside corner of eye to eye) CM (outside corner of mouth) WN (outside corner of wings of nose)

CN (bottom of chin to bottom of nose) NB (bottom of nose to brow line) BH (brow line to hairline)

The width of the head is approximately two thirds the height of the head from chin to crown. If a line is drawn through the inside corners of the eyes (trans !axial eye line), then this line is approximately the halfway point of the height of the head from chin to crown.


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63 The area between the hairline of the forehead and the bottom of the chin is typically referred to as the face and it is divided into three equal parts. One third down from the hairline of the forehead will be the midline of the eyebrows: the brow line. Two thirds down from the hairline is the bottom of the nose. The length of the ear will usually exist within this boundary, except the elderly whose earlobes may droop lower because of never ending cartilage growth. The exact size of ears can be deceptive. Remember that ears are slightly angled back. The median horizontal line between the lips will usually be one third down from the bottom of the nose.

The base of the nose, base of the cheekbone, bottom of the ear lobe and base of the skull will usually lie on the same horizontal line. The width of the skull from the front is approximately 5 times the width of an eye. The distance between the eyes is approximately the width of an eye. In most people, the outer edges of the eyebrows will extend past the outer edges of the eyes.


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Portrait Sculpture: Clay Block-in to Bronze Cast Armed with knowledge of which measurements are most important we now present an ex ample of what a portrait sculpture looks like in a roughly hewn blocked-in state. This stage is equivalent to the first or second stage of the portrait drawing e xamples previously. Inspecting the sculpture we can see how various sizes of clay pellets have been pushed onto the sculpture with a tool and slightly (but not overly) shaped. At this stage we are not worried about making the surface smooth. Making the surface smooth too early will sabotage your efforts to achieve correct proportions. We devote all our energy to achieving correct gesture and proportions. The side view will be most beneficial when in this stage. From the side we can carefully work out the vertical proportions without the distractions of asymmetrical anomalies from the frontal view.

Note how lines have been drawn directly onto the clay and left there for reference. Trace a line along the jaw from front to back and up along the inner border of the ear. This is the exact same line we spoke of in the section: Proportions and Measurements of the Adult Portrait. There is a high correlation between drawing and sculpting the human form.


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Another photo of the same sculpture that has been developed much further. More attention is given to the forms of the face and the treatment of the surface. This is the finished version o f the clay sculpture.

And finally, we can see a photo of a bronze cast of the sculpture. Note how it has been welded to a steel plate at the base of the neck so it can be affixed to a base for any location, indoor or out. Bronze can endure the harshest of weather. This sculpture spent a full year outdoors in the temperate climate of Wenatchee, Washington USA and another year in the milder climate of Olympia Washington USA. With a stable chemical patina applied and followed with a sealant, a bronze sculpture can endure any climate without excessive oxidation.


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Profile of Southern Italian Woman One of the first things noticeable in the sculpture below of a woman from Southern Italy is the shadow cast over the orbital cavity. Starting from the frontal eminence and moving downwards, we see a variety of specific shapes describing her face. Just below the frontal eminenc e is a slight indentation before the superciliary eminence rises obliquely upwards (out of the page towards us). The glabella is angled up and slightly outward from the face. It separates the root of the nose from the brow. From the root of the nose moving down and to the right we see the convexity of the nasal bone. Continuing down the nose there is another convexity that is the cartilage on the end of the nose. The wing of the nose catches light on its upward plane and turns medial towards the nostril. From the wing of the nostril we can see the nasolabial furrow begin its curvilinear way downward and terminating about even with the corner of the mouth. In the profile view, the groove of the philtrum cannot be seen. We can only see a silhouette line from the base of the nose moving downwards towards the top of the upper lip. There is usually an angle break in this profile line just before it gives rise to the fullness of the upper lip. In the profile, the middle tubercle of the upper lip creates a down plane. There is a sharp shadow line just under the anterior inferior segment of the zygomatic bone. This indicates where the zygomatic bone angles sharply to the medial. In portraits with higher body fat, this area may be filled in with more flesh and the severity of the angle change will be lessened. This woman has a pouty disposition, however, the combination of mental protuberance, mentalis and fatty tissue still result in a fairly distinct angle moving down and to the left at the end of the chin. The ear can be clearly seen as having a soft fleshy lobe at the bottom, in comparison to the slightly harder cartilage of the antihelix. The helix in this model is very full and almost fleshy. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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In the relaxed position there is usually a small space between the lips caused from the fullness of the middle tubercle and the side tubercles of the upper lip and the different shape of the lower lip. The lower lip will protrude or recede back in space from a plumb line dropped from the upper lip, depending entirely upon ethnicity, genetics or the mood of the subject. The image of the woman on this page shows just how relaxed the lips are and more clearly exhibits the space between the upper and lower lips. Another keystone pattern seen again and again in portraits is the transition from frontal eminence to superciliary eminence. Look at the woman’s face just above the eyebrow on the right. There is a purposefully shaped plane that is catching light. Just above it there is a very shallow furrow and then the frontal eminence appears. The shallow furrow will vary in depth from person to pe rson but will always slope from a higher center to a lower outer as it approaches the side of the forehead.


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Mask of Native American Man This mask sculpture of a Native American in his early fifties shows heavy influence from the uppe r eyelids on the orbital cavity. The lids are thick and heavy and they pull the skin down from the upper orbital region. There is a slight shadow break between the upper lid and the eyebrows that increases in depth as the upper lid moves to the side of the face. The nose is broad and the end casts a shadow over the philtrum (the vertical and wide furrow between the bottom of the nose and upper lip). The shape of the shadow indicates the trough shape of the philtrum. As the philtrum terminates on the inferior end, a small upward tilting plane called the new skin can be seen as the red region of the upper lip begins.

The cheek region of the face occupies the area bordered by the lateral plane of the nose, the tear bag under the eye, the tragus of the ear (the ears are omitted in this sculpture), and the jaw. The cheeks on this man are thick and full. He has a relatively wide face. The zygomatic arches can be seen as more bulbous than sharp plane changes. This is because he has a thick and fleshy face. The lower lip has a slight up plane and we can see a highlight running horizontally along the upper side of the lower lip. He has a double chin that adds to the girth of his jowls. The angle of the mouth is where the two lips terminate on the lateral (side) and the furrow seen projected outwards and downwards. In this man, the angle of the mouth is pronounced.


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Drawing The Profile: the Rudder of the Face Using the Native American man in the previous page as an example, we now discuss his profile and some basic drawing principles. For most drawings, the most important first step for the artist is to lightly block in that which is to be drawn, as discussed in the previous section “Block-in (Counter)”. This method will give the artist a reliable way to achieve a likeness. In this drawing, we are focusing on the profile of the man’s face. On the right is the outline of the man’s face done with vine charcoal. The major shapes are shown along with some indication of shadow borders.

A value scale is created (bottom center) and the drawing progresses with the values in mind. Cast shadows and areas of no light are shown at the lowest level on the value scale. Forms are modeled with charcoal to indicate appropriate sharp and soft transitions between light and shadow.


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Portrait of a Peruvian Woman This portrait shows how the frontal eminences can still remain somewhat bulbous into adulthood, giving a more childlike effect. Below the frontal eminence on the far side is the superciliary eminence as it juts towards the lateral and upwards. Below that is the supraorbital arch, which moves towards the lateral and slightly downwards. On the eye nearest to us we can see the effects of the external angular process, causing a sharp turn in the lateral end of the eyebrow from upwards to downwards. The upper eyelid can be seen convex in shape as it folds around the eye. On the far side we can see the sharp angle of the zygomatic bone as it turns towards the medial. The placement of the nasal bone is evident from the faint but sharp shadow edge seen along the middle of the nose. This shadow diminishes and gives way to the bulbous cartilage on the end of the nose. The tilt of the head causes most of the ear to be cast in shadow, but the ear lobe protrudes just enough to catch some light, along with the prominence of the tragus. The influence of the zygomatic bone on the near side is made evident by the shadow on the down plane inferior to the arch and the highlight on the up plane just below the medial corner of the eye on the near side. From the corner of the mouth on the right as we move towards the medial, a highlight appears along the rim of the upper lip. This sliver of flesh is called the ne w skin. It dips slightly as it traces its way down into the philtrum and then back up again on the other medial plane of the philtrum and finally we lose it as it disappears into the plane above the upper lip on the far side.


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Portrait of African American Man We can immediately see the strength in the neck of this man. The sternocleidomastoid muscle projects aggressively from his neck, catching light that is otherwise blocked from the jaw line. Following down the neck and towards the medial, we can see another sharp shadow edge. This is caused from the hyoid cartilage (Adam’s apple). The ear, otherwise known as the auricle or external ear is shaped to optimize the collection of sound to be funneled towards the inner ear. The dominant form that creates the silhouette of the ear is the helix. Part of his helix is catching light and in turn casts a sharp shadow over the crura (the two separate ridges on the upper limit of the anithelix). The superior end of the antihelix juts out slightly from the helix a nd receives light. From the side of the forehead closest to us, we see the temporal line as it meets the lateral part of the eyebrow. The supraorbital arch will usually cast a shadow over the orbit of the eye. However, because the model’s head is tilted backwards slightly and the eyes are almost shut, we are able to see the full girth of the upper lid as it covers the eyeball. A vertically oriented highlight is seen on the upper lid, indicating the fullness of that form. A much darker shadow in the medial region of the eye closest to us indicates a deeper recess, whereas the lateral termination of the eyelid experiences less relief. Even so, it must be noted that with respect to the skull, the lateral termination of the eyelids always extend more towards the posterior (rear) of the skull than the medial termination of the eyelids. Each eye has a tear bag under it and under each tear bag starting on the medial end we can see the infrapalpebraral furrow.


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Portrait of a Thin Woman This portrait drawing of a thin woman shows va rious sharp shadow edges throughout, indicating low body fat. When the head is moved sharply back and to the side, we can more clearly see the forms of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages. At the base of the neck, we see the cord like tendon of the sternocleidomastoid as it inserts into the top of the sternum (manubrium). When a thin model pushes the shoulder up and forward like this pose, we can see a hollow triangle to the lateral of the sternal connection of the sternocleidomastoid and just above the medial end of the clavicle. The clavicle juts laterally away from the center of the body and angles towards the posterior. In the final one third of its length, it again angles towards the anterior as it forms a joint with the lateral region the scapular spine. This important connection between the clavicle and scapula is called the acromioclavicular joint. This region is not part of the portrait, according to the definition stated earlier, but it is worth pointing out because of its high importance. The scapular spine extends a little past the joint into an important feature called the acromion process, which itself is projected laterally over the shoulder joint. The acromion process can be identified by a sharp angle change in the silhouette on the shoulder.


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Modeling Form: Ukrainian Woman In this portrait we can use our knowledge of anatomy to supplement our observational skills and enhance the forms with extensive modeling. Look carefully at the shadow edges and you can see how borders between light and shadow are purposefully crafted to be sharp or soft. These critical edge transitions are the result of the way forms transit from one plane to another. In forms, the sharper or more abrupt the edge, the more rapid the transition is. This often directly correlates to bones or cartilage under the surface of the skin. On the right side of the forehead, we can see a highlight that is the frontal eminence. Moving down the skull is the orbital region. As we look at the eye on the right, we see the upper lid has a definite crease about half way down (in this position). Under the eye is the tear bag. Towards the medial, this area becomes darker and as we move towards the lateral, the slightly upwardly turned plane begins to catch light and blends in with the cheek of this almost wrinkle!free woman of 27 years. The nose is sharply modeled along the bridge in order to show the hard forms underneath. Rarely will you see a perfectly straight highlight running from the glabella to the cartilage on the end of the nose. Midway down the nose and just to the right we see the side plane of the nose, indicated by a patch of light bordered by a shadow running from the medial side of the tear bag to the wing of the nose. The upper lip is facing slightly downwards an d therefore is darker than the lower lip, which faces upwards. On the lower lip there is a highlight that indicates the fullest part of its form.


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Portrait of an Italian Man This drawing of an Italian man shows numerous anatomical landmarks that are easily identifiable because his overall appearance is chiseled and bony. The superciliary eminences are prominent and catch their share of light along the inferior portion of the frontal bone. The superciliary eminence on the left makes it apparent how it is angled obliquely upwards and lateral. The effects of the zygomatic bone can be seen on the upper right cheek as its upward plane catches light. A form shadow is on the cheek as it turns medial and downward towards the maxilla. At this point we can see the jugal furrow moving downwards and frontwards toward the jaw. The nasolabial furrow is not as evident, but it can be seen slightly as it starts from beside the wing of the nose. The lower lip has an upward plane and catches light. Just below the lower lip is a shadowed area indicating the mentilabial furrow. The chin area protrudes and the end of the chin catches light. A shadow with a hard edge falls upon the anterior lateral neck from just below the ear lobe and spans across to the trachea region and softens slightly as it approaches the pit of the neck.

The shoulders (which are not shown in the drawing) are shoved forward and upward, causing the trapezius muscles to bulge upwards and frame the neck. The head is slightly tilted backwards and the anterior side of the neck is slightly projected. On the left side of the anterior neck, we can see the inferior region of the sternocleidomastoid muscle catching a little light as it flares out on its downward descent before inserting into the clavicle and manubrium.


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75 In the sculpture of the same man, we are now viewing him in profile. In this position it is more obvious how much the head is tilted back, revealing the forms of the submental, submaxillary and anterior neck. If the head were in a level position with shoulders relaxed, then the angle between the chin and neck would be about 90 degrees. The harder looking form seen in the profile of the anterior neck is the larynx, otherwise known as the voice box. The sharper form above is the thyroid cartilage, which is given the name Adam’s apple. Just below the thyroid cartilage is a transverse furrow followed by the projecting form of the cricoid cartilage. The cricoid cartilage is approximately in the middle of the neck as measured from a vertical axis. Below the cricoid cartilage we begin to see the supra!sternal fossa (a depression at the base of the neck just above the sternum).

The supra!sternal fossa is framed on each side by the cord!like insertions of the sternocleidomastoid muscles as they insert into the superior end of the manubrium of the sternum. The sternocleidomastoid muscle also has an insertion near the medial end of clavicle. Tracing the sternocleidomastoid muscle upwards we can see it pass just behind the ear to its origin the mastoid process (covered by hair in this sculpture). The mastoid process is an anterior projection dropping from the occipital bone of the back of the skull.


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Profile of Elderly Native American Man A view of a person’s profile is of utmost value in understanding the forms of the face. It allows us to see just how far back the features are located, with respect to the front of the face. With that in mind, we first look at the space between the front of the eyes and the root of the nose (top of the nose).It can be seen that there is indeed a space there. The eyes will always be set back from the root of the nose. This is most definitely a result of form follows function. Because the eyes are one of the most extremely delicate and valuable organs in our body, they must not remain unprotected. They are protected above by the supraorbital arches (covered by the eyebrows), on the outer sides by the external angular process of the frontal bone and in the medial (inside) by the projection of the root of the nose, which is actually just the nasal bone itself.

When the head is level, it can also be seen that the rearmost part of the wing of the nose is practically even with a plumb line dropped from the root of the nose. And as usual, the glabella angles forward away from the face and upwards. In the profile, the lower lip will almost always be set further back than the upper lip. The mentalis of the chin (end of chin) will again be set back further than the most forward aspect of the lower lip. The exception to this case is in the very old, who have lost their teeth or have severe gum damage and hence the lips will appear sunken into the face and the jaw will project further. This man is approximately 70 years old and he must have fairly healthy teeth.


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Posterior View of Skull In this segment, we examine the posterior view of the skull. The sculpture below is of a man who is bald. This allows us a clear view of the silhouette of the skull as seen from the posterior as well as how the ears are mounted on the skull. It is often said that we can recognize people solely by observing the shape of the back of their head. The rear of the portrait can be just as important as the front. In this image, the light is originating from the upp er left. It illuminates the parietal area on the left and the parietal on the right is slightly facing away from the light and hence receives much less direct light per surface area. The farthest point to the rear of the skull is seen here as the point at which there is a sudden change from light to shadow which lies in the vertical center of the skull and a line drawn from the top of one ear to another. From that point there is a down plane until the muscles of the neck are met. Another interesting aspect of the dorsal view of the skull is the movement of the helix of the ears as they each create a dramatic silhouette. The outer ears are projected away from the skull by cartilage. If one traces the eye vertically approximately two thirds down from the top of each ear and then moves towards the skull, a lump can be seen. This is the mastoid process, a projection that juts forward and downwards from the occipital bone and it is the origin of the sternocleidomastoid muscle that is responsible for pulling the neck from side to side.


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Drawing Into Painting In this section we will show a few examples of how drawing can be used to segue into painting. Drawing is a powerful tool that will enable you to rapidly visualize any concept. And so it is no surprise that many painters use drawing as a means to record their thoughts.

Here we can see one rapid charcoal sketch that was carried out to record an idea. This figure is entirely created in the mind’s eye and is not meant to be completely accurate. The goal was to create a series of 6 very lose and gestural oil sketches, so it made sense to start with a charcoal sketch for each oil sketch. Keeping the detail very low and placing emphasis on only overall form, it is possible to use only one hue to create form with oil paint. The exact paint used here was only Burnt Umber and a mixing white. It is not really important to know what brand of paint or type of brushes to use. What is important is the ability to convey form and value with the medium you have.


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Part 3: FIGURE SCULPTING This section will discuss some of the methods used in creating a figure sculpture and show examples of figure sculptures. Primarily, we are concerned with rendering the human form, and not so much about the type of material used. However, we will use exclusively clay as the sculpting medium. It must be noted that from ancient history until modern times, the most common medium used for sculptures has been stone. Marble was used extensively in the classical world and wherever it was available. Jade, sandstone, soapstone, alabaster and many other types of stone were also used.

Clay has mostly been used as a medium that was fired in a kiln or left to bake in the hot sun and became hard as stone. After being baked, it is brittle and can break when dropped unless reinforced with straw or other material. Currently, clay is the most popular medium to create sculptures that are to be eventually cast into bronze. After the clay sculpture is completed, a mold is made for the sculpture and a complicated process involving the lost wax casting method is used. For more information on mold making, refer to Appendix M: A GUIDE TO MOLD MAKING.


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The Torso (Male)

When beginning a discussion on sculpting the human figure, it is appropriate to start with the torso. The torso is comprised of the shoulders, rib cage, pelvis and some portion of the extreme upper thighs. The total sections of the body included in the torso can vary between artists, but the core of the torso will always be the ribcage and the pelvis. Many of the original full body sculptures we see from antiquity have been reduced to a torso. This is because the weaker portions of the medium (stone) have been cut or broken off by invading armies or the sculpture has simply been tipped over or dropped. What is left is the torso. In our present day fine art academies and art schools, it is traditional to spend a considerable amount of time studying the torso and rendering it with drawing, sculpting, or painting. This page shows a male torso that has been slightly rotated. As is preached throughout this publication, the gesture and proportions are the most important aspects of rendering the figure. The torso is a good place to start practicing and instilling the knowledge and skill required to flush out the correct gesture and proportions. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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Continuing with more views of the same torso on the previous page, we now observe the posterior and a slightly oblique posterior angle. This is a good time to point out this torso is a plaster cast that was generated from a mold taken from a life sized study completed while the author was at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. The male model was extremely physically adept at sports and had a lean muscle mass. The plaster cast of the torso is rotated with an overhead light source that provides raking light. This allows for a combination of sharper cast shadows and softer form shadows that work in concert to please they eye and convey form. Anatomically, we could spend a lot of time pointing out and naming bony landmarks or musculature seen on this torso. Speaking on terms of aesthetics, one would be more concerned with the torso as a visual whole. The major movements of this torso are the compression on its right side and the tension on its left side.


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We rotate the torso back around to an anterior oblique view and a view that is almost completely from the side. We can clearly study the rib cage and the surrounding muscles, such as the serratus anterior. It is now obvious how much tension is occurring on the left side of the torso as we see the left arm is stretched above where the head would be and the rig cage is twisting clockwise with respect to the pelvis. An important consideration for creating your acade mic torso is the cropping. You will have to terminate the sculpture by omitting the arms, legs, and head. Exactly where and how you will crop the torso is often a matter of aesthetic preference or what is required by the pose. The cropping on this torso is done cleanly, to create clear cross sections of the limbs and the neck. At this time it would be important to point out that this torso has in fact originated from a full body sculpture. The arms, legs, and neck were cleanly cut off to create the desired effect of a torso.


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Maximum Gesture Regardless of the style of sculpture you are making, the most important aspect of your sculpture should be gesture. As stated previously, gesture refers to the overall movement, twisting, and dynamic aspect of a figure. In this sculpture, I have incorporated a geometrical circular element into the design. The woman’s torso is bent to one side and her legs form a strong circular movement as seen from above. As seen from the side view, the woman’s legs form a strong linear trajectory that contrasts with the circular movements.


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It’s worth spending a little more time discussing this sculpture because of the gesture that has been designed into it from every angle. Think of the medium as a vehicle to convey your message through carefully thought out design. From the back side of the sculpture, we notice a supporting form underneath the woman, which happens to be a bird, and its wing is gently overlapping the woman’s right foot.


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The last clay version of this sculpture we discuss is side showing the rib cage. A sculptor will never miss an opportunity to create a well-modeled ribcage. The reason for this and every other part of the body that exhibits bony landmarks is that it telegraphs a sense of structure. The visual appearance of soft tissue of the human body is balanced with hard or bony areas. Together, the variation of soft and hard surfaces will create a sense of harmony. The artist can use this knowledge to their advantage to create various visual effects.

When a clay sculpture is completed and a bronze cast is desired, then the next step is to create a mold of the surface forms of the sculpture. At the end of this publication is an appendix containing an illustrated guide to mold making, which walks the reader through the entire process. Please see Appendix M: A GUIDE TO MOLD MAKING. On this page we see the beginning of the mold making process, which is applying the first layer of liquid silicon.


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86 After capturing all of the surface forms of a sculpture through the mold making process, the artist can then use the mold to create a hollow wax replica of the original sculpture. On the left we can see how a wax cast will look as soon as it is released from the mold. The excess wax with recessed marks that appears to be extending from the sculpture is actually just the liquid wax that seeped into the seams of the mold, that cooled off and hardened As long as there are no major deformations or missing sections in the wax replica, then the process is considered a success.

The artist will now spend as much time as necessary chasing off any small defects and repairing any surfaces of the wax replica that do not match the original clay sculpture. The tools used in this process are shown in the image to the left; thin and sharp metal picks and trowels. Also, a mixture of Vaseline and wax is used to fill any gaps or surface anomalies. Typically, the wax pouring and chasing phase is done in a fine art foundry. However, if the artist’s studio has adequate ventilation and a means to heat up and liquefy microcrystalline wax, then everything up until this point can be done in the artist studio in order to save on expenses.


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The long arduous process of creating a sculpture, which started as a concept design, comes to a conclusion when a bronze cast is produced at the foundry. Most of the steps of the lost wax casting process are not shown in this example, so it is important for the reader to thoroughly research the process on their own or consult a sculpting professional or a fine art foundry for more information. Snapshots of the process are only shown here in order to give the reader a rough idea for what is in store.


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Contour Line in Sculpture The human mind is always hard at work performing pattern recognition in an attempt to identify all visual matter. The contour line of a subject is the single most important visual element our minds use when performing pattern recognition. So it would follow to put a great amount of energy into refining the contour lines of a sculpture. In this example, we can see how the image on the right has been de-saturated and contrast reduced in order to get a glimpse into perhaps how the subconscious mind performs pattern recognition.


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Clothing in Sculpture Incorporating realistic clothing in sculpture can add a practical dimension to your work. Often in the fine art world, the nude is the champion subject because of it’s extensive use throughout history and it offers the viewer and chance to experience the artists interpretation of form in a most pu re sense. When incorporating thin clothes on a subject, do not think of adding massive amounts of clay. Instead, concentrate on the edges and areas of sudden change or movement. Only fill in void areas as needed.


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Figure Sculpture Example: Traditional Anatomical Pose The next few pages will reveal the progression of how a figure sculpture can be made. The pose selected for this example is a standard academic contrapposto with arms to the side, hands open and palms facing forward. We start the sculpture by creating an armature.

Figure Sculpture Armature The armature has two purposes. Provide a support for the clay. Mimic the gesture and proportions of the figure being sculpted. The components for the armature can be found in the materials list for the Figure Sculpting course syllabus at the end of this manual. This particular armature is what is known as a “half scale”. The height from where the feet will be to the top of the head will be approximately half the height of the actual model. However, the template for this armature can be used for almost any scale. Note that as the size of the sculpture increases, then it will be necessary to factor in weight loads for the clay. A life-sized sculpture will be much heavier and therefore armature materials and supporting members will be much thicker.


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Shaped Armature The next step in the process is to make the armature mimic the gesture of the pose of the model. Spend as much time as possible on this task. Do not rush ahead with applying clay on the armature until the armature conveys a life force of its own through lively gesture and attitude of the pose. The type of armature shown here mimics the core of the torso and each limb.


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Proportional Assessment After the gesture of the pose has been imprinted upon the armature, the next step is to assess the vertical and horizontal lengths and thicknesses of the pose. This is done by adding some intelligently shaped pieces of clay along key points of the sculpture.

Points of importance on the model area as follows: Height of model Length of torso Width of shoulders Distance between the greater trochanters Height of greater trochanter Length of femur Height of patella Length of lower legs Length of feet


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Block-in Torso, Legs, Head Now we begin to block-in the largest masses of the sculpture. Torso: Rib Cage & Pevis Legs: Upper, Lower, Feet Head & Neck The sculptor’s goal is to carefully place shaped pieces of clay along the masses and contours of the sculpture. There is no modeling of shapes at this point. We are only concerned with exactly matching the outside contours of the model with the contours that will begin to appear on the sculpture. Do not allow the contours on sculpture to exceed their matched contours of the model. This is an additive process and going slower will allow the sculptor time to process what is being looked at. The human body abides to a standard template that exists among all of us, yet the forms of the human body are always exciting and full of surprises. Spend more time looking than mindlessly applying clay. Avoid smoothing down the surface of the clay.


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Torso Block-in The torso in a figure sculpture is of paramount importance. The torso will influence the g esture and forms of all the limbs and the head & neck. When analyzing the torso, one must look at the relationship between the ribcage and the pelvis. It is easier to do this by drawing lines at the upper and lower extents of the ribcage and pelvis that go around the entire perimeter of the torso much like lines of latitude on a map of the earth. However, these lines will be tilted, as appropriate. The difference between the tilted lines of the rib c age and pelvis will indicated the gesture of the torso. A difference in angles of tilt indicates a contrapposto pose. Note the line drawn along the center of the torso that bisects the left and right halves. This line works in tandem with the boundary lines of the ribcage and pelvis to help coordinate a correct gesture analysis.


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Shoulders & Arms Now we continue examining the sculpture with shoulders and arms added. Do not proceed with the arms until the torso has been adequately developed, or you will risk under-sizing the ribcage. Apply clay for the muscle masses of the arms and pay close attention to the elbow and the inside fold of the arm. Now we can begin to make a holistic analysis of the sculpture for proportions.


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Complete Block-in Now we finish the overall block-in by adding the hands and fingers. At this point, the sculptor can spend more time fixing any proportional or gestural anomalies before proceeding to modeling the individual forms.


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Figure Sculpture Example: Heroic Sized Figure Sculpture This section shows a few images from a heroic sized (7 Foot) figure sculpture project. The purpose th of the project was to commemorate a well-known historical figure from the early to mid 20 century in a small town. Also, the project was to demonstrate the process of figure sculpting to the public, who could come by at anytime to see the artist at work.

Working at Heroic Scale Working at a heroic scale can bring many new challenges to the artist. It is more important than ever to continually stand back from the work in order to see it without distortions. Use the longest dimension of the sculpture and multiply by 2.5 in order to come up with the proper distance the artist must see the sculpture without distortions. Standing sculptures created by the direct method will be especially vulnerable to distortions during the creation process. One precaution against distortions is to take the original design drawing of the sculpture and have it increased in size to the exact size the sculpture is to be created. Create a secondary stand or board and paste or tape the large print out to it. The artist now has something to compare the sculpture with as the project ensues. As an aid, the artist can use a bubble-level with a laser pointer and arrive at the correct elevation for the various points in the sculpture.


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Blocking-in With Different Materials A large sculpture created in a direct method will likely need a variety of different materials to arrive at the correct size and form. At the core of this sculpture is an iron rebar armature that was cut, grinded and welded together to create the gesture and proportions. Foam core was then used to surround the iron rebar and then fence wire was cut and strapped on to the foam sections in order to create a semi-permeable surface. Here we can see the first round of clay that has been pushed into the fence wire. The fence wire provides enough traction for the clay to grab onto and therefore subsequent layers of clay will not fall off.


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Areas of Emphasis Using the principles of 3D Design (Unity & Variety, Grid & Matrix, Balance, Scale & Proportion, Emphasis, Repetition & Rhythm), the artist can generate viewer interest from the most subtle of poses. In this case, the figure is a blacksmith and therefore the arms were given an emphasis from the action they are involved in and the slight increased scaling. The tools he is holding help indicate the theme of the sculpture, as well as the clothing he wears. Consider how you will manipulate the surface of the sculpture to achieve an appropriate lighting effect. Local lighting is an important consideration if you know the final placement of the sculpture. Also to be considered are the patina (coloration) and height at which the sculpture will be placed. If the sculpture is to be placed on top of a large pedestal, then consider slightly enlarging the head and shoulders in order to counteract the diminishing effects of perspective. Here we see the arms and mid section of the blacksmith sculpture. They convey strength and sureness, both qualities necessary for a blacksmith to carry o ut their work.


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Maquette to Monumental Scale Portrait When preparing for a monumental scale sculpture (2X life size or larger) it is wise to first make a maquette. A maquette is a small study or clay sketch that is low in detail. Here we see a small sculpture of a bust of Jesus. The height of the sculpture is 6.5 inches and the width is 10 inches. This sculpture has very low detail. The next step is to decide how big to make the final sculpture. I decided the height of the big sculpture would be 26 inches and the width 40 inches. This inherently makes the maquette a ! scale study.

In the photo above we can see a large project board that is 24 inches x 42 inches. The large sculpture will be built upon this project board and I want an extra inch on each end of the sculpture, which is why the board is 42 inches wide and not 40 inches. Other materials present for the construction of the large sculpture are (bottom left moving clockwise): bendable aluminum wire, Styrofoam, wire nippers and pliers, steel wire, Iron Rebar, clay, calibers, wooden sculpting tools, metal sculpting tools and a 3/6 inch thick steel plate.


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The steel plate has holes drilled through it and is bolted to the board. The Iron Rebar is welded to the steel plate and bent as appropriate. a series of calculations are made such that at Iron Rebar infrastructure will support the Styrofoam and clay to be added.

The finished clay sculpture is shown here from two angles. Note the way this bust is artfully cropped to maximize the gesture and flow. There is no right or wrong answer on how to crop a bust, but rather it is an intuitive feeling that will have much to do with the pose or the subject matter. There is little detail on the backside of this sculpture and the thorns on the head of Jesus are subdued because the intent is not to create focus on the suffering that has transpired, but rather what follows.


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If you are lucky, you will be able to display your work in a very public place for others to view. Keep in mind the type of work you are displaying and the message you are trying to project, if any. This particular project was very specific and the intent was to display it in a church that has an oldworld feel. Here we see the display of “The Greatest Sacrifice” sculpture in a cathedral.

Make the most of your experience exp erience and professionalize all aspects of your e fforts. In this case, I created a visual layout of the imagery and superimposed it onto a floor plan layout of the cathedral that was available to visitors.


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Anthropomorphism There may be a need to apply your skills as a figurative artist to that of animals or inanimate objects. This summons the special field of anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behaviors onto an animal or object. Anthropomorphic Cat

What makes an animal seem more anthropomorphic? This question can be answered by analyzing the image of the cat on this page. The cat is seen standing up and has a sense of awareness in it’s eyes. It is in fact primarily the posture of an animal an imal that conveys its anthropomorphism. By staying mostly true to the anatomy of the animal and using reconstructive realism, the artist can man ipulate the pose to mimic that of a human.

Next to consider are the eyes. Since the eyes will often convey the personality and intention of an animal, the eyes of the manipulated animal must be imbued with a sense of being very cognizant of it’s existence and surroundings.


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Anthropomorphic Owl Here we see an owl that seems like an owl, but seems more intelligent looking. Questions to consider are what make’s an animal seem more intelligent or cognizant? One answer is: the eyes. Therefore you will see anthropomorphic representations of animals hav e slightly different eyes or enlarged eyes. Slightly morphing some of the animal’s body parts to resonate with human anatomy will of course create anthropomorphism as well. Note the upper wings of the owl mimic the shoulders of a human and even have some gesture.


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Summary Hopefully this publication has been a useful introduction to figure drawing and sculpting. The artist must embark on a long journey of drawing the human figure before ever hoping to become competent. In time, the artist will develop a personal way of approaching this subject, learning how to see and how to render the figure. In closing, I leave the reader with a quote from Leonardo da Vinci: “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taking in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”

Table of Contributing Artists The following is the alphabetical list of artists who enriched this publication.

Juan Jose Cbbos – Artist and sculptor from Columbia and has completed several monumental public sculpture projects throughout Columbia. Lance Dooley – American artist and sculptor from Washington State. Kristin Frogner – Norwegian artist and sculptor. William Mangan – American artist and sculptor from Michigan State. Kelly Rathbone – American artist and sculptor originally from Texas.


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Appendix A: Relative Proportions This list of relative proportions is grouped by various segments of the body. A segment of the body is listed as the baseline measurement and the other body parts that are most often equal or very close to being equal to that length are listed below it. These relative comparisons are not one hundred percent equal, but will often come close enough that the artist will be able to use them for a good approximation. It is up to the reader to study anatomical charts and the human skeleton for referencing the named items. Height of Normal Adult is approximately (6.5 to 7.5) X CC CC Head (distance from mentalis of chin to crown of head) FC Face (mentalis of chin to hairline) Base of Palm to end of middle finger Length of CL Clavicle Measurements of the Portrait CC (chin to crown) GO (glabella to occipital) ZZ (zygomatic arch to zygomatic arch) CE (outside corner of eye to eye) CM (outside corner of mouth) WN (outside corner of wings of nose) OO 2/3 = CC CN = NB = BH

CN (bottom of chin to bottom of nose) NB (bottom of nose to brow line) BH (brow line to hairline) OO (occipital to occipital)

ST Sternal Length (distance from top of sternum to bottom of sternum) Base of Nose to Pit of Neck when head/neck are in normal facing forward position Clavicle Scapula (height) UL Ulna (olecranon to the head of the ulna) FT Foot (calcaneous to end of longest toe) 1.2X CC HM Humerus 1.4X CC = HM Olecranon to end of the middle finger FM Femur (top of head of femur to bottom outer Condyle) 1.6X CC = FM


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Appendix B: Artistic Terminology The following is a short list of artistic terms used throughout this publication and the fine art world.

Line, Shape, Form, Gesture Line – A design element that has length but no depth. Line Quality – The thickness, intensity and movement of a line. Shape – A 2 dimensional area enclosed by lines or curves that separate it from other shapes. Form – A shape having volume and thickness. Gesture – The overall dynamic appearance of lines, shapes and forms. Static – Appearing still, lifeless and straight. Movement – When a line or form exhibits a perceived non!static quality. More gesture produces more movement. Abstract Shape – A specific shape that does not resemble any shape in the real world. Amorphous – Without shape or form. Contour Line – A line going around the perimeter of a form. Cross Contour Line – Lines that indicate form or shadow by mimicking the surface topology of an object. Block-in – A contour with internal information added.

Spatial Relationships Proportion – How objects or parts of an object relate to each other in size, scale or emphasis. Relative Comparison – A method of determining the proportions and dimensions of an object or multiple objects. Scale – Refers to how large or small an object appears or seems. An objects scale depends on a comparison with one or more objects of known size. Overlap - An area in which 2 or more lines or shapes intersect and one of them optically is in front of the other. The line or shape overlapping the other is (at that point) closer to the viewer. Negative Space – The empty space between the contours of 2 shapes or outside the contour of 1 object.


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Light & Value Value – The artistic term for light and dark; the brightness or darkness of light or shadow. Often used in a scale containing discrete values, like 0 to 5 or 0 to 9. The lowest number represents the darkest and the highest number represents the brightest value. Cast shadow – A shadow that is a result of light being completely blocked by an object or form. Form shadow – A shadow that is the result of a surface or plane turning away from the light, often referred to as a half tone or Penumbra. Sharp shadow edge – A sudden and high contrast value change between light and shadow. Soft shadow edge - A subtle and low contrast value change between light and shadow. Lost and Found Lines and Edges – Lines and edges that are indicated in one area and seem to disappear, only to re!occur again in another area. The viewer will mentally fill in the area where the edge was lost. Reflected Light – A region in the shadow zone that is slightly lighter because it is receiving light reflected from another object. Highlight – A spot on a form where the light reflects the most and has the highest value.

Composition Visual Elements (2D): Point, Line, Shape, Form, Space, Value, Color and Texture. Visual Elements (3D): Line, Plane, Volume, Mass, Space, Texture, Light, Color, Time Principles of Design (2D) : Unity, Emphasis & FocalPoint, Balance, Proportion & Scale, Contrast, Movement, Rhythm/Pattern, Geometry, Variety and Harmony. Principles of Design (3D) : Unity & Variety, Grid & Matrix, Balance, Scale & Proportion, Emphasis, Repetition & Rhythm Unity – A design element that helps the image be perceived as one unit instead of random objects. Emphasis and Focal Point – Emphasis is used to draw the viewer’s attention to one area of the work. Balance – The distribution of the visual weight of objects in a scene: symmetrical, asymmetrical or radial. Continuance – When an object in a composition leads the eye by pointing or looking at another object. Continuity – The organized visual movement created by regular, flowing or progressive rhythm.

Rhythm – Repetitive movement characterized by a series of objects with variations in spacing, size, alteration and or progression. Pattern – Repetition created in an image by duplicating the size, shape, position, symmetry, value, contrast and color of one or a group of shapes or objects. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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Harmony – When every individual part of an image or scene adds to the overall pattern making the whole feel complete.


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Appendix C: Anatomical Terminology Anatomical terminology arose from the need to describe the wide variety of features on the human body and other living things. At the time these terms were being assigned, Latin was the language of learning in Europe. Scientists, medical specialists and artists now have an efficient and unambiguous way to describe every single feature on the human body, instead of pointing to something and saying “that thing there.”

The most important terms are listed here, because they will be referred to heavily as I describe the human anatomy.

Descriptional Terms

Arch – a curved shape spanning an opening beneath it (zygomatic arch). Fossa ! a shallow depression (temporal fossa) Cavity – a relatively deep depression of a bone often filled with another type of tissue such as an organ or muscle (orbital cavity). Eminence – part of a bone that projects only slightly (frontal eminence). Process – Part of a bone that is an outgrowth from its surrounding bone (mastoid process). Condyle – a rounded protuberance at the end of a bone that is part of a joint between two bones. Tuberosity – An area that appears swollen looking. Furrow – A line or wrinkle on the face.

Locational Terms

Supra – above Infra ! below Medial – towards the middle Lateral – towards the outer Dorsal – behind Anterior – front


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Appendix D: FIGURE DRAWING SYLLABUS This appendix shows a suggested college or university level syllabus for a Figure Drawing course. This syllabus was designed, written and used for a three Quarter Figure Drawing course series. Each Quarter becomes successively more demanding on the students, while allowing students from all three levels to be in the same class and share the same model.

Syllabus for Figure Drawing I, II, III ART XX1, XX2, XX3

Course Description & Objectives These three courses will introduce both objective and creative methods for drawing the human figure. Live models will be used extensively as drawing subjects. Emphasis is given on rendering a likeness of the model. The student will become very familiar with the following topics: gesture , proportion, light & shadow , anatomy and composition . Reviews will be given on the elements of art and principles of design. Each class will be conducted in a drawing room with the instructor giving an introduction of the day’s topic or a review of previous topics and then the students begin drawing. The instructor will devote attention throughout each session to the individual student or to the entire group as necessary. Occasionally, videos or other multimedia teaching a ids may be used to fully articulate the explanation of a subject. This may include discussions on some of the leading figurative artists throughout history and modern times, as well as analyzing their work and how they produced it. Discussions of topographical and skeletal anatomy will also take place, with the usage of a skeleton or other materials, along with pointing out the features on a living model. The objective for the student is to combine all the knowledge and skills learned in the class to create charcoal (or other medium) drawings of the human figure.

Textbook and Recommended Reading Though not required to purchase, the student will greatly benefit from reading the following books: Master Class in Figure Drawing, Robert Hale Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, Robert Hale Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, Robert Hale Artistic Anatomy, Paul Richer & Robert Beverly Hale The Practice and Science of Drawing, Harold Speed The Human Figure, John H. Vanderpoel


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Grading The grading of this course is based on the student’s ability to learn the topics discussed and to apply that knowledge & skill towards drawing the human figure. There will be one midterm test (multiple choice, fill in the blank, short a nswer, label the diagram). The test is focused primarily on the familiarization of terminology and concepts dealing with figure drawing and art concepts. The instructor will make it very clear which terms need to be understood. In Class Drawings Homework & Sketchbook Midterm Test Final Project

200 points 100 points 100 points 100 points

If a student misses more than 5 class sessions, then it is n ot possible for that student to receive an A grade. STANDARD GRADE SCALE 98-100% A+ 93-97 A 89-87 B 86-83 B 79-77 C+ 76-73 C 69-67 D+ 66-63 D 59 & BELOW F

92-90 82-80 72-70 62-60

ABCD-

Turn In Drawings In the early weeks of the course, the grading emphasis will be on the student's ability to consistently attend each session and simply turn in the drawings. Employ Techniques As the quarter progresses, the grading emphasis will be shifted towards the student's ability to employ the techniques being taught and the success of the drawing. Success in a drawing is categorized as having the appropriate gesture , accurate proportions , a sense of volume being conveyed by use of light & shadow (chiaroscuro) and finally, creating convincing anatomy. Advanced techniques are composition and color. Creativity & Style While the focus of this course is on developing draftsmanship abilities, creativity is encouraged and the student may choose to have this reflect in both the style and composition of the drawing.


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Weekly Topics Week 1: Gesture Introduction: Review Handouts, Discuss Goals, Proper Equipment/Easel Setup, Discuss Materials & Mediums, Introduction on working with models. Gesture and block-in (contour) drawings. Week 2: Proportions Introduction of proportions , ideal/realistic/relative Incorporate believable proportions with shorter to mid length duration drawings Week 3: Light & Shadow Introduction of light & shadow effects, value scales, shadow mapping, soft/sharp shadow edges, variation in shadow edges to produce realistic effects Week 4: Anatomy Introduction to anatomical landmarks and the importance of using anatomy for achieving believable proportions Week 5: Review Putting it all together – review: gesture, proportion, light/shadow and anatomy. Review for Midterm Exam Week 6 – 7 Midterm Exam Foreshortening and reclining poses Kneeling and seated poses Week 8 Stylized Approaches, Abstraction, Series & Sequence studies Week 9 Special emphasis on the Portrait (head/neck/shoulders) Week 10 Students choose poses and duration of poses. Aesthetics & Composition Review weaker skills and areas of confusion. Students can explore different mediums other than charcoal, if desired. Week 11: Final Drawing Putting it all together – final long drawing (Create a drawing that harmoniously incorporates everything learned for the quarter) Week 12: Final Critique Review of portfolio & Final Critique

Materials List


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Drawing materials can be expensive. First buy all of the materials with an * asterisk and as the class proceeds, you can buy the rest if needed. PAPER

LARGE drawings are encouraged – if you have access to large paper, bring it in and you can tape it to a board or bring your own large board. * Strathmore Drawing Pad, 18”x24”, 24 sheet pad (1) Medium sized drawing pad, 11”x14” Charcoal Paper, Strathmore Storm Gray or other neutral color (you can have different colors: beige or light blue are good)

(1) (4)

CHARCOAL & PENCILS

* Generals Charcoal Pencils, medium 2B * Willow Charcoal Sticks Generals Chalk Pencils (white)

(5) (5) (3)

ERASERS

* Erasers, knead-able

(1)

DRAWING AIDS

Fan Brush or other type of brush with long thin handle (may replace fan brush with wooden or plastic chopstick)

(1)

MISC

Metal Calipers (about 12” span) Container for storage equipment (tackle box type) Masking Tape, vanilla color, "” width * Sharp Edge Box Cutter with movable blade Blair workable spray fixative

(1) (1) (1) (1)


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Homework Assignments & Sketch Book Shown below is a list of the type of homework assignments required for the student to complete. Size: the paper must be at least 18”x24” inches. Medium: Charcoal or Pencil preferred, but you may use any other medium. Color pencils, pastels or ink & pen are fine. It is even ok to use oil or acrylic paints (though, a limited palette is recommend). * The 11”x14” Sketchbook may be used to augment homework assignments

Level I Draw Ribcage & Pelvis (torso) Draw the Hands Draw the Feet Draw the Head/Portrait Draw the Arms Draw the Legs Draw the Portrait

Level II Every single bone in the human body (except the small ears of the bones) must be drawn. They should be drawn life sized. Accuracy is encouraged and proper light & shadow effects are recommended in order to make the bones seem more 3 dimensional. The student may use medical literature, artistic anatomy books and the skeleton in class as reference materials to complete this assignment. Level III At the end of each week, the level II student will select one of the life drawings done in class and on the same or separate sheet of paper, the skeleton and/or muscles will be drawn. The student can use anatomical books or the skeleton provided in class as aids.


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Tiers of Mastery & Progression of Skills The Figure Drawing Course Series (I, II & III) is divided into tiers with a natural progression of skills. The diagrams below will help illustrate the expected p rogression of the student’s skills. The emphasis for each level is shown below from left to right and each level builds and depends upon the mastery of the previous level. The student is of course exposed to all of the skills at each level, but is only expected to master that which corresponds to their level. 1 g n i w (contour, block-in) a r D e r u g i F (relative comparison)

Gesture

Proportions

I I g n i w(skeletal, surface) a r D e r u g i F

Anatomy

Light & Shadow

I I I g n i w a r D e r u g i F

Composition Color

(shading, volume)

Composition

Gesture (countour/block-in)

Proportions

Anatomy

Thought of in another way, each time a student creates a drawing there is a conscious circular process that occurs. Starting from the gesture stage, the drawing is built up in a logical manner, which incorporates more advanced concepts. If the student completes all three levels of the Figure Drawing series, they will be expected to thoroughly understand each skill and its importance.

(relative comparison)

Light & Shadow


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Appendix E: FIGURE SCULPTING SYLLABUS This appendix shows a suggested college or university level syllabus for a Figure Drawing course.

Syllabus for Figure Sculpting I ART XXX

Course Description & Objectives This course provides an introduction to sculpting the human figure. Live models will be used extensively as subjects. Emphasis is given on rende ring a likeness of the model in clay. The student will become very familiar with the following topics: armature construction , working with clay , gesture , proportion, modeling form, light & shadow , human anatomy. Class meets once a week in a studio and the student will have access to the studio at other times in order to work on the final project. There will be approximately 10 sessions where a live model will be present. Each class will be conducted in a studio with the instructor giving an introduction of the day’s topic or a review of previous topics. The instructor will devote attention throughout each session to the individual student or to the entire group as necessary. Occasionally, videos or other multimedia teaching a ids may be used to fully articulate the explanation of a subject. Discussions of topographical a nd skeletal anatomy will also take place, with the usage of a skeleton or other materials, along with pointing out the features on a living model. The objective for the student is to combine all the knowledge and skills learned in the class to create a ! life sized clay sculpture of a human.

Textbook and Recommended Reading Though not required to purchase, the student will greatly benefit from reading the following books: Master Class in Figure Drawing, Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, Artistic Anatomy, The Human Figure,

Robert Hale Robert Hale Robert Hale Paul Richer & Robert Beverly Hale John H. Vanderpoel


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Grading The grading of this course is based on the student’s ability to learn the topics discussed and to apply that knowledge & skill towards sculpting the human figure. Throughout the course, the student will be responsible for completing a set of drawings that will aid the student in understanding human anatomy. The Final Project, which is the creation of a " life sized clay sculpture, will determine the majority of the student’s grade as shown below.

Drawings & Studies Final Project

100 points 400 points

STANDARD GRADE SCALE 98-100% A+ 93-97 A 89-87 B 86-83 B 79-77 C+ 76-73 C 69-67 D+ 66-63 D 59 & BELOW F

92-90 82-80 72-70 62-60


ABCD-

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Weekly Topics Week 1: Introduction & Material Requirements Introduction: Review Handouts, Discuss Goals, Proper Equipment and sculpture stand setup, Discuss Materials & Mediums, Introduction on working with models. Week 2: Armature Construction The milestone for this week is to have a complete figure sculpting armature constructed with bendable diameter aluminum wire, plumbing pipes, metal flange and wooden board.

!”

Week 3: Establish Model Pose and Shape Armature The milestone for this week is to shape the bendable aluminum wire to mimic the shape of the human model. The student will also create 4 simple sketches of the model as viewed from 4 different angles, in order to understand the pose better. The following weeks will be primarily concerned with creating a low detail block-in of the human figure in clay. Week 4: Torso & Legs The milestone for this week is to develop the correct dimensions of the torso and legs Week 5: Torso & Legs & Feet & Portrait The milestone for this week is to continue developing the correct dimensions of the torso and legs, while adding the ankles, feet & portrait. Week 6: Shoulder Girdle & Portrait The milestone for this week is to develop the correct dimensions of the shoulder girdle & re-assess the correct dimensions of the portrait. Week 7: Arms & Hands The milestone for this week is to develop the correct dimensions of arms and hands. Week 8: Review & Analysis of Gesture & Proportions The milestone for this week is analyze the sculpture as a whole, with regards to it’s dimensions, proportions and gesture Week 9, 10, 11: Modeling of Forms The milestone for these 3 weeks is to correctly model the forms and complete the surfacing of the sculpture, as necessary. Week 12: Final Critique Review of Final Project & Final Critique


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Materials List Clay sculpting materials can be expensive. This is a list of all of the materials necessary to create a " life sized sculpture of a human (approx 33 inches high) Bendable "” Diameter Aluminum Wire Approximately 10 feet of bendable aluminum wire that is !” diameter The wire can be purchased online or in Seattle art stores.

Metal Plumbing Pipes for Armature (1) "” Pipe, 12” long (1) "” Pipe, 4” long "” Flange (2) "” Elbow (1) (1) "” T (1) "” Cross "” to 3/8” converter (1) 3/8” Pipe 6” long (1)

Metal Screws Number 14 wood screws, 1.5 inches (8) Wooden Base 24” Diameter Circular Board (or cut one to preferences) Sculpting Medium Plastilina Clay (Oil based) Approximately 20 lbs Water based clay may be used if student desires. Sculpting Tools Several Wooden Tools Fettling Knife Steel Putty Knife Aluminum or Steel Caliper, 10” minimum


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Appendix F: SCULPTURE PROJECT GUIDE TEMPLATE Most professional 3D Designers and Sculptors have develope d an efficient process for creating work. This visual guide template can be used to help establish a process for how one goes about starting and completing a project.

Concept

The Concept phase is when the artist asks the questions what, where, how big, etc… Be as creative as possible. Drawing in this stage is important.

Research

The Research phase is when the artist begins to learn more about the subject matter so the project will have importance and relevance.

Design

Process Plan

Budget

Construction

Installation/Presentation

The Design phase is when the artist formalizes the aesthetic and structural value by using the elements and principles of 3D Design. Creating a small 3D maquette is done in this stage. The Process Plan is usually a diagram or written sequence of steps or diagrams that explain how the project will be carried out. The Budget inherently implies that a complete list of materials has been listed and an estimation of total cost is projected. The Construction phase is the hands on implementation of the final form of the project. Installation and Presentation involve placing the 3D object in a setting or different settings and showing to an audience.

A formal project document is often required in real world commissioned projects or proposals. The project document will contain at a minimum; Design, Process Plan and Budget . Additionally, readers may want to know details about the materials and construction as well as how the 3D object or sculpture will be affixed to a surface, hung from a ceiling or wall.


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Appendix M: A GUIDE TO MOLD MAKING An illustrated guide for how to make a mold and a proof cast.


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Introduction To Mold Making Mold making is an ancient process by which the shape and dimensionality of an object can be reproduced. In this publication we use the term mold making to encapsulate the process of making the mold and then making a cast from the mold. A mold is a mass of material(s) that has a hollow chamber matching the exact 3 dimensional shape of an object. Liquid material can be poured inside the hollow chamber to make a reproduction of the original object. This guide will explain the art of mold making using a small sculpture as an example. It is recommended that before the artist uses this guide for making a mold of their own work that the artist read the entire document to become familiar with all the steps and materials involved. A shortcut is to simply review the Table of Contents on the previous page for a chronological step-bystep preview of what must be done. This guide shows one of many ways to make a mold by demonstrating the process on a small figure sculpture that has many of the common technical challenges presented to the mold maker. If the artist understands this process and can repeat it on an equivalent project of his own, then it will be possible to scale the process up or down to any size or complicated mold-making project.


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Materials This section contains a list of all the materials needed to make a professional 2-piece mold for the example sculpture used in this guide.

Listed in the chronological order in which the materials are needed: Silicon Rubber Mold: Rebound 25 - Brand: Smooth-On Thixotropic thickener for silicon rubber mold Box of disposable vinyl gloves: 100 pairs 6 plastic (1 quart) containers 4 long wooden paint stirring sticks 4 medium wooden stirring sticks 1 bag of wooden lollipop sticks. 1 common house sponge I bag (50lb) of plaster 4 plastic or rubber containers (1 quart) 2 plastic putty knives (for stirring plaster) I jar of petroleum jelly 1 paper towel roll 1 cutting blade 2 steel bladed putty knives 1 plaster sander


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Preparing the Sculpture and Work Space Before the mold making materials can be applied, the artist must prepare the sculpture.

Water Based Clay If water based clay was used to create the sculpture then it is recommended the surface state be slightly moist, not muddy or soggy.

Oil Based Clay If the sculpture was created using oil based clay (containing sulfur), then the artist must pay attention to the type of rubber mold material being used, because most silicon rubber mold material will not catalyze correctly when in contact with sulfur. Oil based clay containing no sulfur is safe to use with most silicon rubber mold material. Undercuts and negative spaces in the sculpture are other things to consider. Undercuts are areas in which it is not possible for material A to pass by material B without c atching or dragging.

Negative Spaces If the negative space is small enough, then it is wise to cut a piece of plastic and fit it into the space. This will (later) allow the mold separating process to go easier, without having to cut into the sculpture.


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Phase 1: Rubber Mold (RM) The most commonly used material for creating a rubber mold is silicon. The silicon used in this guide is liquid and brush-able (with the aid of a Thixotropic agent). The terms silicon mold and rubber mold are used interchangeably throughout this guide. It should be noted that not all rubber molds in the industry are made from silicon and latex or polyurethane are other available materials.

RM Step 1: Cover Entire Sculpture with a Thin Coat As shown in the photo, the first step is to cover the entire sculpture with a thin coat of the liquid silicon. As shown in the materials list, the silicon used for this example is called Rebound 25, made by the company Smooth-On. This is a professional grade mold making silicon. Silicon will usually have a catalyzer and it is important to follow the directions to make sure the silicon catalyzes correctly. It is wise for the artisan to wear disposable vinyl gloves from here onwards in the mold making process. Latex gloves cannot be used because latex will impede the silicon from catalyzing correctly. This first step is the most important step in the entire mold making process and it is absolutely vital that this first layer of silicon catalyzes correctly. It is wise to give the silicon a full hour before proceeding to the next step.

RM Step 2: Build up thickness After the initial thin coat of silicon has catalyzed and is tacky to the touch, it is safe to begin adding more layers. The rubber mold must be thick enough so it does not tear. In this step, we applied another 2 coats of silicon onto the sculpture. If you have purchased a thickening agent for the silicon then you can add it to the silicon and paste the silicon onto the mold more efficiently.


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RM Step 3: Adding Shims In this step we add shims to the rubber mold. If you think for a moment, you will realize that the rubber mold will eventually be taken apart. In this example, the rubber mold will have two halves.

The line in which the rubber mold is taken apart (or cut apart) is called the separation line. It is customary to build up a wall along the separation line. The wall may or may not have shims. Shims are used to help separate the rubber mold when the time comes. The shims can also have small dimples in them, which will then act as registration marks. The registration marks are what professionals use to help the rubber mold have a good seal and prevent leakage. As you can see from the photos on the left, we have inserted shims along the separation line. The shims are nothing more than plastic candy molds which were purchased at a craft store. It would be possible to use pieces of plastic with no dimples if that were desired.

Or, it is possible to use no shims at all. If n o shims are used at all, then the mold maker must build up the rubber mold so that a small wall exists along the separation line. It is even possible to have no wall at all. However, the artisan will risk have extensive leakage of the casting material along the separation line.


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RM Step 4: Cover Shims & Finish Wall With the shims firmly in place, it is now time to completely cover the shims with the rubber mold. At the end of this step, we hope to have a rubber wall the thickness of an index finger, with the shims embedded inside the wall along the separation line. As stated earlier, it is most beneficial if the silicon mixture has some thicke ner added to it. Making the silicon thicker will aid in covering the shims, which in most cases will have vertical sides. Without adding a thickener to the silicon, the silicon may run off the sides or take a very long time to build up enough thickness around the shims. As seen on the photo at the left, the shims are now being covered with the rubber mold. Slowly but surely we will have the shims completely covered and there will be a slightly geometrically shaped wall tracing a path all along the separation line of the rubber mold. You may also notice the small pieces of sponge that are now placed on the mold. This addresses the issue of filling large spaces or undercuts with a less expensive material. In the demonstration mold, we have placed 2 sections of sponge into areas where filling with rubber mold would otherwise have been extensive.

In the photo at the left, we can see a slightly different view of the two sponge sections. The piece of sponge on the right side of the photo was placed there in order to fill a large undercut area. Both pieces of sponge will then be covered with the rubber mold material. After the shims have been completely covered on both sides of the wall and the wall is now fully formed, the mold maker can allow the mold material to fully catalyze until the material is no longer sticky to the touch. Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley

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RM Step 5: Trim Wall The mold maker may then take a pair of scissors or a sharp cutting edge and strategically trim up the outer edge of the wall until the shim is just barely visible. This should be done all along the wall where possible. By creating a flat surface along the edge of the wall, we will allow the mother mold process to be done easier.

With the edges of the wall trimmed in a geometric fashion, we now have completely finished making the rubber mold and we are ready for the next phase of the mold making project: the mother mold. Finished rubber mold shown at the left.


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Phase 2: Mother Mold (MM) In this second phase of the mold-making project, we introduce the mother mold. The mother mold gets its name from the manner in which a mother holds a child: securely and firmly. The mother mold is always a material that dries or catalyzes into a hard shell. This hard shell will keep the forms of the rubber mold underneath safe and secure.

MM Step 1: Begin Applying Plaster to One Side We begin the mother mold by selecting one side of the mold to apply our new material to. The material we will be using for the mother mold in this demonstration is plaster. See the appendix for directions on how to properly mix plaster or ask an experienced artisan.

As shown in the photos above, we begin by applying the dripping plaster onto the rubber mold with a plaster mixing tool. Cover the entire surface as evenly as possible.


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MM Step 2: Complete One Side and Refine Contact Surface In this step, we finish applying layers of the mother mold material until adequate thickness is achieved. With plaster, this thickness will be approximately an inch. However, this depends on the overall size of the sculpture and it’s mold. The trick is to use as little material as possible to reduce overall weight, while allowing the mother mold to provide adequate rigid body strength. In this photo we can see the rubber mold with the plaster mother mold being creating on the other side. Ideally, we want the mother mold to extend past the rubber mold and slightly over the rubber mold wall. The portion of the mother mold seen from this view should have a clean surface, hence the tool shown in the photo cutting of excess plaster.

After one side of the mother mold has adequate thickness and it is extending over the height of the wall on the rubber mold, it is advisable to take a metal tool and make the edge as linear as possible by scraping off excess plaster. When this step is done, the artisan will be able to situate the mold as seen on the left. In this view, it is able to see the rubber mold with the mother mold extending past all the edges. It is important what we are able to see the mother mold in this state so we know when we make the second half of the mother mold that both halves will carry out the function of mating with each other correctly and protecting the soft rubber mold underneath. Finally, apply a coat of Vaseline to the section of mother mold visible from this angle. This is absolutely essential. Forgetting this step will result in two mother mold halves being bonded together.


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MM Step 3: Complete The Other Side (other half) With one half of the mother mold completely formed and the Vaseline protecting the contact surface, we are now ready to create the second half of this two-piece mother mold. For some projects, the artisan will need to design and create more than two pieces for the mother mold and I leave it up the artisan to deal with those complex situations.

For convenience I have turned the mold making project on its side for easy application of the second half of the mother mold. This does not have to be done nor can it always be done this way because the artisan may risk damaging the sculpture or the mold. When in doubt, do not turn the project on its side, and just leave it upright. In the photo above we can see an initial application of plaster onto the second side of the mold. Continue in this fashion until the entire side of the mold is covered with plaster and it’s edges mirror in contact with the first side of the mother mold. Now you will understand why we put the coat of Vaseline on the edge of the first side of the mother mold. If we did not do that then the plaster would bond to the plaster on the first side and instead of creating two halves for the mother mold, we would have created one single body of plaster and disassembly would be incredibly tedious and messy.


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MM Step 4: Clean Up Mother Mold At this point in the project we have completed both halves of the mother mold. Before we continue to the disassembly phase, it is advisable to clean up the edges of the mother mold along the separation line.

In these photos (from top left going clockwise) we can see: the entire mother mold along the separation line, a metal tool scraping horizontally along the edge of the mother mold to help expose the separation line and a hole that is a result of a large negative space in the sculpture that appears along the separation line. In summary, we want to clean up the edges all along the separation line.


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Phase 3: Disassembly of Mold At this phase it is necessary to remove the sculpture from within the mold. We do this by first separating the mother mold and then separating the rubber mold. This must be done carefully so the mother mold and the rubber mold are not damaged.

DMM Step 1: Disassemble Mother Mold Shown on this page is the mold before it is disassembled. The tools needed to disassemble the mother mold are usually some metal putty knives and a plaster scraper.

We begin the mother mold disassembly by first locating the separation line. If it cannot be located easily, then the artisan will have to probe with a metal putty knife and chip or dig into the mother mold. Once the separation line has been found, the artisan runs the metal putty knife along the seam and slightly digs into the plaster. The metal putty knife can be wiggled slightly to help spread the mother mold. At this point, do not attempt to completely separate the mother mold.


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135 The process of sticking the metal putty knife into the seam is repeated for all areas where the mother mold touches any other objects, such as the wooden base or stand that the original sculpture was created on. The goal is to free contact between the two halves of the mother mold and anything else they touch.

Now the artisan can gently begin prying apart the two halves of the mother mold. As shown below, the two halves are gently wiggled free. Usually only one half of the mother mold comes off easily and the other half may be slightly stuck. The artisan must be careful when getting the second half free and avoid damaging the soft rubber mold, which is now exposed.


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136 With the second half of the mother mold now freed, it can be pulled away from the rubber mold. It is now a good idea to place both halves of the mother mold next to the rubber mold as shown in the photo below.


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DRM Step 1: Disassemble Rubber Mold Now that the mother mold has been disassembled into it’s two halves, we focus our attention on disassembling the rubber mold. The rubber mold must be cut off the sculpture along the seam line. At the left we see the rubber mold with the primary tool needed to disassemble the rubber mold: a box-cutting knife. Below at left and right we begin to separate the rubber mold along the seam. Sometimes the seam can be separated with just the fingers. Other times the artisan will need to use the box cutter to cut into the seam all the way to the clay or cut just deep enough to reach the shims. As we can see here, the plastic shims have rounded depressions in them. These rounded depressions act as registration marks for the rubber mold, so it is important to be careful when removing the plastic shims. Carefully remove the plastic shims and then use the box cutter to completely separate the rubber mold in two halves.


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Continue separating the rubber mold along the seam and removing the shims. You’ll notice once a section of shims have been removed that it becomes easier to peel the rubber mold away from the sculpture and continue to expose more of the shims. Keep in mind that you will likely have to rely upon the box cutters to occasionally cut through a section of rubber to find the shims or cut into the clay to separate the last bit of rubber mold. As the rubber mold is separated into it’s two ha lves, more of the sculpture will become visible. As the rubber mold is pulled away from the sculpture the artisan can begin looking for any problems with the mold. If the sculpture has no unexpected deformations and the rubber mold has no deformations, then this is a good sign.

Here we can see much of the rubber mold has been peeled away from the sculpture. At this point the artisan may be tempted to hurry up and remove the rubber mold at an accelerated pace. The artisan must keep a slow to moderate pace and be careful not to tear the rubber mold.


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When the rubber mold has been completely peeled away from the sculpture and all of the shims have been removed, it is always a good idea to immediately lay the two halves of the rubber mold into the matching halves of the hard plaster mother mold. Place the sculpture between the two halves of the mold and take a few moments to compare the positive forms of the sculpture with the negative forms of the rubber mold.

Now that the original sculpture has been removed from inside the mold, we want to reassemble the mold. This is where all the hard work of making the registration marks begins to pay off. If we have made a good mold, then it can be reassembled easily and there will be a good seal between two halves. Lay out both halves of the mold with the rubber mold inside of each mother mold, respectively. Get 1 or more straps and some Vaseline.


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Phase 4: Re-Assembly

With the mold lying on a counter top, look directly down onto the mold and put a thin coat of Vaseline directly onto all areas of the mother mold that are exposed or protruding beyond the rubber mold. As shown in the picture, it is a good idea to use vinyl gloves, but not necessary. Here we can see the Vaseline being applied to the mold.

With the Vaseline coating the exposed contact points on the mother mold, we can now place one half of the rubber mold on top of the opposing rubber mold with its mother mold underneath (as shown in the picture). Carefully inspect that all o f the registration marks are matching up between the contact area of each half of the rubber mold.


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After the two halves of the rubber mold are matched up, stand back and verify that there are no unexpected anomalies. The next step will be to put on the other half of the mother mold and hence this might be the artisan’s last chance to notice any problems for a proper re-assembly of the rubber mold.

Now the second half of the mother mold must be put on and a strap or other chord must be wrapped around the entire mold to assure it is held securely in place.


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Phase 5: Pouring the Proof Cast Pouring a proof cast is the only way we will know for sure if our mold making process was done correctly. The mold has now been reassembled and secured with straps or chords. We place the mold upside down in a bucket or other container so that it will not tip over, as shown in the photos. A bucket or container is not always necessary and in some cases not possible if the mold is too large. The artisan will have to decide what type of mechanism or setup is necessary to hold the mold up side down.

Now the artisan mixes some plaster and water and pours the plaster into the mold. This has to be done so that the plaster covers every part of the inside of the mold. The artisan will most likely have to pick the entire mold up or rotate it a around to assure the plaster has covered all of the inside of the mold. When the plaster begins to setup and harden, another coating of plaster may be poured into the mold Do this multiple times until there is an adequate thickness built up inside of the mold. In the last photo here we see the entire mold has been turned on its side. This is a good time to scrape along the bottom of the newly poured cast to make it even and flush with the bottom of the mold. There will of course be some slight shrinkage of the plaster and possible warping the bigger the plaster cast gets. But, this is the best we can do at this phase to assure a good plaster pour. The artisan will begin to notice some heat is given off because of the thermotropic reaction of plaster setting up.


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Releasing the Cast Now the plaster has been poured into the mold and several hours have passed to assure the plaster has had enough time to set up (cure) properly. The artisan must now carefully extract the plaster cast from the mold without damaging it. Set the mold right side up and remove the straps. Remove half of the mother mold and also remove the corresponding half of the rubber mold. This will allow the artisan the first glimpse of the plaster cast.

The other half of the mother mold is now removed and finally the other half of the rubber mold is gently peeled away from the plaster cast. It can be a wonderful feeling to experience a successful mold making and plaster casting project and see your plaster cast without defects. That is why this is called the proof cast. We are proving that the mold can or can’t deliver on the promise of reproducing the original clay sculpture.


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Chasing the Cast If the plaster cast produced by the mold is in overall good shape and there are no major deformations then the artisan only has to contend with occasional spots where the plaster did not come into contact with the mold, air bubbles in the plaster which cause voids and areas where the plaster was too thin. Repairing these areas is referred to as “chasing the plaster” and a few metallic tools and a little more plaster + water are needed to carry out this process.

The above right photo shows an example of an area of the plaster cast that did not receive enough plaster. Perhaps there was an air bubble in the liquid plaster that did not allow the plaster to settle on the part of the rubber mold corresponding to this spot. In any case, we simply mix up some plaster and patch the spot. A syringe is a good tool to have handy for repair jobs because it can inject the exact amount of plaster needed in the exact spot that needs repairing.


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Mold Making Summary The entire process of making a mold and an exact three-dimensional cast of an original object is an art form that has been done for thousands of years. The materials used in the process of mold making have advanced significantly over time and the artisan has a wide array of choices. The author prefers to use Silicon for the rubber mold and Hydrocal for the mother mold.


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DrawingSculptingTheFigure_book1.pdf

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