Drawing the Human Figure
Senior 2 · Fine Arts
Drawing the Human Figure
Lesson 4 of 4
22 min
A figure can have perfect proportions and still look stiff, like a wooden post. Real people lean, twist, carry things and dance. Think of intore dancers leaping with their spears, a football player about to strike the ball, or a woman walking to market with a basket balanced on her head. To capture that life you draw the gesture first, then build on it, and you make sure the figure is in balance so it does not look as if it is about to fall over.
A gesture drawing is a quick drawing, usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes, that records the action and energy of a pose rather than its details. Its backbone is the line of action: one long, flowing line, usually a C-curve or an S-curve, that runs through the main movement of the body from head to foot. Draw it first and hang everything else on it.
Ishimwe stands at the bus stop with his weight on his right leg and a bag hanging from his left hand. Step by step: (1) the right leg is the standing leg, so it goes under the pit of the neck; (2) the right hip is higher than the left; (3) the shoulder line tilts the other way, so the right shoulder is lower; (4) the bag pulls on his left side, so his upper body leans slightly to the right to keep the line of balance over the right foot. A drawing that shows all four clues looks alive and steady.
The Swiss-born painter Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807) drew this woman in black and white chalk on grey paper. Follow the line of action from the bent head down the curved back to the planted foot. The weight rests on the foot that stands flat on the ground; the other foot trails behind, touching the ground only with its toes. Notice how the folds of the cloth all flow in the direction of that movement.
Compare that careful study with the quick pencil sheet below by the French artist François-Claudius Compte-Calix. Its searching, repeated lines are exactly what a gesture drawing looks like: the artist tried several positions for the reaching arm before choosing one. Loose lines are not mistakes; they are how you find the pose.
Tip
Action first, anatomy later. If you only have one minute, spend the first five seconds on the line of action. In an exam sketch, always check that the line of balance from the pit of the neck lands over the feet.
Define gesture drawing and give a typical time for one.
Solution: a quick drawing that records the action and energy of a pose rather than its detail, usually 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
A person stands with the weight on the left leg. Which hip is higher, and which way does the shoulder line tilt?
Solution: the left hip is higher. The shoulder line tilts the opposite way, so the left shoulder is lower than the right.
In a drawing of a standing woman, the line from the pit of the neck lands 5 cm in front of her toes. What does the viewer feel, and how do you fix it?
Solution: she looks as if she is falling forward. Move the upper body back, or move the standing foot forward, until the line of balance lands on the foot.
A farmer carries a heavy hoe on his right shoulder. Predict how his body leans.
Solution: the load is on the right, so he leans slightly to the left to keep the line of balance over his feet.
Remember
Sources and credits
