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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486146782 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 04/06/2012 |
| Series: | Dover Anatomy for Artists |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 144 |
| File size: | 18 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
A founder of the prestigious Maryland Institute of Art, Alon Bement taught future art instructors at Columbia University. His students included Georgia O’Keeffe, who regarded him as a mentor and major influence.
Read an Excerpt
THE ENERGETIC LINE
IN FIGURE DRAWING
By ALON BEMENT
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-14678-2
CHAPTER 1
THE FIGURE IN PROFILE
TO draw the action of the body from the side only two construction lines are necessary, one for the front of the body, and the other for the back. According to the directions given below, make the construction lines very carefully but quite pale. The actual lines of the figure should be made with single strokes for each of the concave and convex curves. A new beginning should be made for each curve. The strokes should be made in the speediest possible manner, without going over any of the lines a second time, or making corrections of any kind. Pause only long enough between strokes to decide the length and direction of the next stroke.
DIRECTIONS
Draw two curved lines AB and CD five inches long, having the point A directly over B, C three-quarters of an inch from A, and D one-quarter of an inch from B.
The line AB may be said to represent the front of the figure. It is composed of one concave and three convex lines.
Beginning at the top of AB, draw a rather long convex line representing the chest; just below it a short line representing the abdomen, and a long one representing the front of the thigh, and the only concave line on the front of the figure from the knee to the foot.
Line CD may be said to represent the back of the figure. It is made up of four convex lines, one double curve, and one concave line.
Beginning at the top, draw a fairly long convex line representing the back. Extend it well in from the construction line at the waist, then draw a very short concave line (in the middle of the back), and another short but very full convex line representing the thigh. Below this draw a double curve from the thigh to the back of the knees, followed by a convex curve to the ankle.
Repeat the exercise twelve times, allowing five minutes for a drawing. Use a different pencil for each drawing. Relative measurements will be given in proper time, the idea being, at first, to keep the student's mind entirely on the action of the figure and the simplest contours.
QUESTIONS: Describe the construction lines to be used in drawing in the true profile of the body. How many simple curves in the front contour? How many in the back contour? Where is the first concave curve found? Where is the double curve located? Why are no relative measurements given?
NOTE 1: In giving a lesson to a class without a model, the teacher should read the directions aloud (or give some explanation in her own words) and then make a drawing on the board illustrating the exact procedure of the lesson. It is helpful to count for the convex or concave strokes. For instance, one, for the convex line of the chest, pause; two, for the convex line of the abdomen, pause, and so on. The counting and the pauses show the time allowed between the strokes, and make clear in the mind of the student the idea of separating each stroke from the one following. With the model, the same procedure is helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Care should be taken, during the early lessons, to pose the model at the end of the studio, in such a manner as to assure as nearly as possible the same pose to the whole class. After Lesson 10, the student having already drawn the figure in several positions, the model can be posed in the center of the room and the students placed in a circle about her. In Lesson 28, the students drew up around the model stand, which was only about a foot high, and all drew their own feet placed on its edge.
NOTE 2: If the students are studying the figure only as costume designers, a more definite scale of measurements than those included in Lesson One should be given. The following proportions are in use in several studios, and have been found to be of practical value: Draw a vertical line eight inches long, divide the right side of the upper half into fourths, the left side of the upper half into thirds, and the lower half into two parts; draw the construction lines described in Lesson One, between the point marked for the shoulders and the lower end of the vertical line, as exemplified in the accompanying diagram. The head will then fill the one-inch space at the upper end, and the other divisions of the figure will fall approximately on the points designated.
CHAPTER 2THE ARM IN PROFILE
IT is interesting to note that the construction lines for the arm are almost exactly the same as those of the body, except that they are shorter and are turned to a horizontal position.
Draw the construction lines slowly and with care, the actual lines of the arm with speed and power, one stroke for each curve, with no corrections of any kind. The arm drawn thus will attach to the figure in several positions—extended forward, lifted up, or hanging down.
DIRECTIONS
Draw construction lines AB and CD two and one-quarter inches long; C being one-half inch from A, and D one-quarter of an inch from B.
Line AB may be said to represent the upper side of the arm. It is made up of one double and two convex curves. Beginning at A, draw a short but full convex line representing the deltoid muscle of the shoulder. Then draw a slightly longer and very flat convex line for the top of the biceps, and below that the double curve of the forearm to the wrist.
Line CD may be said to represent the under side of an extended arm and, except for a slight bulge at the elbow and the forearm below, it will serve just as it is.
Make ten or twelve drawings combining Lessons One and Two, with the arms in different positions. Complete each in five minutes. Do not erase or redraw any part. Use a soft pencil with a blunt point.
QUESTIONS: HOW do the construction lines of Lessons One and Two differ? Where is the double curve in this case? Where is the concave line located? Which position of the arm do you like the best of those that you have drawn? Which is the easiest to draw?
CHAPTER 3THE HEAD IN PROFILE
IN drawing the head in profile disregard, for the time being, the eyes and the mouth. Think of the head only as a comparatively round decorative form, with one side flat, but with the sort of roundness that seems to be based on a square rather than on a circle.
DIRECTIONS
Draw a square with the sides three-quarters of an inch long.
Beginning at B draw a convex line a little outside A to a point somewhat above C. This line may represent the top and back of the head (including the hair), while the line BD represents the profile of the face with the point of the chin at D. The first third of the line DC represents the line under the chin (No. 1).
Repeat this exercise, but tip the square forward until it is at an angle of forty-five degrees from the perpendicular. Attached to the figure in Lesson One it will be found that the front of the neck almost entirely disappears, while the line at the back is extended until it becomes a part of the convex curve of the back (No. 2).
Repeat this exercise by tipping the square back to an angle of forty-five degrees at the left of the perpendicular. In this position it is the back of the neck that almost entirely disappears, while the front is extended and becomes a convex curve that connects with the bent-in end of the chest (No. 3).
Draw each head at least five times. Alternate the direction in which they face. Do not attempt to draw the eyes or mouth, for in so doing the mind is taken off the whole outline, which is the most important thing to remember.
In drawing the head it is not necessary to draw the entire square each time. It should be carefully kept in mind that the face line should always be drawn in order to establish the angle at which the head is to be drawn.
In attaching the head that is thrown back to the top of the figure, it will be found that the throat line does not connect exactly to the upper end of the chest. It is necessary then to bend in slightly the upper end of the chest line to meet the line of the throat.
It must be remembered that the body should be drawn first, the arms next, and the head last, for, although the head may direct the action of the body, this action is expressed by the long lines of the trunk, and the head, arms and feet are but completions of the movement.
Use all six pencils in rotation in this exercise.
QUESTIONS: What part of the head may be considered as a straight line? Why? What happens to the back of the neck when the head is bent forward? How do you connect the top of the chest to the front of the throat? Why should the head be drawn last? Explain why six pencils and many kinds of paper are used in one lesson.
CHAPTER 4THE HAND, THE FOREARM, AND SIMPLE MEASUREMENTS
MEASUREMENTS
MR. Robert Fletcher, in compiling the man measurements for the Provost Marshal's Office at Washington, reported 115 published methods of man measurements. Some of them were in use before the Christian era. In a translation from the Greek, by Leonardo da Vinci, we find the following formula: "Nature, in the composition of the human form, has so ordained that the face, from the chin to the highest point where the hair begins, is one-tenth of the whole stature. These proportions obtain in the hand, measured from the wrist to the front of the middle finger. The head from the chin to the top of the scalp is an eighth; from the top of the chest to the highest point of the forehead is a seventh; from the nipples to the top of the scalp is one-fourth of the whole."
"If the length of the face be divided into three equal parts, the first intersection will determine the place of the nostrils, the second, the point where the eyebrows meet; the ear, likewise, a third of the length of the face." (Refer to Plate XXXV, Page 95.)
A later, far less exact, but extremely serviceable and easily remembered scale of measurement, is one in which each extremity is estimated to be three-quarters of the part above. Thus the hand is three-quarters of the forearm, the forearm is three-quarters of the upper arm. The foot is three-fourths the length of the lower leg, and the lower leg three-quarters of the upper. The long thigh bone is equal to the distance from the thigh to the shoulder, and the normal hand and arm reach to a point half way down the thigh. These measurements are not exact, but they come near enough to make a very practical working basis until time can be taken to study the more complex systems. The Greek ideal of eight heads to the figure seems too high for the average figure of today. It is advisable for the student to make the head more nearly the normal size, which is about one-seventh of the height of the whole body.
DIRECTIONS
The construction lines for the forearm are like those of the whole arm, the only difference being that they are farther apart.
In this lesson, however, the student will consider the hand as part of the forearm, as an extension of the graceful curves that make up its outline. Do not think of the hand as being made up of fingers, but think of the curves that make up its contour.
Draw your own hand and arm, held before you, in five or six different positions. Draw each time as though the line of the arm passed through the hand and came out along the fingers. (By the use of the mirror your own left hand may be made to seem like the right of another person.)
The foot, for the time being, may be considered as having one straight line along the bottom, and another up the back of the ankle. With a slight extension of the heel this line will be sufficient to establish the action of the foot until there is time to study it more carefully.
QUESTIONS: Describe the da Vinci theory of measurement. Describe a simpler system. What measurement is exactly the same length as that of the long thigh bone? Compare the foot with the lower leg. According to the da Vinci theory, locate the center of your last drawing. Have you ever seen anyone who is eight heads high? What is the normal size of the head today?
Describe what the beginner's attitude toward the details of the hands should be. Should the lines of the hands be drawn with those of the forearm or separately? Describe how the lines on the opposite side of the forearm seem to connect with each other. Do you think that this is one of the reasons why the human figure is considered more beautiful than any other?
How long is the hand compared with the forearm? The forearm compared with the upper arm? How far down the thigh does the arm and hand extend? What is the longest bone in the body? What other measurement is exactly like it? How long is the foot compared with the lower leg? How many heads high is the average modern figure? How many heads high is the Greek ideal?
CHAPTER 5VARIATIONS OF THE PROFILE
THE construction lines for Lesson Five are simply a combination of those of Lessons One to Four. When the feet are separated, as they are in this case, the figure is constructed above the foot that bears the weight, as it is of first importance to establish the center of gravity, thus placing the action on its most immovable pedestal. The one that bears the least weight should be drawn last. It could be moved an inch or two in either direction without disturbing the balance of the rest of the figure. To move the first even a fraction of an inch would mean moving the whole.
Draw the trunk first, as in Lesson One, then the arms, the left leg, the head, and finally, the right leg. The left arm is the only new element in construction. It is shown bent slightly in reverse at the elbow, as often happens in the feminine figure. The construction line for it should be bent also, following its inside contour.
DIRECTIONS
Draw two curved lines AB and CD and complete the body as in Lesson One.
Draw the construction lines for the arms as in Lesson Two.
Draw the construction lines for the head as in Lesson Three.
Repeat this exercise ten times and reserve the two drawings that seem to you to be the best.
It is interesting to observe that the lines in this figure flow into each other in such a manner that they seem to be connected, and to give the figure the feeling of being very smooth and solid.
QUESTIONS: In what important particulars does this figure differ from that described in Lessons One to Four? Which foot should be drawn first and why? Does that affect the construction lines? How many heads high is this figure? Is the right arm exactly the right length? Is the distance from the knee to the thigh correct compared with the distance from the thigh to the shoulder? What are the new elements in this lesson?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE ENERGETIC LINE by ALON BEMENT. Copyright © 2009 DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
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