Figure Drawing - Posing the Figure

The human figure is an expressive form. Often you can tell what people are thinking by how they stand or hold themselves. When doing figure drawings, you will be confronted with the choice of how to pose your figures. This decision can be critical to the success of the drawing. Look at the difference between the stances shown in Figure 5.1. Can you describe the emotion of each figure?The human body has an expressiveness that communicates through an unspoken language often referred to as body language. As an artist, you must learn this language and become as expressive with...
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Figure Drawing - Posing the FigureC H A P T E R 5 Figure 5.1 The figure’s emotion is expressed by his stance. ✎ Posing the FigureT he human figure is an expressive form. Often you can tell what people are thinking by how they stand or hold themselves. When doing figure drawings, you will be confronted with the choice of how to pose yourfigures. This decision can be critical to the success of the drawing. Look at thedifference between the stances shown in Figure 5.1. Can you describe the emo-tion of each figure?The human body has an expressiveness that communicates through an unspo-ken language often referred to as body language. As an artist, you must learn thislanguage and become as expressive with it as a writer is with words.Much of the choice of how you want to pose the figures in your drawings isdetermined by the purpose or goal of your drawing. It begins with the creativegerm of an idea that is developed sometimes well before a pencil is put to paper.Sometimes the idea developed is wholly the artist’s, although many times theartist has influence from outside sources, such as in the case of commissionedwork or commercial art.Another important aspect of posing a character is the physical association of thebody with the environment. Because we live in a physical world, our bodies aresubjected to a number of physical forces, not the least of which is gravity. A posethat is off balance or ignores the effects of gravity can often make for an awkward-looking drawing. While this may not be as much of a problem when drawingfrom life, it does become a problem when posing a figure in a virtual setting.The third element to posing a figure that will be covered in this chapter isbeauty. The human form is considered by many to be the ultimate expression ofbeauty. It has the potential to inspire the mind and enrich the soul, but like anysubject, it can also be seen as awkward or unsettling depending on how it isportrayed. 75Figure Drawing with Virtual ModelsWhat Pose? the information you need to create beautiful works of art without the One of the great advantages of a software program such as FigureWhen faced with a white sheet of expense of hiring a model. If you Artist is that it has almost unlim-paper that is supposed to become a need a model for your work, ited possibilities for setting up fig-figure drawing, one of the first Figure Artist can help you work ures as reference for your drawing.questions an artist must answer is out the lighting and poses prior to Not only can you pose the figureswhat pose the figure should be in. your model session so there is in Figure Artist in almost any posi-This is true whether the drawing is much less wasted time and less tion possible for the human form,a commissioned portrait or a sim- chance of not getting the best pose you can also change the figuresple figure study. for your art. themselves for a huge variety of looks, from fat to thin and fromMany elements go into determin- muscular to frail. A variety of cos-ing the pose for a drawing, but tumes and facial expressions forthey all begin with the purpose of the virtual mannequins are alsothe drawing. Maybe the drawing is available. But with all of this free-commissioned to illustrate a story. dom there is also a danger becauseThe artist has to visualize the story the figure may not look natural orand think of how the people in it like it fits into its environment.will interact with each other. Thecharacters in the story have to be In a real-world situation, the artistenvisioned. The situations need to has to follow natural laws, such asbe explored. The mood of the story gravity. In a virtual situation, theshould also be taken into consider- artist has to remember that theseation. For example, the story might laws exist and simulate theirbegin with a woman waiti ...