Essential Shapes
In many of these poses the model was sitting down, so I found that I the body divided into less units than approximately 7 to 7.5 equal units as on a standing or elongated pose. This was because of foreshortening. I continued to use the head as a unit of measurement, as previously, and held a pencil in my hand with outstretched arm and one eye closed to measure the model. Doing this is a big help as long as I keep my head still and elbow locked in the same position. It was tempting to divide the units by following the bends (or changes of plane) along the length of the body but when I tried this it was much harder to obtain accuracy with foreshortening, so I took the direct route, following a straight line along the body’s length. Where there was foreshortening it was very helpful to make use of negative space and position of the seat, arms or back of the chair in relation to an arm or a knee for instance. The model’s holding a book, causing a lot of foreshortening in the forearms and thighs on some sketches. Where I saw it I tried to fight logic and draw exactly what I saw, even though it initially looked unbelievable. Mostly it seemed to work. There was a slight twist in the torso where the shoulders or hips tilted to one side. It helped to align the shoulders and hips by comparisons with a horizontal line made by holding up the drawing tool before me with outstretched arm. I measured the shoulders roughly three heads width. This appeared to agree with the model’s own proportions.
Marking in the top, middle and bottom points of the figure on the paper was valuable in preventing me from drawing the figure too small or large. My eye was a reasonable judge for estimating roughly where the middle was. Although, when I tried to find the midpoint more accurately by measuring the model by holding the drawing tool in front of me, I found that it fit a few times into the length of the body. It made this part of the process a little fiddly and time consuming to fit in a 10 minute sketch - I kept wishing I had a much longer pencil or similar, or that my eye could make better estimations.
Marking in the top, middle and bottom points of the figure on the paper was valuable in preventing me from drawing the figure too small or large. My eye was a reasonable judge for estimating roughly where the middle was. Although, when I tried to find the midpoint more accurately by measuring the model by holding the drawing tool in front of me, I found that it fit a few times into the length of the body. It made this part of the process a little fiddly and time consuming to fit in a 10 minute sketch - I kept wishing I had a much longer pencil or similar, or that my eye could make better estimations.
Essential Elements - shading
I found the exercise valuable (along with the life classes I attended) in helping to divert my focus away from outlines and towards the model’s form.
Somehow, in certain sketches the model looks rather sinister and mysterious, probably because of the lack of or minimal facial features with the dramatic tonal contrasts.
Check & Log
Was I able to maintain a focus on proportion at the same time as creating a sense of weight and 3Dform?
The figure was foreshortened in all poses and I felt compelled to first divide the length into portions equal to the length of head– as I have been doing with most drawings up to now, even if only very roughly sometimes. I’ve a long way to go yet, but judging proportions with my eye is slowly starting to become easier, maybe eventually an unconscious thing, if I keep at it. I didn’t want to begin filling in the shaded areas too soon or to leave the sketches unfinished, so the first one took about 15 minutes to do.
As I progressed through the sketches of various poses my confidence grew and I was able to manage finishing both the sketches and the shading in the given time of 10 minutes each. I should have indicated the edges of highlighted areas with a feint line rather than trying accentuate them by shading the adjoining negative area. I think it would have looked better and speeded things up under the circumstances. Proportions suffered, but I can’t expect miracles - they will come later.. I was quite surprised that they weren’t worse considering the time limit and, even more amazing; as good as on the drawing of the hour long drawing of the longer pose in some cases. The biggest faults I noticed are the weedy and thin looking thighs on the L shaped pose and the lying down pose with the legs bent. The feet look too short on the one done in black art pen. As in the previous exercise, comparative measurements and sighting with the drawing tool were a big help.
Which drawing gives the best sense of pose and why?
I think the second sketch in black medium art pen. The model looks comfortable and relaxed despite holding a book in one hand. His whole body looks naturally seated on the chair. In some sketches the model doesn’t look quite connected with the chair (as in number 6 – soft pastel on coloured paper). It seems to be floating, almost levitating above the chair, which may explain the smug looking expression.
Was there any movement or gesture away from the model’s central axis, if so did you manage to identify this and put it into your drawing?
This was the case to some degree in all sketches. The least extreme being the above sketch done in black medium art pen where I am positioned more centrally in front of the model, which also made it the easiest.
All poses were seated or lying down and I marked in a feint or imaginary plumb line so that I could check alignments to the vertical. The pose positioned the furthest away from the central axis was the seated pose to the side, where the body formed an L shape – legs extended and feet on a stool. I checked the angle of the shoulders and hips against the horizontal on the model but I have drawn it in too extreme on the L shaped pose.
