human figure drawing free mi um

7272019 Human Figure Drawing Free Mi Um

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhuman-figure-drawing-free-mi-um 110

by Sadie J Valeri

HumanFigure

DrawingA TWO-PART GUIDE


httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhuman-figure-drawing-free-mi-um 2102 wwwartistsmagazinecom

drawing board BY SADIE J VALERI

FINDING CORREC PROPORIONS is the most important part of creat-ing a convincing figure drawingHumans have an infinite variety ofproportions but that variety falls

within a very narrow range Itrsquos very

easy to make your figure drawinglook distorted or even alien if theproportions fall outside the range ofhuman possibility

Te best way Irsquove found to avoidpotential proportion problems is touse the straight-line block-in tech-nique to create accurate angles inthe figure If all of the angles in yourdrawing are correct the proportions

will be correct and the drawing willfall into place One way to illustrate

the importance of accurate anglesis to picture a capital ldquoArdquo We canimagine a wide ldquoArdquo or a narrow ldquoArdquoor a normal well-proportioned ldquoArdquo

Te only aspects of the letter ldquoArdquo thatchange in these three scenarios arethe tilts of the two sides

In this article Irsquoll demonstratehow I complete a straight-line block-in for the human figuremdashwith accu-rate anglesmdashwhich will prepare youto later complete a precise draw- ingof the figure

1 Draw the EnvelopeFirst I construct an ldquoenveloperdquomdashamultisided box constructed out oflong straight lines Te lines are likebeams leaning against the outsidepoints of the model Depending onthe pose Irsquom referring to the mostexterior points of a shoulder a kneeor a forehead for example Tis enve-

lope places the figure on the pageand establishes general proportionsUsing my whole arm moving

from the shoulder I draw long soft

Human Figure Drawing Part 1Use the classical straight-line block-in method to create accurate angles and proportions for

contour drawings of the human figure

ABOVE Valeri uses a straight-line block-in method to begin her classical figure drawings In

Study of Torrey (charcoal and white chalk 18x14) shersquos left the lower portion in its simple

contour drawing stage and built up values and modeled form in the upper portion of the drawing



drawing board

3wwwartistsmagazinecom

lines that are easily erased If yoursquorea beginner you can use a knittingneedle to hold up to the model forchecking the angles You can do thisby measuring the degree of tilt eachline has from the vertical or hori-zontal axis which you establish withthe knitting needle However do tryto match the angles using only youreyes Te less you rely on tools themore sensitive your eye will become(When you measure angles using aknitting needle be certain to usea straight arm to keep a consistentdistance from the model)

Te envelope I drew for thisdemo corresponds to the model posein step 5 (page 5)

2 Build a Web When I can clearly imagine theentire figure fitting comfort- ablyinside the envelope I start

constructing interior lines with aldquowebrdquo I look for the longest straight-est relationships I can find cuttingacross the form from side to side

Tis step shows a line (AB) fromthe modelrsquos forehead to the tip ofher nose down her left shoulder toher rib cage and abdomen Anotherlong line (AC) travels from the top ofher forehead down the front of herneck to the outside of her right hipto the tips of her right toes A longhorizontal line (CD) runs from hertoes along the front edge of her rightshin to just under her kneeAnotherhorizontal line (BE) runs along thetop of her left thigh

Finding these long straightlines in the figure trains the eye toscan all across the form instead offocusing on small details I use eachstep in the drawing process to goback and correct the earlier steps

When Irsquom really struggling I oftengo all the way back to the envelopestage to solve a problem If I find aproblem with a small section it usu-

ally means therersquos a problem withthe larger shapes

3 Establish MidpointsI try to rely on measurements aslittle as possible but early on in theprocess I do establish midpointsFirst looking only at my paper andnot at the model I measure andmake a short mark on my paper at

1 2A

B

C

D

E

MaterialsSurface Daler-Rowney Murano

Textured Fine Art Papers the colorStorm

(I love this paper for charcoal Itrsquos

toothy enough to hold the charcoal

but smooth enough so Irsquom not fighting

against a texture And the paper holds

up to a lot of erasing Tape three or

four sheets to a hard drawing board

for an ideal surface

Charcoal Winsor amp Newton vine

charcoal medium

Other chamois cloth kneaded

eraser Sanford Paper Mate Tuff Stuff

retractable eraser



drawing board

4 wwwartistsmagazinecom

the halfway point (A) from the topof the head to the bottom of the low-est point the tips of the right toesin this case If the pose is also widelike this one I mark the horizontalmidpoint (B) as wellmdashalong the linefrom the tips of the fingers to the tipof the left knee in this drawing

Holding up a knitting needle vertical ly in front of the model Ithen find the vertical halfway pointbetween the top and the bottommark that point on the needle withmy thumb and make a mental noteof a visual landmark on the model Ido the same for the horizontal half-

way point I hold my arm straightelbow locked so the needle is alwaysthe same distance from my eye

Troughout the life of the draw-ing process I can recheck that themidpoint marks on the paper arehitting the correct landmarks on the

model so that the major proportions will fall into place At this stage as Irsquom drawing in

the lines for the contour of the figure

using the straight-arm method withmy needle to measure the angles cor-rectly Irsquom creating the major anglesin the figure the angles created bythe head neck and shoulders by thebent knees and respective shinsthe angle between the two thighsthe one between the body and theright arm and so on Irsquom careful toremeasure and recheck the anglesbefore and after drawing them onmy paper

4 Draw the Terminator When the figure has started to takeshape I start to block in the shadowmass Te line between light andshadow is called the ldquoterminatorrdquobecause this line is the termina- tionor the ending of the light and repre-sents the precise line beyond whichthe light can no longer touch themodel We only see the terminator

as soft and fuzzy because the lightgrows slowly darker as the formturns away from the light In factthis line is the ldquohorizonrdquo of the form

(as it would be seen from the point of view of the light source)mdasha contourline just as important as the exteriorcontours of the form

Sometimes itrsquos difficult to seethe terminator especially in diffusedlight One trick is to approach themodel (with his or her permission)and hold up a knitting needle to casta shadow across the skin Where thecast shadow of the needle disappearsinto the shadow on the model is thespecific point where the light endsand the true shadow begins

5 Finish the Contour Drawing Te drawing can look geometric andblockish for quite a while with thismethod I only start to refine the con-tour when Irsquom sure my major shapesare as correct in proportion as pos-sible I never use curved lines I justkeep segmenting the straight lines

until they are smaller and smaller Ifa knee elbow or shoulder feels toosharp I resist the urge to round it offInstead I use a straight line to ldquoslicerdquo

4

terminator

3

A

B



drawing board


off a corner Tis method requires acareful drawn-out process (no punintended) with small incrementaladjustments and refinements

As I use smaller segments andadd detail often errors appearmdashaleg or a head or a foot wonrsquot fit inthe space Irsquove made for it As soonas I feel the the urge to ldquostretchrdquo or

ldquosquishrdquo body parts to make them

fit I stop put down my charcoaland just look Te only way to fixthe error is to go back and correctthe larger shapes I always tell my

students ldquoIf you find a problem withan arm donrsquot look for the solution inthe arm Go back to the beginningand check your envelope and yourmidpointsrdquo Te most grievous errorsin figure drawing are often madedue to an unwillingness to go backand to correct previous decisions Inorder to progress we must always be

willing to go back to previous steps

sometimes to the beginning and do what I call ldquomajor surgeryrdquo

The Next StepFor successful contour drawing you need to repeatedly recheck

midpoints and go back to readjustportions of the drawing but withpractice this straight-line block-inmethod really pays off in accuratelyproportioned figures Once my con-tour drawing is completed I moveinto shading with black and whiteGeneral Pencil charcoal pencils

Special NoteIn the next section Irsquoll complete

this piece and share my techniquesfor building up values modelingform and creating dramatic lightingeffects in a classical drawing 983150

SADIE J VALERI has taught graduate stu-

dents at the Academy of Art University in

San Francisco and is co-founder of the blog

womenpaintingwomenblogspotcom She

currently teaches workshops and classes at

Sadie Valeri Atelier in San Francisco Visit her

website at wwwsadievalericom

5




O CREAE an image thatrsquos anaccurate depiction of light falling onform we must have a very organizedapproach to analyzing light andshadow Otherwise we tend to exag-gerate and distort destroying the

feel of the light and the structure ofthe form Te human eye can see a huge

range of values much darker shad-ows and much brighter highlightsthan any art material can captureEven with the broad value range ofcharcoal pencil and white chalk ontoned paper we still must interpret

what we seemdashnot just copy itmdashtocapture a true feeling of the light

Te untrained approach to shad-

ing is to compare two patches thatare right next to each other and eval-uate how similar or different they areto each other However because oureyes see such a huge range of value

we see a big difference between anytwo adjacent areas As a result wetend to make the differences toogreat with huge jumps of value

Te more accurate way to evalu-ate how light or dark an area is is tocompare it to the lightest light in the

whole composition and to the dark-est dark scanning our eyes acrossthe whole scene

In the previous article aboutdrawing the contour of a figureI used the straight-line block-inmethod to create accurate angles andproportions for contour drawings ofthe human figure I emphasized howimportant it is to move the eyes sothey scan the whole figure instead of

zooming in on small details too soonIn like manner we see more accurate value relationships when we scan oureyes across the whole image

5 Finish the Contour Drawing Tis is the last step (see page 7) inour contour drawing from the previ-ous article Te drawing can lookgeometric and blockish for quite a

while with the straight-line block-inmethod I only start to refine thecontour when Irsquom sure my majorshapes are as correct in proportion

as possible I never use curved linesI just keep segmenting the straightlines until theyrsquore smaller and smaller

Human Figure Drawing Part 2Learn to mass in values and model three-dimensional form

to create convincing light-enhanced nudes

ABOVE To depict accurate value relation-

ships and shapes in a figure as in Study

of Christina (charcoal and white chalk on

toned paper 24x18) Valeri scans her eyes

across the entire image



drawing board


If a knee elbow or shoulder feels toosharp I resist the urge to round it offInstead I use a straight line to ldquoslicerdquo

off a corner Tis method requiresa careful slow investigation of theshapes with small incrementaladjustments and refinements

6 Fill in Shadow Masses o keep my shadows and lights orga-nized I repeat one mantra to myselfover and over Keep the shadowssimple o remember to do this Ifirst use soft vine charcoal to fill in

all the shadow areas with one flateven tone of value as rich and darkas I can make it Tis will make a

very flat graphical image with asharp clear delineation between theshadow and the light which I thinkof as separate countries

In my previous article I spokeabout the edge of the shadow massor the ending of the light which wecan call the ldquoterminatorrdquo Tis lineseparates light and shadow so for

now it appears as a sharp hard edgeIt can be disconcerting to see thearea on one side of this line filled in

with shadow on what should be a softrounded form But wersquoll find the formgets soft and rounded easily later on

7 Mass in All Values o start creating the feel of the lightin the whole image I mass in valuesacross the whole composition I usea chamois paper towels blendingstumps and anything I can find toblend and rub the charcoal I wascaptivated by the brilliant light onmy model Christina so I darkenedthe entire background a bit so thatlater on the lights would really pop

I make my shadows niceand dark by building up a layer ofmedium or soft charcoal and rubbingit gently into the surface with a stiffinexpensive paper towel Ten I build

up more layers of vine charcoal andrub again I do this over and overuntil the surface is velvety and dark

When Irsquom shading I mix and layer

5 6

terminator

7



drawing board


all different hardnesses of charcoal A harder charcoal over a softer layercan sometimes work like a blendingstump Notice that I keep my shad-ows simple even allowing the backcontour of the modelrsquos arm to meltinto the shadow cast on the wallbehind her

8 Model Form With White Te fun begins I always start with thearea that has the most interest in thiscase the light falling on her upperchest is brightest and also capturesthe drama of the whole picture Usinga very sharp white charcoal pencil(actually a chalk) I work to build upthe lightest light and then shadegently down toward the shadow

When Irsquove used the white chalk

for a while I switch to the blackcharcoal and work in the oppositedirection I work from the shadowup toward the light with a very hard

charcoal and a light touch With thistechnique the white chalk and blackcharcoal never touch or mix Tecool midtone of the paper acts as the

value between themI always model across the form

moving perpendicular to the termi-nator the line separating light fromshadow on the figure (see step 5page 7) imagining each plane turn-ing toward or away from the lightOften problems arise when we workalong the form or parallel to theterminator We might see a ridge of

light falling across a rib and draw abright crescent shape in white Tismakes a rib look garish and harsh asif the model has been injured I see

this often when inexperienced artistsdraw the neck and clavicle area of amodel Sometimes the clavicles looklike straight harsh rods jammedunder the modelrsquos skin

When we work across the form we notice some edges are harder andsome are softer and sometimes therib or clavicle disappears completelybefore re-emerging We observe allthe subtle nuances that make organicform look soft and alive instead ofdead damaged or mechanical

I think about the light coming

down in beams from the source hit-ting the surface of the modelrsquos skinat the highlight and then undulat-ing across the surface until the light

8Keep Drawing

Tools SharpWork with only very sharp pencils

because a sharp point gets the pig-

ment deep into the crevices of the

paper and creates a smooth even

surface A blunt tool leaves too

much texture because it skims over

the the tooth of the paper

Sharpen your charcoal pencil first

with a knife to cut away the wood

and then rub the point on sandpa-

per turning it constantly to create a

needle-sharp point

Be careful not to break the pen-

cil while sharpening this can take

some practice Sometimes pencil

leads are broken every inch or so

inside the pencil These pencils

were probably dropped and are

impossible to sharpen so itrsquos better

to start with a new pencil

To sharpen vine charcoal just rub

it on sandpaper to create a point



drawing board


fades and dims toward shadow TenI go back to an adjacent highlightand make the journey to the shadow

again I think of modeling as a seriesof expeditions traveling across achanging terrain

Slowly the sharp hard edgeof the terminator melts away andthe form becomes rounded In factsometimes we find that we have todarken the shadows significantly once

wersquore deep into the process Tatrsquosbecause the shadow which is blockedin with hard edges looks very

dark and severe but as the form isrounded we realize the shadows canafford to be much richer and darker

9 Refine the Shading o complete the image (see largerimage page 6) I continue to shadeacross the whole composition by

working in small areas bringing onearea to a high finish before movingon I work with a soft touch buildingup layer after layer to achieve values

instead of pressing into the paper andpotentially damaging the surface

Te tooth of the paper is very impor-tant to protect because it grabs thecharcoal and chalk If you press toohard the tooth is pushed down and

you canrsquot build up more value rangeCapturing the feel of the light

requires knowing when to editmdash when to ldquocollapserdquo values Collapsing values means making the lights grouptogether and the shadows grouptogether So when working with thechalk I keep all the values in mylight areas very close to each other

If we notice a big jump betweenthe highlight and the general lightarea we shouldnrsquot be alarmed Weneed to scan our eyes across the

whole scene and wersquoll find thatin comparison to the deep darkshadows the highlight and the lightare very similar Te highlights

will actually look brighter if theyrsquoresupported by almost-as-light areassurrounding them

If we just copy values and hope

for a facsimile of three-dimensionalform our drawings will look emptyand disorganized but if we internal-

ize a deep and sensitive understand-ing of the three-dimensional shapesof the forms and of the direction ofthe light that understanding willshow up in our drawings We wantour drawings to evince the intelli-gence of a highly functioning think-ing and feeling human mind both inthe model and in the artist 983150


dents at the Academy of Art University in San

Francisco and is co-founder of the blog www

womenpaintingwomencom She currently

teaches workshops and classes at Sadie

Valeri Atelier in San Francisco Visit her web-

site at wwwsadievalericom

9


Textured Fine Art Papers the color

ldquoStormrdquo (This paper is toothy enoughto hold the charcoal but smooth

enough so Irsquom not fighting against a

texture Also the paper holds up to

a lot of erasing Tape three or four

sheets to a hard drawing board for an

ideal surface)


charcoalmdashsoft medium and hard

Charcoal pencils General Pencilrsquos

medium hard and extra-hard (Soft

breaks too easily)

Chalk General Pencilrsquos ldquowhite char-

coalrdquo pencil (This is actually a chalk

not a charcoal)

Other Retractable box cutter or

X-Acto knife for sharpening char-

coal pencils 120-grit sandpaper for

sharpening charcoal blending stumps

(reserve some just for charcoal and

some just for chalk) chamois cloth

kneaded eraser Sanford Paper Mate

Tuff Stuff retractable eraser paper

towels (the scratchy inexpensive kind)



GET THE BEST

ART INSTRUCTION ALL YEAR LONGCelebrate amp live a creative lifewith your year-long subscriptionto Te Artistrsquos Magazine one of thecountryrsquos top art magazines featur-ing work from artists in all mediaamp styles Discover your new favoritepainting or drawing technique withyour subscription to Te Artistrsquos

Magazine

Subscribe today atsubscribeartistsmagazinecom

DID YOU ENJOYTHIS ARTICLEDonrsquot miss a single drawing lesson when you

subscribe to The Artistrsquos Magazine today

2012 Annual CD of art 2001-2010 CD of art

ALSO AVAILABLE




FINDING CORREC PROPORIONS is the most important part of creat-ing a convincing figure drawingHumans have an infinite variety ofproportions but that variety falls

within a very narrow range Itrsquos very

easy to make your figure drawinglook distorted or even alien if theproportions fall outside the range ofhuman possibility

Te best way Irsquove found to avoidpotential proportion problems is touse the straight-line block-in tech-nique to create accurate angles inthe figure If all of the angles in yourdrawing are correct the proportions

will be correct and the drawing willfall into place One way to illustrate

the importance of accurate anglesis to picture a capital ldquoArdquo We canimagine a wide ldquoArdquo or a narrow ldquoArdquoor a normal well-proportioned ldquoArdquo

Te only aspects of the letter ldquoArdquo thatchange in these three scenarios arethe tilts of the two sides

In this article Irsquoll demonstratehow I complete a straight-line block-in for the human figuremdashwith accu-rate anglesmdashwhich will prepare youto later complete a precise draw- ingof the figure

1 Draw the EnvelopeFirst I construct an ldquoenveloperdquomdashamultisided box constructed out oflong straight lines Te lines are likebeams leaning against the outsidepoints of the model Depending onthe pose Irsquom referring to the mostexterior points of a shoulder a kneeor a forehead for example Tis enve-

lope places the figure on the pageand establishes general proportionsUsing my whole arm moving

from the shoulder I draw long soft

Human Figure Drawing Part 1Use the classical straight-line block-in method to create accurate angles and proportions for

contour drawings of the human figure

ABOVE Valeri uses a straight-line block-in method to begin her classical figure drawings In

Study of Torrey (charcoal and white chalk 18x14) shersquos left the lower portion in its simple

contour drawing stage and built up values and modeled form in the upper portion of the drawing



drawing board











1 2A

B

C

D

E











charcoal medium



retractable eraser



drawing board















4

terminator

3

A

B



drawing board




















5



























drawing board














5 6

terminator

7



drawing board














8Keep Drawing












needle-sharp point













drawing board


























9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












GET THE BEST


Magazine





ALSO AVAILABLE



drawing board











1 2A

B

C

D

E











charcoal medium



retractable eraser



drawing board















4

terminator

3

A

B



drawing board




















5



























drawing board














5 6

terminator

7



drawing board














8Keep Drawing












needle-sharp point













drawing board


























9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












GET THE BEST


Magazine





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4

terminator

3

A

B



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5



























drawing board














5 6

terminator

7



drawing board














8Keep Drawing












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drawing board


























9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












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Magazine





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5



























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5 6

terminator

7



drawing board














8Keep Drawing












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9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












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Magazine





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drawing board














5 6

terminator

7



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8Keep Drawing












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9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












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Magazine





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drawing board














8Keep Drawing












needle-sharp point













drawing board


























9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












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Magazine





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drawing board


























9








ideal surface)





breaks too easily)



not a charcoal)












GET THE BEST


Magazine





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Magazine





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human figure drawing free mi um

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