The Expressive Figure 12_16_2021

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Applying the concept of "Symmetria" and the helix to the human body.

Materials:

Materials

•  Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals), Graphite lead and holder, ballpoint pen, Crayon, etc
•  90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•  Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser
•  I pad

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with the emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less and be in the spirit of what Michelangelo called "the Flame". Think of it as three helixes wrapping around a central core, like ribbons or strands of flame rising and converging above.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from us and loom larger the closer they are to us. Be cognizant of this "in and out" spatial occupancy known as the "Z" axis.

Visualize the medial line as a sagittal section through the human figure as demonstrated here:

Select at least three poses and emphasize the medial line as it bisects the torso neck and head sagittally. Observe how the limbs on one side of the body relate to their bi-symmetric equivalent on the other side. Notice how elbows and knees are across the medial line from each other- at least most of the time.

The Expressive Figure 12_9_2021

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Applying the concept of "Isonomia" to the human body.

Materials:

Materials

•        Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals), Graphite lead and holder, ballpoint pen, Crayon, etc
•         90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•        Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with the emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less and be in the spirit of what Michelangelo called "the Flame". Think of it as three helixes wrapping around a central core, like ribbons or strands of flame rising and converging above.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from us and loom larger the closer they are to us. Be cognizant of this "in and out" spatial occupancy known as the "Z" axis.

Visualize how gravity presses down on the human figure, especially in movement, and how the body compensates for the forces of gravity by "resistance" which is achieved by flexion of muscles. The muscles flex across fulcrums created by adjacent bones and through utilization of a system of three types of levers, is able to sustain the position of the volumes in space. 

One way to visualize this is to "plot" the isonomia of the figure by determining which leg is supporting most of the weight. This leg is serving as a conduit for the gravitational force which is dispersed through the leg into the ground and toward the magnetic core of the earth.

 This is the "teso" leg or "tense "leg. The balancing leg, known as the "rilassato" or relaxed leg can also serve as a conduit for gravity, although much less than the teso leg. From this simple visualization technique, it is possible to create a visual schema whereupon the artist can compute just how the gravitational forces are being distributed down through the mass of the figure. 

Apply Isonomia or by definition, plot how the gravitational vectors are channeled by the figure through the rope, staff, or any prop.

Select at least three poses and show how gravitational vectors are moving through the figure and into the props as they continue their journey towards the magnetic core. Show "Flexion" around those muscles that are doing the most to create "resistance".

The Expressive Figure 12_2_2021

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Applying the light model to the volumes of the body.

Materials:

Materials

•        Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals), Graphite lead and holder, ballpoint pen, Crayon, etc
•         90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•        Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with the emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less and be in the spirit of what Michelangelo called "the Flame". Think of it as three helixes wrapping around a central core, like ribbons or strands of flame rising and converging above.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from the viewer as we practiced in the previous perspective of volumes exercise.

We can use Structural /Planar analysis as a way to visualize the "geometric block-like" volumes and then apply the "algorithm" of the light model and construct a series of gradients and edges as a way to describe the form instead of relying on line alone. This light model algorithm informs how values are calibrated based on the volume's proximity to the light source. The human brain then triangulates from this information a more realistic representation of the object in space. A much-valued nugget of wisdom regarding this relationship of light and value, imparted to me by Frank Mason was, "Wherever there is a plane change, there is always a value change."  The eye is not sensitive enough to discern some wavelengths of light and as such, and this is an example of how the artist must sometimes rely on the physics of how light emits, illuminates, degrades, and reflects if only to deliver the truth that is important to that artist's intention.

Apply the light model "Five Planes of Light" onto the volumes of the figure.

Select at least three poses and show how light moves across the volumes of the form,  how cast shadows are created, and how these same cast shadows "move" across adjacent volumes. Show reflected light as it bounces back into the planes that are facing away from the light.

 

The Expressive Figure 11_11_2021

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Applying foreshortening to the volumes of the body.

Materials:

Materials

•        Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal, Graphite lead, ballpoint pen,crayon
•         90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•        Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with the emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from the viewer. 

Aerial Perspective

Using Structural /Planar analysis draw at least three poses emphasizing  "geometric block-like" volumes. Analyze the underlying structure of the different "units" of the body- limbs, torso, head, and pelvis, and create "planar" representations of these units and taper the volumes to recede in space.

The Expressive Figure 11_4_2021

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Using drapery to describe volume

and use structural /planar analysis to represent the volumes

Materials:

Materials

•        Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal, Graphite lead, ballpoint pen,crayon
•         90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•        Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with the emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the drapery and hat conform to a three-dimensional occupancy of form.

Using Structural /Planar analysis draw at least three poses emphasizing  "geometric block-like" volumes. Analyze the underlying structure of the different "units" of the body- limbs, torso, head, and pelvis, and create "planar" representations of these units.

.

Luca

Cambioso

Luca Cambiaso 18 November 1527 – 6 September 1585, was the son of a painter in GEnoa and from an early age exhibited great precocious abilities. was an Italian painter and draughtsman and the leading artist in Genoa in the 16th century. He is considered the founder of the Genoese school who established the local tradition of historical fresco painting through his many decorations of Genoese churches and palaces. He produced a number of poetic night scenes. He was a prolific draughtsman who sometimes reduced figures to geometric (even cubic) forms. Cambiaso was a prolific draftsman. In his early drawings Cambiaso showed a preference for bold foreshortenings and exaggerated gestures. In the mid-1560s he began to draw in a simplified, geometric style that may have been inspired by similar works by Albrecht Dürer and other German artists.  His main influences are said to have been Correggio and the Late Renaissance Venetian school. His extreme facility astonished the Spanish painters. It is said that Philip II, watching one day with pleasure the off-hand zest with which Cambiaso was painting a head of a laughing child, was allowed the further surprise of seeing the laugh changed, by a touch or two upon the lips, into a weeping expression. The artist painted sometimes with a brush in each hand, and with a certainty equalling or transcending that even of Tintoretto. His fresco technique was very spontaneous and he used small drawings to create full-size sketches on the walls without the aid of cartoons. The enhanced geometry of the figures lends an animated quality to the groups of figures. He was keenly interested in foreshortening and how the illusion of space could be enhanced by accentuating the volumes of the form. He did this by also using shaded planes on his geometric mannikins which exaggerated the differences between planes at different angles. Harder edges create a greater degree of plane change, a softer-edged one, a more subtle angle of change. Using one or two values he created a position of light relative to the planes from which the viewer can reconstruct the space.