The Expressive Figure 5_17_2023

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Trajectories

Materials:

Materials

•  Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals), Pencil, Graphite lead and holder, pastel, pen, crayon, etc
•  Canson Mi Tientes toned paper or Strathmore toned 90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar Ledger or any similar 60 to 90 lb paper, sketchbook, etc.
•  Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser or Chamois cloth

Visualization of the occupancy of space.

Starting with charcoal or graphite, quickly sketch and draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with an 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.

Visualize the medial line as a sagittal section through the human figure. On either side of this section is another complete "half-section" - a mirror of itself, and as such recedes back into space away from us.