Week 7 This lesson is overview of the use of reference material (photos, etc.) and how to use it most effectively in figure drawing. I discuss some of the basic pitfalls and problems in the use of photographs. The assignment will be to use photos/reference material in a figure drawing of your choice.
vilppu figure drawing pdf download
The basis of my teaching is the development of an approach that allows you to acquire knowledge and visual skills in a systematic way, building upon your understanding and abilities in logical simple steps. I have made a real effort at trying to keep each step as simple, clear, and logical as possible. In fact, many of the steps in my basic approach seem so simple and basic that quite often the student tends to ignore developing these fundamental skills, feeling that he has advanced beyond them. My experience has shown me that the majority of students' problems in drawing are with the basic elements, or tools of our trade. If you think of all the possible visual elements that you must learn as keys on a piano, the more keys you have, the wider range of possibilities you can enjoy. Of course, you can make music with just a few keys, but that should be based on choice not limitations. Since the basic approach that I use in teaching is one where we analyze the model, and not copy it, the approach itself helps us acquire the knowledge needed about our subject. I use the word subject, not model, because the basic elements of this procedural approach apply to drawing anything, be it a tree, interior, or figure. You cannot really draw something unless you know what it looks like. The more knowledge you have of whatever it is that you are drawing, the better off you will be. An extremely important element of knowledge is that we must develop our ability to use our emotions. Probably our most important skill is to be able to communicate our feelings through our drawings and to draw upon our own emotional experiences at will. One of my favorite sayings is, `
A particular difficulty I have in teaching such a systematic approach to drawing is that the end result can too easily be a mechanical and boring formula. I continually have to keep reminding the student that there are no rules. What I am teaching are visual tools and strategies for approaching the figure, a means for helping students to understand what they are looking at. In the end, it is up to each individual to bring to his drawing that spark of life. You will find me stating over and over again,`There are no rules, just tools.' Visual tools are fundamental concepts used not only to aide us in drawing but in seeing. These, in some cases, consist of procedures and, in other cases, elements such as the box and sphere. A large part of this course is in fact the development of these tools. I will end this introduction with my favorite quote by an artist which exemplifies the pursuit of drawing excellence that we can only hope to achieve. "From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy-five I have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create, a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self `The Old Man Mad About Drawing.'" (The Drawings of Hokusai, Introduction by Stephen Longstreet, Borden Publishing Co.) Lesson 1: Gesture The action of a figure is usually expressed as "gesture." It means the movement and attitude of the figure. It is body language and all of those subtle differences that characterize individuals, whether they are human or animal. In this regard, when I refer to the model, I mean not only a model posing for short poses of thirty seconds to three minutes, but also people who are not posing and are in real life situations. We use essentially the same learning procedure in what is referred to as the "quick sketch." It will be assumed that for the sake of learning, at this point, they are the same. Other terms used for what we call gesture are "attitude" and "body language." `Gesture is the single most important element in the drawing.'
No matter how well a drawing is rendered, without that feeling of individuality that we experience in looking at real life, the drawing is nothing more than an academic exercise. Long before we can actually see a person's face, we can recognize him by all those elements that make up that individual, such as his general bearing, proportions of his body, how he dresses, how he walks, and holds his head. I am going to present this material in a series of steps stopping to explain and clarify points as I go. In reality, of course, it is never quite this neat or simple. Many of the steps are actually done simultaneously. The total is a summation of the action in simple terms and is essentially what this lesson is about. The illustrations are examples of this total which is what you should, in a sense, see before you start the drawing. `You are not only learning to draw but to see.' Practice looking at your subject and then drawing it from memory. When doing gesture sketches, you do not usually have the luxury of models holding still while you draw. Practice this skill continually wherever you happen to be - on the bus, watching television, or in the shopping mall. In looking at the action, or gesture, it is important to try to grasp the total before you put a line down. Practice looking at your subject and then drawing it from memory. This exercise is particularly useful when you don't have your sketchbook with you (which should never happen), or are in situations where it is awkward for one reason or another to be drawing. When drawing in your head, go through the same steps and use the same imaginary lines you would if you were drawing on paper. You draw with your mind, not your hand. Then when you can, redo the drawing on paper. With practice you will be amazed at what you can do, but it takes practice. The Basic Procedure You should do each drawing using the same series of steps until it becomes second nature to you, like how driving a car becomes almost automatic. Start the drawing with simple lines that take in the total action of the figure, without worrying about the shape. A simple sequence of steps is indicated in the following examples. Remember, there are no rules, just tools!
Step One Start with a simple oval for the head, imagining a central axis so that the oval clearly represents the tilt and lean of your subject. Use a simple "dot" on the top to indicate when the head is tilting toward you, and possibly an ellipse for the eyes to help show more clearly the action of the head. Step Two Draw a line from the head, representing the neck. This line is not necessarily any actual contour or line that you see on the model but a general feeling of the attitude of the model. Continue this line, representing the neck, pulling from the head, into the upper body down to the hips. You should be more concerned with the how the lines show the action of the model, rather than any actual line that you see on the model. Look at the examples on this page to see the variety of ways that this can be accomplished. These are not the traditional stick figures that you see in many basic books on drawing. They are lines that show the flow of the movement and relationship of the parts in a simple way.
The hardest part of this lesson is to overcome the desire to copy the model. Remember, we never copy the model but analyze it. Glenn Vilppu teaches figure drawing at the American Animation Institute, the Masters program of the UCLA Animation Dept., Walt Disney Feature Animation and Warner Bros. Feature Animation, and is being sent to teach artists at Disney TV studios in Japan, Canada and the Philippines. Vilppu has also worked in the animation industry for 18 years as a layout, storyboard and presentation artist. His are being used worldwide as course materials for animation students. Glenn Vilppu first wrote for Animation World Magazine in the June 1997 issue, "Never Underestimate the Power of Life Drawing." His drawing manuals and video tapes may now be purchased in the Animation World Store.
it is definitely not a drawing lesson. i had already taken anatomy classes in college under direction of vince perez plus many figure drawing classes, so i pretty much knew anatomy beforehand. what TSoM did for me is help me remember relationships and proportions. it really is more about shorthand techniques to draw the human body quickly from memory and not about teaching you what the body parts look like in detail. it makes more sense if you have knowledge beforehand or study from anatomy books at the same time. 2ff7e9595c
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