Stages of a Fully-Rendered Figure Drawing

7/25/2019 Stages of a Fully-Rendered Figure Drawing

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27th March 2013

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Stages of a Fully-Rendered Figure Drawing

In Classical Drawing, we are not so much drawing the figure, as drawing the

light and shadow, which will reveal the human form. This is a step-by-step

approach that employs layers of increasing refinement and sophistication at

each stage. The rule is always, to go from the general to the specific, to workfrom the big form, to the ever-diminishing smaller and smaller forms, but to

always stay in the context of the large statement.

Different stages will require a different way of seeing, and a different way of

thinking, and a different way of handling our material, all of which will be

covered in class time.

I have used a drawing from an unknown 19th century Portuguese academic

artist for this demo. Please excuse the graininess. As you will see in real life in

class, the original demo drawings are much smoother and much more subtlelyrendered.

1.The Block-In

Spend the first five minutes observing the model. Specifically we are

assessing the pose and how the weight is balanced in this contraposto

arrangement. With a plumb bob, we make mental or written notes of vertical

alignments, and decide which plumbline to choose for this pose. After making

a small thumbnail (about 3 high in the corner of our paper), we then set about

measuring the halves and quarters on the height of the model.Then we start the block in of our drawing. Mark the top and bottom, and with a

ruler, draw the vertical plumbline and measured quarter marks on that

plumbline.

Using comparative measurements, we block in the feet, then using vertical

alignments, we work our way up the legs, to the knees, which should be in the

vicinity of the first quarter. Continuing with very general envelope-type bock-in

sketchy-ghosty lines, we make our way up to the hips and the major changes

of direction there, then the waist and eventually to the armpits.

Once we have reached the armpits, we start from the head down. First thehead, then the shoulders and then the arms.

Stages of a Fully-Rendered Figure Drawing
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Mandy Boursicot 2013

2. The Construct

The construct stage is fairly quick, but crucial. We observe where the centre

line of the models torso is. That is a construction line that starts at the pit of

the neck, down the sternum, down the abs to the bellybutton, and then down to

the pubic region. This construct line will give us the gesture and swing of the

torso, as well as the division of left and right for proper perspective. We can

then place a line across the centre line that is the bottom of both pecs or

breasts.

We will also place a centre line on the head for the centre
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3. The Shadow Shapes

Just as we blocked-in the outer contours in a general fashion for the first stage,

this is the stage where we block-in the general idea of where the shadows will

go, and then place a light tone in the shadow areas. This tone can be #2, or #3

value.
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4. The Articulation

We are now in a position to judge all our shapes better, because of the light

tone placed into the shadow areas. The drawing has moved from a general

line drawing to one that is concerned with masses.

First we should assess whether all the large shapes are right, and make

corrections to the big picture first. We assess whether our measurements for

quarters and halves were right, whether our alignments and placements of

hips, waist hands were right, and most importantly, whether that top quarter

has been properly apportioned to the head and shoulders.Once those major corrections are done, we can now go through form by form,

with all the smaller undulations of the shadow areas, and their corresponding

light areas. We make those smaller articulations, and tone in that shadow area

darker, to a value #5 or #6.

In this stage we are creating a two-tone light-and-dark silhouette. The two

tones are the white of the paper for the lights and the #5 or #6 of the shadows.

We make no differentiation between anything in the lights, nor anything in the

darks.
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5. The Fall of Light

This stage and the next one are concerned with establishing a context for the

lights only. Not the shadows.

The fall of light is the idea, which can readily be observed, that the brightness

of the light from our single, overhead light source, diminishes as it travels

further away from that source. So the top part of our model receives brighter

light and then brightness gradually drops off the further down or 6 feet model

that it travels.

So we place a smooth gradation of tone from the ankles up to the bottom of the

rib-cage.Typically down by the ankles we can start with a value #3 and gradate slowly

and evenly till we get to the #1 (the white of the paper) and the bottom of the

rib-cage.
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6. The Big-Form ModelingThis stage is also conceptual in nature. We should understand our guiding

principle, that we always work from the biggest form, the biggest idea, the most

general statement to smaller and smaller ideas, forms and details.

In this stage therefore, we need to step back from the notion that we are

drawing all the details of the model in front of us, and engage our conceptual

brain, that is going to see each part of the model in its most basic geometric

form.

Once again, we are concerned with creating a context in our lights (not the

shadows).Right over top of the Fall of Light (above) we model the big forms of the

cylinders (all the limb segments, and the torso), the sphere, or ovoid of the

head, and the semi-spheres of the shoulders, and the cubes of some of the

oints, such as the knees.

This stage changes the graphic look of the previous stages to one of a

volumetric statement.
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7. Variations of the Darks

Now that we have established the context for our lights, we turn our attention

back to the shadows. In this stage, we aim to bring all our shadows to a

complete finish.

We deal with the absolute darkest areas first, that is the hair in shadow. Then

we move to the bed-bug line and the turning of the outside form away from us.

There may be some more variations in the dark areas such as the armpit or a

continuation of some forms such as ribs, pelvis into the shadows.

The tonal range in the darks should be minimized, so that the viewers eye isless drawn to the shadows.

Reflected lights should not be erased out of our initial shadow value, but rather,

they should simply appear by virtue of the darkening of surrounding bed-bug

lines, turning of the form and cast shadows.

We should pay special attention in differentiating form shadows and cast

shadows and use the rules which govern each of these separately.

And we should look for opportunities to include lost edges, and soften edges

where edges need to recede.

Try to simplify the darks as much as possible.
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8. Rendering of the Lights

This is the final stage of the drawing, and should be the stage in which time

slows down, and we focus on rendering in order, the biggest forms, the medium

forms, the small forms, the micro forms and so on.

Since we have already established the general context of the lights, its a good

strategy to develop and render each form, segment by segment, to a complete

finish.

In rendering these forms, we need to be delicate and subtle, and maintain the

dominance of the governing larger volumes. Small details must always be

subject to fitting into a larger context. For each form and subsequent smaller

and smaller forms that are rendered, we need to turn those forms and ensure

that within its own context each form has a light, a mid- and a dark value to

create the illusion of volume.

In this way we can convey the entire breadth and complexity of the human form

in one drawing.
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Posted 27th March 2013 by Mandy Boursicot

Labels: classical art,Classical drawing,Classical Drawing Atelier,classical order of light,classical realism,drawing,drawing class,figure drawing,light and shadow,progression,stages of figure drawing

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Stages of a Fully-Rendered Figure Drawing

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