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Drawing & Sculpting The Figure: Author: Lance Dooley
Drawing & Sculpting The Figure: Author: Lance Dooley
Table of Contents
Part 1: INTRODUCTION TO FIGURE DRAWING ....................................................................5
The Language of Art ..........................................................................................................................7
Elements of a Figure Drawing...........................................................................................................8
Gesture ................................................................................................................................................9
Proportions .....................................................................................................................................10
Values (Light & Shadow) ................................................................................................................14
Artistic Anatomy ..............................................................................................................................15
Composition (Design).......................................................................................................................16
Blockin (Contour) ...........................................................................................................................17
Gestural Blockin Studies ................................................................................................................18
Blockin, Shading .............................................................................................................................19
Line To Mass.....................................................................................................................................20
Shadow Mapping..............................................................................................................................21
Compression & Tension...................................................................................................................22
Conveying Naturalistic Mass...........................................................................................................23
Contrapposto ....................................................................................................................................24
Foreshortening (Inferior View).......................................................................................................25
Foreshortening (Superior View) .....................................................................................................26
Foreshortening (Superior View with Theme) ................................................................................27
Hands.................................................................................................................................................28
Feet.....................................................................................................................................................30
Mood ..................................................................................................................................................31
Design Quality Contour and External Geometry.......................................................................33
Creating Atmosphere .......................................................................................................................34
Drawing From Sculptures ...............................................................................................................35
Conceptual Drawings.......................................................................................................................36
Clothed Subjects...............................................................................................................................37
Figure Drawing Example: Fail Safe Method .................................................................................38
Figure Drawing Example: Dancer..................................................................................................40
Figure Drawing Example: Locked Legs.........................................................................................41
Figure Drawing Example: Mandolist.............................................................................................42
Figure Drawing Example: Sarah & the Sword .............................................................................44
Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley 2012
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This publication is not all inclusive and the serious artist or art student will build their knowledge
and skills in the area of figure drawing by acquiring as much reference material as possible, as well
as practicing the art of figure drawing on a regular basis. Many artists dedicate a large portion of
their work to figure drawing, figure painting and figure sculpting. This type of artist is referred to as
a figurative artist and when the term artist is used for the remainder of this publication, it is implied
we are referring to the figurative artist. The section on The Language of Art will introduce some
vocabulary used by artists. At the core of this publication is the concept of learning and knowing
how to create a harmonious figure drawing by balancing the five elements found in a figure
drawing: gesture, proportion, values, anatomy & composition. With a trained eye and strong but
delicate command over ones motor skills, it is possible to create a higher level of aesthetic in ones
figure drawings. While taste is always important in any conversations about art, it is always possible
for the artist to become more skilled at depicting the human figure accurately. The artist is then free
to use this ability to his own ends, whether for realism or something more fanciful. Therefore, the
bulk of the material in this publication is dedicated to understanding how to create and recognize
figure drawings that convey a naturalistic look. To the professional, this means honing in on the
largest broadest movements of a figure and reproducing these accurately. In contrast, the amateur
will focus on the details first and try to build a drawing around that.
Without the fundamental knowledge of how to create a wellstructured figure, the skills of an artist
would be stunted and maximum potential may not be reached. Inversely so, pure skill with no
creativity produces dead work. Hence, the delicate balance of knowledge, motor skills, and
creativity is the holy grail of the artist. This publication has included examples from a variety of
styles to promote maximum awareness.
Examples on techniques, approaches and methods to drawing and then sections on special topics
will collectively address a variety of important concerns and concepts for the artist. The art student
will especially benefit from these sections, which will show many examples concerning how the
human body appears and what problems to avoid.
It is of course possible to dedicate more energy to any of the singular elements at the expense of the
others in order to achieve a style that brings ones attention to the expression and mood. This can be
an important thing for the artist to do and it will affect the style.
Remember these 5 concepts as you create your drawing and think of these concepts in a circular
manner in which each aid in the development of each other:
Gesture Proportions Values (Light & Shadow) Anatomy Composition
Composition
Gesture
Anatomy Proportions
Light &
Shadow
Gesture
Gesture refers to the overall movement, twisting, and dynamic aspect of a figure. The human body
can be oriented in countless positions to maximize gesture and the artist will often push the model
or use the power of observation to look for more gesture. Gesture is the primary means by which
emotion is conveyed in a drawing.
The initial strokes of a drawing can greatly influence the eventual progression of a drawing. The
more advanced or professional artist will recognize the largest movements of the drawing and begin
plotting those onto the paper.
A drawing without gesture is static. Gesture is often thought of as the most important element in a
drawing and that is why we discuss it first. If an artist neglects or fails to employ any of the other
four elements, then the drawing could still be saved if the gesture was extremely well done.
The term gesture study refers to the exercise of drawing only the gesture of a figure. In and of
itself, this can be a valuable exercise. As the artists skill progresses, the gestural element of a figure
drawing will always remain of paramount importance. However, without giving consideration to
proportion, values, anatomy and composition, the gestural studies may never blossom into a
balanced drawing.
Proportions
The proportions of a figure refer to the relative lengths, sizes, thicknesses and distances of the
various elements of the body. A system of proportions uses a body part as a unit of measurement:
the head being a popular choice as it's essentially bone and does not change in size. If one says that
a figure is an X headed figure, what is meant is that the length of the head can be stacked up X
times and it would equal the figures height from foot to top of the head.
Ideal Proportions
Through the centuries there have been various cannons of ideal proportions used by artists.
Michelangelo used a 7 and a half head figure. Other artists used an 8 or even a 9 head figure. Using
a higher head number figure will make the figure look more heroic and increasingly unrealistic and
stylized. The ideal proportions therefore have changed throughout time and are different between
cultures. Regardless of race, most adults in the world are between 6.5 to a 7.5 heads tall.
Leonardo da Vinci created a famous drawing called the Vitruvian Man that was an attempt at
demonstrating the ideal proportions. Vitruvian Man is depicted with outstretched arms and legs in
two superimposed positions inscribed in a circle and square relationship derived from a passage
about geometry and human proportions in the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio.
Natural Proportions
Even though the heights of people are different, the human body tends to be structured in a
proportionate manner. Unless you are creating a fictional character from your imagination or trying
to alter your figure drawing to achieve some type of style, it is best not to adhere to an ideal
proportion. The artist should always be aware of what is in front of him and that should be the basis
of the figure drawing, not a prefabricated generic figure in the minds eye.
When observing the proportions of a live model, one must always keep in mind that unless the
figure is standing perfectly erect and facing the artist, there will invariably be foreshortening. Since
a drawing is a two dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object, we must have at our
disposal a way of discerning the proportions that is more robust.
Because parts of a figure are often eclipsed by other parts of the figure, we cannot always rely on
using the head as a basis of proportions. It is therefore recommended to use Relative Proportions as
a more reliable guide. Appendix A Relative Proportions, contains a list of relative measurements
based on the bones.
At this point it is wise to see an example of how a figure drawing progresses, with an emphasis on
relative proportions. For all practical purposes, creating relative proportions means to apply the
concept of relative comparison. See the definition of relative comparison in the glossary at the back
of this publication.
Both drawings on this page rely upon values to convey a sense of volume and light direction. The
drawing below shows a value scale and some geometrical objects to help illustrate lighting effects.
The value scale has five discrete values. It should be noted that in this case, the lowest value is
where there is a complete absence of light. This can occur in the instance of a cast shadow, such as
the sphere casting a shadow on the cube.
Artistic Anatomy
Artistic anatomy is concerned with the anatomical topology of the body and how it can be conveyed
in a drawing. Knowing the skeletal structure and musculature is key for anatomy. Being able to
identify where the bones come close to the surface of the skin (bony landmarks) will aid the artist in
identifying and creating believable anatomy in a drawing. These bony landmarks can also serve as
markers for relative proportional measurements.
Composition (Design)
The composition of a figure drawing refers directly to the pose(s) of the figure(s) and how they are
placed and arranged with respect to each other and the environment they are in. Discussions on
composition are often controversial and subjective, however, a strong composition will often please
the eye without the viewer understanding why.
Usage of abstract shapes and harmony between the elements plays an important role in composition.
There are a host of terms associated with composition: unity, emphasis, focal point, balance,
proportion & scale, contrast, movement, rhythm & pattern, variety, harmony, rule of thirds,
geometry and gestault.
Blockin (Contour)
Blockingin the figure is a reliable method of beginning a drawing. Blockingin is the procedure of
creating a simplified contour and internal information of the model that inherently contains the
gesture of the figure. This process is sometimes referred to as contour drawing. The term blockin is
used here because the contour lines will overlap as necessary and the blockin will also contain
some internal information such as curved lines to indicate the path of the spinal column and
rhythms occurring throughout the body that pass between internal and purely contour. The shadow
shapes can also be blocked in to enhance the internal information.
Blockingin a figure may use action and gesture lines to establish gesture; hence the gesture of the
figure is inherent in an accurate blockin. The initial lines of the blockin are often straight, which
allows the artist to more easily make corrections as the block-in progresses.
The drawings on this page are
examples of how to block in a figure.
On the far left we can see the initial
lines that are used to gauge the
dimensions of the figure. The second
from the left is the finished block-in
that has some shadow information
added.
Returning a moment to the concept of gesture, we want to ensure that your drawings always have
maximum gesture. It is tempting to engage in an over-legalistic approach of blocking in the figure
that will result in a loss of gesture. As a form of practice, it is recommended blocking-in the torso in
a loose but accurate fashion as is shown on the top drawing.
Blockin, Shading
The drawing on this page demonstrates how the blockin technique was used to draw a seated man,
twisting to one side. The proportions are believable and all the elements of a figure drawing are
working well.
Line To Mass
Progressing from line to mass allows the artist to create an accurate blockin drawing combined
with a full spectrum of values.
As seen in the sample drawing below, the first step entails creating an accurate blockin drawing.
The artist incorporates some internal information and maps the shadow shapes. All of the shadow
areas are given nearly the same value in this step and more time is spent refining the contour,
internal information and shapes of the shadows.
The intermediate step involves pushing the darker shadow areas down to a lower value. The process
of establishing highest and lowest values in a drawing is referred to as keying the drawing. Some
modeling of form in the shadow areas is a good idea at this point. There are different schools of
thought on whether the majority of modeling should be done in the light areas or in the shadow
areas. It is up to the artist to determine which is appropriate.
The final step involves keying the drawing again to find the absolute lowest value that can be
achieved by the charcoal or the medium. This will allow the maximum breadth of value change
within the drawing. The artist must be careful to leave some of the light areas untouched by the
charcoal. If the paper is midtoned, then the possibility exists of using white chalk to further model
forms in the light areas.
Shadow Mapping
Another technique used to accurately mimic the forms seen on the figure is called Shadow
Mapping. The goal of shadow mapping is to exactly replicate the shadow shapes seen on the model,
as if they were pieces in a puzzle. When the shapes of light and shadow are mapped accurately and
the borders between light and shadow vary between soft and sharp then the result can be a
convincing illusion of form.
Shadow Mapping works best when combined with a convincing blockin of the figure. Without a
correct blockin, shadow mapping will be ineffective because the shadow shapes on your drawing
will never exactly correspond to what is seen on the model. The big picture must be correct before
placing smaller details.
The human body can be oriented in endless positions, forcing the torso, head, neck and other
appendages into strange or awkward orientations. On a local level it must be understood that if a
muscle is flexed then opposing muscles will not be flexed. If one side of the body is in compression
then the opposite side will be in tension and vice versa. The body may seem be to at rest, but it is
constantly striving to find balance through flexion or relaxation.
In this drawing, the womans rib cage and pelvis are rotated with respect to each other and there is
tension on the down side of her rib cage and oblique muscles. On the upside, we can see the sharp
line of her rib cage digging into the oblique muscle, as this area is under compression. Remember,
compression pushes two forms together and tension pulls a form apart.
Contrapposto
The contrapposto pose is an
asymmetrical arrangement of the
human figure in which the tilt of the
rib cage contrasts with the tilt of the
pelvis. When in standing position, the
leg carrying the majority of the weight
is referred to as the standing leg. The
other leg will be bent and used mostly
for balance, hence named the balance
leg. The side of the pelvis that is on
the standing leg side will be higher
than the side of the pelvis of the
balance leg. This tilting of the pelvis
means that the lumbar portion of the
spinal column will also be angled
slightly to one side. Because the
contrapposto pose is usually a
standing pose, it is necessary for the
rib cage to be tilted or leaned in the
other direction as the pelvis to retain
balance. This tilted and leaning back
and forth of the spinal column creates
a snaking line, often referred to as an
S Curve.
The most common mistake made when drawing a foreshortened object is to draw it more elongated
than it appears optically, because our minds are use to seeing and recognizing humans in a fully
standing up right position with arms and legs extended fully.
In this inferior view of a woman sitting and leaning forward, we can see the dramatic effect of how
the pelvis and rib cage can be rotated with respect to one another. In this case, the rotation in the
pelvis and ribcage enable us to understand the foreshortening that is occurring. The pelvis and
gluteus are only slightly foreshortened, while the ribcage is extremely foreshortened. The upper
right arm is almost vertical and only slightly occluded, which helps the viewer understand the
foreshortening.
The right thigh is almost perpendicular to the viewer and has no foreshortening. The left thigh is
extremely foreshortened. In this case, it is important to correctly articulate the patella so the viewer
can recognize the form of the leg. The right forearm is very foreshortened as the wrist bends and the
back of the hand is somewhat braced under the lower back.
In the spirit of a stronger sense of design, the background and drapery the woman was lying on are
minimized and only a strong ground line is drawn.
Hands
Hands are the most complicated part of
the human body to draw, after the portrait.
When drawing hands, it might be useful
to break them down into the following
components: wrist, palm, thumb, and
fingers. Drawing the outline of where the
ends of the fingers will be placed is more
advisable than drawing each finger and
getting the placement of joints incorrect.
Do not focus on drawing the fingers first
and then drawing the palms. First, draw
the wrist and palms and then draw the
fingers. Always drawing everything from
the largest forms and work your way to
the smaller or more complicated forms.
Also to note, is the length of the open
hand from the base of the palm to end of
the longest finger is approximately the
same distance as the length of the face
(the bottom of the chin to the top of the
forehead). Open your hand and place it on
your face, the base of the palm touching
your chin and fingers touching forehead.
This often over looked comparison can
prevent your drawing from having hands
that appear to short.
The hands shown on this page all belong to the same person, a 25-year old male. Never forget, the
hands can impart an emotional or even intelligent affect on the viewer. Womens hands are often
made to be more pointy and narrowed at the fingertips. When you see this, it is often done to create
a more feminine hand. The male hand is often drawn to seem stronger or bonier. In either case, you
cant go wrong by just drawing what you see.
Knowing how much detail to incorporate into the hand is also an important factor. Always
remember, viewers will usually see the contour or line quality of a form first, then the shadows,
then smaller modeled forms. Therefore, put most of your effort into drawing correctly proportioned
hands with strong contour lines. Do not fret about every little wrinkle. Only after you have rendered
a well-structured hand and decided where the shadow borders will be, will you want to start
considering wrinkles or veins.
Also to note, is when the hand interacts with foreign objects such as the sphere above. It would be
wise to create the outline of the foreign object early on in the drawing to make sure its dimensions
or forms wont have to be skewed in order to fit into the hand. Knowing the anatomy of the hand
will enable you to alter the pose of a hand from its observed state, in order to accommodate foreign
objects.
Drawing hands can be a
therapeutic exercise that
will strengthen your
overall drawing
abilities. Again, as a
reminder, the two most
common mistakes when
drawing hands are;
drawing a hand smaller
than it should be and
creating too much
unnecessary detail in the
hand.
Feet
The full weight of the human body is placed on feet everyday and therefore the feet are engineered
to withstand incredible forces. Unlike most quadrupeds, the human foot has most of the weight
placed near the rear of the form, when standing in a normal balanced position. The forms at the
front of the feet are used more for balance, agility and articulation, when needed.
When drawing the feet, it is most advantageous to draw the outline or contour before drawing any
details. Think about the structure and purpose of a foot and what is its function. As with the hand,
draw the largest masses first and then draw where the ends of the toes are and then subdivide as
necessary. Always draw the big toe and then the other four toes in that order. From the bottom view
of a foot, we can see how the toes fall into groupings. The first and most important toe is the big
toe, equaling the mass of the next two toes combined. The next two toes are seen in descending
order, yet seemingly grouped together. The last two toes seem to be grouped together as well. When
viewed from above, the big toe is obviously the most important, yet the other toes may not seem to
be as separable as when viewed from below. In that sense, just draw the delineation between the big
toe and draw the other four toes as a group. This will reduce the complexity of the task at hand. If
you have time, and if it is necessary, then draw the delineation between the smaller toes.
Mood
Mastering many of the topics already discussed will enable the artist to create mood in a drawing.
Color is often the most efficient way to create mood and painters will leverage their knowledge of
color to create it. The artist working only with charcoal or other monochromatic medium will have
to indicate mood by relying upon their knowledge of rendering form with gesture, proportion, value,
anatomy and tying it all together with an effective composition. Indicating mood in a drawing is not
an easy task.
Use creative shading or enhanced gesture to create more mood. Some simple eraser work to pick
out areas of light above a persons head can imply meaning. Drawing the eyes looking up, down or
sideways will each indicate a different mood or emotion.
Another intriguing example that conveys mood is shown on this page. In this case, the artist Juan
Cbbos has left in remnants of the early phases of the drawing and alternate poses of the same model.
Drawing like this can reveal a series of moments in time. Many of the Old Masters (renaissance)
would leave remnants and contour lines of other poses in their drawings because it was part of the
process of studying the figure.
Creating Atmosphere
As your skill increases you will want to add a little more atmosphere to your drawings by
incorporating props or playing with tricks of shading around the figure. In this drawing I have used
the natural transition that occurs between the pelvis and legs as an opportunity to crop the drawing
in that region in a way that feels natural. Some heavier shading around the figure with some eraser
work to pluck out a hint of a halo and the drawing becomes slightly angelic. Be clever in how you
create atmosphere, but dont over do it.
Conceptual Drawings
Conceptual drawings are created when the thought to be conveyed is more important than the
finished drawing. For this reason, conceptual drawings are usually less academic in nature. The
gesture and composition of the drawing usually dominate the eye.
Conceptual drawings are often done to help generate ideas for a longer study or project. Because
conceptual drawings are done with minimal restraints and maximum expression, they can often be
some of the artists best work.
Clothed Subjects
The best strategy for drawing clothed or partially clothed figures is to focus primarily on
establishing a convincing figure with correct gesture and proportions. Clothes will be pulled along
or form fitted over the body, respectively. The larger masses and bony projections of the body will
push at the surface of the clothes.
If any of the bony landmarks
of the body are visible, then
take advantage to render them
accurately and sharply: knees,
ankles, elbows, wrist, hands,
clavicles, jaw line.
Step 1: Carefully block-in the contour of the figure from head to toe. Use mostly straight lines and
or large swooping lines. This is often referred to as the Envelope Method. Optically measure and
compare the distances between the lines and resulting shapes. This is referred to as Relative
Comparison.
Step 2: Continue refining step 1, while at the same time begin blocking in the shadow borders. Add
some slight value (darkness) to the shadow areas to begin the process of Shadow Mapping, which is
simply separating the light and dark areas into separate pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Step 3: Continue adding more shadow borders and refine the edges to be either soft or sharp. At
this point it would still be completely appropriate to make another pass as the entire contour of the
figure for more accuracy to give a sense of flesh and bone, as well as refine the line quality to be
heavy or light.
Step 4: The final step of the drawing is to really push the low values as dark as they can go (as
appropriate) and erase out any areas that you want to be the lightest (higher values). If you have mid
toned paper, you could put subtle highlights in with chalk (very sparingly).
If all the steps in this sequence have been done faithfully, then the artist could spend many hours on
the final step by continuing to refine the subtle shapes of the shadow borders to indicate the
anatomy of flesh, fat, muscle and bone. Additionally, the artist can add a slight background value
surrounding the figure to reduce or minimize the contrast of the contour line of the figure.
On the far left is the initial block-in. When drawing standing figures, it is recommended to make
horizontal lines on the paper to indicate the bottom of one of the feet, the top of the head and also
the exact optical center of the figure. Standing figures present an especially difficult problem of
vertical proportions that must be overcome. Making horizontal ticks on the paper to indicate the
vertical orientation of key landmarks will aid the artist in finding correct vertical proportions.
The second and third steps in the drawing encourage more refinement of the initial block-in.
Shadow shapes and shadow borders are given special attention because a light & shadow effect is
one of the best ways to create volume in a drawing. A ground shadow is added in order to give the
figure a sense of existing on a solid surface.
On the far left is the initial block-in. The goal is to capture the gesture and in this case the most
highly gestured region of the figure is the lower body.
The second step is a restatement of the highly gestured legs and the upper portions are blocked in.
The third step is the beginning of a long refinement process. As the shadows are blocked in, it is
possible to use the shadow borders as anchor points to check the proportions again. Notice also the
ground shadow is added.
In a drawing that takes the artist 2 or 3 hour to complete, it is a good idea to take a long break half
way through. This will allow the eyes to become fresh again. On that note, it is also recommended
the model not stand for more than 20 minutes at a time, as the pose will become labored.
Even as the drawing is seemingly progressing, the proportions are constantly checked for
believability and the drawing is constantly scanned for odd or deformed looking areas. In the case
of this drawing, the foot on the right has been fidgeting around and it is decided to go with a more
frontal and almost completely foreshortened version.
In the final phase of the drawing the artist will use all his available skills to emphasize volume and
create the feeling of flesh and bone. Manipulating the shadow borders to maximize the soft and
sharp transitions that exist between light and shadow will increase a sense of volume and reality.
As you begin to master the method of accurately blocking in a figure to achieve correct proportions
and gesture, you will want to begin tackling more advanced poses. In the example on this page, the
model was sitting on a tall chair and her legs were braced within the legs of the chair to appear is if
she was floating.
In the final version of the drawing we can see a full value scale has been used for the mid toned
paper and a ground shadow has been drawn in.
The first image shows the important blocking in step that is done in order to obtain the correct
gesture and proportions.
The second image shows a zoom in of the abdomen and pelvis. Note the importance the shape of
the naval plays in conveying the twist. Also note the angled line that appears to the left and above
the naval, which is conveying a crease between the lower ribs and the fleshy part of the abdomen.
One of the most common and practical principles of design is to mimic known geometric shapes
into the pose of the model. The geometric shape will subconsciously resonate with the viewer and
increase connectivity with the image. The drawing on this page incorporates the triangle and
pyramid shapes.
The terms face and portrait are often used interchangeably. The face is the area on the front of the
skull that is bounded by the ears on the side, the hairline of the forehead on the top and the chin on
the bottom. The term portrait implies the entire face as well as the entire skull and also the neck, and
often the clavicles, upper trapezius muscles and the bony point at the base of the back of the neck
called the seventh cervical vertebrae.
By discussing primarily the structure of the portrait the reader will begin to understand the face and
the portrait. We will review the facial structure of specific people from various cultures in order to
show how there is a wide variation in the appearance of the portrait, yet all of the ethnicities adhere
to a set of guidelines that describe the portrait. Every drawing or sculpture shown in this guide is of
a real person and is
done with the utmost
respect for that
individual.
The Skull
The framework for the human body is the
skeleton. Without the skeleton, gravity would
pull us to the ground and even the most basic
movements in free space would be incredibly
difficult.
The Eye
The eye is located within the orbital region. It is bound above by the supraorbital arch, on the lateral
side by the external angular process and below by the tear bag.
The most important components of the topographical eye region are; superior orbital grove, upper
lid (palpebrae superioris), lower lid (palpebrae inferioris), lateral corner of the eye (lateral canthus),
medial corner of the eye (medial canthus), cornea, iris, pupil, plica semilunaris, lacrimal caruncle.
The eye moves within the orbital cavity
with the aid of six extraocular muscles.
The muscles are inserted onto the eye in
a fashion that allows very precise
rotation around all three axii. The
extraocular muscles cannot be seen from
the external viewpoint, but it is useful to
know they exist to better understand
how the eye moves within the eye
socket.
In a normal gaze, the bottom of the iris will just barely touch the border of the lower lid and the
upper iris will be partially occluded by the upper lid. When the eye is looking upwards as shown in
the diagram below, the upper lid will fold back and some of the lower eyeball can be seen. The
shape of the upper and lower
As we lower the viewing angle we can see how the mass above the eye becomes the dominant form.
Our eyes are protected by the bony supraorbital arch from harmful objects falling from above and
provide shade from sunlight from directly above.
The Nose
The nose is at the bilateral center of the face and is shaped primarily by the effects of the nasal bone
and the cartilage at the end of the nose and the cartilage that forms the wings of the nose.
Just above the nose is a key region called the glabella. The glabella is a smooth area bounded on the
sides by the eyebrows, below by the transverse nasal furrow and above by the forehead. The shape
of the glabella is similar to an Isosceles trapezoid with the long side on top and will often form a
slight down plane, hence when the head is in normal position there will often be a slight form
shadow in this region.
The root of the nose is just under the glabella and can be marked by the transverse nasal furrow. In
some adults and the young, the transverse nasal furrow will be absent. Slightly below the root of the
nose, the nasal bone creates a convexity and this spot is referred to as the bridge of the nose. The
shape and amplitude of this convexity varies tremendously amongst different ethnicities and it is
often the single most important indicator of a persons ethnic origins.
As the nasal bone terminates downwards, one can often see a tapering inwards indicated by a slight
shadow. At this point, the cartilage of the nose begins to blossom. In the two drawings on the left,
the septum dips below the wings of the nose. The reverse will never be true, though sometimes the
septum and lowest point of the wings of the nose may be on the same level, as shown in the drawing
on the far right. Between the wing of the nose and the cheek, there will usually be a noticeable
furrow that separates these two forms that is called the nasolabial furrow.
The Mouth
The mouth region can assume an infinite variety of gestures due to the orbicularus oris muscle that
completely surrounds it. The mouth is bounded above by the philtrum, on the sides by the cheeks
and below by the mentilabial furrow.
Understanding the shape of the lips at rest is a good starting point in understanding the mouth.
The mouth at rest will usually exhibit a slight space between the lips, especially in the region of the
upper middle tubercle and median sulcus of the lower lip. Towards the corner of the mouth the
upper corner will always overlap the lower corner, creating a small shadow. In people with thin lips
this may be difficult to observe, but it is always the case and is easily observable in those with pouty
or pudgy lips and cheeks often found on young children.
Between the lower lip and bottom of the chin will be a horizontal crease called the mentilabial
furrow. It is often curved convexly upwards.
The Ear
The ear, like the other features of the portrait, adheres to a form follows function protocol. The
purpose of the ear is to funnel sound into the auditory hiatus, so the internal ear can process the
sound waves into electrical nerve impulses and send them to our brains to be analyzed.
For most practical purposes, the ear can be viewed as an object that does not contort or deform like
the other features unless acted on by another body or form. The outer ear is composed entirely of
cartilage and as the body ages the ears often appear proportionately bigger when compared to
younger people because cartilage continues to grow throughout our life.
The most important parts of the external ear are the helix, antihelix, Darwins tubercle, tragus,
antitragus, lobe, and the crura (upper part of anti helix that splits into the two ridges called superior
crus and inferior crus just before underlapping the helix). The negative spaces of the ear are:
triangular fossa, cymba, cavum and the tragal notch (often referred to as the ear notch).
Yet another drawing example showing the progression from an accurate block-in to a more volume
oriented light & shadow rendition. This drawing is a study for a portrait sculpture and hence the
bottom of the drawing is cropped, as it will be in the sculpture.
In the drawing on the far left it is possible to see a vertical line bisecting the models face. The line
does not optically separate the mass of the skull into equal left and right halves because the model
has tilted her head. Therefore, the line appears further to the left. In the drawing on the far right we
can see how much more mass of the cheek and jaw are visible than the right. This is typical in
foreshortening and the artist must be aware of it from the moment the drawing is first started.
In order to gain the appearance of more volume in
forms, it is necessary to understand modeling. Each
shadow and light area has an irregular shape and the
where the shadow and light converge; by convention
we call this the shadow border. The shadow border
has sharp and soft transitions. Notice how the eye is
modeled and how the shadow shapes seem abstract
in nature. The accumulation of many abstract shapes
arranged perfectly will create a shape we recognize
in reality.
The armature serves two purposes: supporting the clay for stability and mimicking the gesture of the
subject being sculpting. As you can see, the head part of the sculpture is tilted and I have created
two points equidistant from the centerline that will aid in keeping the cheeks symmetrical.
As stated throughout the portrait section of this publication, the most important aspect of creating a
portrait should be to obtain the exact profile contour of the model. I sometimes call this the rudder
of the portrait. A metaphoric parallel for the nose of a human face is the rudder of a naval ship. The
orientation of the rudder will effect a ships movement and direction. Likewise, the orientation, size
and shape of a nose will affect the accuracy of a portrait sculpture. Shown on this page are photos of
the sculpture as it is completely blocked in and cropped.
Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley 2012
59
At this point in the progression of the sculpture, little or no attention is given to the treatment of the
surface. We are only concerned about the gesture and proportion of the forms. A knife or other
metallic edged tool can be used to draw directly upon the surface of the clay.
In the final rendition of the sculpture, the surfaces are brought to a higher level of finish around the
face, while the back of the head was cropped and left more roughly hewn. Since the emphasis was
on the gestural relationship between the models left shoulder and face, the right shoulder is
severely cropped off at about the halfway point along the clavicle. The sculpture is approximately
27 high, making it about 1.6 times life size.
Clear away obstacles on the floor so you are encouraged to take a few steps back often. Obviously
you cannot always stand back because you need to put clay on the sculpture. But, standing back and
just looking at your work with an eye of scrutiny will encourage good proportions to manifest on
your sculpture.
The width of the head is approximately two thirds the height of the head from chin to crown. If a
line is drawn through the inside corners of the eyes (transaxial eye line), then this line is
approximately the halfway point of the height of the head from chin to crown.
The width of the skull from the front is approximately 5 times the width of an eye. The distance
between the eyes is approximately the width of an eye.
In most people, the outer edges of the eyebrows will extend past the outer edges of the eyes.
Another photo of the same sculpture that has been developed much further. More attention is given
to the forms of the face and the treatment of the surface. This is the finished version of the clay
sculpture.
Starting from the frontal eminence and moving downwards, we see a variety of specific shapes
describing her face. Just below the frontal eminence is a slight indentation before the superciliary
eminence rises obliquely upwards (out of the page towards us).
The glabella is angled up and slightly
outward from the face. It separates
the root of the nose from the brow.
From the root of the nose moving
down and to the right we see the
convexity of the nasal bone.
Continuing down the nose there is
another convexity that is the cartilage
on the end of the nose.
The wing of the nose catches light on
its upward plane and turns medial
towards the nostril.
From the wing of the nostril we can
see the nasolabial furrow begin its
curvilinear way downward and
terminating about even with the
corner of the mouth.
The ear can be clearly seen as having a soft fleshy lobe at the bottom, in comparison to the slightly
harder cartilage of the antihelix. The helix in this model is very full and almost fleshy.
Drawing and Sculpting the Figure, by Lance Dooley 2012
67
The cheeks on this man are thick and full. He has a relatively wide face. The zygomatic arches can
be seen as more bulbous than sharp plane changes. This is because he has a thick and fleshy face.
The lower lip has a slight up plane and we can see a highlight running horizontally along the upper
side of the lower lip.
He has a double chin that adds to the girth of his jowls. The angle of the mouth is where the two lips
terminate on the lateral (side) and the furrow seen projected outwards and downwards. In this man,
the angle of the mouth is pronounced.
In this drawing, we are focusing on the profile of the mans face. On the right is the outline of the
mans face done with vine charcoal. The major shapes are shown along with some indication of
shadow borders.
A value scale is created (bottom center) and the drawing progresses with the values in mind. Cast
shadows and areas of no light are shown at the lowest level on the value scale. Forms are modeled
with charcoal to indicate appropriate sharp and soft transitions between light and shadow.
At the base of the neck, we see the cord like tendon of the sternocleidomastoid as it inserts into the
top of the sternum (manubrium). When a thin model pushes the shoulder up and forward like this
pose, we can see a hollow triangle to the lateral of the sternal connection of the sternocleidomastoid
and just above the medial end of the clavicle.
In the sculpture of the same man, we are now viewing him in profile. In this position it is more
obvious how much the head is tilted back, revealing the forms of the submental, submaxillary and
anterior neck. If the head were in a level position with shoulders relaxed, then the angle between the
chin and neck would be about 90 degrees.
With that in mind, we first look at the space between the front of the
eyes and the root of the nose (top of the nose).It can be seen that
there is indeed a space there. The eyes will always be set back from
the root of the nose. This is most definitely a result of form follows
function. Because the eyes are one of the most extremely delicate
and
valuable organs in our body, they must not remain unprotected.
They are protected above by the supraorbital arches (covered by the
eyebrows), on the outer sides by the external angular process of the
frontal bone and in the medial (inside) by the projection of the root
of the nose, which is actually just the nasal bone itself.
When the
head is level,
it can also be
seen that the rearmost part of the wing of the
nose is practically even with a plumb line
dropped from the root of the nose. And as
usual, the glabella angles forward away from
the face and upwards.
In this image, the light is originating from the upper left. It illuminates the parietal area on the left
and the parietal on the right is slightly facing away from the light and hence receives much less
direct light per surface area. The farthest point to the rear of the skull is seen here as the point at
which there is a sudden change from light to shadow which lies in the vertical center of the skull
and a line drawn from the top of one ear to another.
From that point there is a down plane until the muscles of the neck are met.
Another interesting aspect of the dorsal view of the skull is the movement of the helix of the ears as
they each create a dramatic silhouette. The outer ears are projected away from the skull by cartilage.
The exact paint used here was only Burnt Umber and
a mixing white. It is not really important to know
what brand of paint or type of brushes to use. What is
important is the ability to convey form and value
with the medium you have.
When beginning a discussion on sculpting the human figure, it is appropriate to start with the torso.
The torso is comprised of the shoulders, rib cage, pelvis and some portion of the extreme upper
thighs. The total sections of the body included in the torso can vary between artists, but the core of
the torso will always be the ribcage and the pelvis. Many of the original full body sculptures we see
from antiquity have been reduced to a torso. This is because the weaker portions of the medium
(stone) have been cut or broken off by invading armies or the sculpture has simply been tipped over
or dropped. What is left is the torso. In our present day fine art academies and art schools, it is
traditional to spend a considerable amount of time studying the torso and rendering it with drawing,
sculpting, or painting. This page shows a male torso that has been slightly rotated. As is preached
throughout this publication, the gesture and proportions are the most important aspects of rendering
the figure. The torso is a good place to start practicing and instilling the knowledge and skill
required to flush out the correct gesture and proportions.
Continuing with more views of the same torso on the previous page, we now observe the posterior
and a slightly oblique posterior angle. This is a good time to point out this torso is a plaster cast that
was generated from a mold taken from a life sized study completed while the author was at the
Florence Academy of Art in Italy. The male model was extremely physically adept at sports and had
a lean muscle mass. The plaster cast of the torso is rotated with an overhead light source that
provides raking light. This allows for a combination of sharper cast shadows and softer form
shadows that work in concert to please they eye and convey form.
Anatomically, we could spend a lot of time pointing out and naming bony landmarks or
musculature seen on this torso. Speaking on terms of aesthetics, one would be more concerned with
the torso as a visual whole. The major movements of this torso are the compression on its right side
and the tension on its left side.
We rotate the torso back around to an anterior oblique view and a view that is almost completely
from the side. We can clearly study the rib cage and the surrounding muscles, such as the serratus
anterior. It is now obvious how much tension is occurring on the left side of the torso as we see the
left arm is stretched above where the head would be and the rig cage is twisting clockwise with
respect to the pelvis.
An important consideration for creating your academic torso is the cropping. You will have to
terminate the sculpture by omitting the arms, legs, and head. Exactly where and how you will crop
the torso is often a matter of aesthetic preference or what is required by the pose. The cropping on
this torso is done cleanly, to create clear cross sections of the limbs and the neck.
At this time it would be important to point out that this torso has in fact originated from a full body
sculpture. The arms, legs, and neck were cleanly cut off to create the desired effect of a torso.
Maximum Gesture
Regardless of the style of sculpture you are making, the most important aspect of your sculpture
should be gesture. As stated previously, gesture refers to the overall movement, twisting, and
dynamic aspect of a figure. In this sculpture, I have incorporated a geometrical circular element
into the design. The womans torso is bent to one side and her legs form a strong circular movement
as seen from above. As seen from the side view, the womans legs form a strong linear trajectory
that contrasts with the circular movements.
Its worth spending a little more time discussing this sculpture because of the gesture that has been
designed into it from every angle. Think of the medium as a vehicle to convey your message
through carefully thought out design. From the back side of the sculpture, we notice a supporting
form underneath the woman, which happens to be a bird, and its wing is gently overlapping the
womans right foot.
The long arduous process of creating a sculpture, which started as a concept design, comes to a
conclusion when a bronze cast is produced at the foundry. Most of the steps of the lost wax casting
process are not shown in this example, so it is important for the reader to thoroughly research the
process on their own or consult a sculpting professional or a fine art foundry for more information.
Snapshots of the process are only shown here in order to give the reader a rough idea for what is in
store.
Clothing in Sculpture
Incorporating realistic clothing in sculpture can add a practical dimension to your work. Often in the
fine art world, the nude is the champion subject because of its extensive use throughout history and
it offers the viewer and chance to experience the artists interpretation of form in a most pure sense.
When incorporating thin clothes on a subject, do not think of adding massive amounts of clay.
Instead, concentrate on the edges and areas of sudden change or movement. Only fill in void areas
as needed.
Shaped Armature
The next step in the process is to make the armature mimic the gesture of the pose of the model.
Spend as much time as possible on this task. Do not rush ahead with applying clay on the armature
until the armature conveys a life force of its own through lively gesture and attitude of the pose. The
type of armature shown here mimics the core of the torso and each limb.
Proportional Assessment
After the gesture of the pose has been imprinted upon the armature, the next step is to assess the
vertical and horizontal lengths and thicknesses of the pose. This is done by adding some
intelligently shaped pieces of clay along key points of the sculpture.
The sculptors goal is to carefully place shaped pieces of clay along the masses and contours of the
sculpture. There is no modeling of shapes at this point. We are only concerned with exactly
matching the outside contours of the model with the contours that will begin to appear on the
sculpture.
This is an additive
process and going slower
will allow the sculptor
time to process what is
being looked at.
Torso Block-in
The torso in a figure sculpture is of paramount importance. The torso will influence the gesture and
forms of all the limbs and the head & neck.
When analyzing the torso, one must look at the relationship between the ribcage and the pelvis. It is
easier to do this by drawing lines at the upper and lower extents of the ribcage and pelvis that go
around the entire perimeter of the torso much like lines of latitude on a map of the earth. However,
these lines will be tilted, as appropriate. The difference between the tilted lines of the rib cage and
pelvis will indicated the gesture of the torso. A difference in angles of tilt indicates a contrapposto
pose.
Note the line drawn along the center of the torso that bisects the left and right halves. This line
works in tandem with the boundary lines of the ribcage and pelvis to help coordinate a correct
gesture analysis.
Now we continue examining the sculpture with shoulders and arms added. Do not proceed with the
arms until the torso has been adequately developed, or you will risk under-sizing the ribcage. Apply
clay for the muscle masses of the arms and pay close attention to the elbow and the inside fold of
the arm. Now we can begin to make a holistic analysis of the sculpture for proportions.
Complete Block-in
A large sculpture created in a direct method will likely need a variety of different materials to arrive
at the correct size and form. At the core of this sculpture is an iron rebar armature that was cut,
grinded and welded together to create the gesture and proportions.
Foam core was then used to surround the iron rebar and then fence wire was cut and strapped on to
the foam sections in order to create a semi-permeable surface.
Here we can see the first round of clay that has been pushed into the fence wire. The fence wire
provides enough traction for the clay to grab onto and therefore subsequent layers of clay will not
fall off.
Areas of Emphasis
Using the principles of 3D Design (Unity & Variety, Grid & Matrix, Balance, Scale & Proportion,
Emphasis, Repetition & Rhythm), the artist can generate viewer interest from the most subtle of
poses.
In this case, the figure is a blacksmith and therefore the arms were given an emphasis from the
action they are involved in and the slight increased scaling. The tools he is holding help indicate the
theme of the sculpture, as well as the clothing he wears.
Consider how you will manipulate the surface of the sculpture to achieve an appropriate lighting
effect. Local lighting is an important consideration if you know the final placement of the sculpture.
Also to be considered are the patina (coloration) and height at which the sculpture will be placed. If
the sculpture is to be placed on top of a large pedestal, then consider slightly enlarging the head and
shoulders in order to counteract the diminishing effects of perspective.
Here we see the arms and mid section of the blacksmith sculpture. They convey strength and
sureness, both qualities necessary for a blacksmith to carry out their work.
In the photo above we can see a large project board that is 24 inches x 42 inches. The large
sculpture will be built upon this project board and I want an extra inch on each end of the sculpture,
which is why the board is 42 inches wide and not 40 inches. Other materials present for the
construction of the large sculpture are (bottom left moving clockwise): bendable aluminum wire,
Styrofoam, wire nippers and pliers, steel wire, Iron Rebar, clay, calibers, wooden sculpting tools,
metal sculpting tools and a 3/6 inch thick steel plate.
The steel plate has holes drilled through it and is bolted to the board. The Iron Rebar is welded to
the steel plate and bent as appropriate. a series of calculations are made such that at Iron Rebar
infrastructure will support the Styrofoam and clay to be added.
If you are lucky, you will be able to display your work in a very public place for others to view.
Keep in mind the type of work you are displaying and the message you are trying to project, if any.
This particular project was very specific and the intent was to display it in a church that has an old-
world feel. Here we see the display of The Greatest Sacrifice sculpture in a cathedral.
Make the most of your experience and professionalize all aspects of your efforts. In this case, I
created a visual layout of the imagery and superimposed it onto a floor plan layout of the cathedral
that was available to visitors.
Anthropomorphism
There may be a need to apply your skills as a figurative artist to that of animals or inanimate
objects. This summons the special field of anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics or behaviors onto an animal or object.
Anthropomorphic Cat
What makes an animal seem more anthropomorphic? This question can be answered by analyzing
the image of the cat on this page. The cat is seen standing up and has a sense of awareness in its
eyes.
It is in fact primarily the posture of an animal that conveys its anthropomorphism. By staying
mostly true to the anatomy of the animal and using reconstructive realism, the artist can manipulate
the pose to mimic that of a human.
Anthropomorphic Owl
Here we see an owl that seems like an owl, but seems more intelligent looking. Questions to
consider are what makes an animal seem more intelligent or cognizant? One answer is: the eyes.
Therefore you will see anthropomorphic representations of animals have slightly different eyes or
enlarged eyes. Slightly morphing some of the animals body parts to resonate with human anatomy
will of course create anthropomorphism as well. Note the upper wings of the owl mimic the
shoulders of a human and even have some gesture.
Summary
Hopefully this publication has been a useful
introduction to figure drawing and sculpting.
The artist must embark on a long journey of
drawing the human figure before ever hoping
to become competent. In time, the artist will
develop a personal way of approaching this
subject, learning how to see and how to
render the figure.
Juan Jose Cbbos Artist and sculptor from Columbia and has completed several monumental
public sculpture projects throughout Columbia.
Lance Dooley American artist and sculptor from Washington State.
Kristin Frogner Norwegian artist and sculptor.
William Mangan American artist and sculptor from Michigan State.
Kelly Rathbone American artist and sculptor originally from Texas.
HM Humerus
1.4X CC = HM
Olecranon to end of the middle finger
Spatial Relationships
Proportion How objects or parts of an object relate to each other in size, scale or emphasis.
Relative Comparison A method of determining the proportions and dimensions of an object or
multiple objects.
Scale Refers to how large or small an object appears or seems. An objects scale depends on a
comparison with one or more objects of known size.
Overlap - An area in which 2 or more lines or shapes intersect and one of them optically is in front
of the other. The line or shape overlapping the other is (at that point) closer to the viewer.
Negative Space The empty space between the contours of 2 shapes or outside the contour of 1
object.
Highlight A spot on a form where the light reflects the most and has the highest value.
Composition
Visual Elements (2D): Point, Line, Shape, Form, Space, Value, Color and Texture.
Visual Elements (3D): Line, Plane, Volume, Mass, Space, Texture, Light, Color, Time
Principles of Design (2D): Unity, Emphasis & FocalPoint, Balance, Proportion & Scale, Contrast,
Movement, Rhythm/Pattern, Geometry, Variety and Harmony.
Principles of Design (3D): Unity & Variety, Grid & Matrix, Balance, Scale & Proportion,
Emphasis, Repetition & Rhythm
Unity A design element that helps the image be perceived as one unit instead of random objects.
Emphasis and Focal Point Emphasis is used to draw the viewers attention to one area of the
work.
Balance The distribution of the visual weight of objects in a scene: symmetrical, asymmetrical or
radial.
Continuance When an object in a composition leads the eye by pointing or looking at another
object.
Continuity The organized visual movement created by regular, flowing or progressive rhythm.
Rhythm Repetitive movement characterized by a series of objects with variations in
spacing, size, alteration and or progression.
Pattern Repetition created in an image by duplicating the size, shape, position, symmetry, value,
contrast and color of one or a group of shapes or objects.
Harmony When every individual part of an image or scene adds to the overall pattern making the
whole feel complete.
The most important terms are listed here, because they will be referred to heavily as I describe the
human anatomy.
Descriptional Terms
Locational Terms
Supra above
Infra below
Medial towards the middle
Lateral towards the outer
Dorsal behind
Anterior front
Each class will be conducted in a drawing room with the instructor giving an introduction of the
days topic or a review of previous topics and then the students begin drawing. The instructor will
devote attention throughout each session to the individual student or to the entire group as
necessary.
Occasionally, videos or other multimedia teaching aids may be used to fully articulate the
explanation of a subject. This may include discussions on some of the leading figurative artists
throughout history and modern times, as well as analyzing their work and how they produced it.
Discussions of topographical and skeletal anatomy will also take place, with the usage of a skeleton
or other materials, along with pointing out the features on a living model.
The objective for the student is to combine all the knowledge and skills learned in the class to create
charcoal (or other medium) drawings of the human figure.
Grading
The grading of this course is based on the students ability to learn the topics discussed and to apply
that knowledge & skill towards drawing the human figure.
There will be one midterm test (multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, label the diagram).
The test is focused primarily on the familiarization of terminology and concepts dealing with figure
drawing and art concepts. The instructor will make it very clear which terms need to be understood.
If a student misses more than 5 class sessions, then it is not possible for that student to receive an A
grade.
Turn In Drawings
In the early weeks of the course, the grading emphasis will be on the student's ability to consistently
attend each session and simply turn in the drawings.
Employ Techniques
As the quarter progresses, the grading emphasis will be shifted towards the student's ability to
employ the techniques being taught and the success of the drawing. Success in a drawing is
categorized as having the appropriate gesture, accurate proportions, a sense of volume being
conveyed by use of light & shadow (chiaroscuro) and finally, creating convincing anatomy.
Advanced techniques are composition and color.
Weekly Topics
Week 1: Gesture
Introduction: Review Handouts, Discuss Goals, Proper Equipment/Easel Setup, Discuss Materials &
Mediums, Introduction on working with models.
Gesture and block-in (contour) drawings.
Week 2: Proportions
Introduction of proportions, ideal/realistic/relative
Incorporate believable proportions with shorter to mid length duration drawings
Week 4: Anatomy
Introduction to anatomical landmarks and the importance of using anatomy for achieving believable
proportions
Week 5: Review
Putting it all together review: gesture, proportion, light/shadow and anatomy.
Review for Midterm Exam
Week 6 7
Midterm Exam
Foreshortening and reclining poses
Kneeling and seated poses
Week 8
Stylized Approaches, Abstraction, Series & Sequence studies
Week 9
Special emphasis on the Portrait (head/neck/shoulders)
Week 10
Students choose poses and duration of poses.
Aesthetics & Composition
Review weaker skills and areas of confusion.
Students can explore different mediums other than charcoal, if desired.
Materials List
PAPER
LARGE drawings are encouraged if you have access to large paper, bring it in and you can tape it
to a board or bring your own large board.
ERASERS
DRAWING AIDS
Fan Brush or other type of brush with long thin handle (1)
(may replace fan brush with wooden or plastic chopstick)
MISC
Shown below is a list of the type of homework assignments required for the student to complete.
Level I
Draw Ribcage & Pelvis (torso)
Draw the Hands
Draw the Feet
Draw the Head/Portrait
Draw the Arms
Draw the Legs
Draw the Portrait
Level II
Every single bone in the human body (except the small ears of the bones) must be drawn. They
should be drawn life sized. Accuracy is encouraged and proper light & shadow effects are
recommended in order to make the bones seem more 3 dimensional. The student may use medical
literature, artistic anatomy books and the skeleton in class as reference materials to complete this
assignment.
Level III
At the end of each week, the level II student will select one of the life drawings done in class and on
the same or separate sheet of paper, the skeleton and/or muscles will be drawn. The student can use
anatomical books or the skeleton provided in class as aids.
The Figure Drawing Course Series (I, II & III) is divided into tiers with a natural progression of
skills. The diagrams below will help illustrate the expected progression of the students skills. The
emphasis for each level is shown below from left to right and each level builds and depends upon
the mastery of the previous level. The student is of course exposed to all of the skills at each level,
but is only expected to master that which corresponds to their level.
Figure Drawing 1
Figure Drawing II
Light &
Shadow
This course provides an introduction to sculpting the human figure. Live models will be used
extensively as subjects. Emphasis is given on rendering a likeness of the model in clay. The student
will become very familiar with the following topics: armature construction, working with clay,
gesture, proportion, modeling form, light & shadow, human anatomy.
Class meets once a week in a studio and the student will have access to the studio at other times in
order to work on the final project.
There will be approximately 10 sessions where a live model will be present.
Each class will be conducted in a studio with the instructor giving an introduction of the days topic
or a review of previous topics. The instructor will devote attention throughout each session to the
individual student or to the entire group as necessary.
Occasionally, videos or other multimedia teaching aids may be used to fully articulate the
explanation of a subject. Discussions of topographical and skeletal anatomy will also take place,
with the usage of a skeleton or other materials, along with pointing out the features on a living
model.
The objective for the student is to combine all the knowledge and skills learned in the class to
create a life sized clay sculpture of a human.
Though not required to purchase, the student will greatly benefit from reading the following books:
Grading
The grading of this course is based on the students ability to learn the topics discussed and to apply
that knowledge & skill towards sculpting the human figure.
Throughout the course, the student will be responsible for completing a set of drawings that will aid
the student in understanding human anatomy.
The Final Project, which is the creation of a life sized clay sculpture, will determine the majority
of the students grade as shown below.
Weekly Topics
The following weeks will be primarily concerned with creating a low detail block-in of the human
figure in clay.
Materials List
Clay sculpting materials can be expensive. This is a list of all of the materials necessary to create a
life sized sculpture of a human (approx 33 inches high)
Metal Screws
Number 14 wood screws, 1.5 inches (8)
Wooden Base
24 Diameter Circular Board
(or cut one to preferences)
Sculpting Medium
Plastilina Clay (Oil based)
Approximately 20 lbs
Water based clay may be used if student desires.
Sculpting Tools
Several Wooden Tools
Fettling Knife
Steel Putty Knife
Aluminum or Steel Caliper, 10 minimum
A formal project document is often required in real world commissioned projects or proposals. The
project document will contain at a minimum; Design, Process Plan and Budget. Additionally,
readers may want to know details about the materials and construction as well as how the 3D object
or sculpture will be affixed to a surface, hung from a ceiling or wall.
A mold is a mass of material(s) that has a hollow chamber matching the exact 3 dimensional shape
of an object. Liquid material can be poured inside the hollow chamber to make a reproduction of the
original object.
This guide will explain the art of mold making using a small sculpture as an example. It is
recommended that before the artist uses this guide for making a mold of their own work that the
artist read the entire document to become familiar with all the steps and materials involved. A
shortcut is to simply review the Table of Contents on the previous page for a chronological step-by-
step preview of what must be done.
This guide shows one of many ways to make a mold by demonstrating the process on a small figure
sculpture that has many of the common technical challenges presented to the mold maker. If the
artist understands this process and can repeat it on an equivalent project of his own, then it will be
possible to scale the process up or down to any size or complicated mold-making project.
Materials
This section contains a list of all the materials needed to make a professional 2-piece mold for the
example sculpture used in this guide.
1 cutting blade
2 steel bladed putty knives
1 plaster sander
If water based clay was used to create the sculpture then it is recommended the surface state be
slightly moist, not muddy or soggy.
If the sculpture was created using oil based clay (containing sulfur), then the artist must pay
attention to the type of rubber mold material being used, because most silicon rubber mold material
will not catalyze correctly when in contact with sulfur.
Oil based clay containing no sulfur is safe to use with most silicon rubber mold material.
Undercuts and negative spaces in the sculpture are other things to consider.
Undercuts are areas in which it is not possible for material A to pass by material B without catching
or dragging.
Negative Spaces
If the negative space is small enough, then it is wise to cut a piece of plastic and fit it into the space.
This will (later) allow the mold separating process to go easier, without having to cut into the
sculpture.
The terms silicon mold and rubber mold are used interchangeably throughout this guide. It should
be noted that not all rubber molds in the industry are made from silicon and latex or polyurethane
are other available materials.
This first step is the most important step in the entire mold making process and it is absolutely vital
that this first layer of silicon catalyzes correctly. It is wise to give the silicon a full hour before
proceeding to the next step.
As you can see from the photos on the left, we have inserted shims along the separation line. The
shims are nothing more than plastic candy molds which were purchased at a craft store. It would be
possible to use pieces of plastic with no dimples if that were desired.
Or, it is possible to use no shims at all. If no shims are used at all, then the mold maker must build
up the rubber mold so that a small wall exists along the separation line.
It is even possible to have no wall at all. However, the artisan will risk have extensive leakage of the
casting material along the separation line.
As stated earlier, it is most beneficial if the silicon mixture has some thickener added to it. Making
the silicon thicker will aid in covering the shims, which in most cases will have vertical sides.
Without adding a thickener to the silicon, the silicon may run off the sides or take a very long time
to build up enough thickness around the shims.
The mold maker may then take a pair of scissors or a sharp cutting edge and strategically trim up
the outer edge of the wall until the shim is just barely visible. This should be done all along the
wall where possible. By creating a flat surface along the edge of the wall, we will allow the mother
mold process to be done easier.
We begin the mother mold by selecting one side of the mold to apply our new material to. The
material we will be using for the mother mold in this demonstration is plaster. See the appendix for
directions on how to properly mix plaster or ask an experienced artisan.
As shown in the photos above, we begin by applying the dripping plaster onto the rubber mold with
a plaster mixing tool. Cover the entire surface as evenly as possible.
For convenience I have turned the mold making project on its side for easy application of the
second half of the mother mold. This does not have to be done nor can it always be done this way
because the artisan may risk damaging the sculpture or the mold. When in doubt, do not turn the
project on its side, and just leave it upright.
In the photo above we can see an initial application of plaster onto the second side of the mold.
Continue in this fashion until the entire side of the mold is covered with plaster and its edges
mirror in contact with the first side of the mother mold. Now you will understand why we put the
coat of Vaseline on the edge of the first side of the mother mold. If we did not do that then the
plaster would bond to the plaster on the first side and instead of creating two halves for the mother
mold, we would have created one single body of plaster and disassembly would be incredibly
tedious and messy.
Shown on this page is the mold before it is disassembled. The tools needed to disassemble the
mother mold are usually some metal putty knives and a plaster scraper.
Now the artisan can gently begin prying apart the two halves of the mother mold. As shown below,
the two halves are gently wiggled free. Usually only one half of the mother mold comes off easily
and the other half may be slightly stuck. The artisan must be careful when getting the second half
free and avoid damaging the soft rubber mold, which is now exposed.
At the left we see the rubber mold with the primary tool needed to disassemble the rubber mold: a
box-cutting knife.
As the rubber mold is separated into its two halves, more of the sculpture will become visible. As
the rubber mold is pulled away from the sculpture the artisan can begin looking for any problems
with the mold. If the sculpture has no unexpected deformations and the rubber mold has no
deformations, then this is a good sign.
When the rubber mold has been completely peeled away from the sculpture and all of the shims
have been removed, it is always a good idea to immediately lay the two halves of the rubber mold
into the matching halves of the hard plaster mother mold. Place the sculpture between the two
halves of the mold and take a few moments to compare the positive forms of the sculpture with the
negative forms of the rubber mold.
Phase 4: Re-Assembly
With the mold lying on a counter top, look directly down onto the mold and put a thin coat of
Vaseline directly onto all areas of the mother mold that are exposed or protruding beyond the rubber
mold.
With the Vaseline coating the exposed contact points on the mother mold, we can now place one
half of the rubber mold on top of the opposing rubber mold with its mother mold underneath (as
shown in the picture). Carefully inspect that all of the registration marks are matching up between
the contact area of each half of the rubber mold.
After the two halves of the rubber mold are matched up, stand back and verify that there are no
unexpected anomalies. The next step will be to put on the other half of the mother mold and hence
this might be the artisans last chance to notice any problems for a proper re-assembly of the rubber
mold.
Set the mold right side up and remove the straps. Remove half of the mother mold and also remove
the corresponding half of the rubber mold. This will allow the artisan the first glimpse of the plaster
cast.
Repairing these areas is referred to as chasing the plaster and a few metallic tools and a little more
plaster + water are needed to carry out this process.
The above right photo shows an example of an area of the plaster cast that did not receive enough
plaster. Perhaps there was an air bubble in the liquid plaster that did not allow the plaster to settle on
the part of the rubber mold corresponding to this spot. In any case, we simply mix up some plaster
and patch the spot. A syringe is a good tool to have handy for repair jobs because it can inject the
exact amount of plaster needed in the exact spot that needs repairing.
The author prefers to use Silicon for the rubber mold and Hydrocal for the mother mold.
Citations
Citations inserted here