Step by Step Workflow for Figures: Side View
Step by Step Workflow for Figures: Side View
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Introduction to Figure Construction

Step by Step Workflow

Step by Step Workflow for Figures: Side View

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Step by Step Workflow for Figures: Side View

1.2K
Michael Hampton
Part 3 of a step by step workflow for drawing figures. This lesson emphasizes using the concepts from the previous lesson on a different view of the body.
Newest
Karoline Brenno
Notes and studies from the recent lessons! Also I'm looking for some critique/advice from Michael or anyone else taking the course, this approach is very new to me and I'm having a bit of a hard time. When doing this in my own time (last image) I am really struggling with getting a feel for whether I am placing the gesture correctly, as well as the tilts, and then later on I have no idea really how my boxes should be angled. I think the problem might be that I'm not really certain of what my lines represent, or should represent - when placing them I kind of feel like I'm guessing, and then I don't really have an instinct for if it looks right or not. Can I ask if these gestural lines are based on the skeleton and it's landmarks, the rhythm of the figure, or a mix depending on the pose? And should tilts be placed at the angle that the force of the figure seems to go and what "feels right", or are they always aligned with e.g. the axis's of the torso and pelvis?
Josh Fiddler
Hi Karoline!, I'm also taking this course and so I am happy to answer the invitation to give feedback. So, to speak to your question about the gestural lines, here's how I think about it. The set of 16 or so lines that Michael uses give me the big picture of what the figure is expressing. Hierarchically, the gesture gives hints to what we are interested in the pose, the tilts and masses start to add form, then the connections stage ties these proto-forms together with wraps and overlaps, stretches and pinches (S and C curves, see below). The landmarks, usually joints or bits of bone protruding help maintain proportion and anchor points for later use with costuming or anatomy, while the perspective stage, we're orienting the forms in space. Here's where that got me: the cylnders aren't stand-ins for the limbs, but indications of bones. So they shouldn't be as wide as the thighs, for example, with one MAJOR caveat: THe knees, elbows, wrists all have hard bony parts that are easily seen and these cylinders, and boxes at these points should match the extend of these landmarks, more or less. We can add and subtract bits in order to make them more correct at the final stages. Gesture lines: What do these lines represent? The the lines he calls cervical, thoracic, lumbar aren't exactly those structures, but rather their motion and impact on the forms to create the asymmetry of the underlying forms of neck, rib cage and pelvis. They hint at the direction of the asymmetric forces they are imposing on the body. So think their big ideas. As for the "stretch" line, it's a reflection of a couple things: how the form of the body is turned in space and it's overall sense of motion or balance. I hope you're following. All in all yes these lines don't really represent a thing, but rhythms and forces that relate the idea you want to express or highlight: the push of a hip, the balance of the figure on one foot, or the strain in the neck as the arms carry something heavy. Something important to note about the gesture step: it doesn't represent contours of anatomy, but they can represent the extent of things, such as the pelvis or the rib cage, the ramp of the foot, or the back edge of a heel. That's why you'll see that his drawings are narrow relative to the references in places like the legs while the masses of the hips and chest: pelvis and rib cage occupy the spaces the gesture creates. That is because these are immediately obvious on the outside of the skin. For the pelvis line, this is the extent of the box that the pelvis occupies, and any roundness that may come from the glutes is generally omitted at the gesture stage. Ultimately, we're setting up the scaffolding on which we can attach anatomy or costume later as form intersections, additions, and subtractions. Line Types in gesture: The kinds of line Michael uses, C, S and Straights convey a couple things depending on context. He has stated that straights are typically used to indicate bone or a structural element of some kind. And he steers clear of using them perfectly horizontally or vertically. Even if the reference might indicate something is up and down or flat, he will exaggerate or push it away from the vertical or horizontal. Tilts and Boxes: This is where tilts come in. The tilt line is a straight but angled line that stands for the 3D orientation of the form. So yes, the axes but of the rib cage alone without the belly, and of the pelvis. Try this: when you practice boxes and spheres, add a line that would indicate the orientation of these objects in space. Boxes are easy. Pick a surface that is "up" or the top, and draw a line that is perpendicular to it, in that perspective. For spheres, you choose, but the line needs to pass through the geometric centre of the sphere. Early on, I was making my gestures too wide, at the pelvis especially. When we add the perspective boxes, we're carving away bits of the egg into the box and mine would stick out here and there. So ideally, confine the box to the interior of the ball we drew in the tilts and masses stage. If we need to go back and correct, we do that, and I highly recommend doing that. Don't wait until the whole thing is done, forcing it along the way. It slows you down and your brain gets mad at you for forcing it. Well, mine does anyway. Examine each stage and if satisfied, proceed, but go back as far as you need to in order to correct. CAVEAT: Sometimes that means starting a new sketch because it's not as instructive as redoing the whole thing with the new insight in mind so that you can compare afterwards. So, don't erase the whole thing, keep it, and start a new one next to it or immediately after it. Take these notes and compare it to your last drawing and you'll see, hopefully, what I mean. And hopefully this helps. Feel free to hit me up if you need clarifications. PS> If you haven't already, look ahead at the gesture section at the end of the course, after student critiques. He goes into more detail of the method. He also has a new course on gesture that's just into it's 3rd week, that I'm partaking of too.
@reina1999
2mo
My attempt at the side perspective was a little more difficult then the first. I think my proportions are still a little off. I decided to include the lines to be of assistance here. I also used colored pencils to help separate the cylinders and lines from the pencil marks I made in the beginning.
Josh Drummond
Notes from the lesson. The perspective section with the torso and pelvis was really helpful. Having different techniques to solve the same problem is useful when getting stuck.
Josh Fiddler
This is an amazing evolution of all the work I've been doing with Mike Matessi over the last few years. I just never really made the connection that you've so excellently shown re gesture. There are as many forms of gesture as there are schools of thought on learning to SEE what we're looking at. His method of seeing forces flowing through the subject is an excellent way to learn to see the body as a machine. His voice is constantly in my head here: Force follows function, so that really helps when setting up the gesture and to push it, and exaggerate the angles to make things read more clearly. Your process makes his process make more sense and vice versa. Here's a screen shot of the draw-alongs and notes from them.
Mehmet Eralp
Just drew along. I think i am more used to drawing the whole mass. Many times i found myself drawing the stylized bones much shorter than they should be.
Eyes of Lamia
Here's my go. Sorry for the gesture studies all around it, should have taken the picture before I went on to fill the page. One thing I struggle with - it's how messy and confusing things start to become once I go through all the steps. It feels a bit like a tangle of overlapping lines fighting for attention. In Photoshop it's great that you can turn down the layer's visibility. Is there some trick for traditional drawing? Or I just need to learn to control the thickness of my lines and start very softly?
@bumatehewok
Trying to break up the steps a bit more clearly this time.
@tap3werm
8mo
Michael Hampton
Nice movement!
@casildius
8mo
Here's my attempt, at first I was just being loose and unfocused, but I decided to focus a bit more towards the end. I'm gonna assume the chest portion is wrong, especially the end points of the ribcage. My main concern is the distance between the hip and ribcage, length of the legs, and that they are appropriately sized. Also another question, do you have a lesson or YouTube video where you show how to draw a front view of the figure? I have an idea of how the S C and straight lines can be used to draw from the front but I'd like to see if you tackled it. Plus I've heard from other artists that even from from neutral positions (without directionality) bodies still have gesture to them, do you tackle this as well in some other video? Much appreciated Prof, Cas.
Michael Hampton
Hey, nicely done! And yes. I do have one for the front. Here's a link https://youtu.be/a21_BFl2n14
@gcreate
10mo
Hi Michael, Here are some side views of the figure. Do I show the legs in the right place?
@deweyart
11mo
Hello Michael, it is really a pleasure for me to have enrolled in this course. I have been following your methodologies for figure drawing for years now and I found them extremely effective. In any case, there is one aspect of your method I am not sure I can really grasp, either from your original book or within your current course. It seems to me that the list of steps you use for building anatomy out of gesture does not follow a strict order. In some cases you first start adding directions and tilts to your gesture, then you create cylinders and boxes with perspectives, you assess the proportions of the volumes through landmarks. At that point, you superimpose more realistic volumes on the basic ones, and ultimately you refine the anatomy. In this video you seem to do something slightly different. You first create some anatomical "drafts" on your gesture, then you add landmarks on your construction and use the basic volumes to assess the perspective. If you have nailed the perspective, you keep refining the anatomy. Would it make sense to claim that the list of points do not really follow an order and changes in relation to your level of expertise? Many thanks. Dewey
Michael Hampton
Hi, To answer your question, no, I don't think it necessary that you follow a strict order every time. I guess I'm not really seeing the anatomical "drafts" included in the gesture which you're referring to. At least in my mind, these lessons track with my consistent workflow. While, I'm not opposed to these types of variations to an approach I don't remember it being conscious lol. In any event, you're super perceptive! Good for you for noticing such subtlety. Very impressive :)
Nia Kovalevski
Melanie Scearce
Great job capturing the gesture in this pose!
@amaka45
1yr
@purpleart
1yr
Had a go at the side view. The more I do the more I understand the process but I don't think I am getting the most from the gestural stage at the moment.
Melanie Scearce
I understand that feeling. Challenge yourself to push the gestural curve more than you think is necessary and see if that helps! Good luck :)
@boltart48
1yr
Side view completed, I'm still having a hard time with applying ellipses to the ribcage and pelvis, but other than that I'm slowly understanding the 5 step process from gesture to form. I'm just happy to even attempt this stuff.
@amaka45
1yr
Just curious why you decided to use cylinders instead of rectangles/boxes for the rib and pelvic section? Either way it looks good!
Gannon Beck
Very nice!
Alberto Pardina
Hi Micheal I am confused on the landmarks of the pelvis, on the proportion video you showed the box being broken into 1/3s, placing the ASIS on the on the first 1/3 and the pubic line on the 2/3 line. However on here you show the ASIS on the top corner of the box and the pubic line lower/close to the bottom of the box. I wanted to know if there was a difference in placing these landmarks, is there a more accurate placement or is it personal preference?
Michael Hampton
Hey Alberto, the difference is really the translation of the stricter skeleton proportion chart into the practical stage of drawing it as volumes. I'm using the ASIS as the top of the box and pubic bone as the bottom as its all I'll see when looking at a figure. Ultimately though yes, its a matter of preference.
Gannon Beck
Following along with the video.
Michael Hampton
Looking good!
John Patten
Switched to mechanical pencil for practice, easier to see lines, also used all the page real estate to help keep things from getting too muddy.
Joseph Cicero
Hey Everyone, here is my first attempt, outside of doing some draw along ones. The hardest part is certainly the shapes/tilt step as that is where everything is built from and getting the position of the ribcage is especially hard. This one I had made the torso too long in my gesture step so I had to shorten it during my connections/landmark steps, not sure if its correct but closer than it was. Loving this process so far but going to take a lot of practice to get it down.
Michael Hampton
That's great for a first attempt. Here's a drawing I did of the same pose so you can compare. The good is you have all of the steps down and have made clear sense of the workflow. From here on out it's just practicing and working out some bugs here and there. Things to double check - proportions, make sure you make the rib cage and pelvis touch. I know there's one third of a head there but it always seems easier to just make them kiss. - connections, be sure you're using the "S" and "C" curves in the neck and midsection as well as the "T" overlaps and wraps. It helps keep these areas dynamic and with perspective. - landmarks, just make sure the landmark designs travel around the forms. These should basically be wrapping curves or surfacing lines. Ok. Hope this helps. Awesome start.
@violadm
1yr
Hello! My first attempt. I surely need more practice on line quality (CSI) and cylinders and boxes in general. The hardest steps where the tilt-shapes (second image) and perspective (last image). Place the main ovals and the boxes was very hard. Anyway, I look for feedback
Michael Hampton
Great starts! I'm noticing a little too much distance between the rib cage and pelvis. Maybe try making the rib cage a bit longer? Also, try tying those connections (neck and midsection) to the forms with T's and wraps. Boxes look great. Here's an example seeing the pelvis as a box as well. Hope this helps.
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Educator, painter, writer, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention.
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