Drawing from Life

by Brown, Clint; McLean, Cheryl

• ISBN13: 9780534613532
• ISBN10: 0534613535
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-07
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

The leading textbook for college figure-drawing classes, DRAWING FROM LIFE provides a clear, comprehensive, and thought-provoking guide to drawing the human form for anyone interested in exploring this time-honored artistic tradition. For centuries, drawing the human figure has given artists the tools and vocabulary for creating paintings, sculpture, drawings, or prints-from Renaissance classical to contemporary expression. In addition to working from the model, the figure-drawing student needs instruction in anatomy, history, and conceptual approaches to drawing the human form; such instruction is often missing from life drawing classes due to time constraints. DRAWING FROM LIFE offers these elements, along with a tremendous selection of drawings that represent the broad range of approaches, techniques, and media for drawing from life. The chapters follow the natural development of a student's growth, from fundamental sketching and gesture drawing to creative expression and exploration. An entire chapter on drawing the figure in perspective offers information that is not available in comparable textbooks. Students begin with quick sketches and gesture drawings, giving them a non-threatening introduction on a level they can readily understand and master. The cohesive presentation of anatomy, including a chapter on the human head, helps students understand the human structure and its impact on visible form. The final section brings the concepts, vocabulary, and history presented in the earlier chapters to bear on contemporary use of the figure in art.

Table of Contents

SECTION ONE: THE FUNDAMENTALS	1	(109)
Learning to See	2	(10)
An Important Tradition	4	(5)
The Mind's Eye	9	(2)
The Right Frame of Mind	11	(1)
A Sketch to Build On	12	(26)
The Drawing Process	12	(2)
Learning from the Old Masters	14	(5)
The Sketch as Part of the Creative Process	19	(1)
The Figure's Gesture, The Artist's Hand	20	(3)
Expressing Volume, Weight, and Mass	23	(3)
The Schematic Sketch	26	(2)
The Compositional Sketch: Figure-Frame Relationship	28	(5)
The Expressive Content of a Sketch	33	(2)
In the Studio	35	(3)
Proportions, Perception, and Perspective	38	(24)
The Search for a Standard of Proportions	38	(5)
The Eight-Heads-High Standard of Proportions	43	(1)
Sight Measuring Proportions	44	(1)
Plotting the Body's Proportions	45	(1)
Learning to See: Beyond Preperception	46	(1)
Perspective and Its Influence on Proportions	47	(1)
The Development of Linear Perspective	48	(8)
Structural and Planar Analysis	56	(3)
In the Studio	59	(3)
The Magic of Line	62	(18)
The Function of Line	62	(3)
The Phrasing of Line	65	(13)
In the Studio	78	(2)
Value as Light and Form	80	(29)
Rendering Light and Modeling Form	82	(2)
Continuous Tone	84	(8)
Hatch and Cross-hatch	92	(5)
Integrating Value Techniques	97	(2)
Toned Paper and Color Media	99	(5)
In the Studio	104	(5)
SECTION TWO: ANATOMY	109	(83)
Foundations of the Human Structure	112	(30)
A Brief History of Artistic Anatomy	112	(3)
Learning from the Masters	115	(3)
Anatomy as a Whole	118	(6)
Anatomy of the Torso	124	(9)
Articulation of the Limbs and Trunk	133	(1)
Anatomical Differences Between Male and Female Figures	134	(5)
In the Studio	139	(3)
Anatomy of the Limbs	142	(28)
The Leg	142	(11)
The Arm	153	(5)
The Hands	158	(7)
The Feet	165	(3)
In the Studio	168	(2)
Heads and Portraits	170	(22)
The Proportions of the Head	172	(1)
The Anatomy of the Head	173	(4)
Variations in Orientation of the Head	177	(1)
Age and Gender Differences	178	(2)
Portrait Variations	180	(5)
Self-Portraits	185	(5)
In the Studio	190	(2)
SECTION THREE: COMPOSITION AND EXPRESSION	192	(55)
Composition and the Figurative Formalist	194	(24)
A Figurative-Formalist Bias	194	(2)
Composition	196	(2)
Breaking Up the Pictorial Space	198	(4)
The Abstract Concerns of the New Realist	202	(5)
Light as Structure: The Camera's Influence	207	(5)
Toward Expression	212	(3)
In the Studio	215	(3)
Expression and the Figurative Humanist	218	(29)
Expressing Empathy	218	(4)
Expressing Social Concerns	222	(8)
Self-Expression	230	(3)
Expressing Sensuality: Nude versus Naked	233	(3)
Expressing Cultural Identity	236	(4)
Expressing Subconscious Reality	240	(3)
Expression and Composition	243	(2)
In the Studio	245	(2)
Appendix A: Becoming Your Own Best Critic	247	(3)
Appendix B: Drawing Tools and Materials	250	(3)
Endnotes	253	(3)
Glossary	256	(5)
Index	261	(5)
Useful Websites	266