Drawing from Life

by Brown, Clint; McLean, Cheryl

• ISBN13: 9780030289347
• ISBN10: 0030289343
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-01-01
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

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

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