Figure Drawing : The Structural Anatomy and Expressive Design of the Human Form

by Goldstein, Nathan

• ISBN13: 9780131830486
• ISBN10: 0131830481
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div

Summary

A concise but comprehensive book about all matters pertaining to drawing the human figure, this well-illustrated and accurate guide demonstrates the interplay of structure, anatomy, design, and expression in effective figure drawing; and shows how the integration of these four factors is essential in drawing the figure in a compelling and lucid manner.Topics covered in this book are the structural, anatomical, design, and expressive factors in figure drawing. The book's text is supported by many illustrations, photos, and works of art.For professional and amateur artists.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Preface	xiii
1 THE EVOLUTION OF INTENT: Major Factors and Concepts in Figure Drawing	1	(34)
Some Common Denominators	1	(8)
The Emergence of Interpretive Figure Drawing	9	(26)
2 THE STRUCTURAL FACTOR: The Figure As a Structure	35	(44)
Some General Observations	35	(7)
A Planar Approach to Human Form	42	(3)
The Interjoining of Planes and Masses	45	(4)
Structure and Value	49	(3)
Structural Supports and Suspensions in the Figure	52	(3)
Structural Aspects of Foreshortening	55	(5)
Seeing Shape, Direction, and Edge	60	(5)
Structural Aspects of the Draped Figure and Its Environment	65	(10)
Suggested Exercises	75	(4)
3 THE ANATOMICAL FACTOR: Part One. The Skeleton	79	(42)
Some General Observations	79	(1)
Bones of the Skull	80	(3)
Bones of the Spinal Column	83	(2)
Bones of the Rib Cage	85	(1)
Bones of the Shoulder Girdle	86	(3)
Bones of the Pelvis	89	(2)
Bones of the Arm	91	(7)
Bones of the Leg	98	(3)
Skeletal Proportions	101	(4)
The Skeleton in Figure Drawing	105	(8)
Suggested Exercises	113	(8)
4 THE ANATOMICAL FACTOR: Part Two. The Muscles	121	(74)
Some General Observations	121	(1)
Muscles of the Head	122	(2)
Surface Forms of the Head	124	(5)
Muscles of the Neck	129	(3)
Muscles of the Torso	132	(9)
Muscles of the Arm	141	(10)
Muscles of the Leg	151	(18)
Skin and Fat	169	(1)
Further Observations on Surface Forms	169	(21)
Suggested Exercises	190	(5)
5 THE DESIGN FACTOR: The Relational Content of Figure Drawing	195	(62)
Some General Observations	195	(6)
The Visual Elements	201	(27)
Line	201	(6)
Value	207	(4)
Shape	211	(7)
Volume	218	(4)
Texture	222	(6)
The Elements in Action	228	(7)
Direction	229	(2)
Rhythm	231	(1)
Handling or Character	231	(1)
Location and Proximity	232	(1)
Subdivision	232	(1)
Visual Weight	232	(1)
Tension	233	(1)
Figurative Influences	234	(1)
Examples of Relational Activities in Figure Drawing	235	(7)
Anatomy as an Agent of Design	242	(1)
The Figure and the Environment	243	(9)
Suggested Exercises	252	(5)
6 THE EXPRESSIVE FACTOR: The Emotive Content of Figure Drawing	257	(30)
Some General Observations	257	(5)
The Inherent Expression of the Elements	262	(6)
Distortion	268	(2)
The Expressive Role of the Medium	270	(3)
Examples of Expression in Figure Drawing	273	(11)
Suggested Exercises	284	(3)
7 THE FACTORS INTERACTING: Some Examples	287	(38)
Differing Formulas	287	(23)
The Pathologies of Figure Drawing	310	(1)
Perceptual Defects	310	(3)
Organizational Defects	313	(1)
Expressive Defects	314	(1)
The Role of Media in Expression	315	(2)
In Conclusion	317	(8)
8 A GALLERY OF VISUAL RESOURCES	325	(28)
GLOSSARY	353	(2)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	355	(2)
INDEX	357

Excerpts

That the five earlier incarnations ofFigure Drawingmet with immediate and substantial acceptance among artists and students alike is a matter of personal gratification and a dependable sign that something about the book's overall presentation and character has struck a responsive chord among those who want to reinforce their interest in figure drawing with more information and options. This new edition tries to serve those interests with even greater clarity and effect. The earlier editions--expanded in some places, simplified in others, and further strengthening the original text--were shaped by the opportunities I have had in the intervening years of examining the book's effect on countless readers by the good counsel of colleagues arid students, and by the insights and experiences that time provides. The thing about time, though, is that it keeps on providing new notions. Although with each edition I was satisfied with the book's essential form and content, it occurred to me after a few years that yet another revision was in order. So it is again. I am, however, a staunch believer in the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Consequently, this sixth edition continues in the same vein as its predecessors, with a few useful additions and changes. Again, I have included a number of colorplates to show how "the queen of the visual elements" can amplify our creative purposes. Most of the works new to this edition are by contemporary artists, and each strongly amplifies various matters of importance in the text. Additionally, I have expanded Chapter 8 with photographs showing the figure's forms in ways I hope the reader will find useful as a source of study and practice. As for the text, the change I am proudest of is that rarest of all occurrences: a reversal of the usual tendency for new editions to gain weight. This edition's slightly reduced text is, I believe, clearer and stronger than previous texts, and it contains some useful adjustments in presenting the relative importance of the book's several themes. If some of these additions and changes originated with me, many came from readers, students, and colleagues too numerous to list here, and I want to thank them in this public way for helping me to more closely realize my goals on this sixth time around. Always the optimist, I have high hopes for this latest revision. But, always the artist and teacher, I know in my bones that it is the quality and quantity of good figure drawings reproduced in the text that will give this book its ultimate worth. For that important reason, I have tried to reproduce figure drawings that represent a wide range of styles, themes, and eras, though I am less concerned with when they were done than with what they say and how well they say it. As before, this edition is designed to assist the art student, the amateur, the art teacher, and the practicing artist in developing a more extensive understanding of the figurative and abstract considerations of drawing observed or envisioned human forms. I continue to hold the single assumption that the artist-reader's interest in expanding his or her understanding is motivated by a wish to comprehend those universal qualities present in the best examples of figure drawing by old and contemporary masters alike, rather than by a wish for ready-made formulas and techniques. Although five of the eight chapters provide suggested exercises, these exercises are intended to clarify and reinforce the particulars and potentialities of the chapter's subject, not to suggest canons of figure drawing. The exercises may be simplified, embellished, otherwise varied, or even be bypassed without interrupting the flow of the text. The termfigure drawingas used here refers to drawings of the draped as well as nude figure, and drawings of parts of the figure or drawings in which the figure represents only a small part of the configuration. Very oft