Anatomy for the Artist by Tom Flint

Author:Tom Flint
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcturus Publishing Limited
Published: 2017-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

Full Figure, Male

Side view, bending and stretching

Full Figure, Male

Front view, sitting position

When the body is not flat or standing straight on the picture plane, as in the orthographic projection, you will notice that proportions change in accordance with the pose. In this sitting pose there are only seven units. This is because the height of the body on the picture plane has been shortened.

Full Figure, Male

Side view, sitting position

POSTURE

Posture is the way we hold ourselves. It is controlled by the muscles, which in turn are programmed by the impulses they receive from the brain. Like the skin, posture can tell much about a subject. When we talk of ‘body language’, we mean the communication of fundamental information about an individual at a particular moment.

Posture can be used to express and symbolize any number of attitudes and attributes: generosity or meanness, hope or despair, bravery or cowardice; the list is endless. Before setting up a pose the artist must have a clear idea of what he wants to communicate or express. The position the model is then placed in must reflect the nature of the drawing. Rodin’s Thinker and Michelangelo’s David are famous examples of artists using posture and gesture to give conscious meaning to their work. In the David, for example, we read the virtues of nobility, leadership, youth and compassion. Goya’s The Nude Maja embodies passion and eroticism.

Thinking through your ideas before you pose a model and start drawing will enable you to approach it with a purpose and dynamic direction that will translate into expressive communication, qualities that are integral to any worthwhile work of art.

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