Dorothy Gauvin
Dorothy Gauvin 		Articles of Interest for Artists
by Dorothy Gauvin
Art Gallery Gauvin

To contact Dorothy, click on her photo, which will take you to her web site and e-mail
©Dorothy Gauvin, 2003

Grab Hold Of The Human Figure

How to Get Started on Anatomical Drawing

When little children are taught the alphabet, they are given a tool that allows them to make any word in the language. In the same way, learning the basics of human anatomy will help you to draw any animal, because we are all built to the same basic design.Until the time of the Renaissance, no systematic study of anatomical structure had been made. Painters struggled to represent people or dogs or horses in a believable, realistic manner on the two-dimensional canvas. They all failed.

Then the genius of Michelangelo and Leonardo appeared like a pair of new suns, to shed light on the darkness. Even so accomplished a master as Raphael was grateful for the lessons provided by their works. Like everyone since, Raphael realised he could never attain the perfection of Michelangelo. Like us, he could only look and wonder.

But Leonardo did something that surpassed the relatively small body of paintings he produced; something that must endear him to all artists who follow. With a scientist's curiosity, he investigated the mechanics of Nature. What's more, he left an invaluable legacy of detailed reports on what he uncovered. To make his discoveries, Leonardo had to dissect cadavers, teaching himself as he went. We, thankfully, don't need to go through that. Today, we have the benefit of his hard-won knowledge available in texts of varying degrees of complexity.

TIP: For beginners, the excellent range of Walter Foster books in limp cover provides an easy-to-follow introduction to the subject. For painters, the "Bible" is Victor Perard's Anatomy & Drawing. Along with this study, it's vital that you draw constantly from life. As a youngster, I helped out after school in my parents' corner shop. Sure, it often seemed a drag, but it offered an opportunity beyond value. Perched behind the counter with my sketchbook and pencils, I drew the customers, scrambling to get down a likeness in the time they were there. It was the best grounding I could have had.

You can do the same while waiting for the bus, while taking your lunch break in the park, while commuting on the train. Your family and pets are readily available models; they'll seldom submit to "posing" but that just teaches you to catch a likeness quickly. If all else fails, there is always the mirror.

Another indispensable method of learning figure drawing is the Life Class. In most instances, no actual instruction is given at such a "class." What usually happens is that a professional artist - often one who gives private tuition - will invite a small group of other professionals, or serious students, to meet on a regular basis.Their aim is to maintain and hone their skills at drawing the nude figure. Everyone "hits the kitty" in equal shares to pay the fee of an artists' model. Professional models come in both genders, all shapes, ages and colours. They can hold even difficult poses for up to twenty minutes and deserve a lot more credit than they get.

The convenor of the class will take responsibility for timing "lightning" poses. For these, a stopwatch will be set for a dauntingly few seconds, while you - the newcomer - will sweat blood trying to keep up with the old hands. If you ever get an invitation to such a group, don't hesitate to take it; you'll benefit more than I can tell you.

Whether you're drawing in a life class, at the bus stop, or in the park, a few good habits will save you a lot of frustration and false starts. The first mark you'll make on your paper is the Line Of Gravity. This is a straight line, perpendicular to the ground, against which you will balance the figure. The second line will indicate the centre of the figure. You can find this by measuring with your thumbnail on a pencil held out at arm's length. If you remember to always hold the pencil at full arm's stretch, you'll get correct measurements every time.

Your next step is to find the Rhythm Of The Pose. You'll do this by quickly expressing the figure's pose with freely drawn lines. It's a good idea to keep these lines faint, to avoid later confusion. Now, indicate the angles of the shoulders and the pelvis, and you're off to a strong start.

At home, hit those Anatomical Drawing books! Study the principles of proportion until they become second nature. You'll learn to think of the human body in terms of "heads" because you'll know that the average male adult is s even-and-a-half "heads" tall; a head being the length from top of the skull to tip of the chin.





Speaking of the head, a common error beginners make is to imagine they can draw "A Face" without learning anything of anatomy. This just couldn't be more wrong. You see, there's no such thing as a face - in isolation - except as part of the head. And this is a three-dimensional object whose underlying structures build the face. To understand them is to be able to draw any person's head, adding those variations from the norm that give each face its unique characteristics.

Michelangelo was not only sculptor, painter and architect, but also a writer of note. He once gave this advice to painters: "Painting most closely approaches perfection when it most closely resembles sculpture."

In today's high-tech world, painters have access to equipment that the Old Masters would have coveted. Cameras can save us hours of tedious reference sketching; projectors can reduce the time it takes to place objects in a composition. But painters who rely on such aids, lacking the confidence and skills gained by freehand drawing and a grounding in Anatomical Drawing, soon find themselves in trouble.

They are trapped in the same dangers as that unfortunate generation of school kids who were the victims of experimentation by well-meaning education reformers. Trying to make learning easier and more fun, they introduced "whole word recognition" in place of boring old spelling. As a result, two generations of kids grew up lacking an ability to spell. Some people question if it matters. "After all, they can usually work out what the other person meant to say."

Here's an example. Recently, I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a sale at a local department store. Among the items discounted was: "Intermit Apparel 50% Off." A good deal, if only I knew what "Intermit Apparel" might be. Later, I spotted that sign over - you've guessed it - the women's underwear section. The impression it gave me was: These people don't really know what they're doing. People will get the same feeling about your artwork if you neglect Anatomical Drawing. They know when a person or animal has been rendered incorrectly, even though they couldn't say exactly why it looks wrong.

This is why I urge you not to use such aids as projectors until you are thoroughly acquainted with the structure of the body. Without that, you can so easily fall into the trap of copying a misleading photograph. To illustrate that point, look in the sports section of your newspaper any day and you'll see a truly gifted racehorse passing the post on one or more seemingly broken legs!

We accept that without thinking about it, because it's in a photograph. Because the Camera Does Not Lie. Because, deep down, we understand the horse cannot be running on broken legs. Copy it onto your canvas though and all you'll hear from viewers is: "But it just doesn't look right, somehow." And no matter how you protest that it's just how the horse appeared in the photograph, you won't convince them.

The explanation lies in the limitations of the camera lens. Briefly, it can record only the image presented at the instant the shutter closes, with all the distortions caused by angle, lighting and so on. Our eye works the same way, but behind it we have the advantage of a brain, which can edit those distortions.

This is also your job as an artist, when working from photographs. And you'll soon find out that any artist who says s/he can paint children, or animals in action - accurately and in a naturalistic manner - without the help of photographs, is simply a liar. Any projector device can only re- produce the image the camera captured, along with its errors.

So, don't be seduced by those aids until you've given yourself a chance to really know how the body works. Take your own sweet time and don't be discouraged when it all seems too tedious to be worthwhile. If you want to paint anything beyond landscape, this is an apprenticeship you just have to serve. The alternative, I guess, is to become an Abstract Expressionist?


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