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Overview
Presenting informative facts rather than ideology, the author begins with perspective and progresses to the figure in movement; light and shade; and detailed anatomy such as the head, neck, facial features, back, hips, legs, feet, arms, and hands. Using hundreds of masterful illustrations from his own portfolio, Priscilla continues with drapery, composition, and trees and landscape, including outdoor sketching. A truly all-in-one manual that belongs on every artist's bookshelf, Basic Drawing outlines the fundamental skills of drawing with an effective and powerful simplicity.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486145358 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 06/14/2012 |
| Series: | Dover Art Instruction |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 20 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
Read an Excerpt
BASIC DRAWING
By LOUIS PRISCILLA
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 2014 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-14535-8
CHAPTER 1
PERSPECTIVE
Without the knowledge of perspective, constructive drawing is impossible. Leonardo Da Vinci called it the "bridle and rudder of painting." Every form, from a grain of sand to a mountain, exists in perspective. It is the first thing a student must learn. Like the alphabet in a language, without it, one would not be able to write. Too many students by-pass this phase of learning. The knowledge of perspective makes it possible to create the illusion that objects and figures are three dimensional on a two dimensional surface such as a sheet of paper, canvas or wall.
There are three basic forms in nature: the square, the circle and the pyramid. Every object fits into these three shapes or a modification of them. The square can be a cigar box or a sky scraper, or any form with six sides. The circle or sphere can be a pea, an observation balloon or a wheel. The pyramid can be a church steeple or the pyramids of Egypt.
The muscles of the human figure can be put into any of these shapes. Knowing the names of the muscles and bones is not sufficient knowledge to draw the figure. If this were so, every good doctor would be able to draw the human figure. One must know the shape of the parts of the body and be able to put them in perspective.
The mere copying of anatomical drawings will not teach one to draw the figure or to create one without the model. There is no other field of study in which students fail in greater proportion than in art, because of by-passing the study of perspective. Its importance cannot be over-stressed. Every great painter understood its laws.
In the following pages I have tried to show a simple approach to the subject.
With the knowledge of a few simple squares such as a radio, a match box and a package of cigarettes put together becomes a group of buildings. As shown on Page 9, Page 12 and Page 13 two photographs of a shipping department are changed into two cities. The interior of a room is nothing more than looking into a box. If one is able to draw a tube in perspective, it becomes simple to understand the foreshortening of arms and legs of the human figure.
When beginning a drawing or picture, first establish your eye level by drawing a line across your paper. It will correspond to the level of your eyes in relationship with the object or scene that you are drawing. For example, if you are sitting in a chair drawing a model who is standing in front of you, the level of your eyes will be at about the waist of the model. Every form above the eye level will recede downward to the eye level and every part of the model below the level of your eyes will extend upward to the eye level.
FIGURE IN PERSPECTIVE
In producing a picture with more than one figure, it is necessary to know how the figures in the background diminish in size. This is called the perspective of diminution. When you look at a string of telephone poles, the one farthest away appears smaller than the one nearest to you, even though all the poles are of the same length. Page 20 shows simple examples of how this rule of perspective is applied. On No. 1 the eye level is at the skaters' knees. The parts of the figure that are above the eye level come down to the eye level and the parts of the figure below the eye level come to the same point on the eye level. Figures A and B are of the same height because they are the same distance from C.
In figure two the eye level is at the chest of the models and in figure three the eye level is at their heads.
Page 21 shows the same rule that was applied to the box in one and two point perspective as applied to the figure. Each upright on the square is substituted by a figure. In drawing a group of figures you must first establish an eye level and must recede in perspective down to a point on this level.
ANATOMY
To depend upon your eye to draw the human figure is a mistake. Regardless of how many drawings you might make in this manner, you will be constantly groping for knowledge. Year after year, sketch classes are filled by the same students trying to learn by this hit and miss method. Only when you try to learn how the human figure is constructed, does your ability to draw the human figure increase.
First you must learn the large simple concepts of the figure—the head, chest and pelvis—to recognize in what position they are when drawing from the figure. The head should be thought of as being a square, a cube having six sides—front and back of the head, top and bottom and two sides. The second large mass is the chest, its concept being round. The third large mass is the pelvic region (or hips) which is a square, also with six sides, back, front, two sides, bottom where the legs connect to the body, and on top where the chest is attached. These three major forms do not break but can be in different positions. Attached to these three large masses are the arms, legs, neck and abdominal muscles. These can all twist, bend and turn.
In the first pages on anatomy, you will see these concepts in various positions. At first make drawings using this concept. Of course, a knowledge of perspective is necessary in order to put the figure in different positions.
After you have made the preceding drawings, you may go on to the following pages where I've shown structures of the forms starting with the head.
When starting a figure drawing, first mark the length of your drawing from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. This is to avoid amputation of the figure by starting on top and hoping to get all of the figure on the page. Drawing at random is a bad practice and results in bad amputation of the figure. After marking the top and bottom of the figure, block in the head. Then establish the pit of the neck. Make a curved line showing direction of the chest, and then continue that line through the abdomen to the crotch. The crotch can be regarded as the half-way mark in the figure. This system will also apply to the back, using the spine as the action line.
In shading your drawing, first, keep in mind the large masses. At the beginning, keep them simple as possible. Try to use as few tones as possible and remember, that all the shading in the world will not make a bad drawing good.
The drawing of the figure should not be just a series of bumps and shading. A student learns only when he questions the shape and function of each muscle. Only then can he use anatomy creatively.
A famous anatomy teacher of mine at the Art Students League once said, "I've given fifty years of my life to prove and teach that a varicose vein is not a muscle." From that day on I started to learn something about the human figure.
FIGURE IN MOVEMENT
The human figure is capable of twisting, bending and moving in an incalculable number of positions. A concept of the three large masses of the head, chest and pelvis must be understood in order to place these masses twisting in front or turning away from each other, or covering each other as in foreshortening.
Think of the head being square. The chest is round and about one and a half times as long as the head and twice the width. The pelvis is square and also twice the width of the head. Keep the same distance between the chest and the hip as between the head and the chest.
The three masses are attached to each other at the back of the figure by the spinal column and in front by muscles, tendons and ligaments.
THE HEAD
You can better understand the head in perspective by thinking of it as having six sides and being cube-like in structure. A cube establishes the front, side, bottom and top of the head quickly. After you can draw a cube in any position in perspective, then learn the bone structure and shape of the head and you will be able to place it in whatever position you choose.
The modeling of a head in light and shade becomes easier with the major planes established.
On the front of the face, keep the forehead square, the cheek bones flat, the area under the nose and around the mouth round, and the jaw triangular.
Here's a simple way to place the features accurately when drawing a head. First draw a vertical line down the middle of the face. Then draw a horizontal line halfway between the top of the head and the bottom of the jaw, on which to align the position of the eyes. Halfway between the eyes and the chin place the base of the nose; and halfway between the base of the nose and the chin place the center line of the mouth. Remember the space between the eyes is the same as the length of another eye. The length of the ear is the same as the distance between the top of the eye and the base of the nose. The width of the mouth will correspond with the distance between the eyes when they are focused straight ahead.
While the length, breadth and thickness of features may vary on different people, it is important to have a basis from which to start.
When drawing the entire figure, first establish the size of the head in order to proportion the rest of the figure to its size.
FEATURES
The features are the parts of the face that give it expression. When they are immobile the face is blank and expressionless. The features normally express what the brain is thinking. It is important to know their structure in order to best express the emotions of the figure. A great deal of time is spent by students of the drama learning how to transmit to the audience the character of the role they are playing. Many times the features convey quickly what would take a great many words to explain.
Facial expression plays an important part in the fine and commercial arts. Michelangelo said a great deal with the expressions on the faces of both his sculpture and painting.
The sale of products in commercial art depends a great deal upon the expression of people handling, using or eating them in advertisements. Man uses his features as a method of communication every day of his life.
A nose is not just a blob put on a face, a mouth not just an opening and eyes not just two dots, each feature has a basic structure. Learning their shape and muscular construction will aid a great deal in your ability to create better pictures.
NECK
Think of the neck as being cylindrical in shape and that the top is tilted forward at all times. It starts at the end of the spinal column. Regardless of what direction or position it is in, the top of the cylinder is forward. From the mastoid part of the head (behind the ear) the mastoid muscle crosses the cylinder to the pit of the neck where it is attached to the sternum and to the clavicle.
Flat on the back of the cylinder is the trapezius which comes from the occeptal part of the head across the shoulder girdle and down the back to a point as far as the twelfth cervicle. In front, the cube-like structure coming out of the maxilliary in the male figure is called the larynx or "adams apple." These muscles all combined compose the cylinder shape first mentioned and are modelled with that concept in mind.
TORSO
The largest unit in the human figure is the chest, often called "the cage." It should be conceived of as being round. The bony structure of the cage consists of twenty-four ribs, twelve on each side. In the back they are attached to the spinal column from the eighth cervicle down. In front, the first seven are attached to the sternum and are referred to as the true ribs. The next three are attached to each other and are called the false ribs. The last two, attached only to the spinal column, are called the floating ribs. The ribs are flexible; they expand and contract with our breathing.
On top of the cage in front there are two large muscles, the Pectoralis minor and the Pectoralis major. The minor is underneath the major, attached from the third, fourth and fifth ribs to the clavicle. The Pectoralis major is attaches from the inner half of the clavicle all along the sternum as far as the sixth and seventh ribs to the Humerus bone.
The stomach muscles, rectus abdominis, are attached from the Pubic crest up to the fifth and seventh ribs.
The Serratus magnus muscles on the side of the cage start from the upper eight ribs and are inserted into the scapulas spinal edge (the shoulder blade).
The Deltoid, which is partly seen in front, is attached to the outer end of the clavicle across the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) and across to the ridge of the scapular (shoulder blade) and to the side of the humerus about half way down. It draws the arm backward and forward.
BACK.
The movement of the back is limited to the spaces between the vertebrae. In bending backward and forward the expansion or contraction occurs in the waist or lumbar region. In bending sideways there is no movement in the entire length of the spine.
With the movement of the shoulder girdle the shoulder blades rotate on the cage. There are twenty-six vertebrae composing the entire spine, the first seven belong to the neck, the eight will give you the line of the shoulders. The lower tip of the triangular shape of the shoulder blade is about half way down on the cage. In profile keep the neck concave. The back convex, the region between the end of the cage and the top of the hips concave.
After blocking in the head, suggest the line of movement with the spine and then place the cage and pelvis on it.
In modelling the back, keep in mind a concept of a large peach with a recession in the center for the vertebrae.
HIPS
Because of the unusual shape of the hips, a simple concept must be conceived. Like the head it is square in concept and is tilted forward. It has six planes, front, back, two side top where the cage is attached and bottom where the legs come from. The hips consist of three major bones. The Pubis, the Illium in front and the Ischium behind. The lower end of the spinal column is wedged in between both blades at the Sacrum. The hips can bend with the cage or twist opposite the cage in many positions because of the spaces in the vertebra.
The large muscle, External oblique, comes from the lower eight ribs to the Illiac crest and a ligament branches from it to the pubis. The Gluteus medius comes from the outer surface of the Illium, covering the great trochanter and to the side of the femur.
The Gluteus maximus (the part you sit on) the largest muscle of the hip comes from the rear part of the crest of the Illium, the Sacrum, the Coccyx and to the side of the Femur. Looking directly in front of the pelvis, the tensor Vaginal femoris comes from the front end of the crest of the Illium to the Facia lata on the outer side of the leg, directly in front. The Rectus femoris comes from the inferior spine of the Illium to the Patella (knee cap). The Sartorius comes from the knob in front of the Illium down along-side of the rectus to below the knee cap inside the Tibia.
LEG AND FOOT
The leg and foot is divided into three parts. The thigh, leg and foot.
The bone of the thigh (Femur) the largest bone in the body is inserted into the center of the side of the pelvis. The Femur rests on the Tibia or shinbone on the outside of the Tibia is the Fibia it is lower on the foot. The Tibia rests upon the Astragalus and the Oscalsis. The Patella (knee cap) is above the level of the joint.
Muscles of the upper leg in front Rectus Femoris, Abductors, Vastus Internus and Vastus Externus. On the back of the upper leg there is the Semi tendinosus Semi Mem-branosus and Bicep Femoris.
Muscles of the lower leg in front. Tibialis Anticus, Peroneus Longus and Extensor Digitorium Longus.
MUSCLES OF THE LOWER LEG
Gastrocnemius and Soleus. The entire leg should have a reverse curve.
The foot is like an arch bearing the weight of the body. The inner side of the foot is above ground and the outside flat. The front of the foot has three bone sections. The Astragalus, the Metatarsals and the Phalanges (the toes). The back part of the arch is called the oscalsis or the heel bone. When learning to draw the foot, first reduce it to a simple concept in position and then draw its structure.
ARM AND HAND
The arm is attached to the shoulder girdle consisting of the clavicle and the shoulder blade.
The humerus (upper bone of the arm) is inserted into the cavity of the shoulder blade and is held in place by ligaments and membranes. The girdle moves with the lowering and raising the arm. The lower bones of the arm called the ulna and the radius. The ulna fits into the lower end of the humerus on top (the elbow) and the bottom is the little finger side. Next to the ulna is the radius, small at the top and large at the bottom and it rotates around the ulna and is the thumb side of the hand.
The largest part of the arm is the Deltoid muscle which is connected at the clavicle across the head of the humerus and to the shoulder blade and halfway down the humerus on the outside between the bicep and tricep.
The two large masses of the hand are the hand itself and the thumb on the back of the hand from the wrist. There is a continual step down to the finger s, the palm side of the hand is cup like in shape. On top of the hand the fingers start below where the hand bends at the knuckles, and in the palm the fingers start where the palm ends.
It is insufficient to copy anatomical drawings. One must learn the shape of each part and be able to draw the shape in any position with the understanding of perspective and know how it works.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from BASIC DRAWING by LOUIS PRISCILLA. Copyright © 2014 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
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Table of Contents
PrefacePerspective
Figure in Perspective
Anatomy
Figure in Movement
Light and Shade
Anatomy
Head
Features
Neck
Chest
Back
Hips
Legs and Feet
Arms and Hands
Drapery
Composition
Trees and Landscape
Outdoor Sketching
Drawings