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METHOD OF DRAWING
From Life or from the Cast
Find the center of the paper by drawing lines from corner to corner. This is done to
help center the study.
Measure with the eye or pencil to find the center of the subject and make a line at
that point as related to the center of the paper. Draw a line at the head and another at
the feet.
With free lines search for the rhythm of the pose, to help visualize the figure and to
place it on the paper the size intended. Draw lightly so that the mental impression of
the figure is not obliterated by a heavy drawing, and corrections can be easily made.
Decide where the pit of the neck should be placed and draw a perpendicular line
from this point (if a front view) to the feet. If a back view, draw the perpendicular
line from the seventh cervical vertebra to the feet.
Find the line of the shoulders, giving the angle of their positions. If a standing
figure, first draw the leg on which there is most weight, to obtain the proper balance
of the figure.
Give the line showing the angle of the position of the pelvis.
Indicate a line through the knee-caps. Draw the torso, indicating its bulk, marking
the width of shoulders, hips, neck and head. Block with straight lines going beyond
the intersections to obtain a better idea of the direction of line and to avoid a
cramped feeling.
Sketch within the lines a simplified skeleton, to check up on position of joints and
bulk of chest. (Refer to pages on proportion.) See that the pit of the neck, the pubic
bone, the navel, the pelvis, the knee-caps and the inner ankles are in proper relation
to each other. Compare relative sizes of head to bulk of torso, hands to face, feet to
hands, arms to legs, and thickness of the neck to that of the head, leg and arm.
Go over the outline, perfecting it, searching for character and for grace of line.
10. Indicate the outline of the planes and of the principal shadows.
11. Fill in the planes in large surfaces, and connect the shadows as much as possible.
12. Without losing their mass, model the planes keeping well in mind the direction of
light.
13. In drawing the head, decide on the bulk and draw in the planes of the face (see Part
III), then the eyes, the mouth and the nose last. It is easier to fit a head on a figure,
than to fit a figure to a head.