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    The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures: [Artist's Workbook]
    The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures: [Artist's Workbook]
    The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures: [Artist's Workbook]
    Ebook83 pages30 minutes

    The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures: [Artist's Workbook]

    By Barrington Barber

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    About this ebook

    The human figure is one the most challenging subjects for an artist to tackle, but also one of the most rewarding. In this book, author and artists Barrington Barber guides you through the process of drawing figures, from understanding the structure of the skeleton to showing figures in motion. Whether you are an experienced draughtsman or a complete beginner, the inspiring exercises and handy hints in the book will help you achieve the best results.

    The Artist's Workbooks are practical guides for artists interested in getting to grips with a particular subject. Other books in the series include:

    - Drawing Animals
    - Drawing Caricatures
    - Drawing Landscapes
    - Drawing Manga
    - Drawing Portraits
    - Drawing Still Life
    - Drawing Techniques
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcturus Publishing
    Release dateDec 12, 2013
    ISBN9781782129301
    The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures: [Artist's Workbook]
    Author

    Barrington Barber

    Born 1934, Barrington was educated at Hampton Grammar School and later Twickenham Art Schoo for which he received a National Diploma of Design. He then practised as an illustrator (Saxon Artist) and Graphic Designer, was Art Director at Ogilvie & Mather and S.H. Bensons, and was a lecturer in Graphic Design at Ealing Art School. Other credits include freelance work, designer, illustrator, animator and painter at Augustine Studios. He was awarded a one man exhibition in 2000 at St. Oswald Studios, and also exhibited in Putney in 2003 and Cork Street in 2004. He was Head of Art at St James's Independent Schools. He now paints, draws, writes about art, and enjoys sports, walking, philosophy and meditation.

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      Book preview

      The Practical Guide to Drawing Figures - Barrington Barber

      MEDIA

      INTRODUCTION

      From the mid-1500s onwards, composition was considered to be the most prestigious area of art, which made it of primary interest to the greatest artists of the time. Of course they were skilled in all areas of drawing and painting, but when the great art workshops (bottegas) of the Renaissance period were in full swing it was the master painter who would often be the only artisan to put in the figures, leaving the rest of the composition to be completed by his pupils. So be prepared for the most interesting and most difficult subject you will tackle as a draughtsman – but don’t feel too daunted. I have found in many years of teaching that anyone can learn to draw anything competently, with the combination of a certain amount of hard work and the desire to achieve success.

      The aim of this book is to explore all the practices necessary to achieve a good level of drawing of the human figure. I shall first look at how the human body is formed, from its skeleton – the scaffolding that all figures are based on – down to the details of the limbs, the torso, the hands and feet and the head. It is always useful to have some idea as to the body formation beneath the skin, and some knowledge of how the muscles wrap around the bone structure and each other is of great use when you look at the shapes on the surface of the body. Without any knowledge of the underlying structure it is much harder to make sense of the bumps and furrows that are visible.

      I shall also look at the balance of the limbs when the body is in motion, and how the artist can produce the effect of movements that appear natural and convincing to the viewer of the picture.

      The techniques of drawing will also be examined, and the different ways in which different artists have made efforts to show us how the human figure can be portrayed, from the most detailed to the most expressive. Of course this book does not pretend to be exhaustive, as figure drawing has been developed and explored over centuries as artists sought new ways of portraying the human form. Nevertheless, enjoy this foray into the challenging but fulfilling task of portraying the human figure, and revel in the development of your own

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