Looking for the centre of gravity within the figure, we were asked to draw a range of positions of a standing figure. My partner took images of me standing, moving slightly every time he took a photo.
Overall, I’m pleased with the outcome of these. Not as much as I was with the sketches from the previous task, but I worked far quicker on these. The scaling is a little off on some of these, and I struggled with the poses that were a bit ‘wonky’ or unusual for me.
Something that, I think, needs some work is the weight bearing aspect. It’s clear which leg is bearing the weight in the sketches where it’s relevant, but that’s just because, as a human being, you’re familiar with these poses. I think I could make it clearer through the use of tone, however, in the few minutes I allotted myself to draw each pose, I didn’t have time for this.
In some, I think the torso is a bit too long, however, I’ve just looked at my body in a mirror, and part of me thinks it’s the positioning of the shorts and the bra. That being said, I’ve made a mental note to be aware of this in the future. I’m a tall person and have very long body parts, but something doesn’t look right here.
Another fault that I can see in most of these pieces is the structure and layout of the face and head. I find that my ability to depict the head and face is very hit and miss. Here, I think it’s mostly miss. Again, I feel that this has much to do with the fact that these sketches were made very quickly, with not much time for alteration or consideration.
My favourite of the sketches above is the side profile – sketch 3. I think I’ve depicted an accurate representation of my body side-on, and I think the scale and proportion is fairly spot on.
Using a centre of gravity line is really useful, and something that I’ll take with me into all my future tasks around the human form. It’s a great start point for drawing the human body, and has completely transformed the way that I draw people!
Rework:
I decided to re-approach my least successful few of the sketches above and give them another whirl. This time around, I feel far better and I am satisfied that I’ve had far more success in them.
Granted, some of the facial features are still not there, and there is still much area for improvement, but I’m way more happy with these than the previous versions of them. Using basic shapes and centres of gravity together was super useful in creating a more accurate form. As you can see clearly in the last sketch, I used balls for the joints and head, rectangles for the body and arm/leg parts. This worked wonders and I can see huge improvement from the first attempt to this one.
Now, I’m feeling much more at ease regarding this task. I was slightly uneasy about the outcome of the first selection of sketches, but now I have returned to the task and given it another go, I’m satisfied with what I’ve produced.
Jesy Gilkes 