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Figures From Imagination & Life

Drawing From Imagination (Inside → Outside; From General To Specific)

Draw a "Glass Mannequin" built of "Simplified Forms" following a "Canon of Proportions" and connected together by "Rhythm Lines". Vary this model to achieve a unique figure.

• By "Simplified Forms" we mean things like Cubes, Spheroids, Cylinders, Cones, and Prisms of various kinds. These are also sometimes referred to as "Primitive Forms", or just "Primitives". We can generalize the various parts of a figure into these forms.

• A "Mannequin" is merely a generalized human figure as a whole. In this case, it is "glass" because the forms that make it up are transparent (so that you can see the space they take up to make sure they don't intersect each other in ways that remove the illusion of volume). To make a form transparent is also sometimes called "Drawing Through".

• A "Canon of Proportion" is a set of measures that the average [blank] follows. For example, there is a Canon of Proportion for the adult male, and it would differ from that of the adult female. The Simplified Forms should follow these measures.

• The "Rhythm Lines" are those that describe the flow of the figure as a whole (i.e.: how the various aspects interconnect), whether in motion or not. It is synonymous with what is sometimes referred to as a "Line of Action" or "Inner Curve". Think of the Line of Action as the "string" and the Simplified Forms as "beads" on that string.

Drawing From Observation (Outside → Inside; From Specific To General)

Carefully observe in order to sense the orientation of underlying forms within their environment, and their relationships to one another. Ask yourself, "How does this differ from the generalized model within my mind?"

By understanding its function, one can build up its form within the mind.