February 11, 2017

The Human Figure In Motion


I recently bought this book The Human Figure in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge and proceeded to draw some of the figures portrayed in this large book.

The book contains 195 “plates/pictures” of a person taken in burst mode.  The book was published in 1955 so it took a sophisticated camera and lots of editing skills to create this wonderful aid for artists.

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Here is Plate 5.  Much of the plate pictures are smaller than these here, and Yes….lots of the people are nude!   Oh My!

When I draw these people…a particular section of a plate….it forces me to pay attention to the angles of the knees, ankles, wrists, necks, elbows, etc.  Lots of things that would be hidden if they were fully clothed.

Ppl1

The other thing that it forces me to do….is to paint in the less-is-more technique.  To use white space.

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First I contoured the lady’s figure.

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And for some reason….I thought she’d look good in purple! 

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This lady cracks me up…..her pose and her cigarette!  What a rebel!!

Ppl5

Going with the negative white space….I really wanted to try my hand at creating shapes with better shadows.

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Painted these in a faster clip to get the jest of the movement.

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And my handstand guy!  If people know me they will know that I too, like to get inverted when I can…haha!

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Training the hand to imitate the eye ….Once done, that’s where I recognize my mistakes!
All in all, a very good exercise!  I will re-visit this soon Smile

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By day...I work in the Healthcare field, where every .. i.. has to be dotted and every ..t.. has to be crossed. This blog is the place where I can let myself go and have some fun. I am on a journey. A journey I started a long time ago, but it has been a bit sidetracked with Navy Wife relocations and raising kids. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I have got some time for me. No, I will not be one of those moms walking around the house with Empty Nest Syndrome, I have got way too much to do, to learn, to create. Sure, once the kids are gone I will miss them....but hey, there is always the phone, the email, the texting and the Plane tickets! I love my life and my family and It is fun moving into this new stage. I am into Digital Scrapbooking, photography, journaling, Art Journaling and Drawing. I am a do-it-yourselfer and I am trying to teach myself to draw. I am finding that it takes a lot of patience, lots of practice and a good eraser! And if you're really curious there's a 3 part Interview by Eileen: HERE All the best, Eden