figure drawing question

[JParrilla]

Hi everyone.. I got my hands on all of the Andrew Loomis books after reading so much great stuff about them. I recently started "Figure Drawing For All Its Worth" It seems to have some really great content. I have always loved drawing but recently decided that I really wanted to advance as an artist and I know I have ALOT of work to do. Enough about me Loomis starts off teaching human proportions and draws out a basic body.. he then shows a mannequin frame and how to position it in every way possible and also in various perspectives. My question is, do you recommend practicing drawing and posing the mannequins before learning the structure of the body? Or first learning exactly how the nude body looks and then posing and drawing the complete detailed body in perspective and in scenes. Im just unsure of the best way to go about imroving my figure drawing skills

[bhanu]

What i did was simple , tried to understand what loomis was telling and copy ....
helped me tons..

structure of the body?

as in anatomy??
hmm I think yes basic mass and figure drawing should be done before, first do the big stuff then carve out the details.

Or first learning exactly how the nude body looks and then posing and drawing the complete detailed body in perspective and in scenes

Sometimes its hard to understand how the body looks without having knowledge of anatomy
SO do both anatomy study and figure study together
...dont think much about details yet, big stuff thats what I think is much important...problem with lotsa beginners...they got lost in the details....dont do that...always keep the big picture in mind..
And about perspective start with basic shapes likes cubes, squares, spheres, circles , cones cylinders ....and later onwards apply the knowledge to more complex stuff...

But I think That there are many ways of appoaching figure drawing study....especially if you are on your own...i.e. no artclass.
So think about it , but also listen to your gut feeling, what feels right is also important.
Nobody's word is rule here.
Start drawing and start a Sketchbook too.

[MarkWinters]

I tend to study anatomy in equal parts: from life, from books and from imagination. I go to life drawing sessions to learn to reproduce the figure. I study anatomy books to increase my knowledge of the structures of the human body. I create figures from imagination, building up from mannequins and such - very useful!

[JParrilla]

Well the approach i was taking was to draw a simple mannequin and the sort of "flesh out" the mannequin into basic forms, then slowly build up muscle shapes until i had a complete figure. Usually I draw the mannequin, then break up the body into cylinders (Loomis advises this technique) then build the cylinders into the actual form of the muscles and bones and suck. Im just wondering if this approach is a good one

[Mirana]

Mannequins suck hardcore. The simple wood ones do not have the right proportion or move in the way the human body does. The "advanced" Buck models also have some wacky proportions, but better movement. The only thing I'd use a mannequinn for as a beginner would be to reference foreshortening, but really...not for studies.

Study yourself if you do not have access to traditional ways of anatomy study. Get family to take ref photos for you or do gestures of yourself in a mirror. The important part of learning from a 2D image is to constantly remember that it has volume and that's what the shapes will help you do.

[JParrilla]

i think ur misunderstanding what i mean by mannequin. Im not talkin about the wood models. Im talking about stick type figures. Like a basic shape of a person in stick form. Andrew Loomis calls it a mannequin. Im drawing these "mannequins" to practice proportions and different poses

[Flake]

Mirana, in Loomis books mannequins are simplified drawings that you use as a base for human figures, not physical objects.

Like this

[Mirana]

What other way would there be to interpret "posing the mannequins?" Why are you not calling it a stick figure if that's what it is? Whatever.

Stick figures do you no good if you don't know the way a body moves, proportion or how long to draw a line in foreshortening. It's best to look at reference while using the lines to help your brain figure it out. After you've spent some time studying from the body itself, you'll be able to use stick and shapes to aid you in non-from-ref or exaggerated poses.

[Maridius]

I've been doing the same lessons as you so I'd say yeah, pose the mannikin figures in as many poses as you can. You notice how he starts off with that stick figure, then the more 'bony' mannikin? He's gradually building up your skill and I've really found it helpful. After you have the mannikin poses down he has you put a simplified muscle structure on them. The only bits I've skipped so far have been the proportion exercise, which I'm saving for later, but you don't have to do that. I'm only doing it because I want to concentrate on the body right now, then I'll practice posing people in proper perspective. Hey--try saying my previous sentence 3 times real fast without soaking your keyboard!

Anyhow, hope this helped and start a sketchbook soon!

[JParrilla]

awesome im glasd to see someone else using this book. Just like you, Ive also skipped the perspective part. To me it makes no sense to be putting figures in perspective if I cant even draw them well to begin with Ill definetely start a sketchbook but the only problem is that I do my practicing with a pencil and pad and I dont have a scanner, so ill have to get one to put my work on here. I dont really like to practice on my tablet because im in the learning process now and its enough for me to fight my abilities, I dont wanna be fighting the difficulties of the tablet at the same time

[Maridius]

You might get away with taking pictures of your drawings if you're on the patient side and I agree with leaving the tab alone for practice. I'll work on my digital-fu later!

[Fire Moth]

I found this coolest toy at Toys R Us today. My quest for finding human anatomy study material is over. Muscle & Skeleton Anatomy Model by Edu Science. $9.99. For those of you are not the the U.S. Toys R Us is an American toy store.
I sorry If I am cross posting this but I like to share this with everyone. I learn better to have a model in my hand then reading books. And no I am not working for them.

[aph]

PETE! I am so gonna check out Toys R Us on my way home tomorrow. Hopefully they have it in the UK too =)

Thanks man!