Drawing & paintingLesson 5 of 5 in the course Drawing and painting techniques

Figure Drawing: Construction, Materials, History, and Studio Practice

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Figure drawing is the practice of representing the human form. Artists may make precise anatomical studies, expressive sketches, or finished works, and they can work from observation, reference images, memory, or imagination. This lesson introduces the purpose of figure drawing and the main ways artists build an image of the body.

A figure drawing represents the human form in one or more shapes and postures, using any drawing medium. The term can describe both the artwork and the act of making it. A drawing may be highly detailed and anatomically accurate, or loose and expressive.

All flashcards

Figure study
A drawing that explores the human form, often in preparation for a more finished artwork.
Photographic reference in figure drawing
It preserves a pose conveniently but may make the body appear flatter or less dynamic.
Anatomical construction
Building a figure drawing by considering underlying skeletal structure and major body masses.
Compressed charcoal
A harder charcoal that produces more deliberate, precise marks than softer vine charcoal.
Academy figure
A carefully executed nude figure artwork, commonly made as an art-school exercise.

Quiz questions

  1. In the training sequence associated with the Carracci academy, what did students study after copying engravings?Answer: Plaster casts, followed by live models.
  2. What is an ink wash?Answer: Ink diluted with water to create variations in tone.
  3. Compared with a 9H graphite pencil, what kind of mark does a 9B pencil generally make?Answer: A softer and darker mark.
  4. In the colored-ground method, what role does the ground serve?Answer: It provides a middle tone that artists develop with darks and highlights.

Based on the Wikipedia article Figure drawing, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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