UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN FORM

There’s more to life drawing than recreating the figure in front of you. PHILIP TYLER explores the inner workings of the human body to help inform your sketches

Dbyrawing the human figure is complex and take years to master. However, the task can be made simpler

following a few basic steps, simplifying the figure down into a series of directions and distances. Seeing how any figure can fit within a square aperture will help with proportion and foreshortening, and measuring can

1 The rib cage

The cage-like structure of the thorax is somewhat egg-like in form and gently tips backwards. It varies a great deal according to gender and build of the subject that you’re drawing: it’s somewhat short and wide in stocky builds while being longer and thinner in more slender frames. Notice that the angle of the ribs isn’t parallel to the ground. Instead, they slope downwards from the back towards the front opening.

2 The ribs meet the shoulder (far right)

Attached to the sternum is the clavicle, or collarbone, which in turn is connected to the scapula, or shoulder blade. This floats over the thorax and rotates when the arm is lifted. With the arms down at the side of the body, the scapulae are like two inverted triangles facing downwards. However, when the arm is elevated these change angle and begin to point outwards, away from the body. be done with simple tools such as plant labels and skewers.

In this article I’ll give you a few easy tips to help you draw the figure with greater ease, describing ways to approach the problem. I’ll also explain how to find the contour across the body, using both your eyes and your hands to feel your own body and understand the structures and tensions within. Understanding what lies beneath the skin will also give your drawings volume and mass, and help you understand what you see much more clearly.

Philip is a figurative painter and senior lecturer at the University of Brighton in the school of art, where he teaches life drawing, visual research and colour theory. Explore his artworks at www.philip-tyler-artist.squarespace.com.