Leggings

In building the Leg I've discovered that there are a lot of forces that come into play for a simple stretch. I think my leg turned out pretty decent although in looking at these photos it has come to my attention that the Vastus Medius is a little small on my mannequin. Just looking at the twisted tangles of the hip adducters makes me want to stretch out with some hip openers. On that note I'm going to do some yoga.

Group of mannequins

It was noted to avoid drawing in muscle tendons as it distracts from the behavior of the muscles. Tools were discussed, from techniques on carving to how to get into gaps with a smooth finish. The bulk of muscle was brought up and it was determined to feel your own muscles and build from there. The length of tendons as well as their connecting points were compared as well as the lower longissimus thoracis . Eric has had to remove muscle mass in order to place form underneath and build off of. Cal's mannequin has a fashionable mustache. For the actual building of the muscles, either rolling in the hand or flattening of the muscle was found to be easiest.

Molding a Man

Image Description: The spinal Erectors stretch from the skull to the tail bone. The spinalis tendons reach up and down the spine holding the curve of the spine and providing a strong base for the larger twisting longismus muscles to wrap up into. The iliocostalis almost seems to be an extension of the longismus, layering and twisting out, reaching across the ribs, holding them into the spine. The quadratus lumborum pulls the hips and the rib cage together, putting less weight on the spine and giving the body more evenly spread connectors. The obliques and abdominals hold the front of the body and even the back. Being primary core muscles the abs and obliques in combination with the lumborum connect the front body to the back.

I am having fun molding a man out of clay. I believe this process will be extremely beneficial in understanding, seeing, feeling and drawing the human form. As I build muscle mass I imagine what I am doing in my own body. Applying the mirror neurons to the process helps build the form as well as understanding it better. I am very in touch with my own body through my yoga practice and understanding what all the muscles look like under the surface will be beneficial for my stretching as well. Actually seeing how the muscle's twist around the skeletal structure to fight gravity is really a beautiful design to be enjoyed.

Yo Dawg!

Yo Dawg, a local restaurant opening up, had posted fliers calling for muralists and taggers. With opportunity knocking, Franklun (Jake Olson), VIX (Alec Rudolf), and WE (me) answered the call. Zach Herling also donated some work and time. We were paid by being the official taste testers for the vendors, as well as one free meal a day for the rest of the year. My main piece is the one with the monkey sitting in the lotus on top of a cloud that is also cloned several times as sheep jumping over a wall. The wall fades off into recognizable Menomonie buildings which are the smoke stack, the tainter theater, the clock tower and walmart.

Hip Hop

Pictured here
Apollo's Diana 1504-05 Durer 116X73mm Engraving
After Michelangelo's David 1524 Da Vinci 270X201mm Pen ink black chalk
Vitruvian Man, Da Vinci 344X245mm Pen Ink Watercolour

The Pelvis is a good landmark with landmarks for describing the human form. It is a shape that is quite easy to recognize in terms of skeletal structure. It is easily located on yourself and imperative to understanding how the human is built, how the human moves and how the human reacts against gravity. With that being said standing straight starts at the toes and a large portion of posture is how the pelvis accepts and distributes the weight. The spinal column extends from the pelvis, setting the core to any drawing.

The Cage

Pictured here from Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Hale and Terene Coyle
Jacopo Pontormo's Studies, Red Chalk, 16 1/8" X 10 5/8"
Andrea Del Sarto's Study of St. John the Baptist for Baptism of the multitude, Red Chalk
Theodore Gericault Study for one of the figures on the raft of medusa, Charcoal, 11 1/2 X 8 1/8"
I have found the ribcage to be a valuable tool for mapping information. In class we were told that the spine and cage will have many variables but the sternum is always the same. I do not have the luxury of body recall in this instance because my sternum makes a few extra curves. Slightly after the manubrium, my chest expanded so much that it collapsed into itself. Learning the true gestural shape and behavior of the bones as they pour out of the spine has proven a good structure to build surface off of. The ribcage has proven to be crucial in understanding the human figure.

Gesture Drawin'

It would seem as if I have lost my 30 min. sketch from sept 9th, thus I have included the fifteen minute gesture at the end of class. Also pictured are the sept 16th twenty min. sketch and below the half hour of sept. 11th. In drawing the core structure of a human I have significantly learned the importance of line quality. Drawing 100 people I discovered how much you can describe an individual in a manner of seconds with only a few lines. These details include but are not limited to how they hold themselves against gravity, comfort level, what manner they carry themselves and captures an easily accurate sense of proportion. In combining the core (sept 11th) with the outline (sept 9th) you can truly achieve an accurate rendering (sept 16th) in rather quick time. I feel that core drawings are even more descriptive than outline drawings. The core gives a sense of depth, a proportional structure to work out from. I also found that making the shoulder blade line into a cylinder and the pelvis into a spherical-cubic shape really helped set the rest of the body. The spine also being a successful mapping tool. I found that joints were much easier handled with small circles on the axis. The hands and feet are also very descriptive of the persons position, what they are doing, and how they are doing it. I have also found that Yoga is beneficial to understanding the body. Being more aware of my own body and having a wide range of postures in my body memory it has been very helpful in depicting the human form in understanding how the position feels as well as looks.