In this project you explore the basic shapes of a leg and foot and then add graduated shading with hatching and crosshatching to illustrate the three dimensional forms.. Skills incorpora
Trang 1Brenda Hoddinott
U-05 ADVANCED: FACES & FIGURES
Every artist who aspires to include people in his or her drawings needs to become proficient in drawing the various components of human anatomy In this project you explore the basic shapes of a leg and foot and then add graduated shading with hatching and crosshatching to illustrate the three dimensional forms
Skills incorporated into this lesson include: identifying accurate proportions, drawing with contour lines, planning shading strategies, adding graduated values with hatching and crosshatching, and applying foreshortening as a component of perspective
This project is divided into two sections:
OUTLINING SHAPES: You visually identify the exterior shapes and forms of legs and feet, as defined by bones, fat, and muscles
DEFINING THE FORMS OF THE LEG AND FOOT
WITH SHADING: You identify where the highlights and
the light and dark values are located, based on a dominant light source from the right You use hatching and crosshatching to realistically illustrate the various forms Suggested supplies include 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B pencils, vinyl and kneaded erasers, good quality drawing paper such as smooth hot-pressed watercolor paper
7 PAGES - 12 ILLUSTRATIONS
This project is recommended for artists, from age 12 to adult, with advanced drawing
skills, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada, Revised 2006
Trang 2OUTLINING SHAPES
You need to be able to visually identify the exterior shapes
and forms of legs and feet, as defined by bones, fat, and
muscles before you can draw them realistically
Legs come in many shapes and sizes, from the short
chubby legs of a tiny infant to the long,
well-defined, muscular
legs of an athletic
adult
Grab your drawing materials and follow along with me to
draw a leg and foot Thank you to my son, Ben, for allowing
me to borrow one of his legs
1) Lightly sketch the outline of the individual shapes of
the leg and foot
Observe the basic shape of the entire subject and look
for the shapes of its various parts Visually measure
proportions, how large or small some parts are as
compared to others The various parts of the leg
include:
The upper leg is a large elongated oval-shape
A circle encloses the shape of the knee
A smaller long oval defines the shape of the lower
leg
The ankle is a very small oval shape
A triangle marks the shape of the foot Note that
this triangle is lower on the right
Trang 33) Lightly sketch the outline
of the shape of the leg
Use the rough sketch as a
guideline
Take note of the:
lengths of the lines
directions in which the
various lines curve
relationships between
the lines
proportions of the
various parts to one
another
At this point you can either
leave the rough sketch lines
visible, or you can carefully
erase them
When you draw a flower or a
tree, if the proportions are off, it
really doesn’t matter Not so with
a drawing of a leg and foot If
your proportions are wrong, your
drawing just won’t look right no
matter how wonderful your
shading is
Drawing from life is the best
possible way to develop an
understanding of anatomy It’s
important to become familiar
with how individual parts of
bodies connect to one another
Once you know how to draw the
basic shapes and proportions,
you can easily transfer this
information into drawing from
photos or instructional drawings
Trang 4Practice drawing legs and feet from real life every chance you can If your friends and family
begin running away when you approach them with your
drawing supplies, you can always draw your own legs
and feet Take off your shoes and you find two
wonderful foot models You can even set up your
drawing materials in front of a large mirror, and draw
your legs from various angles
4) Lighten your lines again with your kneaded eraser and
redraw your outline adding more detailed information
5) Very lightly sketch the shapes inside the outline that
identify some of the forms to be defined with shading
6) Take your time and draw the details of the foot and
ankle
Logic dictates that a human foot is actually longer than it appears in this drawing However, keep in mind that this foot is being viewed from an extreme frontal
perspective
You use a rule of perspective, called foreshortening to indicate the shape of a foot realistically when viewed from this angle
Foreshortening is the process in which perspective creates the illusion that a figure is shorter when viewed from an extreme angle The foreshortened qualities
of parts of bodies, such as legs and arms, become more noticeable when viewed from an end
Don’t worry if your drawings of hands and feet look all wrong at first Just do your best and in time,
you will get better! Feet (and hands) are the most
Trang 5DEFINING THE FORMS OF THE LEG AND FOOT WITH SHADING
In this drawing, the dominant light source is from the right, so the shading on the left is darker Before you begin, visually identify where the highlights and the light and dark values are located
Remember there is no right or wrong way
to draw I like outlining with detailed lines and then adding shading, but what’s right for me may not be right for you Take time to experiment with different ways of drawing, until you find the styles you are most
comfortable with
7) Use hatching lines and 2H and HB pencils to shade the light and medium values of the leg and foot
Take note of how progressions of graduated values from dark to light or from light to dark
realistically illustrate the various forms
Trang 68) Use crosshatching and 2B and 4B pencils to build
up the values to further accentuate the forms of
the foot
9) Use 2B and 4B pencils to build up the crosshatching values to emphasize the forms of the various sections of the leg
Crosshatching lines
beautifully illustrate anatomical forms
By emphasizing the more complicated components, which characterize
movement, such as his knee, ankle and foot, they become important points of interest in this drawing
I use a lot of contrast between light and dark values to help make the forms of the leg and foot stand out
10) Use parallel horizontal hatching lines
to indicate the cast shadow
Trang 7Sign your name, put today’s date on the back, put a smile on your
face, and go find another exciting drawing project!
BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY
As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints
My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable
>Brenda Hoddinott<
Born in St John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”
Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites
Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world
LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT
Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is
available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally Drawing for Dummies
is now available in Dutch, Bulgarian, Spanish, French, and German
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the
Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally