Essential Question: How can using foreshortening help me draw more realistic figures?
Foreshortening in art means to reduce or distort parts of a represented object in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective. In figure drawing, body parts are literally contracted or made shorter in order to appear realistic.
For our next project, we will create an 18×24 pencil drawing from a photographic reference we have taken ourselves. It should show an understanding of foreshortening, include at least 50% of one human figure, and contain a background that adds to the concept/story. The rest is up to you!
Here are some examples that would meet the project requirements (if the colored ones were pencil drawings). Use these for inspiration, but by no means limit your ideas:
Examples created by SOTA students:
Robert, Grade 10, Class of 2017
Lily, Grade 9, Class of 2018
Taylor, Grade 9, Class of 2018
Important note: This is a figure drawing, not portraiture, project. You are welcome to draw the face of your subject, if you so choose, but by no means are you required to do so. If you are nervous about drawing the face, feel free to come up with a creative solution to avoid doing so (ie. subject wears a mask, face is in the shadows, subject is turned away from the viewer in such a way that the face is hidden).
Project requirements:
- Fills 18 x 24 paper
- Figure portion of project drawn from original photographic reference (either you take your own reference photo or a classmate takes a photo of you that you will use as your reference photo)
- Realistic range of value created with pencil (proper use of shading creates volume)
- Includes at least 50% of one human figure
- Shows an understanding of foreshortening
- Background adds to the story/concept. Can be a realistic or fantasy environment, but needs to show depth (good ways to do this include shading, perspective, overlap, and scale).
- Artwork is your original concept and contains no copyrighted characters.
Sketchbook assignments for unit (each assignment should fill a sketchbook page and must be posted to the blog for credit):
- 3 figure sketches that use foreshortening
Each sketch should feature a different angle of type of foreshortening. The example below would fulfill the requirements for this sketchbook assignment:
- Concept Sketch includes foreshortened figure, background, and any other objects that add to the concept or story
Today we will:
- Discuss foreshortening and the foreshortening figure project
- Work on the sketchbook assignments for this project:
- 3 figure sketches that use foreshortening
- 1 concept sketch that includes a foreshortened figure, background, and any other objects that add to the concept or story
- Learn how to post photos of our work to our blogs
- Create a new blog post with the following:
- Your response to the essential question: “How can using foreshortening help me draw more realistic figures?“
- Photos of anything you drew today
- A few sentences describing your concept for your project
Tomorrow we will:
- Take photos of one another to use as references for the foreshortening project. Think of who you would like to use as your model, or who can take a photo of you if you would like to be the model for your own project, as well as how you will pose your model.
The following people still need to email me (2013045@rcsd121.org) the links to their blogs:
- Armani
- Max
- Javier
You must post today’s progress to your blog or you will receive a zero for participation.
SOTA Foundations 2 