Designed for students interested not merely in drawing figures accurately, but in ideal figures as they are described in clear lighting. After all, the translation of three-dimensional form onto a two-dimensional page or canvas is purely the representation of light as it streams across form. Careful attention to the lighting of a subject is therefore at the very purpose of any artist’s depiction of graphic and atmospheric art.
First chapter describes proportions in standing poses, illuminated in three distinct manners: ambient, form (single-source), and rim light. Then standing, leaning, seated, kneeling, and reclining—foreshortened poses. Particular attention is given to the pattern of light and shadow in each pose. It is easy to observe the crest-lights and highlights, indicating the joining of two or more planes.
The last chapters of this book are dedicated to head, expressions and hands. Here again, our model conforms to the conventional (and current) ideal arrangement of features.
A good figure draftsman is not a copyist. He/she instead designs the model and his/her pose. This book inspires students to contemplate their subject before plunging into a drawing or painting. Is she serene or nervous? Does he appear patrician or a dockworker? The student is encouraged to push expression...by all means, characterize!
In Hanna Pawlowska, we have an elegant, ideal female model posed at times barefoot, or in heels. These images are intended as an opportunity to cultivate the ideal in the student's interpretation of the human form. Paying particular attention to the attitude she exudes, from fingers to toes. Art and acting have much in common.
The Femle Nude I: A Pose Book For Artists is an ideal reference book for professional artists, illustrators, comic book artists, students, colleges and universities, and for all those who appreciate the elegance, rhythm and beauty of the human form.
