Life Drawing: Triangular Proportion Exercise

Today was our first life drawing session of the term. It was a chance for us to brush up on our technical drawing skills focusing particularly on practising proportion and scale using a new technique of triangulation. We were given the image below by our tutor showing the recording of a human figure through a number of overlapping shapes. Today we focused on the far left image, depicting a figure made up of triangular shapes. Although sharp lines such as this are not often associated with the human form, rather circular and curved shapes, the subject is still easily identifiable as the human figure. We discovered that this is also a fast and beneficial way to block out the main shape of the figure before defining and detailing and the use of triangles can create the base for a stocky, masculine or heroic character.

We were asked to identify artists who have used methods similar to the triangular technique to create their work. My first thought was of Georges Braque who is most well-known for his cubist painting, 'Violin and Candlestick' exhibiting a surreal collage of angular lines and brassy colours. He harnesses the technique well, creating a new aspect to a somewhat otherwise uninteresting theme by recording a curved object as something new, and at the time previously unseen. Similar to when the technique is applied to the human form, the technique allows the object to still be recognisable but still retains its unique structure.

The same applies to a second piece of his 'Study of a Nude' in which he has applied the same cubic principles, however preserving a more realistic look. Although the lines are more of a contour than whole shapes, the basic triangular pattern can still be seen in the overall structure of the composition.

Georges Braque- 'Violin and Candlestick'

Georges Braque- 'Study of a Nude'

Pablo Picasso is also an avid user of this method. Famous for his angular portraits, Picasso used the method of triangulation in many of his works. For example, the painting 'Les Demoiselles d’Avignon' is an accurate portrayal of such a technique, depicting a group of women standing in nude. Unlike Braque, the painting is made up of block colours as opposed to lines, yet it still stays true to the cubist style in both the execution of the female's shape and the varying coloured background.

The second piece I chose from the works of Picasso is 'Standing Female Nude'. Although the piece is almost impossible to comprehend as a real form, he has used the method of enhancing the form through angular shapes to the utmost extreme. In this case, Picasso has chosen to have this as his final piece, however in terms of applying the method to life drawing, this could be used as the basis to add more curvature and detail at a later point.

Pablo Picasso- 'Les Demoiselles d’Avignon'

'Pablo Picasso- 'Standing Female Nude'

Marcel Duchamp is yet another artist who I believe is inspired by the use of angular shapes to create his artwork. Duchamp is known for his paintings which depict a strong sense of movement through a succession of images layered over one another; his work looks as if he is studying instruments, however they are in fact replications of the human figure. His piece, 'Nude Descending a Staircase' depicts exactly that, through the use of rough, overlapping lines and shapes harnessing both Braques' use of lines and Picasso's use of block colour.

His style is continuous and almost identical in his piece 'Sad Young Man in a Train' , where he has created another image succession painting. The subject is apparent, however extremely stylised because of the application of the triangulation technique. He has captured the essence of the pose as well as highlighting the masculine and obviously male figure through the use of sharp lines.

Marcel Duchamp- 'Nude Descending a Staircase'

Marcel Duchamp- 'Sad Young Man in a Train'

To get a more modern example, the class looked at the opening sequence for 'Batman: The Animated Series'. There was strong evidence of the use of triangular shapes being used throughout the whole opening. Light seems to be an important factor in the design of the sequence, so triangles were used to create parts of harsh contrast between dark and light falling on body parts such as the face and shoulders. One of the last shots shows a strike of lighting hit behind the hero, exposing him fully for the first time. Strong angular lines are used, particularly in his legs possibly to give a sense of weight, to exhibit his masculinity and heroic nature.

We began the practical work of the lesson with some 30 second warm up sketches. Our model changed into a variety of dynamic poses and we used the exercise as a way to loosen up and get back into the swing of getting down as much artistic information as possible speedily and efficiently. Here are my 30 second warm up sketches:

We then used the triangulation method to produce life drawings that capture the essence, basic shape and weight of the form. I enjoyed using this method as it was easy to get down when only little time was available. I found that the technique made my quick sketches more dynamic and allowed me to stretch the figure, however still encompassing the natural flow of the pose Here are my sketches:

Lastly, the class did some 10 minute tonal drawings. I decided to use a cross-hatch method to get the shading down quickly and loosely without being too precise. I used a pencil to measure the angles in the first instance, creating a quadrilateral of varying degrees, before blocking out the general shape and then adding in the cross-hatches lightly at first and then enhancing the shadow in areas where I felt it was needed.