Contrapposto, Drawing Tips For Dynamic Poses
Hey marker slingers, hello and welcome.
I don’t have a comic hero to talk about this week because I wanted to jump right into some brainy art speak.
Break out of the static poses.
Apparently a lot of you are having trouble breaking out of that static forward facing pose, you know the one. That pose where your figures looks like a sad robot who’s pulled a back muscle and can’t seem to bend or turn in any direction.
Contrapposto? What is it?
Well, I heard you loud and clear last week so I bring you “Contrapposto”. No it’s not an appetizer. It’s actually and Italian visual arts term that means counter pose. Here’s a little secret though, the Italians didn’t come up with it. This term was actually created much earlier by ancient Greek artists as a means to express a sort of humanism in art. It was basically the first time western artists expressed a psychological disposition through the human body. Artists such as Da Vinci and Donatello later expanded on this concept during the renaissance although the most famous example might be Michaelangelo’s statue of David.
How does it work?
Ok, How does it actually work? What if I told you that by simply shifting a figures weight to one foot so that the shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs, you’ve achieved contrapposto!
Yeah, It’s not that easy but that’s how you start. More specifically your figure will rest their full weight on one leg while other leg is in more of a relax state. By doing this you will cause the hips and shoulders to rest on opposing angles, which should give the torso a slight s-curve.
This stance is meant to create a more natural pose that shows tension, weight and most importantly “life” in your figure. It’s meant to demonstrate the tension as your figure changes from a relaxed state to walking or running state. Sort of representing a past and a future movement captured in time.
If you couple this concept with a good sense of anatomy you will be unstoppable my friends. The figure drawing world will be your oyster.
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
Like, comment and share!
Like, comment and share with anyone who needs to shake off those sad robot poses. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and questions.
Your neighborhood marker slinger,
Ivan Castro
