Using the Cylinder to Draw the Human Figure

Using the Cylinder to Draw  the Human Figure 

Artists for centuries have related basic geometric solids to the human figure. Illustration 10 shows three views of a figure conceived as cylinders. The dotted lines indicate the variety of axes running through the masses of the head, rib cage, pelvis, limbs, and extremities. Understanding the axes of these forms increases our ability to conceptualize their volumes in space. By utilizing these constructs, artists can achieve a greater awareness and appreciation of a model when drawing from life. The potential for the model’s movements are limitless. Consider Illustration 11. The figure’s overall internal axis resembles a cylindrical C-curve. Next to it is its basic shape with cross sections, all of which are per-

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by romolo Costa, ca. late 1970s, burnt sienna nu pastel on newsprint, 18 x 24.

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by romolo Costa, ca. late 1970s, burnt sienna nu pastel on newsprint, 24 x 18.

perpendicular to its main axle, like a sliced salami. The cross section is an extremely effective way of conceptualizing the form’s mass and position in space. When an artist is challenged for time and the model takes a striking pose that cannot be held for a long duration, these principles for understanding volumes in space can be extremely valuable. Illustration 12 is a powerful drawing by the late Tremolo Coats that shows the art- insists profound knowledge of the model’s three-dimensional form. Even the fingers were conceptualized as cylinders. Notice the cylindrical cross sections of the model’s left leg receding in space. Finding the direction of the forms is a very important technical consideration. Using directional lines, such as the ellipses in the left leg, creates the feeling of form as an entity in space.
To model with any degree of authority, form must first be conceptualized in three dimensions. In Illustration 13, there’s no indication of the model’s direction. Had it not been for Rollmops ability to conceive of the model’s three- dimensional form in line, this drawing would have appeared as flat as a board. It is this type of understanding of form that will help make your drawing of any object structural and dynamic—not merely a flat copy of nature.