Posing The Figure

The human figure is an expressive form. Often you can tell what people
are thinking by how they stand or hold themselves. When doing figure
drawings, you will be confronted with the choice of how to pose your
figures. This decision can be critical to the success of the drawing. Look at the
difference between the stances shown in Figure 5.1. Can you describe the emotion
of each figure?
The human body has an expressiveness that communicates through an unspoken
language often referred to as body language. As an artist, you must learn this
language and become as expressive with it as a writer is with words.
Much of the choice of how you want to pose the figures in your drawings is
determined by the purpose or goal of your drawing. It begins with the creative
germ of an idea that is developed sometimes well before a pencil is put to paper.
Sometimes the idea developed is wholly the artist’s, although many times the
artist has influence from outside sources, such as in the case of commissioned
work or commercial art.
Another important aspect of posing a character is the physical association of the
body with the environment. Because we live in a physical world, our bodies are
subjected to a number of physical forces, not the least of which is gravity. A pose
that is off balance or ignores the effects of gravity can often make for an awkwardlooking
drawing. While this may not be as much of a problem when drawing
from life, it does become a problem when posing a figure in a virtual setting.
The third element to posing a figure that will be covered in this chapter is
beauty. The human form is considered by many to be the ultimate expression of
beauty. It has the potential to inspire the mind and enrich the soul, but like any
subject, it can also be seen as awkward or unsettling depending on how it is
portrayed.