This is the seventh in a series of articles on drawing for animation. In these articles I will be presenting the theory and practice of drawing as a "how to" instructional series. The lessons are based upon the Vilppu Drawing Manual and will in general follow the basic plan outlined in the manual. This is the same material that I base my seminars and lectures on at the American Animation Institute, UCLA, and my lectures at Disney, Warner Bros. and other major studios in the animation industry, both in the U.S. and their affiliates overseas. Most lessons will also be accompanied by short QuickTime clips of me demonstrating the material discussed. If you have not seen the previous lessons starting in the June 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine, it is recommended that you do. The lessons are progressive and expand on basic ideas. It is suggested that you start from the beginning for a better understanding of my approach.

It is a truism that you cannot draw something unless you know what it looks like. It is also true that just because you know something very well, it does not mean that you can draw it. I have taught many medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and various specialists, with much more understanding of anatomy than myself. In fact, it took a while for me to realize that you cannot draw something unless you know what it looks like, but knowing anatomy would not make me draw better. What I needed was a method of understanding anatomical facts, so that I could use these landmarks as tools of communication and expression, without violating basic anatomical reality and thereby, detracting from what the drawing was trying to communicate.

Illustration No. 1

Anatomy 101
Let us first start with some basic landmarks and simple facts about the figure. One of the most basic and useful facts about the figure is its symmetry. The symmetry of the figure is an obvious tool that is too often overlooked. In Illustration No. 1, drawings "A" and "B" give us the basic landmarks that we need to understand and use. From the front we have the line created by the pit of the neck, sternum, naval, and pubic arch, giving us a center line. In the back, we have the spine itself as a center line. The ends of the shoulders are basic landmarks from both front and back. Moving down the front, we have the corners of the rib cage at the bottom of the thoracic arch, and the corners of the pelvis at the end of the iliac crest. Going down the back, we have the lines of the scapulas, and the ends of the iliac crest where it meets the sacrum.

Now let us see how we use these basic landmarks. Thinking of the center of the form is the key to using symmetry. In most cases, (with the exception of the shoulders which have considerable independent movement but which generally conform to the basic concept), the landmarks are at right angles to the central axis of the form. When the central axis of the form changes, the landmarks move with it and, generally, exaggerate the change. Study Illustration No. 2 of the torso and notice how the landmark move with the change of the form. Notice the compression and stretching that takes place when the fixed landmarks move with the changing central axis. While achieving a clear understanding of the action by amplification of the shift in the central axis, we bring into play fundamental dynamics of reality as well as basic design elements. By simply shifting the weight to one leg, we automatically create a curve in the torso, as we generally shift the rest of the torso to compensate. This shifting doesn't stop there, but extends to the neck and head, going up, which tends to move in the opposite direction again.

Illustration No. 3

In this simple shifting, you have the basic elements of a classical rhythmic arrangement of forms combined with the twist that was the hallmark of
Renaissance aesthetics. Look at Illustration No. 3 and take the pose yourself. Try standing with your weight equally balanced and then slowly shift your weight from one side to the other and see what happens. If you try to maintain a basic vertical position rather than leaning to one side or the other, you will look like Illustration No. 3. Notice how one side of the body is stretching and the other side is compressing. The accordion in Illustration No. 4 is a diagram of this action. The basic design element involved here is the fundamental concept of opposites, the most basic of design principles. The use of opposites is a tool that not only creates visual interest, but each helps to clarify the other. The Italians called this pose "Contra Posto."