Figure Drawing: Design and Invention - Practice Flashcards

Flashcards based on Michael Hampton's figure drawing transcript, focusing on vocabulary terms for anatomical simplification, structural components, and drapery folds.

Gesture Drawing

Considered the framework for everything planed to be accomplished, acting as an intuitive communicative idea and a distillation of essential figure qualities.

The Eight Parts of the Body

The essential components of a gesture drawing including the Head, Spine, Pelvis, Rib Cage, two Arms, and two Legs.

"C" curve, Straight, and "S" curve

The only three types of lines used throughout the drawing process presented in Michael Hampton's book.

Asymmetry

The main line use emphasized in gesture drawing where high points of curves are slightly offset to force eye movement and control composition.

Wrapping Lines

Curves used as volumetric contours that move across and around a form to indicate perspective and spatial placement.

Cranial Mass

The sphere representing the upper part of the skull, constituting roughly $\frac{2}{3}$ of its total volume.

The "t" of the face

The line of symmetry in the face where the vertical line divides the face into equal halves and the horizontal cross line represents the eye line.

Keystone Shape

The area of bone separating the eyes, described as the most important area to observe for creating a likeness.

Denture Sphere

The oval representing the tooth cylinder or teeth area that pushes out and away from the lower portion of the face.

"T" Overlap

A tool for showing recession and depth by having one line move behind or in front of another like the letter T; used extensively in pinch and stretch areas.

Shoulder Girdle

A perspectival unit sitting on top of the rib cage made up of the clavicle in the front and the scapula in the back.

Sternocleidomastoid

Muscles that pull the head forward and rotate it laterally, simplified into a shape resembling a baseball bat.

Pectoralis Major

The chest muscle that pulls the arm across the chest, simplified into a shape resembling a fan or a goldfish missing its head.

Trapezius

A muscle that rotates and lifts the scapula, simplified for artistic purposes into the shape of an upside-down dagger.

Deltoid

A muscle consisting of three separate heads (anterior, acromial, and posterior) that resembles an upside-down triangle from the side.

Rectus Abdominis

Also known as the abdominal group, simplified into a shape resembling a bullet that fits into the pelvis.

Erector Spinae

A muscle group that extends the vertebral column, simplified for drawing as two side-by-side corn dogs or two ovoid shapes above cylinders.

Latissimus Dorsi

A muscle that originates along the lower thoracic vertebrae and ilium, simplified into a shape resembling a bowl with arms and legs.

Pronation

An arm movement where the radius crosses over the ulna; involves muscles like the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis.

Supination

A powerful arm movement where the radius and ulna lie parallel to one another; involves the biceps brachii and supinator.

Carpus Group

A collection of eight bones in the hand organized in a bridge-like form that serves as the design theme for the hand.

Carpal Tunnel

The area beneath the carpus group bridge occupied by tendons that branch out into the fingers.

Finger Bone Ratio

The proportional relationship between the three bones in the finger (proximal, middle, and distal) based on a $3:2$ ratio.

Thenar Eminence

One of the three major muscle groups in the hand, simplified into a teardrop shape located near the thumb.

Iliotibial Tract

A visible tract on the side of the leg simplified for drawing as a wrench grabbing the head of the femur.

Sartorius

A long muscle residing on the leg that can be described as a long "S" curve, aiding in flexing and rotating the leg.

Quadriceps Group

A large group of four muscles on the front of the femur consisting of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and vastus intermedius.

Tarsus, Metatarsus, and Phalanges

The three groups of bones that create the arches of the foot.

Envelope

A simple starting idea for the foot, often likened to a "sock still on" to highlight activity and action rather than details.

End Fold

A drapery fold that occurs where fabric ends and conforms to the perspective of the form beneath it.

Cylinder Fold

A drapery fold characterized by consistent placement of tension points, common in items like window curtains.

"U" Fold

A drapery fold caused by fabric being suspended between two main tension points.

Pinch Fold

A drapery fold that occurs when fabric is compressed between two tension points in close proximity, such as the bend of an arm.

"S" or Spiral Fold

A drapery fold representing two tension points twisting the fabric in opposing directions.

"Z" Fold

A fold based on the asymmetrical compression of clothing caused by gravity and excess fabric, typically found at the bottom of pants.

Cape Fold

The only drapery fold that demonstrates an external influence, such as wind or the figure moving through space.