A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The degree of representation may be from highly detailed, anatomically correct renderings to loose and expressive sketches. A "life drawing" is a drawing of the human figure from observation of a live model. A figure drawing may be a composed work of art or a figure study done in preparation for a more finished work such as a painting. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. Figure drawing is arguably the most difficult subject an artist commonly encounters, and entire courses are dedicated to the subject. The human figure is one of the most enduring themes in the visual arts, and the human figure can be the basis of portraiture, illustration, sculpture, medical illustration, and other fields.
Read more about Figure Drawing: Approaches, Media, History, Contemporary Studio Instruction
Famous quotes containing the words figure and/or drawing:
“Evening attend two “fandangos.” Girls not very pretty but exceedingly graceful. [You] pay a dime for a figure and refreshments for your doxy, who instead of eating prudently stores her cakes, etc., in a basket to be taken home for the family.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“The UN is not just a product of do-gooders. It is harshly real. The day will come when men will see the UN and what it means clearly. Everything will be all right—you know when? When people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction, and see it as a drawing they made themselves.”
—Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961)