Figure Drawing: Line and Contour

By Helen South, About.com Guide

The short-pose contour drawing asks the artist to visualize the figure as a whole, observing the entire composition, choosing the essential lines and putting them down in a few moments. These are excellent practice in developing a confident, flowing line. The artist should aim to describe the pose in as few lines as possible. Students who habitually use tentative mark-making can benefit from using black markers or brush and ink, which forces them to make clear decisions about their drawing.

Artist Pat Hayes kindly provided this example of a short-pose figure drawing. He has captured the essence of the pose with a quick eye and a clean, honest line.

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• Figure Drawing: Line and Contour
• Gestural Structure
• Short-pose contour drawing
• Continuous line
• Exploratory Line
• Contour drawing with selective tone
• Expressive line

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