Balance and Weight
For a figure to look right in its surroundings, it needs to have balance and look like it has weight. One of the problems with posing a figure in a virtual setting, whether it is with a software program such as Figure Artist or with a wooden mannequin, is the fact that it is easy to pose a figure that looks slightly odd or out of place. There could be a number of reasons for this, but the most common one is that the figure may not look like it fits in the setting. The perspective could be off. The lighting might be wrong. More than likely, the character might not be completely balanced or there might be a lack of weight to the figure.
Balance
If the character is off balance, viewing it will be uncomfortable because there will be a feeling of an impending fall. This is not always bad if there is a good reason for the off-balance pose, but it is bad if it is the artist’s oversight. In Figure 5.4 the character is leaning to one side. He looks as if he is about to fall. The viewer might feel the need to try to catch him.
Figure 5.4. This guy looks like he is about to fall.
Being off balance is not always a bad thing. If you are working on an action drawing, you can use balance as a point of action. Say, for instance, that you are working on a picture of a person running. When a person runs, their weight is shifted forward in an off-balance position. Standing still in that position would likely cause the runner to topple over. The viewer recognizes the off-balance position of the person and interprets it as part of the running motion.
Comic book artist often have their superhuman characters in impossible poses. The exaggeration of the pose can give the picture the feeling of movement and superhuman powers. Figure 5.5 shows a character in an action pose. Not only is the character not balanced, but he is flying, something that a normal human can’t do.
Figure 5.5. Some poses are off balance on purpose.
Because artificial environments don’t have gravity (this includes your drawings), you have to compensate by learning how to keep your drawings balanced. You do this by locating the center of mass of the body and then determining whether it is supported by the figure. To find the center of mass, look to the person’s hips. Even though the chest or upper torso of some characters might be larger than the hip area, the hips are what really determine the balance of a figure. Following is an example of how you might check the balance on your figures.
Step-by-Step
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This method of checking the balance of a figure is a good way to understand whether your drawing will look right. Let’s see how it works for a figure that is off balance. Look at Figure 5.10. I have drawn in the center of mass line. Notice how it is shifted to the right. The figure looks like he should be sitting or leaning on something.
Figure 5.10. The center of mass line is shifted to the right.
When the action line is drawn, you can see that it does not match the center of mass line very well, as shown in Figure 5.11. The more deviation between the action line and the center of mass line, the more likely the character is out of balance.
Figure 5.11. The action line deviates far from the center of mass line.
One caution about this method is worth mentioning: You need to examine the figure from several different angles. Figures exist in 3D space even though your drawings will be in 2D. Often from a specific angle, the action line will match the center of mass line. For example, look at the three views of the figure in Figure 5.12.
Figure 5.12. Make sure to check the figure for balance from several angles.
The figure is definitely not balanced, yet in the first view on the left, the lines correspond well to each other. However, if you look at the figure from other angles, the lines diverge distinctly. One of the advantages of having a virtual 3D model to draw from is that you can check the model from multiple angles to make sure it is correct before you start your drawing.
Hip and Shoulder Relationship
One of the most interesting aspects of the human body is the spine. The spine is a flexible segmented series of bones that runs from the pelvis to the skull. The spine connects our upper body with our lower body. One of the advantages of flexibility in the spine is that it helps us to keep our balance while standing or walking. For example, when a person walks, the hips will tilt from side to side. If the spine were not flexible, the tilting of the pelvis would throw the body off-balance. Because the spine is flexible, it bends and shifts the weight of the upper torso to compensate and counterbalance the tilting of the pelvis.
Usually the hips and pelvis move in opposite directions to try to keep the body in balance. In art, this opposing movement is called contrapposto and often an artist will accentuate the shift because it creates a more interesting pose.
Figure Artist has a feature called the Hip-Shoulder Relationship Guide that helps the artist to see the relationship of the hips to the shoulders. The shoulders are represented by a blue rectangle and the hips are represented by a yellow rectangle. When this feature is turned on, it is easy to see the position of the hips in relation to the shoulders. The guide is pictured in Figure 5.13.
Figure 5.13. The Hip-Shoulder Relationship Guide helps to show the shift of the hips and shoulders.
In this example, the skeleton is in the act of walking. Notice how the right hip is up while the right shoulder is down. Figure 5.14 shows the curvature of the spine.
Figure 5.14. The spine twists and turns as a person walks.
Weight
Every figure in life has some weight unless it is floating in outer space. Weight is closely related to balance in that without weight, balance is not an issue. A figure’s weight is a combination of mass and gravity. Gravity is constantly pulling a figure toward the ground. The figure’s skeletal and muscular systems work together to help the figure stand, move, and essentially fight the effects of gravity. When working with a virtual figure in a virtual setting, you’ll find that the model will often seem to have no weight. This can be a problem if you are working toward a realistic picture. When posing a figure, you have to take weight into account.
Figure 5.15 shows a figure in the act of lifting an object. Even though the object is missing, there is a sense of weight to both the figure and the object. This is because the figure is firmly planted on the ground and his body is bent to indicate that there is tension in the arms and legs.
Figure 5.15. The pose shows weight by how the figure interacts with gravity.
In essence, the figure needs to look like it is interacting with gravity to give it a sense of weight.
Weight is better understood when drawing the nude figure. Sometimes the tension of the muscles can play a big role in giving the body a sense of mass and weight. In the next example, you will be using Figure 5.16 as a pose for a drawing. The pose is an action pose in which the figure’s foot is pushing off in the beginning of a run. Notice how the push-off leg is powering the figure against gravity. Try drawing this figure.
Figure 5.16. The muscles of the leg fight against gravity in a running pose.
Step-by-Step
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