Fashion Design Drawing

THE FIGURE IN ACTION

There is an increasing demand for action poses in advertising today. A moving figure will attract far greater attention than a motionless figure. They are used almost exclusively for sports clothes and college shop illustrations.

When sketching action figures the use of stick figures is recommended. It is much easier to get action in these miniature tooth-pick figures, where action is your sole interest, than it is to get action in larger figures where your interest is divided between contours and action. In action illustrations the artist often loses his relative proportions which inevitably creates an awkward figure. This, too, could frequently be avoided by reducing the figure to its simplest form, a toothpick skeleton, before blocking-in the larger figure.

To block-in toothpick skeletons consider the body in four divisions:

1. The head and neck

2. The trunk

3. The thighs

4. The legs %

Start the figure in the usual manner of sketching an oval for the head. The trunk is about twice as long as the head and neck, as also are the thighs and legs.

The vertical line of support will sometimes run through the foot in the foreground, sometimes through the foot in the background, depending upon the one that supports the weight of the body. When the weight is evenly distributed on both feet this line of support will fall equally between the two feet. The figure retains its line of support when springing from one foot to the other.

The arms swing with the opposite feet in walking. The left arm swings with the right foot. The right arm with the left leg.

Strive for a feeling of non chalance, a "natural" feeling in action poses. Create atmosphere for the action you are illustrating. For instance, when illustrating tennis togs sketch a tennis court in the background, or let the model be in the act of playing tennis. Place the figures in the surroundings where the clothes are to be worn. Put a smile on the faces, they should look happy at games and play.