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To follow the course, we must have a Computer or laptop ideally. As a last resource, we can try following the material through our phone, although the course has not been designed to be followed by phone so the responsiveness might be affected.
We have plenty of references we can download and use the way that suits us better, from pictures of the model to 3D prints and scans. All the theory has been displayed on the website with a menu on the left for navigation. If you miss something, please let us know, as we might be able to facilitate some help.
A follow-up video step-by-step of the work Javier is doing will be uploaded regularly as we all progress. Also, the Online meetings will be online for the students to review on the same day of each lesson.
Armature wires
Lazy Susan
Tools
Using the wire we already bought, doing the armature should be very easy. However, first, make sure we get the measurement right. We are working a 1/4 scale approx. , this means that the figure we are building will be 45 cm tall standing. In this case the head will be 6cm high in the cannon.
So let’s start building the armature by taking 120 cm length of the thickest wire and folding it through the middle to have a 60cm double wire. Please do not cut the connection where we fold it; leave it as it is. We need the armature to be 60 cm long. We will be using more than we need to have margen and be safe, this way we should have extra wire we can cut away at any time.
Counting from the top down, find the middle point of the figure at 22.5cm (This is also the pubis level and the insertion of the head of the femur). Once we find it, make an opening in T section. The opening should be 6 cm and no more. Once we finish, DOUBLE CHECK to ensure the opening is still at a 22.5cm distance from the top. This is all we need as an armature; we do not need an extra structure to keep it standing, as the figure will sit.
How to make your armature.
A 30cm minimum square wooden base would be sufficient. The thickness should be no less than 6mm, ideally 12mm MDF, plywood or similar material.
The figure is sitting at a higher level from the ground. So adding another 4cm high square sitting 15 x 10 cm in length and depth should be enough. We can do that by cutting a few pieces of the offset material we use for the base and piling them until we get the ideal size. Then we glue them all together to the base so it does not move.
If we are precious about our work, removing visual distractions by painting the base in a neutral colour such as grey or black does not harm.
Javier will recommend you make a version of the figure standing, aside from the main pose sculpture we will do. This is optional, in case you want to push yourself. However, if you decide to do it, you will need a proper structure to support the weight of the standing pose. Otherwise, it won’t stand by itself.
Here is what you have to do:
The structure is what we need to help us support the weight of the sculpture while we are working on it. Basically this is a stand connecting the sculpture from the back to the floor. For this, we need to use steel or wood, plastic pipes are also a good choice.
The structure has to be strong enough to support the weight of the clay. Usually, the part of the structure that moves forward gets inserted into the body through the back so you can work around the figure with no problem. In our case, it will insert at the pelvis level.
Measurements of the structure :
For both cases, a wooden base: 40 x 30 x 1.2 – 1.5 cm (thick) would work fine.
Make sure the structure is well attached to the base. We made a T section at the bottom, which is strong enough.
In example A, Javier made the structure by welding some square tubes. We can also use wood to build this kind of structure example B. Drill a hole at the top and insert a threaded rod bolted to the wood. Please use a thick threaded rod and tighten it to stop it from flipping upside down.
You need to attach a square angle at the end of the structure. This will help to connect the armature and the structure. Check out the video below.
If we do a second figure standing for our practice, we can connect it to the structure. For that, we will use thin wire. The end of the structure should be attached at 25 cm level, slightly above the T section we made (22.5 cm).
Ensure it is well attached and does not move up, down, or sideways. This is very important so it will not give us trouble halfway down the road. When finished, the T section of the armature we built, will sit at 22.5 cm level from the floor.
In the video we alrady have a structure Javier wealded, although this is something you can build with wood. Make sure it is strong enough.
We are ready to start posing the armature.
How to make your armature.
WARNING: The video shows measurements for 1/3. Please use the measurements described above for 1/4 scale we are using in this course.
If we do not have a studio or workspace and plan to work at home, choose a space we do not need to share, as it might get messy. If we do not have that, clean often and protect the floor, especially if we have carpet with plastic or a piece of fabric. A vacuum cleaner is always handy. Plasticine sticks to almost everything, and when we work, it is almost inevitable to drop little bits. At the end of each session, we have to clean very well. Alcohol dissolves plasticine if we need help cleaning the floor or fabric.
To review the work every week, we must provide pictures that we can take quickly with our phones. So please ensure when to take the pictures by following these criteria, as it is the only way they can be assessed.
The camera must be at the same level as the figure to mimic the picture provided for the work. If the picture has been taken from a higher or lower angle, it will not be possible to work with it.
Provide 4 pictures only. Front, back and 2 profiles. No larger than 1 MB each, preferable.
Ensure the light is not coming from the back, as the figure will be in shadows; it is not too bright or too low.
Upload the pictures to the dropbox folder with your name, and let Javier know. That’s all you need to do.
In-person workshops are scheduled in different places at different times of the year. Most workshops run twice a year in different locations in New Zealand, Auckland being the most demanded of the locations. Australia and Europe are other locations planned to run workshops.
We are setting up a different challenge with a live model changing pose each time. Plenty of material, tutorials and online courses can help you on this journey and keep you connected with the community. To ensure you get this information, sign up for the newsletter.
If you are missing one day out of 2 or 3, we recommend you to wait until there is another chance as you might be missing quite a bit of information and time to do your work. If this is a 5 days workshop it might be ok.
Not really. Simplified figure is the only workshop we have designed to teach the basics of building the human figure so you have enough knowledge to make the most of a model. So, if you are thinking of joining the five days figure workshop with model, this might be good for you, although it is not mandatory.
Not really. The more experience you have the better. Javier Is an experienced sculptor and can adapt to your level whether you are just beginning or you are experienced, whether you are just looking at learning more anatomy or pursuing a more artistic challenge.
The workshops are designed for:
If you want to learn about the human figure, I would suggest you join the Online courses. Why? There is a lot more information Javier can share with you. You can find your time to invest in your learning process. Head studies online is about six weeks course, and the figure online course is about ten weeks. The more hours you put in, the more you will learn; that´s a rule. And finally, it is more personalized as the progress of your work will be reviewed every week by Javier personally.
If you are interested in doing a workshop but you don´t know which one, get in touch and let us know what is that you are looking for and we will help you. Either if you are looking for some good training, knowledge or just living the experience as a hobby, we can help you.
This book is essential for learning more about the human figure as it is very complete. Includes proportions based on eight heads ( be aware that we are using 7.5 heads), bone structure explanation, balance and range of movement of the joins. The anatomy applied to the figure is not necessarily as accurate as in the Paul Richer book. This book also includes pictures of models for an applied explanation.
This book is excellent for learning anatomy from a medical perspective applied to art. Here we also find his 7.5 cannon explained. The illustrations are accurate, giving the precise location of muscles, layers and mapping of the human body. This book is used in official academies like the Florence academy.
In this book, Michel Lauricella presents both his artistic and systematic methods for drawing the human body–with drawing techniques from the écorché (showing the musculature underneath the skin) to sketches of models in action. In more than 1,000 illustrations, the human body is shown from a new perspective–from bone structure to musculature, from anatomical detail to the body in motion.
This small, portable book presents a unique perspective on the human body for artists to study and implement in their drawing work. In this book, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella simplifies the human body into basic shapes and forms, offering profound insight for artists of all kinds, sparking the imagination and improving one’s observational abilities. Rather than going the traditional route of memorizing a repertoire of poses, Lauricella instead stresses learning this small collection of forms, which can then be combined and shaped into the more complex and varied forms and postures we see in the living body.
This book provides a simplified and practical vision of the human skeleton to help all artists in their drawing studies. Here you will find the most common and useful approaches to the body’s underlying skeleton and bone structure, which will fuel your imagination and enrich your observational skills as you draw the living form. In this small, portable guide, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella focuses on the essentials you need to know.
This book is excellent for the quality of the drawings; very expressive, fresh and accurate. This book is recommended as a reference for the quality of work we can achieve in the art standards mostly applied to drawing. It is also a good source of images of bodies and living anatomy.
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