The importance of the pin man
Pin men are supposed to be the preserve of those who can’t draw, and yet it strikes me that I begin almost every picture of a person in just that way.
Here is the lady who was sitting across the aisle from me on the train today:
You might be able to see some faint lines there. I’ve gone over them a bit more here:
The blue lines show the first marks I made on the paper. By drawing simple lines representing the angle of the head, the back, arms and legs, you are plotting out your picture. It’s a nice way to work because you can see immediately if you’ve got it right - without having committed to anything if you haven’t. For those who are sometimes overawed by a sheet of blank paper, this is also a good way to start: it doesn’t feel like a big step, but it gets you well on your way.
Do you start your drawings of people this way? If not, try it. If you use a different way, I’d love to hear about it.
Posted: August 3rd, 2007 under Confidence, Technique, Drawing people.
Comments: 7
7 Comments
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I don’t start my pictures that way, and it shows. Legs too short, forearms too long, impossible limb positions… I really should learn to do it that way instead of trying to draw outlines first, especially if I’m inventing a picture instead of drawing from life. I’m going to have a go at it!
…you can see immediately if you’ve got it right… One of my main people-drawing problems is that I can’t see whether it’s right or not, not until I’ve committed myself to the wrong shapes by going over them again and adding all the details. It’s frustrating, and I don’t know why. Is it a fault in my way of starting a drawing, or do I not know how to look properly? Maybe this experiment will help me to find out.
Oh yes, try it - I’d be interested to know if it helps. I think the thing about this method is that it allow you to concentrate on just a couple of things - angles and proportions - without worrying about the rest. I am sure a lot of it is down to practice as well. When you say you ‘don’t know how to look’ -I reckon the more you draw, the more you know what to look for/at.
I had a subject who wasn’t going to move in a hurry, so I went off and tried it. Some of the “pin man” lines are still visible, and the rectangles made by the front-on view of the couch helped a lot with placing forms. It wasn’t the most complex pose, but having that framework really did work for figuring out the angles of the arm and neck. I’m definitely doing it this way next time as well.
Yes, I hope a bit of practice will help me to get things right more often. It’s so frustrating getting it wrong and not knowing why I did!
Ooh, not bad at all! The only thing I’d say is that while the position of his head isn’t impossible, it does look rather uncomfortable.
I’m constantly amazed by it myself. I’d get the most horrible crick in my neck lying like that.
Hello:) I’ve been reading along for a little while now and have kept meaning to say hello but haven’t got around to it. I’m really enjoying everything here, and I love the way you draw, and I love that every day is interesting and thought-provoking, and mostly I just want to say thank you, yes.
I have huge trouble drawing people, so I’m so going to try this out next time. I’m doing naarmamo on livejournal at the moment, where a group of us are trying to do one piece of art every day, and this blog has already made me think of lots of ideas and things I’d like to try. Thanks again:)
Hello Jekesta! How lovely to hear that, and thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s nice to know people actually are reading, even when no-one replies.. :)