Byzantine Iconography Series 2: Drawing the Half-Figure

Name: Byzantine Iconography Series 2: Drawing the Half-Figure
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Laying the Foundations for Byzantine Iconography

Created byBridget Hayes

Last updated 8/2019

English

What you'll learn

Draw hands in various gestures.
Draw a half-figure in the dynamic frontal pose.
Draw a half figure in the 3/4 pose.

Course content

4 sections • 15 lectures • 1h 30m total length

Hands 1.1 (Introduction)3:15
Explore drawing hands from memory in Byzantine iconography, focusing on raised-hand blessing and Christ-gesturing poses, and learn how these gestures convey a Greek and Roman visual language.
Hands 1.26:58
Explore half-figure drawing by using the face oval as a guide for hand proportions, with three quarters of a face off the head and fingers divided into three segments.
Hands 1.37:21
Learn to draw a raised hand in Byzantine iconography, with the palm toward the viewer, grasping a gospel book while fingers emerge and suggest a cross or spear.
Hands 1.45:54
Learn to depict half-figure hands with adaptable holding positions, from quill to medicine box with a spoon, and finger poses, using consistent hand-holding styles.

Hands 2.15:32
Explore techniques for drawing hands holding a scroll in Byzantine iconography, ensuring proper finger placement and space around the object, with multiple perspectives to show hands emerging from behind.
Hands 2.24:22
Explore the blessing gesture in Byzantine iconography, comparing open-hand and angled 'k' forms, detailing finger positions, nails, and turning the hand for expressive half-figure portraits.
Hands 2.34:24
Master the half-figure hand in Byzantine iconography by drawing layered lines, dividing the composition into three squares, and shaping fingers and nails along a guiding semicircle.
Hands 2.44:20
Draw a hand holding a spear by aligning three squares in a line to establish the head and three fingers, then refine the overall form and consider the spear's hole.

Frontal Half-Figure 3.16:08
Master the basic structure of a frontal half-figure in Byzantine iconography by building the head and body proportions and then adding arms, hands, and facial features step by step.
Frontal Half figure 3.26:50
Begin by outlining the half-figure to set proportions, note arm width from finger to elbow and the oval face, then develop lines and forms to imply movement and folds.
Frontal Half Figure 3.33:37
Explore how to draw the frontal half figure within Byzantine iconography, linking gospel book imagery to emotional expression.
Frontal Half figure 3.410:17
Explore the frontal half figure in Byzantine iconography, drawing the half-figure as taught in the series.

3/4 Half Figure 4.15:54
Learn the 3/4 half-figure in Byzantine iconography, focusing on composition with figures on either side of Christ, including apostles, archangels Michael and Gabriel, and prophets.
3/4 Half Figure 4.25:09
Master the 3/4 half figure drawing within Byzantine iconography as part of the Byzantine iconography series 2, lesson 4.2.
3/4 Half Figure 4.310:55
Explore drawing the 3/4 half-figure in Byzantine iconography, focusing on line work and gaze direction to develop a coherent composition.

Requirements

Pencil and paper
It is recommended that students have already completed Series 1 on Drawing the Face

Description

In this series of lessons we will progress from what we've learned in the first series on Drawing the Face to learning the basics of constructing the half-figure. In the first two sections we will start by learning to draw hands in several different gestures. In the third section we will study the front facing half figure and in the fourth the 3/4 pose.

Who this course is for:

This course is aimed at beginners with no experience in Byzantine Iconography or those who who have learned by tracing icons and would like to learn to draw them. Anyone why takes this course should have completed the first series on Drawing the Face.

Byzantine Iconography Series 2: Drawing the Half-Figure

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Drawing Hands (Part 1)4 lectures • 23min

Drawing Hands (Part 2)4 lectures • 19min

Drawing the Half-Figure in the Frontal Pose4 lectures • 27min

3/4 Half Figure3 lectures • 22min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: