Recently in my Conceptual Design Thinking class we learned about using armatures in our artwork.
An Armature is a like a framework or skeleton commonly used in sculpture, its provides support for the figure that is being molded. A pictorial armature is a two dimensional grid that divided a composition into optical harmonics. It serves as an outline that an artist can refer to in their piece.
The two types of pictorial armatures that we learned to use are the 14-line armature and the Golden Ratio.
The 14 line armature is a two dimensional grid that creates intersections that correlate to musical root harmonies, such as octave (1/2) or perfect 4th (3/4). These naturally occurring ratios are pleasing to the ears and also to the eyes.
The Golden Ratio is a mathematical concept found by dividing a line into two parts. With the ratio of the longer section to the shorter section is the same as the ratio of the whole line to the longer section. This results in an approximate value of 1.618. But essentially it’s a visually pleasing proportion that is frequently observed in nature and used for art and design to create an aesthetically balanced composition.
For our project we were tasked with creating an illustration using these two armatures.
For my piece that used the 14 line armature to create a scene of a fight between two wolves. The lines of the grid were incredibly helpful for creating the dynamic positions of the two wolves. I kept the color palette cool, and set the environment at night in a snowy forest to help set the tone for the piece.
Using the Golden Ratio armature I used the guide to map out the movement of a mermaid jumping out water. I wanted this piece to have a contrasting tone to the previous one, so I incorporated warmer and brighter colors.
Throughout both works I had to constantly remind myself that I need to treat the armatures as a guide and not a strict set of boundaries. It’s ok to not conform the lines of your drawing so tightly to the lines of the armature. When your lines dip in and out from touching the guidelines it allows the piece to feel more natural. So finding that middle balance, while difficult was very rewarding.
Overall I really loved this project, and I will continue to practice using armatures in the future. They’ve helped me create some really interesting compositions which I want to further explore. And I encourage other artist to try using them as well!
Thank you for reading!
Emma <3