Tutored Life Drawing Blog Week 18: Balance (Patreon)

Balance in figure drawing usually refers to how weight is distributed through a pose. In particular, this is about whether the figure is stable, or about to fall over. Subtle changes can affect the perception of balance in a figure drawing, and if a pose looks off-balance, it is often quickly noticed by the viewer.

Changes in balance can also convey motion. Any figure that is 'off-balance' will appear to be moving – it is important to take care that this motion appears intentional rather than that the figure is falling over.

Image above: 'Elle'

Making Figures Look Balanced

Balance involves distributing the weight of the figure evenly across an imaginary central point. Generally the figure is of a fairly even density (with the exception of hair!) so this is inferred from how shape and volume are positioned.

The red vertical line roughly indicates a centre that the figure's weight is evenly distributed over. A stable balance line is always vertical.

One way to think of this is by imagining a balance line through the figure, either side of which the weight is about even. If the balance line tips in any direction due to a shift in weight, the figure appears to 'lean' in that direction. Though it need not be drawn, keeping a balance line in mind will help with prevent figures from looking like they are about to tip over.

See-saws balanced with different weights – the weight creates a greater force about the centre the further away it gets.

This is similar to a see-saw – when weight on one side exceeds the other, the see-saw tips down. The distance from the centre of balance (or fulcrum) plays a role in how much a weight will tip it – the further away, the easier it is. (To see this at work in real life, try opening a door by pushing a few inches from the hinge, then try pushing the far side – which is easier?) Similarly, if parts of the body shift further away from a vertical balance line, more compensation in opposite direction is needed. Different parts of the body have different mass – for instance, the arms are much lighter than the legs, and are unlikely to alter an otherwise stable pose as much.

This figure sketch appears to be leaning forwards, putting it off balance. The balance line tilts away from vertical.

Balance lines differ from centrelines. A centreline runs down the centre of the body to visually divide the torso in two, whilst the balance line is dealing exclusively with the idea of weight distribution. The two may align quite closely, especially in stable, upright poses, but can also drastically diverge!

Balance lines (red) roughly mark the centre of the body's weight distribution, whilst the centrelines (blue) show the centre of the torso.

Balance and Gesture

The idea of rhythm connect closely to balance (see Lesson 14 - Gesture and Rhythm). I like to use the idea of rhythm to describe the transfer of weight through the figure, and when drawing gestures, lines that suggest rhythm can help a sense of balance by passing from one side of the body to the other. Placing, or imagining a balance line for the figure gives something for rhythm lines to cross over, until the weight is shared between the legs.

Rhythm lines pass through the body (blue) and will often cross over the balance line (red).

As poses shift, the body needs to act to maintain its balance. This often results in active and passive pairs of muscles, or 'sides' of a body part. This is most obvious in contraposto (counter poise) poses, where a flexed, active side of the torso balances a relaxed, passive side. When the shoulders tilt in one direction, the hips often oppose them in order to maintain balance. Contraposto often creates an asymmetric distribution of weight between the legs. Balance lines are likely to sit between the legs because the body's weight is shared between them, but one leg will appear to bear more of the figure's weight, and sit closer to the centre of balance.

It is useful to think about the tilt of the shoulders versus the hips (red lines) in figure drawing – it is common for one side to pinch in, whilst the other gets stretched out (blue), much like an accordion.

It is possible to make figures look more convincingly balanced by indicating subtle changes in contour and form created by active and inactive muscle sets. Inactive muscles are likely to be stretched out, show smoother contours, and flatter forms, whilst active ones tend to appear compressed, may cause more skin creasing, and have more rounded forms.

The muscles of the arm indicated in blue are active, creating rounder forms, whilst those indicated in green are relaxed, being pulled into flatter forms.

Another thing that tends to help figures look more stable is including some indication of the floor around their feet, and any other supporting surface, such as chairs. Next week's lesson will look at giving the figure more context, but even small indications to show contact points with floors and furniture go a long way in making a figure appear grounded, rather than floating.

Just a little indication for the ground, such as cast shadows or floor textures, can help figures look more grounded.

Balance in Moving Figures

Moving figures offer a different challenge to balance because once a figure is in motion, its balance line will tip away from being vertical towards the direction the figure is moving in. This is often quite subtle – if it tilts too far, they would over-balance.

There is a very slight forward tilt to the balance in this walking pose.

This is useful to keep in mind for photographed figures in particular, as a photos may have been taken mid-movement. As the body moves, its balance becomes dynamic and continues to change – often it will sway back and forth (or side to side from other views) as the body tilts back in the opposite direction to counter its own action. Faster movement tends to have a deeper tilt to the balance line.

This running figure (drawn from Eadweard Muybridge's photography series) shows a strong forwards tilt to its balance line due to faster movement. Note that the feet come entirely away from the ground in the second drawing.

Another important feature with moving figures is the contact they make with a surface. When figures are walking, much of the time is spent with only one foot making contact with the floor. For more dynamic actions such as running, the figure will come away from the ground entirely.

If the initial balance line is tilting forwards, it can be challenging to get the body's mass distributed either side of it. One thing that may help is to create an envelope of sorts around it.

These envelopes help guide the placement of the limbs.

The figure does not need to stay strictly within the envelope, as it often necessary for limbs to stick out. It more a tool for comparing the two sides of the tilted balance line. Does the mass of the figure – the volumes and shapes – feel balanced across this tilted line? Does the balance line tilt in the direction the body is moving in?

Balance at Work

'Hercules' - c. 30 BC - 20 Italy, Rome, Early Imperial period (Source: Cleveland Museum of Art)

This statue clearly has a weighty feel to it, but the pose really takes advantage of the mechanics of balance. The heavy pelt in one arm is balanced as the figure throws his hip out to the opposite side. The arm is slightly extended, requiring the hip to push out even further in the other direction.

 Zaō Gongen - Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333) (Source: Cleveland Museum of Art)

Without its base, this statue would immediately topple over thanks to its dynamic moving pose. It has a very strong lean to one side and with the raised leg, no means of supporting its tilted balance otherwise. The side view shows a slight forwards bend in the pose, the raised leg slightly forward to counter a slight backwards twist of the torso.

Thomas Eakins - Man Walking, "Stroboscopic" Photograph (Source: The New York MET)

This photographic sequence of movement is an excellent example of a figure in motion. Try to imagine what the balance line is doing in this image as the man walks – his weight shifts through the movement, resulting to a sway. Moving figures tend not to have a consistent 'direction' to their balance line, but instead maintain a dynamic equilibrium in order to stay upright.

Key Points to Remember About Balance

• Balance is the distribution of weight through the body, with a balance line being the midpoint the body balances on.
• Sets of muscles in the figure often to occur in balanced pairs – when one half of the pair is active, the other is inactive.
• Movement occurs when a balance line moves away from a vertical orientation – the deeper the tilt, the more extreme the movement.

Over to You – Understanding Balance

Recommended Materials: Any drawing materials.

Further Reading: Lesson 14 - Gesture and Rhythm 

Exercise 1: Gesture Drawing with Balance Lines

This exercise can be done with photo reference, or at a life drawing class. Try this with shorter poses (under ten minutes) – time your drawings if drawing from photos. This is best done with standing poses.

The aim is to use a balance line to help with gesture drawing, by starting a figure drawing with a vertical balance line. One good approach after this is to use an action line and rhythm lines and try to work across the balance line by switching from side to side as you work down the figure. However, you can proceed with the drawing however you like.

These gesture drawings were started with a vertical balance line that was drawn before the pose was seen.

Exercise 2: Balance in Artworks

Drawing from any artwork is always an excellent way of learning new things, and studying how artists pose figures is especially useful. For this exercise, pick a piece of artwork in any media that shows clearly drawn full figures, in particular, ones that show interesting balance situations. This might be through leaning on surfaces, figure interactions, movement or other possible reasons for exaggerating balance.

These can be quite quick gesture drawings, or something a bit more developed. Try to think about what the balance lines are doing, and how the artist may have manipulated reality for a better end result.

Sketch from the print 'A Stag at Sharkey's' by George Bellow. These interacting fingers show dynamic motion, yet support each other at the same time.

Exercise 3: Moving Figure Studies

Moving figures are worth studying in order to understand how balance changes, and deviates from the stable arrangement of a stationary figure. Being able to control this aspect of a pose opens multiple possibilities, from improving your drawings of figures in motion, giving them intent, to pushing stationary gestures to having a convincing sense of movement. There can be fine line between showing a figure in motion and a figure toppling over, so take care!

Like the first exercise, try starting with the balance line. Try to figure out the direction it is tilting in, and how far. From here, use the ideas mentioned previously about rhythm lines to build the figure. For this exercise, photo reference of moving figures is probably best, especially sequences! The earlier photo by Thomas Eakins is an excellent starting point – Eadweard Muybridge's sets are also good reference.

Gesture studies taken from Eadweard Muybridge's 'Head-spring, a Flying Pigeon Interfering'. Note how the balance line moves forwards into the flip, but is lost when the figure is entirely clear of the ground – momentum brings him back to his feet.

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Further links

>> Watch the Week 18: Balance main lesson HERE (Student & Life Tiers)  
>> Watch the Week 18: Balance demo HERE (Student & Life Tiers)

Find links to the whole Tutored Life Drawing Course HERE