Armature PPTX

8/9/2019 Armature PPTX

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Basic

ArmaturesDr. Blake Ketchum

This guide will walk you through the

construction of a basic armature for

small-scale projects.

Armatures have two purposes:

Supporting the plastic media

(clay).

Serving as a reverence for

proportion and scale.

Armatures consist of a rigid material

that is precisely constructed according

to the requirements of the project.

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You will start with an armature

drawing. The armature drawing should

reflect:

The final proportions of the

sculpture.

All the flexion points (joints).

In this drawing for a human male,

the pose is a default anatomical pose

called the supine position. The figure

stands facing forward with arms down

and palms forward.

The head is represented by only the

cavalarium (brain case). Because the

flexible part of the spine continues up

farther than the bottom of the face.Only one arm is drawn because the

arm armature will be identical from

front and back views. Feet are turned

out of the page, so are not drawn.

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Cut a wire approximately 3-times the

length of your finished sculpture.

You can start with the foot. On a

separate sheet draw how long the foot

will be in the final sculpture.

Depending upon your final plans for

the armature, it is often a good idea to

leave extra wire on the feet to attach

the sculpture to a base.

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Lay the armature on the armature

drawing with the foot pointing

outwards.

Begin following the armature drawing

by bending at the knee. I use a little

strip of tape or mark with a sharpie to

indicate where joints should be.

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Work your way up the armature

carefully. When you get to the lumbar

segment of the spine, lay the wire to

one side of the center line. You will be

doubling back over this section before

you finish the armature.

Keep long bones straight and your

bends crisp. If you dont it is easy to

loose your proportions and a sense of

structure in your sculpture.

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Continue up and for the neck, again

leave the armature to one side of the

center line.

You will be making the arms out of a

second wire, so disregard them now.

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Bend the wire for the cavalarium

carefully so that it is just inside the

lines of your armature drawing. Rely

on your pliers for the tight bends.

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Moving back down the body, doubling

over the neck. Keep checking that

everything is in alignment on the way

down.

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The process can be slow. Dont expect

it to go as quickly as it did when you

made the first side. Keep everything in

line and flat.

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This component is ready when its flat,

inline with the drawing, and the joints

are clearly marked.

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Begin the arms. Mark elbow and the

centerline. The shoulder should be a

sharp bend.

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Flip the armature and center it on your

mark.

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The finished arms.

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I tightly wrap the lumbar and cervical

section of the spine with tape or wire

to hold them together. Cloth tape

works well for small armatures.

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Attach the arms with tight and strong

tape or tightly twisted wire.

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Its almost done. We need to pose the

stance. When people stand, their

bones are not all lined up on a plane!

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The knees get bent just a little bit

backwards. Dont over do it.

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The lumbar vertebrae are slightly

arched.

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The neck tilts forward and is also

arched.

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Bend the wire between the arms back

a bit to represent the clavicles, or

collarbones.

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Fine tune the armature so that it

stands on its own in a natural looking

position.

Once you have this default pose set,

you can pose the armature much like

you would an action figure, one joint

at a time.

When posing the armature, be aware

of the directions in which the joints

will naturally bend. Only deviate from

this for deliberate artistic reasons.

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