There is one fact about standing figures that you must always bear in mind. They must balance.
You will probably say with a smile you are quite certain of that without any reminder. But I am inclined to think that young artists are very unobservant, or else uncommonly careless, so often do we not a lack of balance in their pictures.
And you can see for yourself, artist or no artist, that if you throw yourself into an attitude, and lose your balance, you will come with a crash to the ground.
Your heel, or toe, or whatever happens to be your support, must come under the centre of your spinal column.
In Fig. 8 are shown a couple of silhouettes of figures in action to emphasize this principle. Suppose you were hopping on one leg, or dancing on your toe, or standing upright with your arms above your head, and Michael or Peter gave you a push, as brothers sometimes do, you would at once lose your balance—and the figure in your drawing will overbalance if you do not rightly plant him upon whatever is to support him.
Therefore, as soon as we have sketched in the angles of Jack draw a faint line down the centre from the back or half-centre of the neck, and this should reach the ball of the right foot. (Jack is depending on the chair with his left leg, and he could therefore lean backward or forward without losing his balance.)
First we glean a general idea of the big angles of the body, and the broad, sweeping line of the spine, the bending thigh and leg, and the standing leg and foot (in my sketch drawn on a smaller scale). Then we follow the angles, and find they break into large simple curves. We trace the great curve of the body, its backward thrust, the width of shoulders, and comparatively narrow width across the hips, the thick curve of the thigh and its narrowing line to where the knee bends on the chair, the curve of the calf, and the flatter line of the knee to the foot where it bends downward in a great spoon-shaped curve. The right leg has far more delicate curves. The calf and upper thigh are drawn taut with the
