Bargue Contour Drawing 

The Bargue contour drawing is a great exercise to refine our understanding of gesture, rhythms, weight, line, mass and complexity within the figure. Working through a process as outlined below will set you up for success in your figurative work.

Not only knowing the method, but also the reasons for each step are important. Grasping the underlying principles of each stage will give you greater control over your figure drawing process as you move on to other models.

Step 1 – Placement Stage

At the beginning of the process we must set up our model (in our case a Bargue figure printout), and our paper. We must look to establish the overall proportions and placements to ensure a good composition.

Step 2 – Thumbnail stage

The thumbnail stage can be use to ensure that we approach the main drawing with an overall understanding of the model. This is the first look at the gesture on a small scale.

Step 4 – Gesture stage

The gesture stage connects the placements in a way that will ensure that the figure is full of life. Even figures that are statically posed do not want to become rigidly represented in the drawing.

Step 5 – Construct Stage

The construct stage develops the gesture further to give the figure a realistic feel in its masses. We look to find the main high points and low points within each gestural mark.

Step 6 – Articulation stage

In this final stage, the articulation stage, we bring the figure to a finish. Using the already established drawing, we refine the curves, straights, and line weights to represent the model accurately and in the fullness of expression of a line drawing.