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Welcome to the Figure Drawing LAB.

This site is devoted to better understanding of the elements that make up the human figure and how to better portray them. It is intended as a resource for artists and art students who work with the human form. This site focuses on accepted conventions of figure drawing that have been used to model the figure since antiquity.

The figure has been revered as a symbol for perfection since the time of the Ancient Greeks, who modeled their gods in the image of Man. Christians also believe that Man is made in the image of God, who is the ideal of perfection and goodness in the universe. Better understanding of the proportions, movements and nuances of the human form has always been important in Western Civilization, that is why artists have chosen to make it the central focus of many works.

Most of the images used on this web site are nude representations of the human form. Every effort has been made to approach this subject in the most clinical and objective way possible. A high priority has been placed on making the images good anatomical resources as well as a reference for visual artists.

There is a reference menu at the left side and another at the bottom of each page. Clicking on the graphic at the top of each page will return you to this page. Please report any problems with links, loading of graphics, or questions about the interface.

Questions or comments can be forwarded to Ralph Larmann at the University of Evansville.

This site is graphics intensive and some pages may take extra time to load. It has been designed to include, tables, animated GIFs, and Java. Alternatives have been put in place at every point possible. For best results view on a Java-enhanced Netscape or Internet Explorer 3.0 or 4.0 browser.

*Note: Even though this site does contain a large amount of information on anatomy, there may be variations from medical standards. This site is not intended as a medical reference.

created 6/15/98 by R. M. Larmann