The Mannequin: Structure and Balance

The gesture gives your figure life; the mannequin gives it structure. A mannequin is a simplified body made of basic 3D forms. It lets you turn, bend and foreshorten the figure in any pose, before worrying about anatomy or clothes.

The parts of the mannequin

• Head: a sphere or egg, with a center line showing where it faces.
• Ribcage: a large egg, narrower at the bottom.
• Pelvis: a box or a bowl.
• Spine: a flexible connection between ribcage and pelvis. The two masses can tilt and twist independently.
• Limbs: tapered cylinders. Upper arm and thigh are thicker; forearm and lower leg narrow toward the wrist and ankle.
• Joints: spheres at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees.
• Hands and feet: simple wedges or mittens for now.

Ribcage and pelvis: the key relationship

The two big masses of the torso rarely line up perfectly. In most poses they tilt in opposite directions: one side of the torso compresses (squash) while the other side stretches.

Balance and weight

A standing figure is in balance when its center of gravity sits above its base of support. A simple test: draw a vertical line down from the pit of the neck. In a balanced pose, it lands on the supporting foot (or between both feet).

Contrapposto is the classic relaxed standing pose: the weight sits on one leg, so that hip goes up, the shoulders tilt the other way, and the spine forms a gentle S curve. It looks natural and alive, and it's been used since ancient Greek sculpture.

Drawing the mannequin in 3D

• Draw the center line on the head, ribcage and pelvis: it shows which way each mass faces and how much it twists.
• Use cross-contour lines around the cylinders: they show foreshortening.
• Overlap forms where they turn toward you.
• Draw through the forms, like the boxes in the construction lesson.