12-06-2018, 08:55 PM
There is an old book (if I remember correctly, it is in Sanskrit), that sets out rules for how figures are to be drawn.
It is extremely regimented... this leg should be this way, eyes should face that way, if the person is a noble, they should be doing this, angles should be this. It was aimed, of course, at iconographically communicating meaning to people (traditionally, to those who couldn't read), and was probably especially relevant to those decorating sacred places, where historical and spiritual lessons were conveyed through the figures.
I've been trying to discover whether similar "manuals" existed in the western world, a textual codification on how to draw figures, because the description of the poses reminded me of the VMS (although the VMS does now follow the same guidelines and is not as strict as the Indic descriptions).
I can't remember the name of it. If I find it, I'll post the title. It's possible it has been blogged somewhere on the Web, but if the blog is in an Indic language, it might be difficult to locate.
It is extremely regimented... this leg should be this way, eyes should face that way, if the person is a noble, they should be doing this, angles should be this. It was aimed, of course, at iconographically communicating meaning to people (traditionally, to those who couldn't read), and was probably especially relevant to those decorating sacred places, where historical and spiritual lessons were conveyed through the figures.
I've been trying to discover whether similar "manuals" existed in the western world, a textual codification on how to draw figures, because the description of the poses reminded me of the VMS (although the VMS does now follow the same guidelines and is not as strict as the Indic descriptions).
I can't remember the name of it. If I find it, I'll post the title. It's possible it has been blogged somewhere on the Web, but if the blog is in an Indic language, it might be difficult to locate.