Here is an easy sculpting lesson for art students based on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. These simple wire figures are made to the proportions in the drawing. They provide experience in working with wire and figure proportions. They can be posed as desired and become the basis for more detailed figure sculptures. The creative possibilities are suited to a wide range of student interest.
Materials and Tools for Wire Sculpture
The wire and tools can be found anywhere jewelry making materials are sold. Print Vetruvian Man by going to print preview, and printing it at the 100% setting. The wire hands, feet, and head should be smaller than the drawing to allow adding more material later.
- 20 Gauge jewelry wire
- wire cutters
- round nose jewelry pliers
- needle nose pliers
Make the Legs, Trunk, and Head
Start by cutting a generous 20" piece of wire. Measure 8" from one end of the wire and make a loop in the wire at that point. To make loops, place the round nosed pliers where the loop will be, and wrap the wire around the pliers. Place the loop at the crotch of the figure.
Keeping the loop in place, use the needle nose pliers to bend the wire 90 degrees at the base of the heels of both feet. Form the feet by bending the wire into ovals slightly smaller than his left foot, bending the wire at the heel, and bring the wire back to the original loop.
Thread the longest end of wire through the first loop, and make a second loop in the center of the chest, bringing the wire up toward the head. Wrap the end of the wire from the other leg around the trunk above the first loop.
With the pliers at the top of the head, form an oval for the head, bringing the wire back down the neck. Wrap the remaining wire around the trunk below the chest loop. Twist the wires together at the ankles and neck by holding the wires with one pair of pliers at the joints and twisting with the second pair of pliers.
Making the Arms
Cut a generous 12" piece of wire for the arms. Make a loop in the center of the wire, and put it through the chest loop so the loops interlock. Bend the wire back to the center at the fingertips, through the loops, and wrap the remaining wire around the trunk. Twist the wires together at the wrists.
Finishing the Wire Figure
Holding the figure on the drawing, use pliers to bend the wires at the lines for the shoulders, elbows, and knees. These skeletal wire figures can be used as they are or padded out with aluminum foil as shown in the picture below. Click the picture for a larger view. Wrap them as mummies for Halloween or add polymer clay skin and clothes, and bake. These figures can become the basis of lots of creative characters.
Corinne Shibley - Corinne Shibley studied sculpture in art history and created her own sculpture on the way to a B.A. in Studio Art. "There's something ...
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