Johnny Saturn

Hi, Folks:

As many of you know, I’m a big supporter of life drawing as a way to improve your drawing ability. Drawing from anatomy books and photos has its place, but nothing is as good as having a live model holding a pose for you while you draw or paint. Maybe it’s so much better because that’s a real person in front of you, one who is making an effort to hold a pose. Maybe it’s because the person exists in 3D space, and is not flattened into a 2D graphic. Whatever the reason, life drawing is the way to go.

After a few years at this, usually every Sunday at the Indianapolis Art Center, I know there are a few ways to make the most out of life drawing.

1) Most sessions open up with gesture drawings, yet many students fail to understand what is expected. The model does warm-up poses, often for about two-minutes or less each. This is your chance to loosen up your arm, draw in big sweeping motions, and get the primary action line and rough placement of anatomy. It is not time for you to start a large, finished drawing that fills up a whole sheet of paper and gets truncated after two minutes.

2) If you start to get bored, or it becomes ho-hum, change mediums. I have used graphite, pen & ink, watercolor, colored pencils, ink washes, and even (ugh!) pastels. As soon as I feel things are getting stale, I try a new medium. Today, I started using chalk pencils on toned paper.
3) Go into each session with a goal. For example, focus on proportion, or musculature, or dynamics, or skin tones, or whatever you feel you need to work on. You need to develop a critical eye for your own work, and always be striving to improve on your artistic weak points.
4) If the class monitor says it’s OK, rearrange the spot lights for interesting lighting. This is not always encouraged, but it’s cool when you can do it. Try multiple light sources. Try colored lamps. Get some contrast going.
5) Props may enliven the session. Sure, the model is probably going to use chairs, stools, pillows, and the like. But, how about a walking stick? A cane? A Grecian urn? The possibilities are endless here.
6) Study proportion. Also, use your pencil held out in front of you to divide the model into equidistant areas. Familiarize yourself with human proportion based on the head’s dimensions. Find parallel landmarks on the model to better line elements up.
7) Fill your paper. Don’t be timid and draw on the corner of a piece of paper.
Remember, the model’s exterior outline is more important than his/her interior details.

Most colleges and universities have figure drawing sessions open to the public (for a fee, of course). You may have to call around, but chances are that there is a figure drawing open studio near you. If you have to drive a long way, it’s worth it. I knew one avid figure artist who drove almost three hours each way for his open studio. He wanted it, and knew it was imperative to his growth as an artist, so that was that.

Scott