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Life drawing
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Message
Posted
Greetings fellow paint pushers and happy new year. I have been challenged to take a series of life drawing classes this year which is daunting me. I find the human form rather ugly with some exceptions obviously, and i am also scared because my own skill is, how to put this, limited!
I have found classes here in salisbury but how should I prepare to make the most of it all? I had considered buying one of those desktop mannequins to mess with so tjat i learn proportion and angle first, but i may just be buying a comfort blanket...
Any one offer advice?
David
Posted
I was at a class on Tuesday; as the organiser was photographing our sketches to upload to Facebook the lady next to me asked him to make sure he annotated her sketch to let the world know she was a novice. She'd put down a dozen lines or so in a 40-minute pose and felt self-conscious.
But, amongst a mixed ability group with a bit of cubism in pastels, some watercolour work and charcoal on black and white backgrounds I'm sure she learned heaps.
Yes, it's a little bit intimidating the first time a model drops their robe on a chair and goes straight into pose, fixing you with a stare, but it's an interpretation thing so don't worry about how the results turn out. Yes, do get a rough idea of general proportions (Youtube's good for that) and practise with some stick figures. Make sure you have large enough paper too - the lady the other side of me on Tuesday was drawing on A2 and it wasn't big enough for how she was working.
And enjoy it. Do talk to the other artists (and your model) during tea break .
Posted
Oh you will enjoy it. I love life drawing and sadly my daffy eyes are stopping me doing it at the moment. BIG paper I have lining paper from the Decor stores the stuff that proper wall paper people put under the top layer. It’s smooth and you can cut it to to what ever size / length you like.and it’s cheap. . A good size drawing board and bull dog clips .
I put about ten sheets on top of one another then you can just keep going. Charcoal…yes. Throw your rubber away. . If you can stand at an easel great . Look,look and look again before you start. The human body is so interesting. You don’t have to do all of it . Just enjoy.
Happy New Year David.
Edited
by Sylvia Evans
Posted
Yes David, think big and fill the page.
A2 cartridge or even larger newsprint is a good size and should stop you scratching around or fiddling…
Go for charcoal sticks to start with, that’s what I started off with years ago at college, it’s easy to work for a start although a bit messy. Don’t even consider colour for at least a year, it’ll take that long (at least) before you start to get anywhere near producing an accurate human form.
You need to find a course that offers some degree of tuition along the way, life drawing is the most difficult discipline of all, it’s not easy but can be so rewarding!
Top tip… use cheap paper to start off with, grey is even better because it takes away that stark white glare.
If you use expensive paper you will be cautious about spoiling it… off white newsprint is ideal!
Edited
by Alan Bickley
