Tomorrow I will be teaching a figure drawing class at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art without a figure drawing model. Instead we will be drawing from some really amazing statues.
I’ve been drawing at the Met since I was in college. I used to go there once a month to draw both paintings and sculptures. If you do not have access to a traditonal life drawing class, drawing statues and paintings at a Museum is a great substitute.
Life drawing is great whether it’s from a live model or from a statue created hundreds of years ago. I encourgae you to get to a museum this Summer and draw. Don’t concern yourself with that nosy art critic looking over your shoulder, just have fun.
As you know I’m teaching small group classes at the Met this Summer. For those of you who cannot join me I’d like to offer you a free PDF download that contains some pretty amazing sculpture. Use it to practice this weekend.
There is something amazing that happens when you draw from beautiful art.
The question gets posed to me all the time, how do I handle drawing one minute gesture poses?
Well, there really is no one right way to draw the model within a one minute time frame. You really do not want to put all of this pressure on yourself to draw the perfect drawing within sixty seconds.
Every artist has a complete different approach. An animator might want to get the emotion of the pose, not concentrating on the likeness. For someone like myself, I use the one minute pose to warm up. The pose as well as my state dictates how I will draw and with what technique.
If I’m feeling a little rusty I might use a certain technique that I find easy that morning. If I’m feeling good then I won’t use any technique. I’ll just draw what I see. Using more of a natural organic line for a likeness.
Here are a few techniques you can employ in a classroom setting.
Focus one the contour. Totally slow down. Focus on drawing just one edge of the models body. Look way more at the model than you do at your paper. Keep your pencil on the paper for as long as you can. You can also try at least one or two drawings using the blind contour technique. It will force you to look at the model more. Remember there is no rush, slow down.
Draw the skeleton. Drawing the rough skeleton during a few one minute gesture poses is a great way to warm up. It’s about finding the tilts of the shoulders and hips. It’s also about drawing the many ovals within the rough skeleton.
Yes, my favorite, the torso peanut shape. Try starting with the torso peanut shape. Then progress to using the opposite c’s for short gesture. If you have time you can also draw in some mummification lines to promote volume.
Lastly just draw what you see with no technique. Use a slow continuous line to draw in your own personal style.
There are ultimately a gazillion ways to draw the model within a one minute time frame. Try these four simple techniques first to keep things simple and easy for yourself.
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