Classical Drawing Workshops - Female Model

As part of the Interdisciplinary Actions - Drawing unit we are encouraged to attend a Classical Drawing Workshop run by Asher and a couple of other Professors. The class is based around life-drawing of female or male models but so far they have been dressed rather than naked. This workshop, alongside poster design and intaglio printing, is a class that actually features other students because work is created there and then, rather than discussed about in a 1 to 1 tutorial format. There was slight engagement from other students but as life-drawing is generally quite personal and focused, quiet concentration is required and therefore we didn't chat to the others much.

On arrival at the first workshop, we were told to select an easel and buy some paper from the University art shop for drawing onto. I bought a piece of B1 scale paper to allow me to draw largely. We both went into drawing the figure on this larger scale straight away but we possibly should have began with smaller, quicker sketches, as Asher later suggested when she came round to discuss our work with us.

It had been a fair while since I had last done life-drawing so it took me a while to get into it again but I did enjoy it and I liked the challenge of drawing the female model fully clothed, looking closely at the creases in the fabric of her dress created by the way she was sat at the end of the bench seat.

I used a graphite stick to create a bold line, I hadn't brought all my graphite pencils from home so for the next session, I made sure I had a wider range of pencils from 2B to 9B so I could create softer and darker marks. I also bought some charcoal sticks to experiment with using in a later workshop. As the workshops continue and my drawing skills develop, I may also purchase some oil pastels so I can experiment with adding colour to my figure sketches, to begin with I am just focusing on creating a tonal variation.

Around an hour into the class, Asher came to look at the drawing I had done so far and discussed my work with me. She advised that from now on, I should start off by doing some quick small sketches to get my drawings of bodily proportions accurate before I work on a larger scale. The Thursday workshop can be focused on quick sketching and Friday workshop can involve working on a larger scale and adding more detail to my figure drawing. I can also draw body features such as hands and feet as small separate sketches around the page to practice drawing them before adding them into my larger figure drawing. I do struggle to draw both hands and feet so this was a useful tip.

To summarise, at this stage it is more important for me to get a feel for figure drawing, focusing on drawing proportions accurately rather than creating a great final drawing, I need to practice a lot.

I think I drew the proportions fairly well, I did struggle with the legs so need to observe the angle in which she is sitting more closely. If I use a wider range of pencil grades, I can create more of a tonal variation and the drawing will appear more lifelike. I definitely need to practice drawing hands in different positions as well as different sizes when considering proportions.

In the following week's workshop, I took Asher's advice and drew the female figure on a smaller scale as a quicker sketch. The figure was sat in the same position, I worked on A4 scale paper and used a wider range of pencils. I think this figure drawing has a better quality of proportion. I enjoyed adding tonal detail to the bench seat she is sat on as well as the embroidery on her dress. The angle in which I was drawing from was slightly different from the previous workshop so I did find it easier to draw her legs this time. It was less of a challenge perhaps but I'm glad I was able to draw her body features fairly accurately. Her hand again needs practice and I'm aiming to have improved my hand drawings as these classical drawing classes continue throughout the rest of the semester.