how much does daily figure drawing help?

[oolong]

So, I've just finished up my first quarter of art school and got around to scanning the best out of the massive pile of figure drawings that's been building up. Every class day we spend 3 hours every day drawing from the nude model and 4 hours doing anatomy studies, copies of masterworks, experimenting, and working on personal projects. I had no experience drawing from the live model before and I think the progression is pretty obvious and interesting. (I don't have a scanner or camera so I haven't been keeping my blog to date, but I can at least promise I'll update this thread again like this at the end of next quarter!)


gestures (5-10 minutes):

(i didn't take pictures of any from the first 3 weeks of class so you'll just have trust me that they were bad)
week of 10/6/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/oct6.jpg
week of 10/20/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/pigeon3.jpg
week of 11/03/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/sarahs1.jpg
week of 11/10/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/nov4.jpg
week of 11/24/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler6.jpg
week of 12/1/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler9.jpg


20 minute poses

week of 9/15/08:
http://mitchv.com/junk/vanessa1.JPG
week of 9/22/08:
http://mitchv.com/junk/0922figure1.jpg
week of 9/29/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/sep2.jpg
week of 10/6/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/oct1.jpg
week of 10/13/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/randy3.jpg
week of 10/20/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/pigeon2.jpg
week of 11/03/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/sarahs2.jpg
week of 11/10/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/nov5.jpg
week of 11/24/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler1.jpg
week of 12/1/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler5.jpg


sustained (1+ hours):

week of 9/15/08:
http://mitchv.com/junk/0919figure.jpg
week of 9/22/08:
http://mitchv.com/junk/0923figure.jpg
week of 9/29/08:
http://mitchv.com/junk/0924figure.jpg
week of 10/13/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/randy1.jpg
week of 10/20/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/pigeon7.jpg
week of 11/10/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/nov7.jpg
week of 11/17/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tammy.jpg
week of 11/24/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler3.jpg
week of 12/1/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler8.jpg


portraits (20 min+):

week of 10/6/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/oct2.jpg
week of 10/20/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/pigeon5.jpg
week of 11/03/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/sarahs7.jpg
week of 11/10/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/nov1.jpg
week of 11/17/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/oct7.jpg
week of 12/1/08:
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j231/random124/tyler4.jpg

[Fenriswolf]

I can definitely see some improvement from your earlier studies. Drawing a lot does indeed help.

If you really want to improve your figure drawing skills, take some figurative sculpture classes as well, you'll be surprised how much your understanding of the human form will increase.

[Khakibin]

Whoa, this is really great! Even the first 2 pics already show improvement! You have no idea how you have motivated me now...! Thanks and good luck, with this pace you´ll be awesome in no time!

[Noah Bradley]

Wow, big improvement. Good job.

I notice, though, that you seem to habitually make two of the really common mistakes in figure drawing: making the head too big, and the hands too small. Pay a little extra time to getting those proportions right when you're drawing. Most of the other proportions are looking pretty good, but you seem to be getting those off somewhat frequently. Just something to keep an eye on.

Great work.


If you really want to improve your figure drawing skills, take some figurative sculpture classes as well, you'll be surprised how much your understanding of the human form will increase.

Glad to hear that. I'm enrolled in a figure sculpting class next semester. Can't wait. :)

[*ViRuS*]

nice job, you can really see how your getting more and more sensitive to light and value. awesome =)

[Jovian M]

Damn, man, definitely a ton of improvement.

[HunterKiller_]

Every class day we spend 3 hours every day drawing from the nude model and 4 hours doing anatomy studies, copies of masterworks, experimenting, and working on personal projects.

Wow, that's some seriously solid drawing time.
What school do you go to?

Great improvements.

[oolong]

for those who asked i'm in Mark Kang O'Higgins Atelier at Gage Academy of Art, it's a good program!
thanks for all the kind words and crits! still suck at hands, feet and proportions but i've been practicing them a little more this quarter, i don't know if you can see an improvement but hopefully. also, now I have the internet at home so ideally i'll be able to post pictures more often. and eventually i will fix all the stupid photobucket broken link. here's an intimidating pile of all the figure drawings i did.

week of 1/12 - 1/16
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3426/3391769742_c4d39e4646.jpg
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week of 1/19 - 1/23
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week of 1/26 - 1/30
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3390945691_be04292bbb.jpg
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3391756600_077b3d6b51.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3624/3391756562_0397b47e4b.jpg

week of 2/2 - 2/6
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3390969877_2e0c51c22f.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3391780590_0b2122b982.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3390969807_61a2cb68b3.jpg
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3582/3390969465_6b0e1ce862.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3391780168_fa786154c7.jpg

too many images to post at once...

[oolong]

week of 2/9 - 2/13
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3391784468_072f131408.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3583/3391784440_23255b1174.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3426/3391784408_ce95b8cdab.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3583/3391784376_ef1dec4f26.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3391784330_f5f32732d6.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3390973551_2f4c8a8c8d.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/3390973515_31e0b58c93.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3390973497_d14db80260.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3391784166_d1cfcea1f2.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3646/3391784126_1d91ae48cd.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/3391784086_ac4e521ab2.jpg

week of 2/16 - 2/20
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3390965775_801d6dc453.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/3391776498_8f87f636de.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3571/3391776472_032f54b84e.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3660/3391776434_5fae58660b.jpg
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/3391776300_e7686d9229.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/3390965533_ea8428d0d1.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3391776256_e4786f5b86.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3451/3391776222_4ee8caba8d.jpg

week of 2/23 - 2/27
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3391754788_0c88122f8f.jpg
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3391754400_3d7d8cf04d.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3390943173_b87986165e.jpg

week of 3/2 - 3/6
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3391762774_2c7a6c1597.jpg
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week of 3/9 - 3/13
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3390972035_f442993034.jpg
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week of 3/23 - 3/27
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3615/3390954457_c5da168695.jpg
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too lazy to put times on all of these... the majority of them are 20 mins, the sketchier looking ones might be 5 or 10 and the more finished looking ones on toned paper that i've added white to are 1-2 hours or sometimes more... a couple are 1min gestures, you can probably tell which ones, haha...

[FallenGodX11]

I wonder, where do you go to school for figure drawing? I want to know what concepts and principles they teach you when you draw the figure. Do you construct the figure? Do they talk about proportions and overlaps? Do they talk about gesture? What are your teacher"s views of the figure?

[meeps]

Wow, no one in my class even comes close to what you're producing, haha. Well done

[oolong]

meeps: thanks!

I wonder, where do you go to school for figure drawing? I want to know what concepts and principles they teach you when you draw the figure. Do you construct the figure? Do they talk about proportions and overlaps? Do they talk about gesture? What are your teacher"s views of the figure?

i'm in mark kang o'higgins atelier at gage academy of art. um it's more of an expressionist/applied atelier than the real strict kind of classical ateliers like the ones the ARC endorses, i think it's pretty unique in that it kind of combines parts of a classical atelier with stuff more like an upper level illustration/fine arts degree program. we do copies of raphael and bargue and cast drawings and all that and study classical figure drawing books like the bridgman, robert beverly hale and etc but ultimately in the life room and on personal projects we're allowed to explore more modernist and illustrative stuff. construction is pretty standard tho these were done when I was trying to learn the 'block-in approach' (drawing contours and shadow shapes rather than building up the figure from the inside out which is more what I would do if i was drawing without any reference). so yeah we talk about proportions and gesture and all that stuff and my goal is to get a strong understanding of all the classical basics by the end of the year though I've still got a ways to go, a lot of my proportional errors and such are mainly because i draw too quickly without measuring

[OmenSpirits]

These show great progress.

I do notice sometimes that the hatching you use throws off the softness in some of your studies. More of a wider use of line when adding shading would likely not show as much.

[FallenGodX11]

meeps: thanks!



i'm in mark kang o'higgins atelier at gage academy of art. um it's more of an expressionist/applied atelier than the real strict kind of classical ateliers like the ones the ARC endorses, i think it's pretty unique in that it kind of combines parts of a classical atelier with stuff more like an upper level illustration/fine arts degree program. we do copies of raphael and bargue and cast drawings and all that and study classical figure drawing books like the bridgman, robert beverly hale and etc but ultimately in the life room and on personal projects we're allowed to explore more modernist and illustrative stuff. construction is pretty standard tho these were done when I was trying to learn the 'block-in approach' (drawing contours and shadow shapes rather than building up the figure from the inside out which is more what I would do if i was drawing without any reference). so yeah we talk about proportions and gesture and all that stuff and my goal is to get a strong understanding of all the classical basics by the end of the year though I've still got a ways to go, a lot of my proportional errors and such are mainly because i draw too quickly without measuring

Okay, I like to see what background students have in their figure drawing experience. Right now I see you are improving, but you are relying too much on rendering to express form. I never found the block in approach really useful unless you are trying to figure out shapes and space. I can see you are starting to understand mass conception, but you need to refine it with anatomy and form. Remember that Robert Beverly Hale said that to have a secret figure in your head. Look at Kevin Chen, Charles Hu, and Dangerousllama here to find some figure construction stuff to study off of.