No life drawing classes!?

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

I have a bit of an issue here.

I've really been wanting to improve my anatomy skills and learn to draw humans better. I've looked at Loomis and all the rest but everything I see seems to point at 'you need to draw from life, nothing else compares'.

But... there are absolutely no figure drawing classes anywhere near me. The closest classes I've found are a good three hours away. Anything closer (2 hours!) are college courses in the $400-$600 range.

Is this normal? Do people just suck it up and drive ridiculous distances and pay ridiculous fees to draw naked people? Or do I just live in a terrible area for an artist?

Is it possible to learn anatomy just drawing from photo references *only*? Is there some glaring flaw in learning that way?

[Droid]

There's no problem in learning from pics, it's what I've done.

Figure drawing is usually better because you can get crit and tips from the other artists, but you're on this site, which sorts that, and that you can move round the subject and find a new angle you want to draw at.

To be honest, I think one of the many naked posing images flying round the internet would be fine, I tend to just use google, but there's probably a specific site for figure drawing nudity, not just softcore porn.

Hope I've helped, I think that ammount of money sounds far too much to pay, but I'm not experienced in different life drawing classes.

;)

[Qitsune]

Drawing from life isn't limited to naked people keeping still! You can draw people at cafes and on the bus. You can ask your friends to stand still for shorts poses (2-5 minutes) with their clothes on... You can draw your dog while it's sleeping. You can draw cars from life and buildings (perspective ftw!)

Not all art classes focus on foundation (as weird as it might sound) a lot of classes for hobbyists have a more Bob Ross approach or they paint for pictures. And if all else fails, you can get together with a bunch of artists and hire your own model and split the costs. Btw, the place I used to go to was 8$ per 3hours.

[rpace]

How many sessions are those 4-600.00 college classes? At 12 sessions you'd be paying 50.00 for 3 hours (standard) with a teacher, peers of varying degrees of experience and a nude model.

If the teachers, peers and model are all experienced and able to communicate and critique effectively, that 18.00 an hour is a bargain. If you just end up measurably, if not dramatically better at the end of the program than you would have otherwise have been it's still a bargain.

The only way you lose is if you show no improvement in your work, learn nothing about drawing from life and have no changes in your approach or experience.

However, you'd have to work really, really, really hard at not learning anything to not have some improvement after 36 hours of talking with an instructor, your classmates and drawing from an actual live model.

That 4-600.00, while it's a substantial amount of money for any number of people, is an investment in yourself and your future if you want a career as a visual artist.

If this is just a casual pursuit, then you need not stress over it and should follow alternate routes to achieving your goals.

Best of luck,

~Richard

[Leonor]

You have your own body. Get a mirror. :)

[J Wilson]

Photos are far from perfect, but they are still an acceptable way to start learning anatomy. Just be thankful you have the internet, and access to thousands of quality photos on demand.

It doesn't beat actual life drawing though, so if you can find a way to take some classes, you should.

[burrito]

Have you ever been to figure classes before?

If not, I would recommend making the 3hr trek to try it out and see what you think. I drove 2.5hrs every Saturday for 3 months to attend figure classes (5hr round trip). This is not cost effective in the long run, but I met a model at classes and she is now my roommate. She helped me move closer so I could attend classes without draining myself and my bank account. If you are driving you are not drawing.

Also, I would change your attitude about drawing "naked people." You are studying the nude model and you will not find what you are looking for if you don't approach figure drawing with the proper respect.

[Puck]

I live away from the city and there were no life drawing groups when I moved here, so I started my own and it now runs weekly and has been for over a year. Most communities have art societies that you can join and leverage the members to help cover the cost of the model - which isn't very expensive anyway. It's really good to have an experienced teacher though, but unguided life drawing is better than none. $400-$600 seems very steep for just life drawing classes - the most I've ever paid was $20 per 3 hours session, usually less.

The thing that makes life drawing awesome for learning is not just the anatomy - the difficulty and skill required is greater because you're drawing something that you "know" when it looks wrong (well, more so than when you're drawing a tree for example). Drawing anything from life is where the big experience points are to be found, so if you can't draw nekkid people right now then draw everything else.

[Flake]

Most of the life sessions I ever attended were roughly £80 ($120?) for 12 sessions.

That's probably cheaper than getting a model privately.


Is it possible to learn anatomy just drawing from photo references *only*? Is there some glaring flaw in learning that way?

Yup, but in an awesomely perverse way, the only way you will understand the difference is by actually drawing from a live model.

I love art, it's weird.

[Eugie]

http://characterdesigns.com/

[HunterKiller_]

You have your own body. Get a mirror. :)

This!