Adventures in Arting Podcast: Noell & Izzy Hyman
Short Pose Figure Drawing Class (part two)

Short Pose Figure Drawing Class (part one)

Last week I took a five-night workshop from Greg Follender at The Art Students League.  The workshop was all about learning to draw the figure in a very short amount of time.  We did a lot of 30-second, 1-minute, and 3-minute drawings, along with some longer (5-15 minute drawings).  There were two models: an extremely thin woman and a super beefy man.  It was very interesting to have to draw two very different body types and notice which one I  felt more at ease with.  (I think you'll be able to guess from the drawings.)  I've decided to share a sampling of the drawings (I did **hundreds** of drawings over the five days) in chronological order because I believe that I improved over the week and I think the progression is interesting to see.  This is Monday - Wednesday.

Monday

Monday1
My very first two drawings.  30-second poses and the drawings are truly terrible.

MOnday2
A 1-minute drawing that at least resembles a human being.  Having a lot of trouble fitting the figure on to the page (an ongoing struggle for me).

Monday3
3-minute drawing and I still can't fit the figure on the page.

Monday4
Another 3-minute.  She almost fits, but what a mess.  Trying to figure out proportions quickly -- not something that comes easily to me.

Monday5
8-minutes.  Feet and hands are...well, not really there.

Monday6
Model switch!  Two 30-second drawings.  The figure is, at the very least, on the page.

Monday7
These are all 1-minute drawings.  I feel like my line is starting to get a bit more expressive.  I can definitely see movement, especially in the upper left drawing.

Monday8
Monday8
3-minute drawings.  I like the movement in both, but I still am making the figure too large!  (It's very difficult to accurately portray proportions when the figure spills off the page.)

Monday10
Monday10
I believe that these were both 8-minute drawings.  Super cartoony with big blocks of comic book flesh.

Tuesday 

Tuesday1

Greg, the instructor, advised me to try doing stick figures in order to make sure the figure would fit on the page.  These are the first two drawings of the day.  Both 30-second sketches.

Tuesday2
Still struggling, even with 3-minutes.  She's on the page, but everything is wonky.

Tuesday3
15-minutes and the longest leg in the entire world.  Ugh.  This model is a dancer and she does the most interesting poses.  Imagine holding that for 15-minutes?!

Tuesday4
Model change and some quickie 30-second sketches.

Tuesday5
1-minute and I'm not managing to complete the full figure, but I think I am able to communicate more with my line.  The sway of his back in both drawings helps to convey his stance even without legs.

Tuesday6
3-minute drawing that looks more like a monkey than a man.  I have a lot of trouble with profiles.  That's why I've been practicing them.

Tuesday7
My old nemesis: doesn't fit on the page.  A 3-minute drawing.  Too bad his arm is all kinds of short.

Tuesday8
A very interesting and difficult pose.  The legs are messed up -- foreshortening is so hard to figure out properly when you're moving super fast.  I think this is an 8-minute drawing.

Wednesday

Wednesday1

I'm managing to capture a lot more gesture in my 30-second drawings!

Wednesday2
The drawing on the left was 30-seconds and the drawing on the right was 1-minute.  Interesting to see the change in the drawing with an extra 30-seconds.

Wednesday3
I struggled with a lot of things in this class.  But in this drawing, I feel like I'm finally getting a graceful leg curve.  I really like the way the calf connects to the ankle connects to the foot.  Lots of other things wrong, but that's something really right.

Wednesday4
The model is draped over a stool here.  I'm still struggling with her body, which looks oddly turned towards the viewer instead of flat.

Wednesday5
This was an interesting exercise, but super hard.  We had to draw the model as she moved through space, pausing for 30-seconds at various points.  Your drawing is supposed to reflect her movement.  I'm not sure that mine does.

Wednesday6
Same idea here, simply limited to two poses.

Wednesday7
15-minute drawing in which we were supposed to focus on tone rather than line.  I like tone.  I understand tone.  Line confounds me.  Thus, I enjoyed doing this drawing very very much.

Wednesday8
Model change!  Getting used to his body again.  I think the sense of movement in the drawings is much improved.

Wednesday9
These are blind contour drawings.  The idea is that you never look at your page -- you only look at the model -- and you never pick up your pencil, so it's one continuous line.  I love the way these turned out!  (These are the "good" ones, of course.  I have several that just look like blobs!)

Wednesday10
Wednesday10
Wednesday10
I think these were 3-minute or 5-minute drawings and I can see myself becoming more confident in my line, more accurate in my proportions.  A big change from Monday's drawings, don't you think?

Well, that's it for now.  I'll be back tomorrow with drawings from Thursday and Friday!

Thanks for stopping by!

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