Visual Art School: Figure Drawing

Drawing the human form seems to consistently be the most challenging subject matter for most students to master. It seems to me that this is so because of the psychological connection each person brings to an image of another human being. The depiction of the human form contains the most direct connection that most people will have to an image - another similar "container" staring back at them. Students put so much stock in how their figure drawings look - usually much more than other subject matter - in ways that seem to suppose that the human figure as subject matter is somehow more valid and special than other subject matter. They tend to revert back to a juvenile understanding of what to do in a drawing, simply because the human form has such a tendency to be an intimidating subject to address.

At the beginning of a semester of figure drawing class, I try and get student over this barrier by approaching the figure in several ways:

1. As stated in the previous post, I spend the beginning of the semester teaching basic human surface anatomy (most muscles and all bones). I illustrate and diagram the skeletal system, and each muscle and group of muscles form the inside out. I emphasize how each grouping reacts (contracts or relaxes) depending on how the body moves, which then illustrates how, on a real body, one does not see everything delineated as in an anatomy diagram, but that one sees hints of what is happening underneath. Also, this extended period of the study of human anatomy gives each student concrete principles and structures to rely on - in other words, to take some of the mystery out of what really happens when a model is posing in front of them. I also make sure that each student knows the names of all the parts of the human body that have been presented, so that when they are drawing we can both have a discussion about what part of the drawing is giving them problems - so that we can have a discussion in a specific, scholarly manner. After the series of lectures on anatomy, I also have the students complete a drawing that combines three drawings layered on top of each other. First, I have a model pose in a very basic standing or seated pose, and have the students complete a drawing from that model. Then, using a skeletal model posed in the same manner as the live model, I have students complete a drawing of that skeleton on a sheet of vellum on top of the original drawing. Finally, I have each student use their notes and diagrams from the previous lectures, as well as the model in front of them, to complete another separate drawing on vellum of the muscles on top of the skeletal drawing. This series of drawings really causes each student to become much more sensitive to how the human form is a unique, integrated series of machine "parts," as well as encouraging in them to become much more focused in their understanding of how each body is an movable, organic thing.

2. I have the students complete large format drawings that emphasize the geometric structure and general proportions of the human form. I have them use large sticks of soft charcoal in order to emphasize what they really see (how light and anatomy define what they see), as opposed to a more stylized, generic, juvenile outline of the figure's perimeter. I have them work large and to push the speed at which they draw, in order to have them to get used to exploring and discovering how the structures integrate with one another, as well as to emphasize both the organic nature of all of the structures of the figure, and how the figure can be approached by reducing those forms into a more rigid structure. This emphasis on the larger, more generalized forms of the figure also encourages the students to approach their drawings as ways of developing and layering how the figure can be understood, as opposed to thinking only of a finished product that has to "look right".

3. As happens in most figure drawing classes, I also have the students work in a more expressive, gestural manner at the beginning of class. This encourages each student to become comfortable with exploring, to "find" the figure after searching the surface of the paper using considered, but loose, line. Working in this manner also encourages each student to become more mentally and observationally aggressive in their approach. I don't want them to repeat a generic sense of the figure as they are drawing - I want them to respond in a sensitive manner to what they are seeing. I also press them on how fast they work. I don't want them to slow down and draw in a manner that is safe for them, simply because the students need to break habits, to push themselves beyond their supposed limited abilities, and to also use their whole mind and body when they are drawing. Working fast, and on a large format, and to keep looking and responding to what they see - these all result in more confidence, a heightened sensitivity, and a way in which they become more focused on the essentials of the figure, not the extraneous details.

4. I then begin a series of drawings with the students that help them depict the figure in a more naturalistic, realistic setting type situation. I first have them work on a series of drawings that emphasize the awareness of how foreshortening is used to place the figure in a more convincing space, as well as to try and get them to understanding more about the sensitive aspects of how the figure in front of them is posed, as opposed to using their generic understanding of the figure to draw what is front of them. I have a series of projects that, again, the figure can be understood using different methods - dividing the figure into shapes, using a exploratory schematic of the figure to understand how parts line up, using a careful understanding of the laws of perspective to change proportions and angles of the figure, etc. I will then construct a space around the figure using some furniture items and easels in order to show how the figure can be fit into a space without even delineating any part of the outline of the figure. This whole series of projects/assignments encourages each student to approach the figure in a more expansive, integrated manner, as opposed to focusing on unrelated parts. To me, this is the most difficult series of drawings, but if the students are given enough time over several class sessions to work on each large drawing, then these become some of the most dynamic drawings of the class. I often see huge jumps in each students' ability and confidence after completing these drawings, which enables the class to move on to more expressive approaches to the figure.