In this exercise you’ll draw your model in a comfortable position. Having something in the background helps identify the space and will help you place the figure so that it doesn’t appear to be floating in space. Position yourself so that you’re facing the model with an interesting viewpoint, and use paper on a board or a large card backed sketchbook.
Familiarise yourself with the figure and composition by making some quick preliminary sketches in charcoal or graphite. First, draw five two-minute sketches of the model in your sketchbook, paying particular attention to the proportions and just using the basic lines that describe the figure.
Make rapid sketches to lock your concentration onto what is essential: making immediate assessments and trusting them. Be bold and let your confidence grow. Draw from the middle of the body out towards the feet and the head. Don’t be tempted to draw outlines. This invariably causes problems as the drawing progresses, and you may become trapped by an overly large head or some other problem that will be awkward to rectify. Keep your marks loose and light to start with; as the image begins to come together you can make your marks and lines bolder to create tone and form.
Work on two larger 10-minute drawings. Be free in your use of medium and don’t erase any incorrect lines. Keep drawing over and over until the lines and marks begin to work.
Do some more drawings of this pose, moving to a different position and changing your drawing medium. Try oil sticks, charcoal, conté sticks, pens, ink and brush. Make written notes in your learning log about the planes and shapes of the body and about any challenges you experience with measuring or media.
In the study below, the artist presses in strong, sharp and short lines on a coloured ground to convey the grittiness of a domestic scene. The background is merely hinted at and the subject positioned in a believable space through just a few marks beneath the figure and the chair. Think about the coloured ground and the use of white and how you might try this yourself.
Getting loosened up before becoming more basic.
Basic line sketches in graphite pencil. The body shapes are interesting and I believe the basic line sketches have captured the essence of the forms posed.
Basic line sketches in graphite pencil. Different poses presenting new shapes captured in basic line sketching.
Basic line sketches in 3B pencil. These three poses, while more natural, were a bit more complicated to capture. But I think the body shapes are reasonably well proportioned.
Basic line sketches in 6B pencil. A bit weird this, sketching someone looking as if they are typing at a keyboard, although I think I captured the slouchy posture pretty well in number 10.
Basic line sketches in 4B pencil. Lounging back into the cushion on the couch reading her iPad, this pose pushes the foot out over the edge of the couch in a foreshortened manner.
10 min sketches
Conté crayon on A3 250gsm Bristol Board. Conté crayon harder than pastel and not quite so easy to blend. From sketch 5, I didn’t manage to capture the hunch in the back of the model who was leaning forward resting her hands on her knees. And face and hands remain a challenge. Sprayed with fixative.
Soft pastel on A4 160gsm neutral pastel paper. Soft pastel fun to work with, but messy! I liked this pose (see sketch 11) with one leg raised and one tucked in beneath and it presented interesting body planes. Hands a struggle, but face a wee bit better – suggestions of features. Sprayed with fixative.
Charcoal on 24x30cm canvas board.
Using sketch number 4 as the basis, this was sketched on a pre-prepared canvas board that had been covered with blueish acrylic paint. Over three-quarters of the surface I coated iridescent orange acrylic, using masking tape to get the straight line of separation.
The pose was sketched in with graphite pencil into the nearly dry orange and once dry redrawn in charcoal and white graphite pencil blended to create the shading of the fabric. I think the body proportions are about right and the planes fairly well captured, although face and hands remain a challenge. Sprayed with fixative and allowed to run a bit over the charcoal lines on the blue – not very well executed.
Initial sketch made with gel pen.
Oil pastel on 24x30cm canvas board.
This is a variation of sketch 3, with the model turned to look the other way. Sketched on a light green acrylic ground with approx. two-thirds covered with red acrylic and rubbed away as it dried in places to create patches of the background green. The initial sketch was made with a gel pen and then completed with oil pastel. Sprayed with fixative.
There is something a wee bit coquettish, or maybe dumpy, about this pose and the shoulder seems to have disappeared, although I quite like the jaunty curve of the arm. The proportions are a bit out I think – but I quite like it.
As I was sketching these two poses the idea came that there was some kind of connection to be made between the two by way of an interesting visual abstraction.
Stuart Brownlee – 512319
1 December 2015