This Post is my Journey as well as a record of figure drawing. Using both charcoal and acrylic paint to create gestural and interesting compositions.
Sketchbook Hand and figure drawing
When experimenting in my sketchbook, I personally found it easier to draw just the hands. I think this is because I found it quite intimidating to focus on the entire body at once, as we have to consider proportions, perspective etc. The same applies to the hands, but for me, it was easier to look at one part of the body and focus on just that.
Figure Drawing Session (Graphite and Charcoal)
For the first figure drawing session, we used charcoal and graphite. At first, I found it quite difficult to draw the basic form of the body and then add features based on the time we had, but as we got more time to draw I found it easier to add the rest of the body features. I want to hopefully improve my figure drawing skills as we progress on to further sessions.
Figure Drawing Session (Acrylic)
Gestures (30secs-2mins)
For the remaining Figure drawing session we used acrylic paint and I found this surprisingly slightly easier to use than charcoal. It was also probably because I was less nervous than the first figure drawing session I went to. I found adding the shadows and highlights easier to block out because I was able to see the shapes on the figure. The gestural drawings, however, were slightly more difficult because I kept using the paint as a pencil instead of a paintbrush. So I think for the next figure painting session I will try to be more gestural.
Figure Drawing Session (Acrylic)
Longer poses (10mins-2 sessions)
Reflection
Overall my figure drawing experience was better than expected. I had never done figure drawing before this and was honestly incredibly intimidated during the first session of drawing. However, after more practice, I became more comfortable with the painting and found myself enjoying whilst painting rather than worrying about if my painting looked exactly like the model did. I also had trouble with comparing my work to other students around me towards the first few sessions. When we would walk around to look at others works I would feel embarrassed of mine, but I started to look at it in a more positive light. When walking around I tried to look at the different techniques that others used and see if I could implement it into my own painting. In the future, I would like to try and improve my observational drawing and painting skills, but for now, I am happy with my progress and hope to continue painting and drawing in my free time.
