I realised I never photographed these drawings I made during my last figure drawing session in May 2023. Looking back, I think they are some of the best I’ve made last year!
Figure Drawing May 2023
study
Drawing At The Zoo
A few weeks back, a group of friends invited me to go draw at the zoo! I had only once before drawn from live animals in the zoo, so I was very excited to try again.
It was a very warm Sunday, perfect for a visit; though we weren’t the only ones thinking about that! Despite all the screaming kids and crowds, I still feel happy with the drawings I was able to make.
Figure Drawing March
I tried drawing digitally on my Ipad this time, inspired by my friend Frank. Unlike I thought initially, it isn’t really faster than drawing on paper: if you’ve got 5 minutes to draw a pose, a lot of seconds are lost by switching between tools. With longer poses, I try to be mindful of not adding too much detail to the drawing, they’re usually better with less.
Figure Drawing February
A little late, but here it is! Lot’s of experiments, some more succesful than others.
Figure Drawing January
A new year, new figure drawings! I continued experimenting with oil pastel like I did in November, but I needed some time to get back into it. That’s why most drawings are in the same line as last year.
I feel the most interesting drawings of this session where the ones where I used the strokes of the oil pastel to suggest form. I think I could go much further in layering different colours, but the model is only standing still for five or ten minutes. Maybe I need a model that doesn’t move at all to try that?
Figure Drawing November
As I feel more and more comfortable drawing in graphite, I’m looking for new techniques and materials to use in these figure drawings. I couldn’t find any tips or suggestions online, so I brought a material I hadn’t used in a long time: oil pastels.
At first I used them the same way I use my graphite stick: lightly blocking out the forms and gradually adding lines, forms and details pressing harder to get more contrast. Things got more interesting when I used multiple colours layered over each other, something I’d like to try more next time!
Figure Drawing October
I completely forgot to photograph and post October’s figure drawings, here they are! I tried my hand at charcoal again, a material I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the soft shades you can create with it, but I find it quite difficult to work with.
Figure Drawing September
Happily back to drawing the figure after the summer break!
Stylization Experiments
I had the pleasure to attend a rock concert again after years! I had given me and my boyfriend tickets to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers last Christmas, and a few weeks back it was finally time. I’m in no way a regular, but when I attend I always immensely enjoy it – live music is really a totally different experience than listening to the same song on record. Though it was kinda short, the end felt a bit rushed and they didn’t play Under The Bridge for some reason, I had an amazing time.
This experience led me to draw the band members and experiment with simplification. I love adding little details, but I feel my work can be stronger by leaving out more and focus on what matters.
I’ve only finished Anthony, because finding the look I wanted proved to be quite the challenge. I changed the pose and shapes countless times, going back even after I started blocking in colour.
When I felt I had the pose figured out, I might have gone astray again by creating more visual noise with detailed shading and tattoos.
I like the result! But I’m afraid I won’t finish the other band members!