So a friend of mine is in art school, and to fulfill an assignment, he wants to paint a picture of me (not sure whether it’s strict portraiture or something less literal); next week we’re supposed to meet so that he can take some photographs and sketches–fairly in-depth, I imagine, as he said he anticipated having it take several hours. (And no, to dispel the inevitable question, it’s not in the altogether as far as I know, so nothing scandalous and Titanic-style will be going on. 
) I really want to be a good subject and make this as easy for my friend as I possibly can. Any advice from those who have been on either side of the easel beyond the obvious of “try to keep very still and be willing to follow instructions”?
I’ve been forced to pose several times. I hate sitting still, but I have several artsy friends who, appearantly, enjoy torturing me. I’ve found it’s best to communicate with the artist. If a position is uncomfortable initially, it’s going to be horrible after half-an-hour. If you’re going to be in it for three hours, which I’ve never done, it’s only going to get worse. If you’re like me and have the attention span of a ferret on speed, I would also suggest having a movie playing in the background, somewhere that you can see. That way, you don’t have to depend on conversation from your friend for stimulation while he’s working. Good luck!
-Mosquito
I’ve taken a number of drawing classes so I’ve been on the drawing side as opposed to the posing side, but I can give some suggestions.
The process is slow, so along with keeping still, when you take your pose, be sure you pick a comfortable one. Usually the simpler the better. I picked this up from the models we had in our classes. For the shorter poses, they would do some “creative” poses. But for the long poses, they’d be sure to take a lying or comfortably sitting pose.
Also, take your time in adjusting to get comfortable when you take your pose. Shift your weight around and settle in before you let your friend begin.
I had a couple friends pose for portraits and I came up with what I thought was an innovative approach to keep them facing the same direction: have them watch a video or TV. It is a little distracting depending on the lighting, but I thought it would be a good way to keep them facing the same angle throughout the sitting.
You will likely take a break. Depending on the pose, you might have your friend put pieces of tape on whatever you’re on to help return to the same pose. Also, before you break, take not of some things you can use to reference to get back to the same pose.
Althought it is inevitable that you won’t get back to the exact same position, the closer the better. As an artist, it is really annoying to deal with a “shift” in the position.
Hope this helps.
Set up break times ahead of time. Be prepared to move pieces of yourself as directed to match the pose. Let the artist tell you where your arm should be. If it’s a multiple-day painting, have the artist take reference photos. Long hair can become a problem, if this could be an issue, choose a hair style that’s repeatably consistant.
I suggest music over a movie, but if you choose a movie, do not pick a comedy.
Relax, and have fun.
[HIJACK]
Ferret on SPRING!
[/HIJACK]
You may now continue with your scheduled thread…
I’ve sat for my boyfriend (an artist) several times. I think it’s a fun exercise in meditation, so it’s something that I don’t mind doing. Generally, for a really long pose, he’ll have me go for 20-30 mins and then take a break.
What I’ve found is that after I’ve been posing for a minute or two, my body starts trying to trick me into moving. Like it’ll develop itches in odd spots, or I’ll be momentarily obsessed with moving my leg for no reason. But, like you, I’m pretty driven by the desire to be a “good” model, which allows me to set these thoughts aside, and pretty soon I break past being “fidgety” and reach a really wonderful, calm space where I can just hold the same pose indefinately and time seems to slip away from me.
So I’d say my advice would be not to fixate on wanting to fidget and not to fixate on being bored – eventually you’ll get past those things, and then it’s all smooth sailing.