I can kind of draw. I’m not an artist, but I can do a recognizable human figure (mostly guys, which is what I like to draw). But I’m terrible at things like perspective (human-figure-wise, anyway), not so great at anatomy, and I’d like to be able to draw my figures in poses that don’t look completely stilted. I’ve thought about taking a local class in figure drawing, but can’t find any that work for my schedule. I’m convinced I can learn this stuff–I’m not completely hopeless at it–but I need help, because I’m not getting it on my own.
I know there are a lot of good videos out there–can anyone recommend some, or an online course I could go through that breaks things down and explains them so somebody who hasn’t taken a lot of art classes can get them? And I definitely want to focus on human figures–I don’t have any real interest in drawing inanimate objects, nature scenes, etc.
Thanks in advance!
Probably not what you’re wanting to hear, but I don’t think online courses or videos are going to be the most helpful to you. Particularly if you’re having difficulty with 1) human figures, and 2) perspective.
My advice would be:
- Find a figure drawing class (with real models). These classes may be a bit more as you need to pay for the models’ time. The real advantage to classes is that it often takes an instructor to point out what you’re doing wrong. You can stare at your work and “know” something’s off, but just not be able to put a finger on it.
- Check around local art studios. There may be “open” figure drawing sessions where a model will pose some evening. Each participant who attends pays some nominal fee ($5 to $15) to the model. Check the bulletin boards. There may be models offering to pose, and they may know of places that offer such “open” figure drawing sessions.
- I don’t know how common this is, but this is the kind of thing you find out about through classes: there is a park down here where Saturday mornings a model will pose (again for some nominal donation per participant). It is held in a community room, and each participant brings in whatever media they choose.
Bottomline: to really improve figure drawing, you need to see, in 3D, live models. 2D courses or videos will only get you so far - especially for perspective.
Nude figure drawing is also necessary in order to draw the human body correctly, clothed or not.
My brother went to art school for a while, which is how I know this.
If you don’t want to try live classes, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards does a good job of explaining how to see what you are drawing instead of just using what she calls “symbols.”