Paintings

Nude Figures

Figure Drawing Tips

When drawing a human figure, you need to be aware of technical issues such as proportions, shading and foreshortening, but you must also be able to portray the figure with emotion and sensitivity.

Even if your figure drawing isn't 100% accurate in terms of resembling real life, a drawing imbued with creative energy can create a powerful effect upon the viewer. To better study and render the human figure, Renaissance artists dissected and studied corpses, taking detailed notes and making realistic drawings from their anatomical observations. Learning about the structure of muscles and other internal organs helped Renaissance artists create more precise artwork. These days, you don't need to visit a morgue to brush up on your figure drawing skills. Ample books and websites focus on drawing the human form, providing countless illustrations of body parts, both externally and internally. Figure drawing classes are invaluable for enhancing your ability to draw the human form. Most community art centers offer figure drawing classes with instructors who can critique your artwork and give you pointers. Most figure drawing classes are conducted with live nude models, which may come as a shock for people who have never been to one before, but this is standard.

Drawing the nude figure helps artists gain a better grasp of the human body and how it looks in various positions. If you are unable to attend a drawing class, you can search for free reference photos online.

Many "artist community" websites offer a bank of free reference images that you can use without worrying about copyright or obtaining a model release. For specific poses, expressions or costumes, you'll need to take your own reference photos. Hire a model or bribe a friend to do the posing for you. If you want to draw a person is a specific pose but you do not have a model and can't find the right reference photo, use a poseable mannequin, such as the one shown above. The poseable mannequin will give you a general idea of where to place the various body parts, but you'll have to "invent the details", such as facial features, clothing, etc. For this reason, a wooden mannequin is usually more ideal for gesture drawing, rather than a figure drawing that needs to be true to life.

About the Author

Mark Feldman is President of SegTech, a company devoted to a wonderful Image Segmentation technology called Segmation. Segmation - The Art of Pieceful Imaging

Paint-by-numbers meets modern technology in SegPlay® PC, a computerized paint-by-numbers program for Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000. With twenty built in images and powerful features for artsy types and casual gamers, SegPlay® PC is simple to use with infinite variety.

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How do I cope with anxiety in drawing a live nude model?

I'm going to be enrolling in art classes soon and one of them could be a figure drawing class...the kind where you draw an actual naked male or female standing/sitting in front of you. I'll be honest - this makes me uneasy and a bit embarrassed. Does anyone have advice for overcoming this nervous feeling about a live nude person?

Take a look at yourself and ask what is actually causing your embarrassment. My guess is that it's because you equate nudity with immorality. But there won't be anything immoral going on in your art class, any more than there would in a museum. The model isn't going to move while she's nude, she won't touch anybody, and nobody is going to touch her.

The human form, is really the ultimate in expression and a staple in becoming a good artist. Even if you never draw nudes again after your education is done, you will still need the experience of knowing how human anatomy translates from your eyes into your pencil, and if the only time you see a form is when it's covered in clothing, you won't really be able to get that. Even when you draw a clothed body, it helps immensely to think about what their shape would be without their clothing and adjust your art to fit that image...how the clothes hang, where it would crease, what colors look best, etc.

And you know what? It's ok to let yourself feel a bit awkward. In fact, you could probably even use that emotion to give your drawing a bit of expression.

I have a very conservative art major friend who kind of felt the same trepidation as you. You know what happened when he had to draw his first nude? He just stared at the model for a couple minutes longer than he probably should have, but once he started actually doing the drawing, all his inhibitions disappeared. He actually ended up with a pretty good rendition, but getting a few points docked because he made her ankle a bit too thick .

Nude Figures Depicted in Art

Tags: art, nude, photo, photographer, photography

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 5:05 pm and is filed under paintings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.