As I’m now into my latest AGO class (my third from this latest marathon of classes), I’ve been drawing a lot of figures lately. A few things I have learned so far along with tips for drawing, particularly with live models
- Ensure you have enough space for your figure as you want it by measuring out the heads of the person. It is always a bit annoying to realize I need to cut someone off. I’ve noticed that I generally need to make my head smaller.
- As boring as it is, measuring out body parts is critical. You can measure them out with using the technique to hold your arm out straight and measure it against a pencil you’re holding. If the figure doesn’t look right in proportions, it doesn’t matter how nicely you’ve painted them.
- Use masking fluid for the white parts, but you can still paint over those areas later. I hadn’t really thought of using masking fluid for figures but possible here too. The only challenge is that it can take a long time to dry so you need to pace yourself.
- Don’t go too dark on early layers. Keeping things light will allow for a smooth gradation and less of a cartoon look.
- Try out new colour combinations. In my earlier paintings for my last session, I stuck to browns as shadows but then I saw another student and how he used ultramarine blue which turned out beautifully. I decided to do that in my last two and I liked them a lot more.
- Dry brush can be great for wavy hair. I found this technique worked better than scratching (another technique discussed) but perhaps I didn’t have the right tools for that in class.
