Life Drawing: Week 2

Hi, welcome to my blog. Today I will be discussing some new interesting aspects in life drawing that I have learned.
The first and most important is the artist's drawing position. Life drawing is an absolute different experience from some of my previous drawing classes. It requires a looser drawing technique rather than an tight detailed drawing. I have learned that by positioning my weight on two feet rather than one gives me an overall better drawing stance. This allows me to be positioned correctly to draw at arms length away from the aisle. The importance of staying at a certain distance away from the aisle allows the artist to perform looser strokes, which prevents the tendency to draw tight. The way the artist holds his or her drawing material is also important. Aside from previous art classes that use a similar technique to writing with your palm on the surface of the paper, the drawing material should be held within your four fingers and thumb. The drawing material should be able to roll within the tips of your finger, which allows for more control. The only point that should touch the surface of the paper is the drawing material.
Another important aspect of life drawing is to understand the human anatomy. We as a class are just touching bases on the importance of the center axis of the spine. We performed several 15 second drawings focusing only on the spinal region. This will essential give us a starting point when we move further towards drawing the entire figure. We are also being introduced to the positioning of muscles within a figure by studying different muscle groups and understanding how they work. Our first assignment is dealing with applying layers of cut out clay to represent the muscle tissues onto a skeletal manikin. By incorporating the understanding of the human anatomy and drawing positions we as a class can enhance our drawing potential in life drawing.