I was scrolling through social media while drinking my morning coffee and going over my to-do list when I came across this brilliant animated short film by Taha Neyestani.
So instead of putting off my daily drawing until tasks were done, I headed straight for the studio and grabbed my sketchbook and charcoal pencil. I turned on the computer and chrome casted the latest live model from croquis cafe to a larger screen.
I like to stand back at an easel for fast gesture warm-ups, and I sometimes sit with a drawing board propped up for the 5 minute poses.
For any non-artists, croquis is another word for a quick sketch of a model.
They are figurative and gestural drawings that can be used for later reference in the painting process, sculpture, etc., or they can be works of art themselves. The models don't hold these poses longer than a few minutes, so rendering detailed value isn't usually part of the process.
The video service I sketch from uses models that hold various poses for 1 minute, 2 minutes, and then one 5 minute pose.
After I completed the croquis of the seated figure, I began doodling and tangling with some of the darker values and structural shapes of the form.
I didn't completely fill this form in with patterns, because I rather like the stark contrast.
I recommend the croquis cafe for keeping your skills sharp when you don't have a live model.
It's a free service, but they take donations to help them pay the models, and you should totally do that.
Because these ladies and gents get naked for the sake of art on the interwebz-
that takes guts.
What about you?
Do you sketch from life?
Have you modeled nude?
What do you imagine this pose to be?
