2 hour figure drawing by Chris Legaspi. Taken from the Wednesday, Sep. 22nd session in Mountain View. 2 1/2 hour pose, charcoal on paper.

This new figure painting and drawing session starts out with 20 minutes of gesture poses for warm up, then 1 continuous, long pose for the remainder of the evening (approx. 2 1/2 hours).  Perfect for fine art charcoal drawings and painters of all mediums. Students, professionals and artists of all levels and all mediums are welcome.

No pre-registration required. Drop-ins welcome. $15 drop in fee. $12 with CSMA discount card (contact CSMA or workshop organizer for more information).

Details here:

Where: CSMA/Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040
Time: Every Wednesday from 7:00 – 10:00pm
Fee: $15 ($12 with CSMA discount card)
Website: http://www.arts4all.org

Inside our figure drawing studio @ CSMA

After waiting years for a chance to study in-depth with legendary Artist and teacher, Steve Huston, I finally headed to the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art (LAAFA) to take part in Steve’s annual workshop. This workshop was a 5 day intensive focused on drawing and painting the figure. Although it was taught as a figuartive class, I learned so much more. I learned about art, myself and how Steve, aka “The Man” thinks, plans and executes his renowned gallery work.

The event was held at LAAFA in Van Nuys, California, from March 24-28th. This is a breakdown of the class each day and my thoughts going through the workshop.

Day 1  ( Wednesday, March 24th )

Day 1 was an introduction in a way. First we got to know The Man and his philosophy on art and creating art. In fact, one of his points is that, ‘an artist is a philosopher’. Steve’s teaching method, like his art or like any good philosopher is to start with the general idea and then work to refine it. For Steve, it is all about the idea, or the expression of that idea.

Steve breaks down figurative art into 2 fundamental elements: parts and relationships, or gesture and structure. This principal is so fundamental to his approach that it was echoed throughout the 5 days and is echoed throughout his work.

Parts and relationships.  Gesture and structure.

Since the gesture line comes first, we spent the entire day on this core principal. After an hour or so of lecture, we got our first chance to try out our new ideas and draw from the model. Of course Steve was there to observe and work with us individually. Like I said, ,day 1 was about getting to know each other. Teacher and students. At the end of the day, I knew I was in the company of talented and hungry students that were going to lift each other up throughout the next 4 days.

Steve Huston getting his quick sketch on. 5 min. poses from Day 1.

Day 2 (Thursday , March 25th)

Having our first taste of Steve’s method, we dived right into the second major principle of his philoshopy, structure. Steve is renowned for a lot of things, but dynamic structure is what his work resonates with. In my opinion he is probably the greatest living teacher on the subject of structure, so we were in good hands. Learning how Steve approaches structure was what I personally wanted to learn most, so I was glued to the lecture.

The information in the lecture hit the class like his boxers. Powerful information hitting my brain like a left hook and a right straight. Steve not only hit us with technique, but with fundamental ideas.  The core of this idea is that structure is movement. In Steve’s words:

“If gesture is movement between forms, then structure is movement over forms.”

He also demonstrated that structure can be used to design the figure, instead of just ‘copying’. Once, I was able to grasp this concept, I finally understood why I liked some of my drawings and what was working in them. After the lecture, we gathered around Steve for a demo from the model. The remainder of the day was spent drawing, with Steve working with us individually, one on one.

This is what I came to see.  Steve’s structure demo from day 2. He wanted us to focus our practice by isolating a body part or form.

By request, Steve also touched on head drawing. So much great information here, if only we had a whole year to spend on this class.

My ‘homework’ for the day. I was so fired up, I could of drawn until morning. I wanted to review and internalize as much as I could of  Steve’s teaching in the short time we had. 10 min. quick sketch, ballpoint pen and colored pencil on toned paper.

Clearly, 2 days is not enough to fully grasp this unique approach to drawing. It could easily be a 1 to 2 year course.  However, the class had to switch gears and dive into our first painting class on day 3.

Day 3  (Friday, March 26th)

Friday was our first painting day. Even though I hadn’t painted in months, I was fired up and itching to paint with Steve. Upon entering the studio, I could feel my classmates excitement as well. The room was alive with the electricity of anticipation.

Canvas, check. Brushes, check. LAAFA flavored coffee, check. Good to go! The mood in the class was electric today.

Like any good painting teacher, Steve focused our first painting day on tones and values. Black and white was all we would use today. The lecture focused on light and shade. Steve introduced us to the concept of using a 2 value system (something I was familiar with from studying Reilly method). Then Steve hit us with another huge left hook and introduced us to the Laws of Light.

There were 4 Laws of Light (5 total) that he touched upon. I won’t spoil them all for  you, but 1 that did strike me and would have a dramatic impact on my drawing was the first law:

Different Value = Different Plane

Or inversely, same value equals same plane. Again, this was another major insight on why some of my drawings were working and how I can really push the illusion of forms turning into space.

The class was divided up into lecture and tonal painting from the model. Steve had us focus on small tonal studies, limiting us to only 3 values, light, dark and mid-tone. This was a great visual exercise and a great warm-up to painting. Which we would definitely need heading into day 4.

Day 4  (Saturday, March 27th)

Having built some confidence from tonal painting the day before, I was looking forward to our first day of painting in color. That confidence wouldn’t last because color would prove to be a formidable foe.  Even though color is an incredibly complex subject, Steve was able to break it down quite well. He went to his roots and to his biggest influence, the ‘Tonalist school’ and specifically Rembrandt.

The tonalist, or ‘Brown School’ painters, also known as ‘indoor painting’, limits the palette and relies on draftsmanship (drawing) and tone to turn forms and create impact. This was good news to me, because I could approach the painting as a draftsman.  Bad news because it was still oil painting and mixing color, and my lack of mileage showed. The only thing that saved me today was the core principal of Tonalist painting:

Cool shadows, warm light.

Sounds simple, but could take a lifetime to master. Once Steve broke down how Rembrandt approaches painting shadows, and how to turn shadows into a cool, grey brown, I felt like my eyes had been opened to a world of possibilities. Being a drawing fanatic, this approach resonated with me.  I finally had the tools and workable system to practice and apply in my oil paintings.

Steve’s 25 minute demo of tonalist/’Brown school’ painting. An insight into Rembrandt’s elegant approach. The palette includes: ivory black, titanium white, indian yellow, lemon yellow, cadmium red, aliziron crimson and ultramarine blue.

Huston Live Painting Demo (Saturday evening, March 27th)

LAAFA had booked Steve for a 3 hour painting demo with a live audience. Since the demo was included in the price of the 5 day workshop, our class had front row seats.

Steve in action at the live demo. It was a beautiful space for a demo. There were about 40 in attendance.  I wonder if there will be a dvd release of the footage?

After today’s lecture and painting for 3 hours,  I was exhausted by the time the demo started around 7pm. Having seen Steve paint for 2 days, I had an idea of what to expect. Despite this, it was still a great experience to be in that audience and watch Steve work his magic.

Steve not only painted, but used his charm and humor to put on a show. I got the sense that he enjoyed talking and sharing his ideas more than the painting that night. Being able to articulate  ideas and philoshopy is a gift among artists.  Hearing his 30 years of teaching and practice distilled into refined ideas was invaluable.

The main thing that I took away from tonight’s demo is that it’s not the technique that makes an artist’s figures stand out, it’s their unique idea.  I also learned the value of allowing the painting to emerge, experimenting with techniques and cultivating happy accidents.

Day 5 (Sunday, March 28th)

Final day of the workshop. Despite being exhausted and have my confidence crushed by yesterday’s painting exercises, I didn’t want the workshop to end. I could sense that my classmates felt the same way.  Knowing this was our last day together, everyone brought a lot of energy and was ready to dive into impressionist painting.

Steve characterized Impressionism, or ‘outdoor painting’ by their use of value and color. The impressionist value scale was much brighter than the Rembrandt/tonalist school. Their color palette was also much more complex. There was white, and a cool and warm for each primary. Black was strictly prohibited because it was an outdoor method, and the bright sun tends to wash out (lighten) dark shadows.

After the brief lecture, Steve did a quick demo focusing strictly on color studies. Specifically, how to harmonize colors on the palette, how to pick a color scheme by ‘keying’ off a color and how to add depth and interest using a color’s temperature (cool or warm) and intensity.

I needed a lot of help mixing, so Steve worked with me on mixing and being patient. He demonstrated on my palette his technique of ‘chasing’ to get to the right color and how to subtly mix colors. He continuosly stressed the importance of getting exactly the right color and being disciplined enough to mix until the color was just right.

I spent the majority of the day practicing mixing and observing color’s value and intensity. This day taught me that impressionism, and solid painting in general, is more about patience and discipline then technique. This insight was not just an artistic lesson, but a philosophical lesson that taught me something about myself. Quite fitting considering that’s how Steve approaches art and teaching.

Summary

I can sum up this 5 day workshop into 3 words, everything and more. It was everything I expected, but so much more. The first two days of drawing was exactly what I needed to break me out of a rut and put a spark into my drawings. I finally got to work one on one with my long time hero and learn gesture and structure from the master himself.

The 3 days of painting felt like a rock climb and a boxing match all in one. It was both a tremendous learning experience and a personal challenge that led to tremendous growth and insight.  Having learned Rembrandt’s simple and elegant approach to tone empowered me as a draftsman. Having learned the impressionist approach to color and mixing gave me the tools to observe color and the confidence to experiment with color.

Overall, it was a trememdous experience. I highly recommend Steve Huston as an artist and teacher. I congragulate LAAFA on organizing this event. It was well orgainzied and worth far more than the asking price. The have such a beautiful space that creates the perfect environment to learn and inspire. I also feel blessed to have the classmates that I had that week. We were constantly feeding off each other creating a dynamic and nurturing environment. I look forward to seeing their progress throughout the year.

My only gripe is that it was only 5 days. At the close of Sunday’s class, I didn’t want the experience to end. This could easily have been a 1 -2 year course, but Steve did a masterful job of condensing the information into the time we had.  Much love to Steve and LAAFA for this event. I will see you again in 2011 for the next Huston Workshop.

Myself (in the black shirt) gaining a new appreciation for Monet. Steve (grey hair and huge arms) working with a student on our last day of the workshop. Photo courtesy of LAAFA. See you guys next year!

www.laafa.org

Steve Huston:
Eleanor Ettinger Gallery /  Skotia Gallery

For these next set of Bay Area Figure Drawing workshops, we’re going all the way to San Francisco for 2 open workshops and to Oakland for an all day figure marathon. I’ve organized them by day, but times and day may vary. Please contact the organizers for their current schedule.

MONDAYS

San Francisco @ 23rd Street Studio
3747 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
http://users.rcn.com/mcm.dnai/
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 pm (also available Monday afternoons, Sunday and Wednesdays)
Fee: $16

Having the day off for President’s day, I was itching to draw. I decided to make 45 mile drive up to San Francisco and draw at 23rd Street Studio, and it was well worth the drive. First, I corresponded with artist and organizer Michael Markowitz and was able to secure a drop-in slot.

The feeling I got upon entering Michael’s studio was a sense of awe and relief. The studio is well lit, well organized and well designed for drawing from the model. Having Michael’s beautiful and expressive figure drawings on the wall makes an inspiring background. The lighting set-up is exquisite and is by far the best lighting and room I have seen in the Bay Area. There was also a lot talent in the room that night which always raises everyone’s drawing level.

Overall I highly recommend Michael’s studio. It was an excellent environment for figure drawing and Michael is a great host. He even served homemade cakes and tea. The night I attended was Monday, but he also offers drop-in workshops on Sunday, Wednesday and Monday evening. Please contact Michael and sign up for his mailing list to get the latest schedule and updates.

The model was incredible, and the stage and lighting were excellent. What a night! 2 minute poses, 2/15/10, charcoal on paper.

5 minute pose, 2/15/10, charcoal on paper.

20 minute head drawing, 2/15/10, charcoal on paper.

SATURDAYS

San Franisco @ SOMArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
http://blog.somarts.org/post/101240149/figure-drawing
Time: 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM / Fee: $8

Having a free weekend means I’ve got time draw. I decided to spend a day in San Francisco and start my day at SOMArts. This workshop is one of the longest, ongoing workshops in S.F. The drawing room itself is medium size. Tables and horses are available. The only downside is the poor, ambient lighting.

Despite the lighting, I still recommend SOMArts. The group was very welcoming, the drop-in fee is low ($8), and it’s at a perfect time slot to start your day with a figure drawing session.

The lighting was ambient and was brutal to work with. Luckily I was able to squeeze out a few decent drawings. 5 min pose, 3/6/10, charcoal on paper.

20 minute head, 3/6/10, charcoal on paper. The lighting was really tough to work with, but still makes good practice.

SUNDAYS (Occurring Quarterly)

Oakland @ Merritt College
12500 Campus Drive, Art Bldg., Rm. A122, Oakland, CA
http://bayareamodelsguild.org.tripod.com/marathons.html
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (event occurs quarterly)
Fee: $40 full day, $30 half-day/students/seniors

OK, where do I start? Having taking a year off of life drawing, you would think I would warm up gradually, but that wasn’t the case. I jumped right in to my first 6 hour(!) drawing marathon. This one happened to be the legendary Bay Area Models Guild quarterly marathon.

The room set up for this event is a huge converted warehouse. Which was a good thing because it was filled up with artists, and models on 4 stages. Thats right, 4 stages. One of the reasons why this event is so revered is the set-up of 4 stages, each of which are dedicated to a set time. One stage was 1-2 minute gestures, the second was 5-10 minute poses, the 3rd was 20 minute poses, and the fourth stage had 3 hour long pose. This made for an amazing experience and a visual feast for a ‘figure addict’, and for a lot of drawing variety.

There were a few horses, easels and chairs available. The only lighting was ambient daylight was the only downside. However, the excellence of the models at this event made up for this shortcoming.

Overall, I highly recommend the BAMG marathon and I will definitely plan to be there when it happens next in April.

5 min pose, 2/7/10, charcoal on paper. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Only my 3rd drawing session after taking a break of over 1 year.

2 – 5 min poses, 2/7/10, charcoal on paper. Like I said, lot of variety at the marathon.

2 min. poses, 2/7/10, charcoal on paper. I started my day at the gesture pose stage, but got a little burned out on gestures after a couple of hours. The rust is evident here…bleh.

***

If you are in the San Francisco area and would like to attend one of these workshops, please contact their organizers to confirm time and day. Once again, I would like thank Andrew Cahner of www.artmodelbook.com for his incredible directory of figure drawing workshops.

I’ve recently caught the ‘figure drawing bug’ again, and have been drawing non-stop since early February of this year. Since then, its been a personal mission and obsession to attend as many figure drawing workshops as possible in the San Francisco Bay Area where I currently live. This is a field report of my recent drawing journeys.

These reviews are of the recent workshops I’ve attended, organized by day. There’s also contact info for anyone who wants to draw at their local workshop, and support the Bay Area life drawing community. This report is currently ongoing, so check back for more updates, artwork and reviews.

MONDAYS

Mountain View @ Finn Center
230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040
http://www.arts4all.org/
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm / Fee: $10

I first found this workshop on Febuary 22nd, and I had a blast here. There are horses and tables available. There is ample space and the Finn center is a beautiful location. Best of all is the single source lighting set-up which is ideal for quick sketch and is my personal favorite. So far, the best lighting set-up I have seen in the South Bay/Silicon Valley area.

10 min pose from Mountain View, 3/8/10. Charcoal on paper.

Santa Cruz @ Santa Cruz Art League
526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 426-5787
http://www.scal.org/classroom.php
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm / Fee: $16

I attended this workshop on a cold, rainy night, which made through the winding roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains an adventure. The room is quite small. The model stage is surrouned by tables. There were easels available, but no horses (drawing benches). Being Santa Cruz, the vibe was very laid back, which reminded me of San Diego.

The only downsides are the crowded room arrangement and the poor lighting. The $16 drop in fee is quite high in comparison to other open workshops. Overall, it was a good, first time experience in Santa Cruz. I recommend this workshop for those in the South San Jose, or Monterrey County area.

5 min pose from Santa Cruz, 2/8/10. Charcoal on paper.

TUESDAYS

Palo Alto @ Palo Alto Art Center
1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
website
Time: 7:15 – 9:45 pm / Fee: $5

This was the very first workshop I attended since moving to the Bay Area in 2009. It was also the first time I drew from a model in over a year. Yikes!

This workshop is very well known and the studio fills up quickly. Partly because of the central, Silicon Valley location and the low $5 drop-in fee, which is a great deal.

The room itself is huge, but the massive tables surrounding the stage take up a lot of space. Because the tables are so big, seating gets packed and awkward. There are few horses and easels available for those who prefer to draw on boards. The lighting is ambient, which tends to wash out the shadows.

Despite the downsides, I really enjoy drawing here. It felt good to be drawing with such a large group of artists. If you plan on joining us, take my advice and get here early.This is a regular spot for me, so you’ll definitely see me there.

20 min pose,  2/2/10 (first drawing session in over 1 year). Charcoal on paper.

20 min poses,  2/16/10, charcoal on paper.

WEDNESDAYS

Sunnyvale @ Cogswell Polytechnical
1175 Bordeaux Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089
http://www.cogswell.edu/
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm  / Fee: $5

I first discovered Cogswell’s workshop in mid-March.  This workshop is only the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Since it is organized by their animation department, short poses are their forte. 5 minute poses are the longest.

The figure drawing room is quite nice. They have horses, easels and plenty of space. They also have really nice lighting equipment, but it was not used well this night. For a short pose night, it worked out ok. Overall, I recommend Cogswell if you’re in the mood for short poses and gestures.

They love short poses here. 2 min poses, 3/17/10, charcoal on paper.

Lighting was terrible this night, but I was able to squeeze some decent 5′s. 5 min pose, 3/17/10, charcoal on paper.

San Jose @ Alameda Art Works
Studio #11, 1068 The Alameda, San Jose, CA
http://www.thealamedaartworks.com/
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm (time may vary) / Fee: $10
Contact: Deanna, 408-390-5430, deannabeye@earthlink.net

Alameda Art Works was the 2nd workshop I attented in the South Bay Area and I was very happy to find a Wednesday night of drawing. This studio is the home of local artist Deanna. The studio space was quite small and the lighting was ambient. Because of the limited size there was only room for chairs which were provided.

Despite the small size, I really enjoyed drawing here. Deanna was very welcoming and gracious and it was well worth the $10 drop in fee. Please note, that day of the week and room # may vary. If you plan to attend please contact Deanna in advance for more details and updates.

5 and 10 min poses, 2/3/10 (2nd drawing session after 1 year of absence). Charcoal on paper.

THURSDAYS

Campbell @ Stone Griffin Gallery
411 East Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008
http://www.stonegriffin.com/events.html
Time: 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, 7:00 – 9:00 pm / Fee: $15

I was first attracted to this workshop because it was very close to my office. Because of the convenience, I was able to bring a fellow Concept Artist from the studio with me on this outing.

The drawing session is held in the gallery itself. There is not much room and there is no stage for the model. Tables and chairs are provided, but it is not an ideal set-up for figure drawing. They did have single source lighting, which was a pleasant surprise and created some nice light and shade. The $15 drop-in fee for 2 hours of drawing is relatively high and the space is quite cramped. Overall, it was an enjoyable night and besides Mountain View, is the only workshop in the south Bay Area that lights the model well.

5 min and 10 min pose, 2/11/10, Charcoal on paper.

20 min head drawing, 2/11/10. Charcoal on paper.

San Jose @ San Jose State University
SJSU, Art Building, Room 312, 1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192
http://www.shrunkenheadman.com/
Time: 6:30 – 9:30pm / Fee: $3

I recently discovered this workshop through a new friend made at the workshops, and now I’ve gone 3 weeks in a row since then. The organizers are the SJSU Illustration Club, also known as Shrunken Head Man. They currently run 3 workshops a week, so please visit their website for a complete listing of additional days and times available.

The Art Building is located at the East end of campus near the Student Union Building. Room 312 is huge and there are plenty of horses available. The stage is placed against the wall with track lighting on the model, which tends to wash out the shadows. Despite the lighting conditions, this room is well set-up for drawing from the model.

I had a blast drawing here. I enjoyed the energy of the room and being around the students. Even though there is plenty of space, it’s been filled to over- capacity every week I’ve attended, and it fills up fast so get here early. One of the challenges I discovered was parking and finding the room itself. I recommend street parking within 1 block of campus, or the public pay garage on 7th street. Overall, I highly recommended this workshop which has quickly become a regular spot for me.

5 min pose, 20 min head drawing, 3/4/10. Charcoal on paper.

2 min poses, 2/23/10. Charcoal on paper.

****

Like I said, this is an ongoing report and I have a few reviews to write and a lot more artwork to share.  For further information please contact the workshop organizers/ and or venues.

A very special thanks to www.artmodelbook.com for his incredible and comprehensive national listing of classes, open and instructed workshops. Please visit his site for a well organized and detailed directory listing of life drawing locations in your area.

This video is demonstrates how to construct the limbs (how the draw the limbs) during a figure quick sketch drawing. The video demonstrates basic figure construction of the arms and legs. Topics covered include gesture drawing, anatomy and landmarks. There are examples from 3 different poses. Narrated by the artist.

This is the video version of the how to construct the limbs tutorial.

The approach from the torso study tutorial is sometimes called a “construction” approach. It’s a methodical way to observe and de-construct the figure. Besides construction, there are other considerations when laying in the figure. For example, gesture and rhythms are what animate our figure drawing and give it life.

For this tutorial, I will use a a combination of construction and rhythms. It all depends on what the pose is giving me. Some poses the structure is prominent (or can be made prominent), in some poses the gesture (and thus the rhythms) are very interesting. Bottom line, good observation leads to good judgment and good judgment leads to good marks and so on. So always observe, observe, observe. Speaking of observation…

Step 1: Observe

The first thing you want to look for is the gesture. The major and minor rhythms, swoops and arcs. All the visible, and sometimes invisible lines that give our figure movement and life. Then, when you’re ready to construct your figure, look for the landmarks.

As a general rule, the legs are of greater significance then arms which is why we follow the torso with the legs. The key landmarks are: the connection to the crotch, connection to the hips, point of knee, connection of thigh (hamstring) to calf, , connection of lower leg to foot, point of ankle bone, heel and big toe. Yes, big toe (Fig. 1). That sounds like a lot, but with practice, good observation will become second nature.

Step 2: Gesture

Having identified our landmarks, we describe the gesture. The major rhythms may not always follow the form, but when possible, use the landmarks to guide your gesture marks. Start with the thighs move down to the the calf.

Step 3: Cross sections

Cross sections really help to define form. They also describe perspective and foreshortening. Before randomly drawing cross sections, observe the model’s anatomy. For example, cross sections can be added at the peak of the thigh, the end of the adductor (thigh) muscle, the top and bottom of the knee, the ankle and depression of the calf.

Add cross sections as needed to describe form and anatomy. It’s not necessary to cross the entire figure. Our objective of the lay-in is to give us enough information to add light and shade.

Work your way down to the feet and then move on to the arms. Approach the arms the same way. Becomes of the arms range of motion, they will tend to lend themselves more to a rhythmic approach. Of course it all depends on the pose.

Let’s go through a few more examples.

Summary

That pretty much sums up basic limb construction. First, observe for landmarks. Next, draw the gesture and rhythms. Then, add cross sections as needed to describe anatomy and form. In their most basic and geometric form, the limbs can be thought of as jointed tubes. Using a dynamic gesture line as a guide will give our “tubes” movement and life.

Keep in mind, the lay-in is simply the framework for our drawing. It’s not necessary to replicate the figure with our lay-in lines. The key is to give yourself enough information to add light and shade. Let the light, shade (values) and edges do the work of describing form and anatomy (Fig. 8).

More information on shading, can be found in the other figure quick sketch tutorials and videos.

*** Quick Sketch CHALLENGE! ***

This demo is meant to be a guide and a starting point. It’s almost impossible to learn and appreciate all the nuances of figure drawing from a static tutorial. The best way to apply the techniques is to watch it first hand or go to a live figure drawing session and draw from the model. So here is the challenge:

Draw a full page of quick sketch figures.

The first person to reply with a full page of quick sketch figures will win an original charcoal quick sketch drawing.

When I say page, I mean 18″x24″ newsprint pad, but that size isn’t necessary. It’s just an ideal size pad to practice. Above is a page of 5 minute poses I did during an open figure drawing workshop.

The minimum number of drawings to qualify are:

• 8 full figures at 3-5 min. pose length or
• 20 full figures at 1-3 min. pose length.

Basically whatever you can draw during 2 live sessions. Generally, a session is about 20-25 minutes.

Pretty simple. Just some incentive to get out there and draw from the model. First person to respond with a jpg snapshot of their quicksketch sheet wins. Good luck and I look forward to your entries.

This video is a real time demonstration of a complete quick sketch drawing, narrated by the artist. This is the video version of the figure quick sketch tutorial.

The approach to Reilly Method I use is a synthesis of three teachers: 1. Sergio Sanchez, 2. Rhaban Canas and 3. a touch of Steve Huston. When I first started to study Reilly Method, the first thing I was taught was how to properly lay-in the torso. The torso is important because it is the largest mass of the body and it is where all the limbs and extremities originate. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use a front view of a female torso in a relatively static pose. Since the torso is so important, I will spend some time breaking down the steps of the lay-in before we move to light and shade.

Step 1: Capture the ribcage

The torso is the largest mass of the body and the ribcage is the largest mass of the torso. We want to lay-in or capture it’s shape and gesture. Since this pose is static and up and down, I am able to simplify and capture the ribcage into a rectangular shape. Of course, the figure is dynamic and the shape of the ribcage can vary depending on the pose and the angle of the viewer.

The important points to look for are the landmarks (seen as pink dots in Fig. 1 above). Using the landmarks as a guide, I not only get the gesture and shape of the ribcage, but the contour as well.

The numbers in the drawing represent the stroke order. It is not necessary to do them in this exact order. However, the shoulder line, which is drawn through the pit of the neck, will give you a lot of information and gesture. Since quick sketch generally starts with the head, if you work top down, the shoulder line will most likely be the first stroke that follows the head.

Step 2: Abdomen

Once we’ve established the ribcage we can then capture the shape of the abdomen. The landmarks to look for are the lower obliques and the lower abdominal (Fig. 2).

Step 3: Hips
The last segment of the torso are the hips. Sometime it is called “the miniskirt” because in a simple geometric shape it looks like a short mini skirt as you can see in the drawing above (Fig. 3). The landmarks to look for are the points of the hipbone and the bottom of the crotch. The hipbones can generally be found at the point where the leg meets the hip.

Step 4: Centerline

Since the shoulder, ribs and hips gave us our horizontal gesture, centerline gives us our vertical gesture. Centerline is a generally drawn through the spine. Of course, the spine is very dynamic and can curve and bend, but for this pose we can use a nice vertical straight.

At this stage, our drawing looks very simplified, but it is extremely important to lay-in and capture the torso accurately. This simple framework will be the foundation for our figure. Much of the success or failure of the drawing will depend on how well the torso is layed in. So, take the time to measure and make accurate marks before moving on to anatomy. Of course practice, practice, practice and tons of repetition will make your lay-ins solid.

Step 5: Anatomy

Having taken the time to accurately describe the torso, we can now plot the anatomy. When I say anatomy, DO NOT draw EVERY muscle, joint or tendon you see. Keep your anatomy simple. There’s no need to describe every single muscle, and for quick sketch there isn’t enough time. The important thing to do is to observe what the pose gives you.

Generally, the anatomy to look for in a front pose like this are the breasts, ribcage, abdominal wall and naval. It’s also good practice to describe the torso anatomy before adding the legs and arms.

Using my lay-in as a guide, I follow natural rhythms to describe the anatomy (Fig. 5). There’s a lot of great information out there on anatomy and figure construction, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Generally, I want to keep things as simple as possible and capture the large masses using simple geometric shapes.

Step 6: Separate light and dark

Using the lay in as a guide, I can begin to light our figure. The first step is to separate the light side from the dark side. At this stage I am thinking of terms of only 2 values, white and black. A single light source pose like this gives a clear separation. The diagram in Fig 6 above shows what I was looking for.

I also begin to introduce edgework by adding a firm edge for the core shadow and crisp edge for the cast shadows. The outer contour is a blend of crisp and firm edges.

Since this is a quick sketch, I don’t want to go too crazy with edge variety. As with the simplification of values, I also simplify the edges I will use.

Step 7: Adding tone

OK, here’s my favorite of Reilly Method, the shading. The way quick sketch is shaded is what I fell in love with when I was first introduced to this approach. Using the shadow shape as a guide, I drop in a middle value in the shadow area. Middle value is the value between white and black. White in this case being the white of the paper.

For quick sketch, I generally like to hatch in one direction but it’s a matter of personal style and preference.

Step 8: Final drawing

Since I have a little time left in this 5 minute study, I add some finishing touches. I soften some edges of the core shadow, punch in darks and add touches of half-tone to give the drawing a little more depth and help the forms turn.

For reference, here’s a step by step diagram of the torso lay-in process.

*** Tips on Figure Quick Sketch ***

1. Observe, observe, observe

Before making marks and jumping right into drawing, take some time to observe the model. Look for the landmarks. Look for the gesture. Look for the rhythms. Look at the shape of the shadow. Observe what the pose is giving you. Throughout the drawing, stop, gather yourself and take the time to observe.

There is not a lot of time in quick sketch or gesture drawing, but good observation will help you to make more accurate marks.

2. Take your time

Even though quick sketch is done from short, 1-5 minute poses, take the time to observe and measure (see Tip #1 above). Especially during the lay-in. Do not rush the lay-in, especially if you’re new to quick sketch drawing.

When I first started studying quick sketch, it took me months to be able to draw the lay-in well during a short pose. I would often get bored and frustrated because I wanted to rush through the lay-in, get to the shading and polish my little figure in time. Eventually I learned to relax and appreciate the process. This allowed me to internalize more of the lay-in process and ultimately made me faster and my drawings better.

Take your time to do the lay-in well. It may seem boring and repetitive, but over time it will pay off in the quality of your figures and overall drawing skill.

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This tutorial was meant to be a brief introduction in how to lay in the torso. Reilly method, figure quick sketch and gesture drawing in general is a very deep and complex subject. Later on, we will break down how to lay-in the whole figure, and how to apply the techniques to various poses and viewpoints.

Of course, a subject like this is best learned from example. If you are fortunate enough to have instructors in your area who teach this approach, I highly recommend taking a live class. We will also post more resources for those who want to study Reilly method further in upcoming articles. For those who want to dive in to drawing the head, check out the head quick sketch tutorial.