1. Materials Overview

• Graphite

  • H = Hard (lighter tones), B = Black (softer/darker tones), F = Fine/middle.

  • Tends to shine at dark values—some dislike this.

  • Suggested pencils: 2H, B, 5B.

  • Graphite will never reach pitch black.

  • Practice at home: Use sculpture books with black and white photos to study tonal values.

• Charcoal

  • Material for today’s session.

  • Universally loved: malleable, expressive, spreads well on the page.

  • Allows for easy reshaping and tonal transitions.

  • Ideal for beginners and great for academic study.

  • Can be used very expressively or for high accuracy.

  • Capable of true blackest blacks.

2. Structure of the Drawing Session

• Pose 1: 45 minutes – Academic style. High observation. Slow, careful analysis.

• Pose 2: 30 minutes – In the spirit of Matisse. Simpler, more gestural.

• Pose 3: 30 minutes – Freestyle. Use any material, any approach.

3. Before You Draw

• Warm up: Use spare paper to test charcoal. Scribble, swirl, feel the material.

• Stand if possible: Better for perspective and proportion. Helps you step back and see the whole figure.

• Don’t rush: Spend time observing. Maybe 10–15 minutes before making a mark.

• Start by lightly mapping the landscape of the drawing—key points like the head, chair, joints—then build slowly.

• Consider composition and how the drawing sits on the page.

4. Drawing Techniques & Tips

• Use your elbow, not your wrist: Encourages loose, confident marks.

• Work light to dark.

• Focus on shapes—not outlines or details.

• See negative space: The shapes around and between limbs help place features accurately.

• Think like a sculptor—build up from basic forms (cylinder, sphere, cone).

• Use anchor points (e.g. hip, elbow, foot) as visual landmarks.

5. Understanding the Body

• Anatomy is key:

  • Learn basic structure—bones, muscles, fat distribution.

  • This helps build visual memory and improves accuracy.

  • Know your own body to understand the model’s.

  • Recommended: Anatomy books like Gray’s Anatomy

  • Visualise: skeleton → muscle → flesh.

  • Helps you anticipate the pose and better interpret what you see.

6. Mistakes Are Welcome

• Don’t bring a rubber! Allow “mistakes” to build depth.

• Overdrawing creates richness and energy.

• “Pentimento” (Italian for “echoes” of the underlying drawing) is encouraged.

7. Tools & Techniques

• Phone trick: Photograph your drawing and flip it horizontally. Helps you spot errors—used by da Vinci!

• One-directional strokes can suggest form and tone.

• Use kneaded putty rubbers (next session) to lift tones and add highlights with charcoal.

8. Artists to Explore

• Degas, Richard Diebenkorn, George Seurat, Frank Auerbach – tone, form, expressiveness.

• Henri Matisse – contour, simplicity, elegance. Understand his deep anatomical knowledge beneath loose lines.

• Ketole, Yail Dahan – charcoal mastery.

• Tracy Emin – expressive life drawing style, and a source of inspiration for this session.

9. Attitude & Approach

• If you get a tricky angle—embrace it. Every part of the body is a landscape.

• Life drawing can become abstract when approached with curiosity and openness.

• Focus on essence, not just replication.

• Take your time. Think before you act. Be intentional with your marks.

• Observation before execution is critical.

Art History Overview: Origins of Life Drawing

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Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic Eras

• Earliest Body Depictions: 

• 12,000 BCE Reclining Nude (SW France) — first reclining nude recorded. 

• Venus of Willendorf (28,000 BCE) — portable, spiritual figurine. 

• Early cave paintings — human form studies across Europe. 

• Tools: 

• Microliths: tiny stone tools used to carve, engrave, and create figurines. 

Cycladic Figurines (c. 3000 BCE)

• Greek Islands: 

• Pebble-based figurines exploring abstraction and human form. 

• Key idea: Awareness of stylisation and artistic choice — not just replication. 

Four Stages of Ancient Greek Art:

1. Geometric Period: 

1. Abstract, patterned pottery and figures. 

2. Archaic Period: 

1. Black and red figure pottery. 

2. More anatomical realism (Kouros statues). 

3. Classical Period: 

1. Technical skill, idealised human forms. 

2. Symmetry, proportion, contrapposto (weight-shifted pose). 

4. Hellenistic Period: 

1. Psychological depth, movement, emotional weight. 

2. Famous examples: Venus de Milo, Laocoön and His Sons (Roman copies of Greek originals). 

Fall of Rome → Early Christian Era

• Body seen as sinful; life drawing halted. 

• Flat, stylised figures dominate early Medieval (Dark Ages) art. 

• Loss of anatomical observation for centuries. 

Today’s Focus: Georges Seurat

• Artist of the Week: Georges Seurat (1859–1891)

• Key Concepts: 

• Not focusing on line, but on light, shadow, mood. 

• Build the figure by sculpting space, not drawing outlines. 

• Techniques to Try: 

• Lay down a soft ground (light smudge across paper). 

• Lift highlights with eraser; deepen shadows with layered powdery charcoal marks. 

• Imagine a single light source — even if real light is flat, invent it. 

• Focus on volume, atmosphere, and subtle tonal vibration rather than strict realism. 

Drawing Techniques & Reminders

• Warm up: Squiggle and loosen hand before you start. 

• Stand if possible: Improves perspective and energy. 

• Observe first: 

• Spend time thinking through the pose before drawing. 

• Analyse structure, weight, negative spaces. 

• Drawing Process: 

• Map basic key points lightly. 

• Build slowly from landmarks outward (hip, foot, shoulder). 

• Work light to dark; don’t chase details early. 

• Mistakes Welcome: 

• Overdraw. 

• Correct over corrections. 

• “Pentimento” (echoes of previous marks) builds richness. 

• Attitude: 

• Curious, patient, and observational. 

• See the body as a landscape. 

5. Key Takeaways

• Today: focus on light and form, not just line. 

• Understand our deep history of human fascination with the body. 

• Every mistake builds your visual memory. 

• Be open, quiet, slow — drawing is seeing. 

Recap: The History of Life Drawing (So Far)

Prehistoric to Ancient Greece

• Venus Figurines (e.g. Willendorf): fertility, spirituality, abstraction.

• Cycladic Figurines: minimalist marble forms, early abstraction.

• Greek Art Stages:

  • Geometric: symbolic, patterned.

  • Archaic: early figuration (Kouros).

  • Classical: idealised realism, contrapposto.

  • Hellenistic: drama, movement, psychology (e.g. Laocoön).

Late Antiquity to Medieval

• Fall of Western Roman Empire: loss of anatomy/perspective, rise of Byzantine art.

• Medieval Europe:

  • Flat, symbolic religious art.

  • Illuminated manuscripts as early visual storytelling.

  • Art used for church indoctrination.

Renaissance Origins

• Pilgrimage Routes spread ideas across Europe.

• Siena & Florence: key cultural centres.

• Siena School (Duccio, Lorenzetti):

  • Emotional, narrative work with architecture and space.

• "Good & Bad Government" Frescoes:

  • Civic storytelling.

  • Awareness of scale and symbolism.

Florence & Early Renaissance

• Giotto: naturalism, emotion, transition to Renaissance.

• Petrarch: revived classical myth and humanism.

• Brunelleschi: dome engineering, linear perspective.

• Donatello: first modern nude (David), physicality returns.

• Masaccio: realistic space, Holy Trinity perspective.

• Botticelli: Birth of Venus, myth, sensuality, scale.

Artist of the Week: Louise Bourgeois & Neolithic Abstraction

• Inspiration:

  • Neolithic figurines.

  • Louise Bourgeois.

  • Georgia O’Keeffe.

• Challenge:

  • Reduce the figure to its essence.

  • Focus on form, rhythm, mass.

  • Draw like a sculptor, not a realist.

  • Invent a new symbolic language.