The figure has a special place amongst subject matter for artists and is one of the most wildly used in art. It appears in all eras and in almost all cultures, from the cave men to Leonardo, Raphael, Degas, Francis Bacon and today Christian Furr who is kicking up a storm with his cheeky sense of humor https://christianfurr.com/artworks/
From great masters to children, we are all fascinated by the human figure, it’s compelling beauty and infinite variety. Exploration of the human figure is an important element in an artist’s development. It is a journey to explore, line, form and balance.
The human form is complex and can seem a daunting subject matter to tackle. Approach this genre like you would any complex task by breaking it up into smaller, bite size, pieces rather than tackling the whole thing as this is sure to overwhelm the most avid of artists. A good exercise is to draw parts of the body, fill a page or 3 with torsos, arms legs hands and feet. Gradually over time and with practice these areas will come together and as your confidence builds so does your ability to tackle the human figure in any pose.
You may regard your first attempts at life drawing as disappointing! You may approach this category as ridged and formal or with apprehension. Therefore it is important to breakdown these obstacles utilizing 2 main strategies for achieving loosness and ; a rapid warm up and blind drawing (see warm-up exercises). Remember the JFP rule everything is just for practice and if a happy master emerges so much the better.
If you look at young children’s drawings of people they are stick figures, this is a natural uninhibited starting point for the human figure. Have a look at this link as a good starting point with some helpful hints on how to get movement into even stick figures, check out Alphonso Dunn YouTube channel
Would love to hear from you post your work below or tell me how you go along or if you have any questions please shout.