Art student taking figure drawing

[Beau Soir]

Hey there, everyone.

I'm going to be attending a professional art college in the fall, and this issue has come back to mind every now and then. It involves some of the art classes I'm going to be taking... Since it's art college, there will be figure drawing with live nude models. In fact, in Drawing II, it's described as a "major component."
I've really been bothered by the idea, and it's kept me from possibly taking a summer pre-college Figure Drawing class at my future college.
I've looked up some things on Google about Christians' comments about nude model drawing... I've seen some people say to view it as God's handiwork of the human body. No doubt the human body is a masterpiece, but I'm not so easily convinced so easy to write off, since the idea is going against my conscience.

I'm not asking as to whether it's "right" or "wrong." In a similar comparison, I've been reminded that there are Christian doctors who have to view nude people every day. But I don't feel okay with this. If my teacher brings in a nude male model, I'm sure I'd lose it and have to leave. I'm not married and I've kept myself, as much as I possibly can, from viewing things I shouldn't.
I don't know what to do, because I don't have a choice but to go to this art college. Can someone please offer some pointers, encouragement... anything that may help?


[SIZE="1"](I hope this is okay in General, I didn't think it really belonged anywhere else specifically? Please correct me if I'm wrong. ^__^; )[/SIZE]

[Maledicte]

As a freshman art major, I was pretty nervous about taking life drawing, too. The two things that made it easier for me to even sign up for the class was that it was required for my major, and that I heard that the teacher was really friendly.

But getting into the class, the model climbing up on the platform and disrobing, there was no time for me to be nervous or disturbed or offended. "Gesture drawings. 15 seconds each pose. Go." I became far too busy just trying to get the poses *right* than bothering to think, "omg there's a naked person in this room and I'm looking at them!"

And on longer poses, again, I didn't end up focusing on the model's nudity - I became focused on getting their likeness, their personality even, on the page. And yes, trite as it sounds, I did begin to realize the masterpiece of the human body, but even more so, of just how unique each body is. It was a humbling experience, that even though these people weren't always the aesthetic ideal, whatever that may be, they were beautiful because they were *them.* Also, we got to know our models rather well as people. They were subjects of art, not objects.

And, honestly, in my 4-year stint in an art program, I've only seen 2 male models that I would consider good-looking. And the same rules applied - so what if they were muscular and handsome? It's not my job to ogle, it's my job to learn how to draw, and they were human beings just as much as the pregnant model and the bearded old man.

If you're nervous about drawing certain parts of the body, there are ways around it. You can tell the professors your misgivings, you can sit from a different vantage point so you don't see those parts, or you can just omit drawing them altogether (a girl in one of my classes left out drawing male genitalia, because she didn't want her dad to freak out when she brought her work home). In my experience, the focus was never "DRAW EVERYTHING IN MINUTE DETAIL." The focus was on the human body as a whole and refining one's drawing abilities.

[Ante Bellum]

Remember that it's natural. Anatomy is a very important part of art, even if you plan on using a more cartoon-like style. I've heard that it's hard to unlearn incorrect anatomy and that it's best to start with more realistic proportions. To be honest, I wish I had the chance to do more figure drawing.

[Radical Dreamer]

As a fellow Christian art student, this is just something every art student has to go through. XD It is in no way sexual to look at the human body sans clothing, and there's nothing wrong with learning to draw the human figure properly, without clothes. Personally, I ended up having semi-nude models for my first figure drawing class (which is essentially models in some sort of bathing suit or bikini) because they're cheaper ($8 vs. $15 an hour XD), so you may not even have anything to worry about if your school does things like mine does. It may seem uncomfortable to draw someone nude at first (and movies like Titanic probably haven't helped this at all XD), but honestly the process becomes more about figuring out forms and lines and shadows than it does "OMG I CAN SEE A PENIS." XD I don't think you'll have any trouble once you get used to it. XD

[Xeno]

"OMG I CAN SEE A PENIS."

This thread was worth reading just for that.

I've never gone to art school and all the art I've ever done has been photo manipulation and the like. So I've never had to go through looking at a naked person and being told to draw the person (I can't even draw stick figures very well). I've always looked at "nude art" as exactly that, art. I don't seen anything vulgar about it as the human body is a wonderful thing. There is a line beween art and pornography, this lies firmly on the art side.

[Yuki-Anne]

No, but for real, naked men are not that attractive.

I mean, if lust is your concern...

[LadyRushia]

"OMG I CAN SEE A PENIS."

No, but for real, naked men are not that attractive.

I mean, if lust is your concern...

This is really all I have to say.

[Cognitive Gear]

No, but for real, naked men are not that attractive.

I mean, if lust is your concern...

HEY!

Wait... no, you're right. We are pretty gross.

[Radical Dreamer]

This is really all I have to say.

FREEZE-FRAME HIGH FIVE.

[Nate]

Wait a second...quoting Yuki-Anne's post about naked men not being attractive, and posting a picture of Neil Patrick Harris asking for a high five in response...but Neil Patrick Harris is gay and is attracted to naked men!

OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ANYMORE. ABANDON THREAD!

[chibiphonebooth]

As an art student who has taken nude drawing classes, I'm just going to echo what everyone is saying here. Most of the time they are gesture drawings, and you don't have time to think "oh my gosh there is a naked person in front of me! I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" I was nervous for my first class too, and i will admit it was kind of weird having this girl walk into the class and just yank off her clothes and pose, lol, but i'm going to stress this:

[SIZE="6"]As an artist, learning the anatomy is a MUST.[/SIZE]

there is absolutely no way to get around it. Learning how the muscles move in certain poses, learning how joints bend, learning how fat and muscles sit on the body is all a major major MAJOR foundation for drawing, no excuses. If you want to be a serious art student, and if you are serious about going to art school and doing something, anything, in art, you have to take these classes. Even in art history you will see nude people aaaaallllll over the place. You need to get comfortable with seeing the artistic nude figure.

learning the anatomy not only helps how clothes sit on the body, but it also helps style development and many other things. Drawing the nude figure in my art class was one of the best things I could learn.

I have yet to draw men, but you have to remember, God created the human body, it's not sinful to look at the nude figure in an artistic sense. there's a HUGE difference between artistic nudity and pornographic nudity. Don't worry, the art teacher will not make the nude artist pose in pornographic ways lol.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I dunno... I'll probably never attend an art college because of the nude models and what not. If they wore enough just to cover the bits and bobs, I wouldn't mind though. I really don't know where I sit with the whole thing.

[Xeno]

Wait a second...quoting Yuki-Anne's post about naked men not being attractive, and posting a picture of Neil Patrick Harris asking for a high five in response...but Neil Patrick Harris is gay and is attracted to naked men!

OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ANYMORE. ABANDON THREAD!

I prefer to think of NPH in this capacity, where he wasn't gay...but I've got a feeling that Nathan Fillion was:



Also, this thread is now officially about Neil Patrick Harris. Discuss.

[shooraijin]

Also, this thread is now officially about Neil Patrick Harris. Discuss.

No, it's not.

For the record, it's awful hard to learn anatomy without nudity. Especially in medical school. But it's also true for art.

[c.t.,girl]

i must ask...why do you want to get into art seriously if you're not okay with learning anatomy...I AM CONFUSED.

[ChristianKitsune]

I'm going to echo a lot of what my fellow artists are saying here ^_^; It is a must to learn the anatomy, unfortunately my college is in the midwest and we only had one model throughout the whole semester and it was a girl :I So I didn't get to draw a male figure. (not that I desperately wanted to, buti would have been nice to be able to draw a different gender than what I'm used to XD)

Figure drawing is a very important class to take, and like others have mentioned the poses are never done in a distasteful manner and you're too busy drawing to really oogle if that's...what you're concerned about...

[Scarecrow]

Get some books before hand... some human anatomy art books with real pictures in them. You'll get over the initial "shock" quick. My mom was/is a nut on this and any kind of nudity was bad... being told since birth that nudity - bad, it was hard to push that away when I started taking up drawing. Found a drawing book with some nudie patooties in it and at first it felt like I was opening pandoras box. Then when I actually saw them I was like... o.O This is it? And I didn't turn into Ted Bundy?!

So yeah, if you're feeling uncomfortable, just get some live art books and go through there. Then when you go to class, it won't be bad at all.

[ShiroiHikari]

If you're that put off by artistic nudity, don't be an art student. Sorry but you really just can't learn as well by copying what you see in pictures.

[Maledicte]

You *could* probably learn good anatomy if the model was wearing a bathing suit covering the "naughty" bits, but honestly? There's no guarantee you'll get a class like that. And from what I've experienced, no one has ever left a life-drawing class behaving dirtier or raunchier than when they went in.

[Jingo Jaden]

Wait, nude models go against your conscience?

I'd recommend reading through the genesis chapter. Adam and Eve did not cover themselves up before sin hit them, and they felt shame over themselves. Not because being nude is sinful, but because it is mildly putting revealing as if someone gazed directly through you. Once they felt sin, they also felt shame. Shame is not always justified. While I obviously don't encourage others to be nude in public and it is true God gave man right to slay animals to wear it's hide as clothes. It does not undermine the fact that nudity is part of our nature and on it's own really does not say much. Aside from the artistic spectrum where it reflects so much.

I remember some of the early art college guys just jumping around talking about how awesome nude painting was going to be. Well.... that was until the model turned out to be a middle-aged truck driver. Even when the models became a bit more like their original expectations, they still found the experience underwhelming to say the least. Have in mind that these guys wanted it to be the experience you seem to think it as, and it is not in that nature. Not even close. The artistic spectrum of nudity is a whole different realm. Sure there were some giggles during the first tries, but really.

I think you severely overestimate the moral implications of nude drawing and forget the fact on how God made us. Other than Norwegians that are born with skis on their feet, God generally does not put much else on other humans during their creation. As an artist, your main objective is to create something. What you create will to some degree also define some aspects of you. When I sculpt, I look for subtle areas on pretty much everything. It has it's own beauty when you create it, give it age, shape and form. Whether you are adding the directions of wrinkles on a persons face or detailing the effect age has on their bodies.

Regardless, nudity signifies purity above all else in most cases. There are very few respected artistic pieces I've seen that represents eroticism in the regard of standard art. It can be used for many purposes, but it is not inherently evil in any senses. The sculpture of David is not exactly known to overwhelm the senses of people who view it. It's known because it is incredibly elegant and has a good story behind it.

At the end, I think you had a wrong mindset on this one. Fire can hurt and destroy, but it can also be beautiful and helpful.

[ABlipinTime]

...

I go so far as to call myself an artist (I can draw some scribbles to say the least, just check out my DA page), so here's my .02:

First, I disagree with the rest of you guys saying that learning human anatomy is a must. Why? Um, because you may not ever draw people. I would consider a engineer an artist because he is a designer. He will probably draw thousands of blueprints in his career and never once have to draw a person. That was all said just to get a point across, but for Beau, seeing as it is she is going to art school, I'm guessing she wants to draw people, which leads me to my next point:

You don't have to ever see nude people to learn how to draw people. You can just look at the parts, the figure, or - what I do - look at other people's art. Approx every angle of the human body has, in some form or another, been depicted. Google is my witness. I doubt it would be difficult to find examples of the aspect of the human body you have to draw. (As a side irony, Google isn't the greatest source for looking up images if you want to protect your eyes so-to-speak.)

Now of course, the last bit of advice is the best: pray.
For me, I just focus on God, who, in Jesus, had the perfect form (which I am so incapable of drawing or even imagining, but nevertheless God welcomes our attempts).
And I'll be praying for you as well.



On a related note to art, and vaguely going along with what Maledicte said in the first response, there's alot of good abstract depictions of humans that do capture more of the emotions or character of the individual. *wishes someone would provide a cool example*

[mechana2015]

First, I disagree with the rest of you guys saying that learning human anatomy is a must. Why? Um, because you may not ever draw people. I would consider a engineer an artist because he is a designer. He will probably draw thousands of blueprints in his career and never once have to draw a person. That was all said just to get a point across, but for Beau, seeing as it is she is going to art school, I'm guessing she wants to draw people.

She's talking about a fine arts program, a majority of which require life drawing classes on that presumption that you'll have to draw the human form at some point in your life and career as an artist. If you plan to go into a fine arts program (or even graphic design) it's going to come up eventually as a part of the curriculum, and may even be a part of the national accreditation for fine arts degrees of that type.

You don't have to ever see nude people to learn how to draw people. You can just look at the parts, the figure, or - what I do - look at other people's art. Approx every angle of the human body has, in some form or another, been depicted. Google is my witness. I doubt it would be difficult to find examples of the aspect of the human body you have to draw.

Drawing from 2D images isn't nearly as helpful as drawing from life, weather the subject is clothed or not. It can be helpful to be sure to use a photo, but you lose important aspects of the image when you copy a living being from a static 2D image. Full nudity isn't required but the bathing suit version that Corrie mentioned is just as helpful and will be superior in many ways to a photo reference. It's much more difficult than you claim to find a specific angle or pose online. Believe me, I've tried many times, and found myself looking for hours for separate arms, hands, legs and bodies to meld together to find all the right angles for the pose I wanted.

On a related note to art, and vaguely going along with what Maledicte said in the first response, there's alot of good abstract depictions of humans that do capture more of the emotions or character of the individual. *wishes someone would provide a cool example*

Most of those pieces were only accomplished after a person gained a good knowledge in drawing a realistic body, enabling them to make the stretches to show the character of the person in addition to their external appearance.

[FllMtl Novelist]

You don't have to ever see nude people to learn how to draw people. You can just look at the parts, the figure, or - what I do - look at other people's art. Approx every angle of the human body has, in some form or another, been depicted. Google is my witness. I doubt it would be difficult to find examples of the aspect of the human body you have to draw. (As a side irony, Google isn't the greatest source for looking up images if you want to protect your eyes so-to-speak.)

I don't think learning how to draw by just looking at other people's work is a good idea. That's kind of like learning how to write dialogue from reading books/watching TV instead of ever talking to real people. You've got to look at the real thing yourself, because you'll interpret/recreate it your own unique way, which will be different from another person's way.

As for Beau's dilemma, I think Scarecrow's idea about getting books beforehand is a good one. I borrowed a helpful figure-drawing book from my library that has a lot of (drawn) fairly detailed nudity in it, and it's made me less squeamish about that sort of thing. (I haven't taken any live figure drawing classes, but even just the realistically drawn nudity helped some, I think.)

[goldenspines]

If you take the class during the summer, you'll get it over with faster! /lameattemptatencouragement

But in all seriousness, knowledge of human anatomy is a must for any artist wishing to get a fine arts degree (included, but not limited to: Painting/Drawing, Sculpture, Graphic Design, Illustration, etc...). Why? Not because you're going to be drawing nude people for the rest of you life, thankfully (though some people do do that for the rest of their lives), but just for the knowledge. But because the human figure is what we (the viewers of art around us) identify with. Once an artist knows how to create the human figure and interpret in their own way (not copying someone else), they can twist it and mold in any way they wish.
But knowing the basic form is where your starting point is. Thus, we visual artists all have to "suffer" through figure drawing classes with nude models.

So, best advice? Most of it has been given in this thread from Maledicte, Ante, RD, Chibi, Jaden, Scarecrow.
I personally take the approach of treating figure drawing like anything else I'm drawing from life; as shapes and values. Those are the puzzle pieces that put your picture together. And it may help you if you're still feeling uneasy about "OMG WHAT AM I LOOKING AT."

Best of luck to you! I'm sure you'll be fine. :3

[Maledicte]

Drawing from 2D images isn't nearly as helpful as drawing from life, weather the subject is clothed or not. It can be helpful to be sure to use a photo, but you lose important aspects of the image when you copy a living being from a static 2D image.

Correct. With a 2D image you're losing the elements of viewing the objects as they occupy space, that is, the 3-dimensionality of the object itself. This is why drawing from life is important, whether it be the human model or still life objects or anything in between - it helps give your art weight and depth, because you're learning how to *see* and *depict* weight and depth.

It's much more difficult than you claim to find a specific angle or pose online. Believe me, I've tried many times, and found myself looking for hours for separate arms, hands, legs and bodies to meld together to find all the right angles for the pose I wanted.

Which is not to say that models will automatically pose that *one* way you want them to pose for you, every time (though they do take requests, because they're cool like that and that's what they're being paid for). But being able to draw the human in a variety of poses from life will help you draw the human body convincingly from your head, because you have a mental and physical backlog of images to take reference from.

I don't think learning how to draw by just looking at other people's work is a good idea. That's kind of like learning how to write dialogue from reading books/watching TV instead of ever talking to real people. You've got to look at the real thing yourself, because you'll interpret/recreate it your own unique way, which will be different from another person's way.

Precisely. The same thing goes from just about any type of art. If you only go down the roads other people have gone down before you, you're only limiting yourself. No harm in taking inspiration or creating homages, but you as an artist have your own quirks, voice, and vision. Discover them and show them to the world.

But, back to nude life drawing. If it wasn't a requirement for your major, is it absolutely essential that you should take such a class? Not necessarily. But is such an experience valuable? I would definitely say yes.

[chibiphonebooth]

First, I disagree with the rest of you guys saying that learning human anatomy is a must. Why? Um, because you may not ever draw people. I would consider a engineer an artist because he is a designer. He will probably draw thousands of blueprints in his career and never once have to draw a person. That was all said just to get a point across, but for Beau, seeing as it is she is going to art school, I'm guessing she wants to draw people, which leads me to my next point:

That's all well and good if you are going into architecture or interior design. I'm in art college right now, and that's why they have majors. I'm not 100% certain, but i'm pretty sure if you are going into architecture, you'd just be studying that, not people. But she is mentioning nude drawing, so it's assumed that she's talking about fine arts.

You don't have to ever see nude people to learn how to draw people. You can just look at the parts, the figure, or - what I do - look at other people's art. Approx every angle of the human body has, in some form or another, been depicted. Google is my witness. I doubt it would be difficult to find examples of the aspect of the human body you have to draw. (As a side irony, Google isn't the greatest source for looking up images if you want to protect your eyes so-to-speak.)

Sorry, but you are wrong here. Drawing from other people's work can only get you so far. Drawing parts of the body and then connecting them together will only get you so far. The body works with itself. Let's say you are drawing someone throwing something or grabbing something. It's normally not only the arms that are in play here, but the whole movement of the figure. this is something that you learn with figure drawing. The body is one giant moving organism. It really should not be split up into parts. Even when I am drawing scenes where a lot of the body is cut out, I will sometimes sketch most of the body to make sure that the overall anatomy and feel is correct.


here's an example. On the left is what i've learned through anatomy/figure drawing. On the right is what I'd be doing if i just worked off of other pictures and how i THOUGHT the body moved. can you tell that the one on the left flows way better? (of course, there are still some errors, but i drew it in 3 minutes to prove a point lol)

I feel like i'm rambling, so sorry if i am, but I have a lot of thoughts on the subject.

One of the major points in figure drawing is getting the overall movement and shape of the figure. This means 5-10 minute gesture drawings, meaning you only capture the overall flow and movement and shape of the person, not the details.

example:


This is really only stuff you can learn in figure drawing classes, because the body is not obstructed by clothing, therefore you can see how the body moves with itself and how all the muscles and bones work together to create a pose.

On a related note to art, and vaguely going along with what Maledicte said in the first response, there's alot of good abstract depictions of humans that do capture more of the emotions or character of the individual. *wishes someone would provide a cool example*

That's true, but take any art history class and you will find out that almost every single artist who does abstractions of the body has a solid foundation in how anatomy really works.
Degas, for exmple, is known for his skewed perspective in his artwork. But he actually studied perspective for a very very long time before messing with it in his pictures. and we all know Picasso for his crazy abstract art and cubism. But before all that, did you know he painted this?:



Every famous artist studies and studies and studies first.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Savannah how dare you post a picture of a nudie girl. Ugh my purity is now defiled because of you.

Btdubs, all you art majors seem to know your art-smarts. Consider me impressed. XD

[chibiphonebooth]

Savannah how dare you post a picture of a nudie girl. Ugh my purity is now defiled because of you.

Btdubs, all you art majors seem to know your art-smarts. Consider me impressed. XD

SHE'S NOT EVEN NUDE XD
IT'S JUST THE HUMAN FORM. THERE ARE NO NIPPLIES OR ANYTHING XD

[Yuki-Anne]

Man, now you guys have me wanting to talk a figure drawing class with live models...

[LadyRushia]

Also, Savannah, that fellow you toasted kind of looks like the 11th Doctor.

Anyway, I agree with all the art majors in this thread. Y'all are smart folks.