Tonal Drawing Technique in Life Drawin

Tonal Drawing

When we look around our environment, to the objects that make up the space we are in, we see the world by perceiving colour and tone. Tone, also commonly referred to as value, determines how light or dark we recognise something to be. Understanding the properties of value perception, although not extremely difficult, is immensely important for all drawings, whether you aim to create a realistic or abstract depiction of your subject. This is because a wide range of tones will turn a mediocre drawing in to a vibrant one.

It is for this reason figure drawing presents the artist with a complex arrangement of tones that need to be selectively interpreted into drawn marks. However it takes practice and lots of it in order to judge accurately how light or dark a relative value/tone is. One way to develop our understanding of tone is to begin by categorising the values we see; looking for the lightest of lights, the mid tones, and the darkest of darks. The beginner artist may wish to practice observing value on a still life object, this will allow the artist to observe how light shifts, casting shadows and bounces off of a form. However you may find you will have more success with this exercise if you have one primary light source; allowing you to properly control the value.

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Drapery Technique in Life Drawing

We are always looking at how we can present new challenges for the artists that attend our Life Drawing workshops in Manchester, and it was with this in mind that we used draping on our model Andy. If you have never drawn the nude figure while partially covered with drapery, then I would highly recommend giving it a try, this is because it provides opportunities for studying aspects of volume. For anyone unsure, when we talk about volume we are referring to the surface area within a space; the exhibition of height, width and depth, resulting in an implied three-dimensional shape.

Drapery adds so much to life drawing, as it is an ideal tool for accentuating the shape of the human figure. If we look to the sculptures of ancient Greece and Rome, in a paradoxical way it actually enhances the nudity of the model by minimising some areas and accentuating others. And it is in this way draping can also be used as a compositional tool; helping the artist when arranging the placement of the visual elements that make up the pose. When there is draping on the model the artist will consider the following: the direction of the folds and the shadows they produce; how the body underneath supports part of the fabric; how the fabric may billow out or adapt to the figure; and the way gravity influences how the fabric falls towards the ground.

When arranging the study of the draped figure, we considered how the fabric weight, and density determines the quality and direction of the folds, while also allowing us to ‘see’ the anatomical figure underneath. It is for this reason we choose a light flowing fabric, allowing the forms of the nude body to ‘show through’ to an a extent. We also considered the placement of the fabric, placing it so it only partially covered the body, enabling the anatomical regions to be easily recognised by the artists.

Bee Creative Life Drawing in Manchester

In December we launched Bee Creative Studio to great success, we held two life drawing workshops at Bar21 in Northern Quarter. Both workshops were well attended and we received some great feedback. During our workshops we were excited to hear that there were people in attendance enjoying life drawing for the first time as well as some more experienced artists to figure drawing.

Some questions that did crop up with those that were new to the practice of drawing from the nude figure was why is it important, and is it figure drawing or life drawing? Firstly like many artist we use the terms life drawing and figure drawing interchangeably when referring to drawing from the human nude. Secondly, as humans it is only natural that drawing from the figure should play an important role as a subject matter, due the essential role it plays in art education; making each artist aware of how the muscles in the body work, how it operates in the spaces it occupies, composition and special awareness.

At Bee Creative Studio we understand drawing from the nude human figure is fundamental to developing your skills as an artist to accurately see shape while observing human emotion and gesture. We see drawing from life as underpinning the practice of all serious arts, as drawing from life enables you to capture the world and body as it really is. Life drawing means studying forms, proportions, perspectives and shading, movement weight, balance and tension.

The more you draw from the human figure you will begin to observe how the model holds their body; where they are putting weight on some muscles as they balance while positioning other muscles to hold a certain pose and over time you will use these skills in all your art work.

If you have never tired life drawing or you are a beginner, why not join our next workshop date in January. We are holding our workshops on 14th , 21st, 28th in January . Feel free to check out our upcoming dates for more details.