Figuring out figures with Tommy van Auken

Over a two week period, Tommy Van Auken (https://thomasvanauken.wordpress.com/) instructed the class on gesture drawing, contouring, and figure drawings. I learned how when drawing gestures a searching line should be used and it should express the essence and emotion of the figure. A good way to start off your drawing in order to accomplish this is to look at the whole pose of the figure, rather than details, and draw lightly to start off. These methods will allow you to continue to layer and add to the composition and can come in handy if something needs to tweaked, such as proportions. We also learned a bit of basic anatomy and how it can be applied to see the different planes and depth of a figure, as well as how it affects the composition. An example of this is how when the model would put all their weight on one leg the hips would move at an angle, and their whole body would shift to one side.

Something I think I improved upon over the two weeks is illustrating the weight of the figure, which you can see appear more vividly in the later drawings. Rather than the figure seemingly floating in space, I attempted to ground it by making my marks darker in the area(s) that supported the most weight. I also tried to improve my proportions and realism of the figure by focusing on negative space and how my figure related to that space. Though somewhat unconsciously, I also was able to enlarge the figure within the composition and take up the whole page as the course continued.