This intensive course set over 10 days will teach you the fundamentals of figure drawing & painting, boosting your confidence and ability.
If you can draw the human form you’re well equipped to tackle any subject at all and is central to learning to draw and paint. It provides one of the greatest challenges involved in working from life. Apart for the satisfaction of representing and expressing humanity, the powers of observation you develop are beneficial in all areas of visual art and design.
10 Day Figure Drawing & Painting Course Outline
The course is divided into three parts designed to build your proficiency and confidence. At each stage you’ll build on the core principles of Gesture and Proportion while developing the necessary skills to tackle the following step.
Throughout you’ll work with different length poses to get practice using the all the principles covered. You’ll also complete various drawing exercises designed to improve your observational work. At the end of each stage you get the chance to put your new skills into practice on longer poses helping you build a strong portfolio of finished work.
Part 1: Gesture, Proportion & Line
The course starts with a strong emphasis on line, gesture and proportion to give your figure work the best possible foundation
You’ll learn how to investigate the energy and gesture of the pose and how to use this as a foundation to build up well constructed line drawings. The emphasis is on fast sketching which will be invaluable in creating lively, dynamic figure studies.
The approach helps you to draw graceful, well proportioned figure studies with minimum reliance on measuring techniques. You’ll be encouraged to trust your eyes and instincts as you develop your ability to:
- Understand & use Flow-Through & Gesture Lines to capture the essence of the pose
- See and capture the essential force of the model
- Articulate and develop gesture lines into contour, constructing a solid sense of form
- Use Overlaps and Line Weight to create a lively finished drawing
You’ll begin with exercises designed to help you learn about weight, gesture and force combined with good proportion. You’ll then push these concepts, articulating the gesture into contour to create a solid sense of form. Finally we’ll look at line weight and overlaps to create dynamic line drawings.
Part 2: Mass, Tone & Chiaroscuro
Drawing mass utilising chiaroscuro will teach you essential realist painting principles without the added complication of using paint itself
Chiaroscuro involves using light, shadow and half-tone to create a strong design and render form in an organised way. You’ll build on the previous stages and study techniques to represent a convincing sense of overall form. This enables you to render smaller forms within context and finally the texture and detail.
- Blocking in light and shadow using chiaroscuro
- Using half-tone to create form
- Use of a 9 value tonal scale
- Rendering texture and detail
Part 3: Monochrome & Colour Painting
Combine the drawing principles with paint and learn to render tonal and colour figure paintings from life
In the painting stage you’ll incorporate all the previous stages using monochrome paint. This will allow you to consolidate the drawing principles while learning about the characteristics of oil paint. You’ll learn about painting mediums, brush control and layering before being introduced to colour.
Finally you’ll use a limited palette to understand colour theory in figure painting. This will allow you to approach colour in a clear, controlled manner, building your confidence and giving you a platform for future development.
- Good brushwork to keep you in control of your paint
- How to mix paint and mediums
- How to choose organise your palette of colours
Essential Info & booking
- Course Length: 10 days over 10 Weeks
- Dates: TBA – Get in touch if you’d like to be kept updated on next course dates
- Hours: 09;45 – 16;30
- Location: Northern Realist Studio – Map
- Materials: Charcoal & Oil Paint (Use contact form to request list)
- Price: £649
- Booking: Use contact form on right or contact page (Please state which course you’re interested in)