How to Approach Life Drawing *NSFW ( includes nudity)

Animation college for me, for the most part, was a waste of time. However, there were a few classes that really enhanced my abilities. I'll talk about those classes later, but for this lesson, we'll focus on life drawing. Life drawing class was perhaps the highest valued class by both teachers and students in animation. You needed to be proficient at life drawing if you wanted to be a storyboard artist, an animator, a character designer, a sculptor, you name it.  For the first 3 years, it was mandatory to take life drawing. During the final year of animation, it was up to the student to take life drawing class, and you would've been missing out if you didn't. Year one we focused on the skeleton. Second year we focused on muscles. Third year we focused on acting through pose and clothing. All of these lessons are available on my Patreon, so feel free to find them and study. This lesson, I'll talk about how we learned, rather than what we learned. It's surprisingly easy, but many artists don't follow this method. We began each class with 30 second- 1 minute poses. Then after a few poses, the duration increased. The first hour- to and hour and a half of class was always spent doing studies. The final hour and a half is where the teacher taught us about a portion of the skeleton or muscles. So let's begin.

These pieces were done using the Comic HB Brush. The second and third examples were done using the Koteri 2B. When doing this exercise, I highly suggest using charcoal sticks or B-4B pencils on large newsprint paper pads. 

With a 1 minute pose, the goal should be to capture the proportions and overall "feel" of the model. Avoid details, and try to move fast. It's tough getting everything correct in such a short time span, but don't stress. Start your session off with 5 one-minute poses as a warm-up.

I even avoid drawing individual fingers or hair during 1 minute poses.

With 2 minute poses, we have the freedom to add more information into the drawing such as hair and fingers. Always look out for landmarks such as the ribs and the pelvis showing up clearly. Follow your one-minute poses with 3-5 two-minute poses. 

With 3 minute poses, we can block in simple shadows and begin to show off some more intricate muscles. For the model below, I indicated some ribs and showed the scapula. After the two-minute poses, attempt 3-5 three-minute poses. 

Five to ten-minute poses are the staple lengths of learning. They're not too short, so you can draw your details, and not too long where you're stuck on one piece for too long. As you've probably noticed, we're always just building on top an already complete figure that we created during the one-minute mark.  We don't spend 10 minutes starting and completing the head, then moving onto the arms and spending another 10 minutes there. No, we create a complete but simple figure, and over the minutes we apply more and more information and details. Finish your sessions with a bunch of 5-15-minute poses

Here is an example of what I mean by building on top of a complete figure. 

How often should you be doing life-drawing exercises? 3 times a week using 2-3 hour sessions. You wouldn't believe how much better I got in 4 years following this regiment. The best way to learn is by joining a local life-drawing class. You get to meet some awesome artists and learn so much from one another. But, some of us don't have access to studios, so instead, use this site: https://line-of-action.com/  

If you want any help along the way, feel free to send me a message with your artwork on Discord, and I'll gladly give you tips to improve.