Proportion: A longer Study

For this exercise I did three studies on different days -

The first was done in 2½ hours in a life-drawing class, in charcoal on A2 cartridge paper, and the model was lying on her back on a quilt-covered mattress, surrounded by tree branches in a kind of mythological setting.

I found it very difficult to get this pose right, as though I think the proportions are accurate there is something wrong with her body especially her legs – they look too straight and not quite natural.

The second was done in 1½ hours in a life drawing class, in black pen, ink and oil pastel with crosshatching technique, and the model was reclining on a mattress covered with a light blue throw, resting her head and her legs on several pillows.

I like the head and upper part of her body and think they are proportionally accurate, but the legs were very difficult to depict, more so because of the pillows under the lower part of her legs and feet.

The third was done in about 3 hours, and considering my two previous unsuccessful life-drawing attempts I decided to do this one from a black and white picture on the Internet, using pencil, charcoal and soft pastel on A3 cartridge paper.

I started with a pencil-outline and applied the tonal values with sepia and charcoal for the hair and face, finally colouring the background to make it more interesting. I like this drawing much more as the proportions are accurate and the colour of the background complements the monochrome body.