Suzanna Standing Drawing

A low-angled, standing pose performed by Suzanna from a session in October, where she has her hands placed on her hips with a very slight twist, legs spaced larger than shoulder width apart. The low angle really gives the pose a strong, confident vibe. Suzanna was an incredible surprise, as we had never had her before at our sessions and there is always an element of apprehension as to how a new model would perform, and how to adapt to their style of modelling. The pose being 15 minutes long, I decided not to bring out the acrylics to try and add colour in the way I had been doing previously, but to just use black gouache on the brown, textured craft paper and really just concentrate on the form and volume. I used only a medium sized brush for this, once again changing how much paint I applied so as to be able to add softer shadows with a dry brush effect as well as dark, contrasting areas. There is strong directional light coming from the right, leading to an occasion to use chiaroscuro - emphasising the contrast by darkening the shadows nearest to the light. I love using gouache with a dry brush effect as you can vary the tone of the shadows, helping to define the volumes. It was done at the Wednesday evening Life Drawing sessions held at Illumination Mac Guff, Paris, where I worked as a Character Animator for over three and a half years. The studio is known for such films as Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets and The Lorax. All of my figure drawings are from life - no photos were used at any point in their fabrication. The model is in front of you and you have a definite amount of time to get down as much information as you can or see fit. Because of this, each drawing is truly unique and a complete one of a kind, containing a spontaneity that can never be duplicated through photo inspired drawings/paintings. For more of Suzanna and other Parisian based models, please look through my other works.