Chapter 2 | SITTING

In the following drawing, the model figure from previous lessons is sitting on a chair. We look at him or her from all sides. On a few figures red stripes are drawn so that you can see where the buttocks and hips are.

Exercise 1: Try to draw one or more sitting figures. You can let them chat with each other if you like.

Exercise 2: Precisely because sitting people usually move little, you can try to sketch real people, for example in a sketchbook. A hidden spot on (for example) a terrace, a station or an airport is nice. In the example below, note the change in the position of the left arm. While sketching, you are free to adapt small changes of position in your drawing, right through it and without erasing. See also the lesson Handy drawing tips part 2, chapter 4, level 3.

Here some examples of young and older students.

Finally, take a look at Gerbrand van den Eeckhout’s 17th century masterpiece: a seated woman, seen from the back. For this drawing, a woman posed for a while. Thanks to the gray paper, the artist could draw ‘highlights’ with white pencil or white chalk in addition to shadows.