How to Use a Posture When Drawing Human Figures

Positures are a wonderful tool to use for reference when it comes to figure and gesture drawing. It is like having your own personal figure model with you wherever you go, whenever you need it. There are male and female positures, as well as dog, cat and hand versions as well. You can pose the positure in any angle you need, and play with lighting as well. The positure is perfect for a student who is just learning how to draw the figure as well as a seasoned professional to make getting the correct poses faster and easier.

Things You'll Need

• Positure (big or small) Desk lamp or other moveable lamp Pencil or pen Charcoal Marker Paper

Instructions

1. 

   Play around with your positure for a while before settling on one pose. Move the arms and legs in different positions. Move the head to face different angles.

2. Move the stand in different angles. See what it looks like upside down. See what it looks like when it is laying down on its side. Look at it from a bird's eye view (from above). This will give your mind a complete range of what you can do with your positure.

3. 

   Play with backgrounds and lighting. Put the positure in front of a white background. Now put it in front of a black background. Play with your lighting. Move around your lamp or desk lamp (the best lamps for these are the studio desk lamps with a bendable arm). Different lighting will invoke different emotions and effects.

4. Start drawing. A lot of learning by using a positure is having fun doodling from looking at your positure. Start off with a gesture line from the head to the pelvis and a line for each arm and leg. Make sure that it bends in the same directions and not just in straight lines. Simple round shapes for the head, arms and feet are good to use at first. Make your drawing move with your positure. Keeping it simple at first will help you stay loose and get used to the motion of figure drawing.

5. Practice makes perfect! But more important than anything, have fun!

Tips & Warnings

• Using charcoal or a wide marker helps to keep your drawing loose. Try not to erase your lines; draw lines on top of lines. Don't focus on one area too much; draw the whole figure together.

• Do not reject drawing real people from real life because you have a positure. This is an aid in your drawing, but not the only tool you can use.