Life Drawing - Sophia

Today, we drew a lovely model named Sophia. Here's what worked, and what didn't ...

After the warm up, a nice view of her torso:

This one drawing came closest to what Bruce Waldman, our drawing instructor, has been saying: Make one area stand out, to direct the eye. 

Next, I tried crosshatching instead of shading with the side of the charcoal (below, top).  While I love when other artists do this, for now, using the side just suits me better (below, bottom).

Next, a foreshortened pose. Those always give me trouble!

For the final pose, I added a few flesh tones plus black and white. The drawing is OK (other than the awful hand!) ...

... which brings me back to Bruce's key point: For a more interesting drawing, find a focal point, and use contrast and line to make that one thing more important -- because when everything is equally important, nothing is.

I will try to remember to do that, going forward:)