Welcome back to Figurative Fridays, where we explore the art, practice, and deeper purpose behind figure drawing. Today, I want to take you behind the scenes into how I design our figure drawing sessions—from curating the lighting and playlists to selecting models and staging scenes—and how all of this sets the foundation for developing concept art using the 8 Pages of Sketchbooking.
I must say - I am so looking forward to setting this stage once again in the near future...perhaps we might even have a great space for this adventure as well!
Figure drawing is far more than technical practice. It’s a ritual of observation, atmosphere, and imagination. Each session is an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the human form—not just anatomically, but narratively. I’ve found that when the environment is thoughtfully constructed, it opens up new creative pathways for both me and the artists who draw alongside me.
Let’s walk through the process—from studio setup to sketchbook exploration.
1. Setting the Mood: Lighting as Visual Poetry
Lighting is the first brushstroke in preparing the space.
Before a single pencil hits paper, I ask myself: What mood do I want to evoke? Harsh rim lighting for drama? Soft overhead glows for calm introspection? Side lighting for depth and mystery?
Depending on the theme, I’ll use clamp lights with colored gels, LED panels with dimmable controls, or sometimes even candlelight (safely staged, of course) to create that old-world chiaroscuro effect. I think about the time of day the scene evokes, whether the model is meant to feel grounded or otherworldly, and how shadow will contour the human form.
Lighting does more than illuminate the body—it sculpts the narrative.
When the light interacts with the model’s body, it begins to suggest a world. That world is something we as artists can step into with our drawings.
2. The Soundtrack of a Scene: Music as Immersion
Music is the unsung hero of a figure drawing session.
For each event, I create a playlist tailored to the theme. If the setting is moody and noir, you might hear smoky jazz or ambient electronica. For mythological themes, I lean toward orchestral or world music. A renaissance vibe? Classical guitar or choral works. Even lo-fi beats have their place when we want to draw in a dreamlike haze.
I consider the playlist part of the narrative scaffolding. It tunes our brains into the emotional tone of the scene. For the model, it helps them hold character, and for the artists, it bypasses the critical brain and nudges us into flow.
3. Modeling the Moment: Costumes, Props, and Presence
Every session has a concept—whether it's rooted in mythology, cyberpunk, folklore, or simply an emotional prompt like “longing” or “defiance.”
Once I’ve established the lighting and musical atmosphere, I speak with the model about the character they’re embodying. What’s their backstory? What’s their posture telling us? Sometimes we use costumes or simple props—shawls, staffs, masks, furniture—that hint at a broader story.
I don’t want the model to just hold poses; I want them to inhabit a role. Whether it’s a warrior mid-battle or a poet in solitude, that intention communicates itself in the smallest gestures: a turn of the neck, a flexed hand, a dropped gaze.
4. The 8 Pages of Sketchbooking: From Observation to Imagination
This is where the 8 Pages of Sketchbooking comes alive. Each of these sketchbook “pages” isn’t just a literal page—it’s a mindset, a phase of artistic exploration. During and after our figure drawing sessions, I mentally step through each one, letting the event inform my creative process:
- Gesture Page – I begin with rapid studies to capture the essence of movement and posture. These are 30-second to 2-minute drawings that focus on energy rather than detail. I’m not worried about accuracy—I want rhythm.
- Form Page – Here I spend more time on structure: the cylinders, boxes, and planes that create the human body in space. Lighting from the session helps inform how I block out shadows.
- Volume Page – These sketches explore depth and weight. Where is the body pressing into the surface? What’s lifting? I use shading and hatching to understand physicality.
- Contour Page – Now I slow down and draw the outline with care, letting the edges of the form speak. This is where I might do blind contour studies or experiment with continuous line.
- Detail Page – I zoom in on areas that caught my eye—a hand gesture, the curve of a collarbone, the wrinkle of fabric. I push refinement here.
- Imagination Page – After the session, I take the figure and place it into new environments. Maybe the model becomes a forest deity or a spacefarer. I let the atmosphere we created inform the new world I’m drawing.
- Story Page – I create a narrative scene using the figure as the protagonist. This might mean adding other characters, background elements, or visual symbols that align with the session’s theme.
- Reflection Page – Finally, I journal alongside my sketches. What did I learn? What worked? What surprised me? How did the music or lighting affect my marks?
5. Concept Art Begins with Life
Too often, concept art can become disconnected from real human experience. That’s why I insist on starting from life.
The body in a real space, under real light, with real emotion, gives the kind of reference no AI or 3D model ever can. Drawing from a live model lets me translate those lived dynamics into fictional worlds with authenticity.
By the time I begin designing a character for a graphic novel or a story illustration, I already know how they move, how they hold weight, how their silhouette tells a story—because I’ve drawn someone being them, even if only for a moment.
6. The Ritual of Drawing Together
These sessions aren’t just about art—they’re about community. I always invite a mix of beginners and seasoned artists. We start in silence but often end with laughter, with sketchbooks passed around, and stories shared. There's something powerful about drawing in a shared mood, shaped by light and sound and presence.
In an age of endless scrolling and digital distraction, this ritual brings us back to presence: the model, the line, the page, the pencil, the breath.
Final Thought
So, when you come to one of my Figurative Friday's sessions, know that you're stepping into more than a life drawing class. You're entering a creative portal—carefully lit, beautifully scored, and staged for transformation.
And as always, the 8 Pages of Sketchbooking are here to help you make sense of the experience—one sketch, one page, one gesture at a time.
Until next Friday—keep observing, keep imagining, and keep drawing.
