Heya!
Let’s talk about the Radiorunner Curriculum for the Solo artist! I started following this course on Monday, January 24, 2022. I’m committing every MWF to study.
If you’ve seen the course you‘ll see a link or name to the recommended materials. You can go
all in and purchase everything per term and use the free resources, go with all free options or a combination.
I chose a combination of free and paid resources. I will list the resources I personally used, along with links to get them yourself if you are interested. I will also talk about the things that helped me and the ones that I didn’t really end up using.
What this section of the course is about:
Term One focuses on figure drawing. (Please read until the end for links to materials used and ones I did not use.)
For this section of the course, the main assignment/challenge was 30 days of Croquis Cafe gesture drawing sessions. It was suggested to complete the assignment and course at the same time rather than afterward. So I did two videos of the course along with two drawing sessions.
Though the course links to Vimeo I chose to go directly to Croquis Cafe Mainly because it was cheaper and I didn't want a full Vimeo subscription to view a limited number of Croquis Cafe videos. This way I have access to all their video sessions.
Please note: Croquis Cafe does require you to be 18 or older.
Alternatively, you could just as easily google 'timed figure drawing sessions' and find many free resources. Or look for images of models in various poses and time your drawing sessions yourself.
This section doesn't specify whether or not models should be nude, but the resources are nude and there are lessons further down the line that specify clothed models. So I assume you are looking for nude models.
For people, who are uncomfortable working off nude models or those of you who are still minors, I would look for models that are wearing clothes that don't obstruct the figure such as this.
These kinds of sessions can easily be found on Youtube or Pinterest as well.
Personally, I paid the annual $35 to Croquis Cafe instead, because it was inexpensive and I found that they have a variety of models of all shapes and sizes. You will often see a similar body type on YT or anywhere else but I wanted different options.
Next, I purchased the textbook "Figure drawing for all it's worth" - Andrew Loomis. Though I did not use it for the lesson. I am using it as additional reading material, however, but I don't know yet if it's necessary.
As for the actual course, I opted for the Free version of the Proko Figure Drawing Fundamentals playlist, on Youtube.
You’ll notice the Love for Drawing YouTube channel linked on the term as well, but as of Day 1, I haven’t needed to use it.
What I did:
I listened to the first two videos on the Proko Fundamentals playlist about 3 times each (as recommended in video 2) and worked on 2 Croquis Cafe, timed gesture drawing sessions. I chose Week 498-499 For the following sessions.
Week 499 - Model: Kay
In the Proko introductory video, Stan Prokopenko suggests that you complete a timed figure drawing session prior to watching the full video. That is the session you are seeing above.
You’ll see a lot of scratchy lines and I did run out of time for a lot of elements. I did focus on a lot of unnecessary shapes.
Then, I listened to the first two Proko videos in the playlist before my second attempt.
Week 498 - Model: Jhene
My lines are still scratchy, I did try to make the figures more fluid and use longer lines. I felt a little more comfortable this round even if it doesn’t show on paper lol.
Overall, I was happy with the sessions and it took about an hour and a half of my day.
I worked on a few character sketches later in the day and I did think about Proko’s video at that time and tried to implement his lesson in my sketches. (my lines are still scratchy as you can see)
Keiko - Bura Bura Academy
I chose to do this course traditionally; with a sketchbook and pencil (I have a purple pencil because it’s my favorite color and I wanna) but you can also do it digitally if you want to.
Here‘s everything I used in this class:
Youtube - Proko: Figure Drawing fundamentals - course
Croquis Cafe - Weekly Videos - timed gesture sessions
And here is a list of recommended resources I did NOT need to use this time around:
Proko Premium - Figure Drawing Fundamentals
"Figure drawing for all it's worth" - Andrew Loomis
Feel free to offer critiques on any of my sessions, I'd love to learn any new tips. (please be civil)
If you're starting this journey with me, use #thehikahees on Instagram, so I can see it too!
Now let’s talk about you!
Are you enrolled in an art class? Self-teaching? Have you taken this course? Have you taken art courses in a school setting?
What was your experience like? Any tips for beginners?
Tell me all about it!
- Hika