A good representational artist (one who illustrations something that represents something in real life, despite whatever style it is drawn in) is always looking to improve their craft, whether by improving their fundamentals, studying new techniques, exploring different mediums, etc.

Figure drawing is a basic fundamental that illustrators are always trying to improve upon. We study proportion, structure of the form, and anatomy. But ultimately, drawing a live, human body posing right in front of us is a classic and essential practice. It is here that we see how the body moves, how the skeletal and muscular structure of the body affects movement and, in turn, how movement affects the skeletal and muscular structure in real life. We can see how light affects the body. We can see real movement and real poses, not just the ones we see in our heads.

Unfortunately, not all artists can make it to figure drawing sessions. Or, they can’t afford it. Or both. This shouldn’t stop them from, say, going to a coffee shop and drawing the people around them, but despite the fact that this is good practice, it is no substitution for drawing the nude figure. Underneath those clothes, those costumes, that armor, is a human being, the thing that must be properly structured in order for all those garments to look believable.

There is an alternative to live figure drawing sessions!

The Internet is both a gift and a curse for artists of all disciplines. But let’s focus on the positive, shall we? We have the Internet, and the Internet is home to all sorts of nude photos.

Um… oh, yeah. Porn. You might want to avoid that (or, maybe you don’t. That’s up to you). If you’re looking for, uh, “good-natured” nude photos online, you just have to be smart about your search: “art nudes”, “nude figure”, “nude anatomy figure”, “nude figure for drawing” – these will all yield different and varied results. And there’s still a chance a pornographic photo will slip in.

But wait… there’s another alternative.

I stumbled across PIXELovely a couple of years ago as I was searching for ever more figure drawing resources to educate myself. It’s a great site. You can choose to do figure drawing, hands and feet, animal, and face sessions. You can do two different types of sessions: “standard”, in which you select the amount of time you see each photo; “class”, in which you choose how long your want your session time to be and groups of photos will be shown in increasing time increments, starting with 30 seconds and the last photo being a half hour or a full hour, depending on what session time you’ve chosen.

There are pros and cons to both live figure drawing and using online sources.

Live figure drawing

PROS: You control the angle of viewing simply by getting up and sitting/standing somewhere else; it’s real – no camera tricks or photo processing, so you have to deal with real light and what is clear to you VS what the camera clarifies for you; lighting is more natural, not staged; you can request poses; you can meet other artists

CONS: money; scheduling; one body type at a time, so if you want to work on drawing a certain gender and/or a certain body type that day, but that day’s model is completely different than what you wanted, you’re stuck; with one model during a session, you can get used to his/her body, which can influence what you’re drawing

Online figure drawing

PROS: An abundance of poses and body types from both genders can be found online, so you can mix it up in a single session; because of the multitude of photos available, you’ll have less of a chance of getting to know your subject, so you’ve got to approach most photos with a fresh eye, keeping you on your toes (puns kind of intended); it’s free!; you can use it anytime, anywhere

CONS: Most of the high quality photos are processed, so you’re not dealing with “real” light but adjusted lighting (which, if it’s a photo shoot, was also staged lighting) and colors, resulting in a photo that has been composed and clarified for you; many of the unprocessed photos won’t necessarily have the same type of clarity you’ll have in real life, by seeing with your own eyes in real lighting; you can’t request poses; you’re stuck with the camera angle of the photo unless the same pose was photographed at multiple angles (and the photos are available); no interaction with others

I prefer a live session, but I have to admit: it’s super nice to be able to take advantage of online sources and practice in the comfort of my own home. Either way, artists have very little excuse not to work on their figures when the Internet is such a good, easily accessible tool.