Figure Drawing Reflection

I really enjoyed this two week figure drawing session, and I am sad this is going to be my last one! I think in this period I did improve on my form when drawing people/figures. I think my figures look a lot more alive with movement compared to what they have looked like in past years. I think I was able to better captured the 3D aspect of the figure compared to what I have drawn with figures before. Learning to draw lighter and with a bigger initial stroke for a gesture really helped me improve in getting a better basis of figures. Before I would focus too much on little details, and I would struggle to get the overall movement and character in the figure. However now I have learned to almost take a step back in a way while drawing which helps my figures come together more as a being with movement. I think in the Middle drawing you can particularly see my improved sense of movement in my figure. Despite it being a gesture, I think it gives a sense of movement that is important for making the figure feel alive instead of flat. I also did enjoy the subtractive drawing as I put on the right. I thought it was nice to play with the different values and see the figure be almost carved out of the paper. It was a good way for me to focus on the shapes instead of the actual features of a figure/person. I think I got a better understanding of the figure this way. Overall I had a great time with these figure drawing classes!