Drawn from Life vs Drawn from Photo
After spending a couple years drawing Calvin and Hobbes to lay the groundwork for eventually learning to truly draw, I signed up for various courses to see if formal instruction could help.
Although it was by far the most frustrating, I eventually became hooked on figure studies and working from life as my next project.
Sketches from my first year learning to draw the human figure
348 Pages
August 2025
I found, however, that working with models in class or public group sessions, while very useful practice, was more frustrating than productive.
Since I had often hired professional models as a photographer, I imagined that this might be an option for figure models as well, and eventually found myself working almost exclusively in solo sessions.
Sometimes a model would consent to my taking a reference photo that I could use to see my mistakes more clearly, and I eventually realized that I could use these photos as a reference when practicing. After a few practice sketches that impressed me, this became a standard part of my self-education.
This book includes:
5 sketches I “improved” by looking at the reference photo after the initial life drawing session (a practice I abandoned after those 5)
23 such practice sketches drawn from a photo reference together with the original sketch drawn from life
100s of sketches drawn from life of 11 of the models I’ve worked with individually
As with all my books, one of my main motivations was the excitement I get at both seeing the book myself, and giving a copy as a gift to people who are meaningful in my life.