NMA / New Masters Academy - Pastel Figure Drawing

https://www.nma.art/v3/course-catalog/courses/1846093/

In this 5-week course, instructor George Pratt will teach you how to draw the figure with pastels. You will be introduced to the importance of silhouette and visual landmarks while looking at examples of pastel artworks by the instructor. George will show you his unique approach to gesture drawing. You will learn how to capture the spirit of the poses using light, dark, and colored pastels on toned papers. After this course, you will be able to create drawings with only big shapes yet still carry excellent rhythms and arrangements.

Syllabus

1. Week 1: Introduction to Silhouette, Visual Landmarks, and Materials

In this lesson, instructor George Pratt will lecture on the importance of silhouette and visual landmarks in art-making. You will learn to focus on the design and the arrangements of information while composing any artwork. Then, you will be introduced to the materials needed for pastel drawing.

2. Week 2: Gesture Drawing

In this lesson, instructor George Pratt will teach you his approach to gesture drawing using pastels. You will train your hand to feel what you see and from there quickly capture the spirit of the pose.

3. Week 3: Drawing with Light Pastels

In this lesson with instructor George Pratt, you will learn to create figure drawings using light pastels on toned paper. George will demonstrate how he utilizes the tones of the paper as the dark values and drawsonly the lights of the figures.

4. Week 4: Drawing with Dark Pastels

In this lesson with instructor George Pratt, you will learn to create figure drawings using dark pastels on toned paper. George will demonstrate how he utilizes the tones of the paper as the light values and draws only the shadows of the figures.

5. Week 5: Drawing with Colored Pastels

In this lesson, instructor George Pratt will show you how to create expressive figure drawings using colored pastels. You will learn to start with a light and a dark color; from there, slowly introduce temperature shifts to enhance the complexity of the drawing.