My First Life Drawing Session
...Or Should I Say, Lesson?
*Content Warning: I leave this here in case readers are triggered by mentions or implication of bodily parts. The Post’s Title alone should be a huge hint.
I wouldn’t worry though, because I’ve told this story to friends and family many times, so it’s PG-friendly. Hopefully, it will simply be an amusing read.
Plus you’ll find resources at the end that might be helpful to you.
So, if you’re curious, keep on reading.
I vividly remember my first life drawing session during my first-year in art school.
After only a week of sketching still-life objects, I walked into the classroom the next day and saw my professor speaking with a man wearing a blue velvet robe.
I glanced at my classmate’s silent faces in question. One look at their nervous, awkward expressions, and I knew.
Today was to be our first nude drawing session.
Brilliant.
I’d actually been looking forward to it — my whole life. After all, when you grow up admiring works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, one would assume that being a real artist means sketching at least one nude model in your lifetime (of course, in a proper educational setting). Yes, I was young and naive with a romanticist view of art.
But still, like everyone else, I nervously sat down.
Without ceremony, the man casually removed his robe and settled into a pose.
Instantly, I saw the students who were in the front rows avert their eyes, some turning beet red. One girl darted her eyes wildly around the room with the “What the heck is going on here” look, because trust me, none of us were prepared for this moment. We weren’t even given a notice from our professor.
Luckily, my easel was positioned near the back, sparing me the full view of… well, his private part. But our professor encouraged us to move around to get the best angle of the pose.
I stayed right where I was, perfectly content, but I did notice that one girl carefully scooting her easel away from a less awkward view.
Long story short, I really enjoyed the nude drawing sessions. We spent a week with this model, and each day I found myself inching closer to the front until nothing was hidden from my sight — because honestly, I got bored being in the same spot and wanted to draw more interesting poses and finer details (not the one down there, of course).
Now this model’s body wasn’t exactly a Greek statue. He was more of your average Joe, with a natural protruding potbelly.
In my ignorance, I thought male nude models were supposed to be chiseled, with Renaissance muscles. I mean, wouldn’t you usually expect someone a little more… toned?
But I soon realized none of that mattered. This model was a professional —he even had a serene look. The more I sketched him, the more I saw the beauty of the human body.
Drawing nude models really lets you appreciate each person’s unique physique. It trains your eyes to see people as living works of art.
In that short week (plus additional 3 days with a female model), I learned more about the human form than I ever did just staring at photo books and pictures online.
It was the only segment in the art class that stuck with me and left a lasting impact.
You Can Level Up Your Human Poses
Back then, I relied heavily on references for a comic series. I just couldn’t figure out how to draw my own character poses or get the bloody body perspective right.
My human drawings were so bad that some of my readers even commented saying they could draw better than me, and “kindly” suggested that I should just stick with my bird drawings.
Yes, it was very discouraging and I’ll admit — true. But that only fueled me to prove them wrong.
For artists, the learning never truly ends.
We’re like RPG characters constantly finding ways to level up.
With that drive, I made a serious commitment to improve within a year.
You know that saying, study smarter, not harder, right?
Well, one of the best practical tips I came across was to identify my learning style.
What methods helped me improve my art the most? Was there any turning point in the past that truly boosted my art skill?
Two key moments stood out that really leveled me up.
The first was the time I spent at my grandparent’s house in the countryside, in which I drew for hours, surrounded by nature (You can check out this post).
The second was my first life drawing session, which, as you read above, left a lasting impression.
What those experiences had in common was this: I learned best by observing real life.
There’s something about seeing a living, breathing subject that allows my art to be more expressive and challenges me to render what I see in my own way.
When you draw from life, you’re training your eyes and hand to translate that observation onto paper. It’s like retelling what you see in real life into words.
What should you emphasize? What should you leave out? What makes the scene or subject feel alive?
Art is not just about copying — it’s about making decisions.
The Perks of Life Drawing
Drawing from life isn’t just about mastering anatomy or flawless perspective. It’s about making choices by yourself.
These choices can form the foundation of composition and storytelling in art. It’s what turns really good drawing to something that truly connects with people.
It’s what brings your art or sketch to the next level.
When you copy other artist’s artwork, you’re not practicing this decision-making skill. You’re only following someone else’s creative judgement.
Using a reference photo skips that step too because all those rendition has already been made and flattened into 2D for you. As some say, “You’re at the mercy of the photographer.”
Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t use references — I still do! But it’s important to know when to rely on them.
I believe you can develop your own poses and improve your art and storytelling through life drawing alone — it’s an ancient method that’s older than you and da Vinci.
And it works.
Improve With These Resources
While life drawing isn’t absolutely necessary, I’d love to share some online drawing sessions that come pretty close to the real thing. These sessions have greatly improved my ability to draw human poses over the years.
I hope these will inspire you, and maybe even give you that extra push to practice more and progress faster.
First and easiest, I watched a lot of random documentaries. Mostly the indie and foreign ones because they don’t focus too much on beautiful cinematography.
I love documentaries that capture traditional lifestyles and personal stories, showcasing a lot of human activities and movement. The way people live their everyday lives provides endless inspiration for drawing natural poses and expressions.
My personal favorite is a modest Italian channel called Davide Mocci DOC. I even did a small drawing study about historic bread-making, which you can check out in the post below:
I can’t help but strongly recommend online live model sessions. There’s a free one on YouTube called GES Draw Party, a Japanese channel that I believe post new sessions every Thursday. I like to join them occasionally because there are times when the models and their outfits are… questionable 😅.
But depending on the theme, they do poses that are natural and relatable, like snippets of everyday life.
I really appreciate the content they bring, and wish there were more channels like them!
This one was the very first online model drawing session I joined called Zeet Studio Sketch. Although they have a paywall, their prices are decent compared to other life drawing sessions online which requires monthly subscriptions (ugh, no thanks!). With Zeet, you only pay for the session you want!
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I first discovered them back when they were available only through their Chinese website. But now, due to its popularity, they offer past recordings and future sign-ups through their Gumroad site.
I adore their packaged themes (especially medieval/historical ones) and their featured guest artists. It was actually through one of these artists that convinced me to try Zeet Studio. I learned so much from their sessions, and it’s been an incredible resource for me and my comics.
Did I also mention how fun it is? Especially the costumes! They add such a vibrant, playful energy to every session.
What do you think your learning style is? Do you find yourself making creative decisions more, or do you tend to just copy what you see in front of you?
This was a delightful read and your skills are hella fantabulous
My learning style is very much read, observe, and practice. I enjoy understanding the theory before trying to replicate something. For example, understanding how light works scientifically helped me make better artistic decisions when painting.