Spring term classes begin on April 7th.

Constructive Figure Drawing

Learn to draw the human figure with realistic muscles and overall anatomical accuracy.

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Constructive Figure Drawing

In this course, you will learn to visually break down the major masses of the human form into simple shapes and then build more complex structures with proper volume, proportions and perspective.

By reviewing the block-in technique, you will be able to visualize the body as a set of planes and properly measure your figures when composing your drawings. In addition, you will understand how the skeletal and muscular systems interact with the pose to create the surface features, or landmarks of the body. Following that, you will learn how light describes form and creates volume as well as essential rendering techniques such as hatching and graining to create exquisitely rendered drawings.

By the end of this course, you will have greatly increased your anatomical knowledge and will also be able to construct realistic human figure drawings in any pose and from any angle (whether they come from a reference, or your imagination!)

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  • Course Type Traditional Drawing Classes
  • Duration 10 weeks
  • Skill Level
    Level 2
    Level 2

    Second level classes are for students who have a good foundation in the basics of realistic drawing (such as perspective, proportion, shading and colour theory) and already know how to use Photoshop, but need more in-depth knowledge to create professional and complex artwork.

    This level is about expanding knowledge, strengthening skills, and transitioning to the world of concept art and illustration.

  • Language English

You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase and get a free spot in a webinar this term!

$399 (save USD $0.00 ) $399 USD
Register Now

Schedule

Note: This class will be offered online only

Term: Spring 2024

Class Timings: Tuesdays from 11 AM to 2 PM, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT or UTC-4h)

Date of first class: April 9th

Duration: 10 weeks

Please note that our classes times are listed as EDT (GMT-4) but that starting on Sunday, November 3rd, 2024, all class times will go into EST (GMT-5).

If you are unable to attend the class during the times listed above, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor.

It should be noted that students should set aside a minimum of 3 hours per week to complete assignments for this class. Students may even require a bit more time (4-5 hours per week) depending on how quickly they can work through assignments.

 

*Please note that this class' duration is subject to change (to either 1.5 hours or 2 hours) depending on the number of enrolled students.

These shorter class formats are conducted with more of a personalized mentorship style, allowing students to have more time devoted to their assignments' critiques and the ability to ask more questions in class, while still maintaining all of the theory and planned curriculum for the regular class length.

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Prerequisites

Skill requirements 

To enroll in this course you should have: 

  • A foundation in realistic anatomical drawing, such as basic perspective, proportions and shading.
  • Ideally completed our Drawing the Human Form and Analytical Sketching classes or have equivalent practice/experience.

If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.

 

Language and age requirements

You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. Please be advised that there could be artistic nudity in our classes. Students should be 14 years old to enroll.

Required Materials

Material List:

  • 18x24 inch pad of white drawing paper: Canson, Strathmore, or Fabriano brand. NOT newsprint.
  • Notebook or sketchbook for taking notes (Any brand)
  • 3 sheets of Canson Mi-Teints paper, 19x25 inches, Steel Grey or Felt Grey colour
  • Staedtler Mars Lumograph graphite pencils, 3 of each: 2B, HB. 1 of each: H, 2H, 4H
  • Terracotta or Earth red Col-Erase pencil
  • Derwent Drawing pencil in Chinese White OR Polychromos pencil in white
  • White eraser (Any brand)
  • Kneadable eraser: the soft grey kind (Any brand)
  • Pencil sharpener (Any brand)
  • Clear plastic ruler: 30 cm / 12 inches or longer
  • 3 or 4 clips to hold paper onto a drawing board
  • Masking tape
  •  1 x drawing board, 19-26 inches wide

Minimum Requirements

  • A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
  • A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
  • Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes 
  • Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome 
  • Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10

 

Syn Studio Recommendations

  • A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
  • Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
  • High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
  • Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
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Course Outline

*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.

Weeks 1 and 2: Gain proficiency in the block-in technique through a series of simple exercises designed to teach you to effectively simplify and construct figures from life. You will learn to efficiently measure proportion and create a perfectly composed drawing within your workspace.

Weeks 3 and 4: Become proficient in representing the major masses of the human body as a combination of measured cubic, spherical and various curvilinear forms so you can represent the human body and its major structures from imagination with proper volume, depth and proportion.

Week 5: Learn how to visualize the head as a series of planes to best understand form and lighting so you can accurately construct and render the human head from imagination.

Week 6: Learn how the skeletal and muscular systems interact with the pose to create the surface features of the body that you need to represent in your drawing.

Week 7: Learn how light describes form and creates volume so you can apply correct shading to any figure that you construct and render it to look 3-dimensional.

Weeks 8, 9 and 10: Become proficient in rendering techniques such as hatching and graining so your finished drawings appear realistic and lifelike. Finally, combine all that you’ve learned to construct a full figure and render it exquisitely.

Check out the entire outline

Testimonials

Registration

You can now combine 3, 4 or 5 classes to avail a 5, 10 or 15% discount on your purchase and get a free spot in a webinar this term!

This class is being offered at
USD $399.00
(save $xxx!!)
*All Prices Shown are in USD Dollars
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Register Now

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Please bring a photo ID for the first day of class.

Your transaction was not completed. Please try again. If the problem persists, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 514-998-7625

Questions and Assistance

Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625

Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]

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