MORE ABOUT COMEDIC FIGURE DRAWING

 I was a cartooning teacher for a while and in some classes we would apply whatever the lesson was to model drawing. Before paying individual attention to students I'd quick-sketch the pose myself on a big board just to suggest one way of approaching the problem. No one was required to draw in my style.

If you're curious to see what this kind of session (or rather, an idealized version of such a session) might have looked like then read on. For the purpose of this post I'll try an operatic theme.

Before the comedic poses started the class will have done some quick sketches of the models so they got used to caricaturing them.

Backgrounds were optional but encouraged. I handed out reference to those who wanted it. Yikes, maybe the BGs would have been a little simpler than the one shown above.

The opera had no script and nobody actually sang. I just got the models to take comic singing poses, as Wood did here.

Haw! I like a pose where someone steps on someone else.

The model session was meant to firm up the lessons contained in the lecture that preceded it. In this case the lecture was about composing figures in space. One of my jobs was to position the models so there was a foreground, middle ground and background.

The scenario could involve several people even though there was only two models. The models did double duty.

Hopefully, we got some good, comedic poses in there.

The beginning and end poses suggested a hint of a story even if the middle ones were completely random.

What style was used?

Whatever style the student chose. No, that's not my drawing above. I got it from the net.

FUNNY FIGURE DRAWING MODELS

I like to think that comedic models will become common in future figure drawing sessions. I further fantasize that the best models...i.e. the funniest ones, the most fun to draw...will become much sought after on the art school circuit. I predict that we'll see a lot of certain types of characters. I'll mention a few of them here. 

Well, there's the Mr. Meek type (above). 

With costume changes the very same model could, in the same session, be a flamboyant dandy...

...a dancer or a singer...

...a snob...

...or a goofball...

...or a villain like Captain Hook.

As with male models you'll want female models who, with a costume change, could play different kinds of roles.  Skinny Olive Oyl-types (above) would be fun to draw and could probably do double duty in the same session.

She could also be a dancer (above)...

 ...or a funny melodramatic actor.

I don't mean to give the impression that one model could handle all the women's parts. For other sessions you'll also need a big-boned model (above).

With a couple of pillows tucked into her clothes she could be a hefty post-middle age woman.

You'll obviously need a sexy bathing suit model (above). This requires someone funny who's voluptuous and curvy, not thin like a super model.

You'll also need a dramatic actress who can parody actresses like Garbo or Bette Davis.

COMEDY FIGURE DRAWING MODELS: SLOUCHERS

I love comedy figure drawing models who slouch. A good sloucher, like the one above, suggests a story. 

She could be the sultry but bored girl of the lurid 50s paperbacks...or she could be a sweet and innocent college student who can't figure out why men are always acting strange around her.

   

Here's (above) another good sloucher. I'd team her up with a Mr. Meek-type. 

Imagine her casting an angry, brooding look at him while he cheerfully vacuums in the foreground. 

 The best funny slouchers are usually models with good poise. It takes skill to be a good sloucher, even when you're portraying someone with a lack of skill.

 For comedy modeling I usually prefer draped models but for adults who are this skilled I'll make an exception.

The best models parody slouching...they make a cartoon of it. You don't want real slouching...that's depressing.

You'd think kids would be good slouch models, but most of them aren't. In this pose (above) the kid suggests no story, projects no personality. It's worth repeating...it's not enough to slouch, you have to be an interesting person who slouches.

Ah, now we've got something. This kid (above) is a mischievous sloucher. She has a secret that she won't tell. A story is implied.

Haw! Take an interesting kid sloucher...draped, of course... and put her on oversize furniture and you have a terrific combination.

This model (above) isn't old, but it's fun to imagine an old model taking a pose like this. I think of him as a grouchy old man in a waiting room. He's sitting next to a bothersome kid who he tries to ignore.

Old people can be good comedy models but they have to have some interesting attribute apart from their age.

My guess is that some of the best old comedy models are actually young people pretending to be old. Theirs is a caricature of the real thing, and that's what comedy is all about.

FIGURE DRAWING MODELS / COMEDY

Can you take one more art school post? I hope so, because there's more to say about this. 

I said before that female models are more fun to draw, and that's true, but for comedic drawing you'll need to know how to draw men...different types of men...and that means draped male models. Let's see what iconic types there are to choose from.

Well, there's the intellectual type (above). Bring a sheet for the toga and get a good caricature of the model's face.

Intellectuals are noble and are always lost in thought even when facing hurricane-force winds.  Thinking poses are fun to draw.

Such a man always climbs rocks to get the eagle's view. Draw this pose small and add the rock later.

Intellectual types sometimes turn out to be evil, so you'll need a model who can do evil poses. Be creative with the lighting.

In a scenario like this one model can take both poses.

You'll also need models who are slobs. Have a wife-beater t-shirt handy in case the model didn't bring one. An accompanying female model would be nice for this. You could do a take-off of "Street Car Named Desire."

 Slobs are fun to draw. It's a law of nature: the more refined and delicate your girlfriend is, the more likely it is that she has the brother from hell...an over-the-top punk rocker.

If your group can afford two models then try a romantic theme...the thrill of the first date.

I picture the girl as an Imogene Coca -type.

Do you dare try this? Yikes!

Could a funny girl model play a guy in some type of sketch? I dunno...maybe. I'd try a skinny female with an oversized, floppy mens suit. I love to draw wrinkles.

You'll need to know how to draw leading men-types. Chick magnets, too.  

And heroes, draw heroes, but don't do the Marvel or anime-types...they're too common. 

If you need a horse you can always draw it in later.

Muscular models are great, but it's hard to get double duty out of them if you can only afford one model and want to do Mr. Meek in the same session.

Remember, heroes have big jaws!

How do you find models like these? If you're an artist you probably know one or two versatile models who can do most of the things I've described here, and can even bring useful props. Some models like doing stuff like this.