First visit to the Toronto School of Art

I headed to the Toronto School of Art  in order to attend their "drop-in" life drawing class. This one was a variety of timed poses. This was excellent practice for me. I was also happy to see that the model happened to be male. I can't draw males as well as I can draw females and need the practice.

I was a bit off my game due to being in a new environment, so I wasn't pleased with anything I produced. I picked the better of the bunch in order to have something to show.

10 minute poses:
This one below is probably the best out of the bunch. I spent a lot of time making him look like he was actually sitting and really studied the connection of the arm to the back. (That's a huge issue for my sketches around town. I tend to not measure the shoulder/arm connection properly and it looks wrong.)

It's still touch and go with feet and hands. I get how to draw a hand/foot when it's not doing anything, but I have trouble translating different positions of the hand/feet in my brain.
(The feet in the second image are TERRIBLE. )

25 minute poses:
This first one is just a study of what I didn't like about the first draft of the drawing.  I attempted to exaggerate the curve of the leg a bit more, etc.

 This is the first attempt. I am not happy with this one bit. I had trouble with the right arm as the negative space wasn't lining up properly. (His hand was actually placed much farther away from his leg.) I really should have scrapped it and started over. *nods*

The one below is not great. I like how the hand under his chin turned out but the feet are horrid and the placement of the hand resting on his leg is pretty off. 

All-in-all, the trip was interesting, albeit boring as I went alone. Given the amount of time and money I had to spend to get there, I wont be going again until I find employment and have an entire day to myself. I'm also going to look into places around the GTA, as I can just rent a car and drive as long as it's not in the city core. (I drove through downtown Toronto twice before and refuse to do it again.)

My only complaint about this place was the room was a bit small and there wasn't a lot of ventilation.  Otherwise, everything else was great. It was exactly what I wanted; something uninstructed where I could just go to practice. To people living in Toronto, you are very lucky. It's tough to find gatherings like this out in the Suburbs.


The next time I go, I'll definitely take a buddy. It's more fun during the breaks.