You’re meant to draw sitting upright with good posture for your health and to make it easier/mark correctly but it is so tiring.
You need to be aware of your posture
art is a physical activity that takes hours at a time, you need to have a posture that reduces muscle strain. Pivot from your shoulder.
Look at videos on YT by artists about how to work and how to set up your work area. Mark Carder has some good videos.
and the stamina required isn’t just physical, it’s also mental.
I tend to work in 4 hour blocks, work for 1.45 then I take a rest, walk, stretch, have a cup of tea, then work for another couple of hours. More than that and I am wrecked
There is a reason my favourite statue is of Watteau, a friend depicted him at work in his studio, you can see his stance is one of relaxing as much of his body as possible, he can look at both his subject and his canvas without much effort but you can see the concentration in his face, his shoulders are relaxed, he stands like someone who stands all day, shifting his weight from one leg to the other , resting an arm on his hip
Yeah, that’s the posture I need to have. It’s a bit hard to achieve because I’m physically disabled (which I don’t talk about much) and tire so quickly. I can still do some things but sitting up for long periods is hard and standing for too long could make me pass out.
A lot of the time I’m lying on my side drawing digital on my phone which while more supported is pretty bad for my posture and wrist. But you know.
Traditional is apparently better for learning though. At some point I may be able to get a recliner and a swing over desk or something
Edit: Ahahaha… It looks like he’s standing contrapposto
😊 yes, it’s a good pose for standing for long periods, like models do.
Try to get a chair that allows you to use your shoulders. Also learn to support your working hand.
I rest my working hand on my other wrist. ( I work on a desk ) My daughter who is a make up artist rests/steadies her hand with her pinky finger resting on her subject’s face
You need to be aware of your posture
art is a physical activity that takes hours at a time, you need to have a posture that reduces muscle strain. Pivot from your shoulder.
Look at videos on YT by artists about how to work and how to set up your work area. Mark Carder has some good videos.
and the stamina required isn’t just physical, it’s also mental.
I tend to work in 4 hour blocks, work for 1.45 then I take a rest, walk, stretch, have a cup of tea, then work for another couple of hours. More than that and I am wrecked
There is a reason my favourite statue is of Watteau, a friend depicted him at work in his studio, you can see his stance is one of relaxing as much of his body as possible, he can look at both his subject and his canvas without much effort but you can see the concentration in his face, his shoulders are relaxed, he stands like someone who stands all day, shifting his weight from one leg to the other , resting an arm on his hip
https://api.art.rmngp.fr/v1/images/17/211803?t=cziuTfdlJ0G4CxdKApn7VA
Yeah, that’s the posture I need to have. It’s a bit hard to achieve because I’m physically disabled (which I don’t talk about much) and tire so quickly. I can still do some things but sitting up for long periods is hard and standing for too long could make me pass out.
A lot of the time I’m lying on my side drawing digital on my phone which while more supported is pretty bad for my posture and wrist. But you know.
Traditional is apparently better for learning though. At some point I may be able to get a recliner and a swing over desk or something
Edit: Ahahaha… It looks like he’s standing contrapposto
😊 yes, it’s a good pose for standing for long periods, like models do.
Try to get a chair that allows you to use your shoulders. Also learn to support your working hand.
I rest my working hand on my other wrist. ( I work on a desk ) My daughter who is a make up artist rests/steadies her hand with her pinky finger resting on her subject’s face
a painter rests/steadies his hand using a dowel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWFDQqu75iA
Thanks, I saved the video.
I’m not really able to use a normal desk right now but I’ll see about good chairs
hugs, just keep looking and researching art equipment, there is so much out there to help artists 😘