The Royal Academy of Arts is Britain’s oldest art school, and it was inexplicably where I found myself on Thursday evening. This historic school trained JMW Turner, William Blake, and now – briefly – me.
It’s not a sign that the school’s notoriously high standards are dropping – I was present among a group of journalists being trained in the art of life drawing by Fine Art Process Manager Mark Hampson. Only we didn’t use canvases and paints; we had the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil.
Here are eight things I learned from this weird but wonderful experience:
#1 It’s possible to be overdressed for a nature drawing class
I’m usually not overdressed for anything, but Thursday was one of the few days I wore a suit, thanks to a previous function.
Pro tip: If you’re going somewhere where someone else will be naked for most of your visit, a costume is probably overkill.
#2 Drawing someone naked isn’t half as awkward as expected
You would have thought nature drawing would be a traumatic experience for everyone involved. A stranger undresses and a room full of people ends up staring at them in tense silence. Strangely, it’s not at all.
I had previously assumed that the reason people have great canvases was to give them something to hide behind, due to the deep feeling that they shouldn’t do it so overtly.
Try that with an iPad Pro, and you’re more likely to be confused with taking photos. Which is quite a misstep.
Make no mistake – this piece was only made when asked to use the app’s tracing feature.
#3 Drawing with an iPad works great
At first, drawing on a screen seems strange. Touchscreens are designed to be smooth and slippery, and the paper offers some resistance. Switching from paper to a touchscreen is a bit like swapping football boots for ice skates, and I tend to fall into both often.
But things are falling into place remarkably quickly. Unlike using a pen and paper, you have layers to deal with (if you want to), and the app we were using – procreate – has all sorts of different textures and a huge palette of colors to choose from.
All of that was wasted on me, of course, but that was in no way the iPad’s fault. You can definitely achieve amazing results here and most importantly technology fights with you, rather than against you.
#4 The Apple Pencil is incredibly versatile
The transition would be much more painful without the Apple Pencil. I imagine professional artists would get more out of it than me, but even as someone below a rank of layman, I saw the benefit.
Apply more pressure and a thicker line appears, like using pen and paper. On the charcoal setting, use the side of the Apple Pencil and you’ll get a thicker texture. Even more impressively, you can press your hand to the page without the iPad interpreting that as part of your drawing.
I’ve had slight difficulty with the iPad sometimes thinking I’m drawing with the side rather than the tip, but I think that’s more down to the childish way of holding a pencil than a lack of design.
#5 Having an undo button is a godsend
Despite this, even the most talented artist will make mistakes, and that’s what gives the iPad Pro its biggest advantage over paper: the Undo button. No need to scratch to find an eraser: just press undo and it’s as if your skid never happened.
At no time did the model strike that odd tap-dancing pose. I think I just made it up.
I would now like an undo button in life please.
#6 Technological innovation does not replace capacity
Despite these helping hands and an extremely patient teacher, the ability is still quite important if you don’t want to insult the life pattern in question. There was a time when I discovered that I had drawn his right leg about twice the size of the left. Admittedly, the perspective plays tricks on you, but it would be a superhuman jostling.
Everyone is critical.
#7 These life-drawing shots you know serve a real purpose.
Despite this, I learned some valuable information, should I ever find myself in a situation where I had to draw to save my life (I imagine a deal with the Grim Reaper, like this bit in Bill and Ted’s fake trip.)
You know that classic life drawing pose where you hold your pen in front of you and close one eye? This will give you an idea of how many head lengths of the subject’s body to keep things proportionate. Strabismus? This will help you get an idea of the lighting and how much shadow to put on each part of the body.
Split-screen lets you keep an eye on the subject without even having to move your eyes.
It’s also worth ‘dotting’ key parts of the body to give you benchmarks to work towards. On the iPad, this can take the form of a separate layer that you can simply peel off in a snap.
#8 A few glasses of wine are a mixed blessing
Wine is a useful tool in an artist’s arsenal, in that it overcomes initial awkwardness, makes you bolder in your decisions, and generally relaxes you. This is very good, but it certainly has its limits.
If I were to plot a graph with alcohol consumption versus artistic ability, it would look like this:
The star commemorates “Elephant-leg-gate,” so let that serve as a lesson to you.
I had a really great time, though, and would recommend everyone give it a try, regardless of ability. Despite my best efforts, however, I suspect the Royal Academy isn’t going to be knocking on my door anytime soon.
Our extremely patient instructor, Mark Hampson from the Royal Academy, has a few life drawing tips here, which I really should have read ahead of time. As this is a drawing from life, the page contains nudity: you have been warned.
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