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Nude Art Class Modeling
Not sure if this belongs here - so mods, feel free to move it. I have to pose tommorrow as a nude model for a sculpture class. Anyone have any links to websites with information on 'how-to' or whatnot. Just to get me some basic info. The instructor will be posing me, but I just wanted some FAQ type info on nude art class modeling. Thanks Feb 17 06 11:31 pm Link Don't wiggle or the sculptures will come out all blurry and out of focus. Feb 17 06 11:33 pm Link Jim Duvall wrote: lmfao Feb 17 06 11:35 pm Link Jim Duvall wrote: Haha! I'll keep thatin mind!! Feb 17 06 11:36 pm Link Well your gonna need to able to sit still for at least five minutes. Ideally a good model can hold a pose for 20 minutes or more - take a break - and resume the same pose. The sculptors will probably want to do a series of drawings for reference - so just be ready to sit real still for awhiles - when I was in art school we had a model that could hold a pose for an hour - but he's some weird freak of nature though.. Feb 17 06 11:39 pm Link You'll do fine. Stop worrying. You are doing it because you think it'll be fun and you're getting paid, yes?  Here ya go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_%28art%29 Feb 17 06 11:43 pm Link The Art of CIP wrote: The instructor, Barrett, told me that we're going to start off doing sketches to 'warm-up' and that most poses will be for 20-25 minutes or so, with one maybe being about half an hour. I'm not really worried about sitting still, cos I don't usually fidget or anything.. Feb 17 06 11:43 pm Link DeBoer Photography wrote: Yep - I'll be getting paid, and I think it'll be one of those things I'll enjoy being able to say, "Hey! When I was in college.. guess what I did!". It's a new expeirience, and I'll try anything once... Feb 17 06 11:46 pm Link Andon wrote: Well your certainly taking a professional attitude to your paid job Andon. Making sure you don't drink too much so you don't have to go pee and interupt the flow of someones sculpture. Feb 17 06 11:57 pm Link So You Want To Be A Nude Model: A Quick Primer so first, getting the job. there's a couple diffent ways schools have for hiring models. most of them have one Models Co-ordinator who will do a brief interview (and no, you don't have to strip for the interview, although i like to tell new people they do, just to see their reaction) to make sure you know what you're getting into and to suss out your availability. if you're already a college student, there's a good chance the classes you're taking will conflict with the classes they want you to pose for, but if you have the time and the inclination, they'll put you to work. to set up the interview, just call the main office of whatever school or studio and ask for the "Models Co-ordinator". a few other schools (like University of Pennsylvania, or DAAP at University of Cincinnati) do it differently. it's actually kinda a pain, because they don't have one coordinator. they have a file, pretty much. you fill out a page with your information on it (contact information, and a basic rundown of your features/measurements/etc, only as detailed as you see fit), and when any random professor needs someone for a class, s/he (or more likely, their grad student/TA)looks through the file for someone fitting the description for what they want and they call them. every school i've worked for will do it one of those two ways. also, early on, schools don't usually throw full schedules at new models, so it might be a while before you get enough work to make a noticable difference in your income. when i first started in Cincinnati i usually worked one or two shifts a week at either school (DAAP or the Art Academy), which was nice in addition to the full-time work i had at Buzz, but would have been totally inadequate for a living. same with Philadelphia, initially, where i had other mediocre jobs but kept adding schools to the point where i was getting 30-40hrs a week just modelling and didn't really need any other work. but that took at least a year to get that far. also, many schools do the bulk of their scheduling well in advance (like, right now. august. and then again in december or january), before the beginning of the term. so if you apply after the term has started, there will be way less work available (basically filling in for cancellations or late additions) than if you do it while they're still making the draft. as for private work, you might find a professor interested in using you for their own non-class work. which is good, because they pay way more than the schools (or they might. you have more felxibility in naming your price). plus, you know there's that accountability, and they're not some random mysterious pervert. of course, these professors ARE still "artists", and therefore total perverts anyway, but at least you know where you could tattle and get them fired if they try some freaky shit (which they won't. they know better, but still). anything and anyone beyond that is a total shot in the dark. you could put out an ad for your services as a model, or answer an ad from someone who needs one, (check the free weeklies, or the bulletin boards around the art departments... or even craigslist, but most of the listings there make my skin crawl) but working with strangers should require the usual precautions of leaving a number where you're going to be, or maybe even bringing a friend along with you. unless you're in a super-huge far-flung town, the art community around town is usually pretty small and tight-knit, and word can get around, so maybe ask some other artists or models about anyone to check and see if they have a "reputation". also, as is often the case, there's more work for women than men. blame sexism. enlist the Guerilla Girls to fight it, but as it stands right now in the 2k4, more people want to see naked ladies than naked men. so the schools are safe and reliable, but they don't pay as much and you will see these students all over everywhere. trust me. you will get recognized at shows, parties, rallies, on the bus, at the bank, anywhere. and private work is harder to come by and has an element of the unknown, but it pays more and usually isn't as rigid as a classroom setting. so now that you've found the job, what the hell do they expect you to do? hold still and keep quiet. seriously, that's pretty much it. you don't have be to trained in what kind of poses to do. they should come to you naturally, and 80% of the time what kind of pose you take is up to you. whatever you think is interesting, the artists will hopefully also think is interesting. and the shorter the pose, the more complicated you can make it. unless you're some kinda circus freak, you probably can't keep your arms extended out to the sides or stand on one foot for twenty minutes (or even ten, or five), but the instructors know that already and don't expect you do. and if they do give you shit, complain and straighten their little attitude out. you don't need their lip. it's your goddamn body. anyway, every school i've ever worked for has broken up the class into roughly twenty minute poses punctuated by five minute breaks. some poses aren't so hard to hold, and you can offer to hold them for longer, and some professors might offer longer breaks, but 20/5 is pretty much the standard. but no matter how easy a pose seems, if you keep coming back to it and holding it for three (or, god forbid, six) hours, SOMETHING is going to be sore when you're done. having a friend who knows massage/chiropractic techniques is always good (unfortunately, i don't. or at least... nobody offers). also, there is no ideal body type for this work. you don't have to lose those last 10lbs. you don't have to be a supermodel. skinny twiggy people get boring after a while, unless they have fantastic tone or can contort or something. most students i've talked to enjoy big round voluptuous models with mass to spare. so if you're concerned about your weight, don't be. this can actually be a really amazing way to get to fall back in love with your body, regardless of what it looks like. basically, it's a job anybody can do, but not everybody can do. it definitely takes patience and muscle control and a willingness to chuck the conventions of repressive modesty, but once you got those, you're golden. Feb 18 06 12:02 am Link Raven Photography wrote: Thanks - that's a good idea. I was worried about getting bored... it's not like sitting in a waiting room where you can read a magazine or balance your checkbook... That will at least give me something to think - or not think about, as it were - to help the time with each pose pass. Feb 18 06 12:02 am Link Andon wrote: Well when I draw from live nudes I like the classical poses: Contraposto (that's probably the most comfortable for the model and student), seated, and reclining. Every art student has had these poses hammered into their psyches - it just becomes automatic. At one point i could do a full portrait in 3 - to 5 minutes if the model was in a contraposto pose... What I used to like was a model that would go through the classical poses in warm up and then would hit you with a strong action pose that accentuated their gesture lines... That was always fun. Know that when you are on the model stand in effect you are leading the class - if you come across as confident and you're having fun your energy will spread to the class... Oh also - when you're doing standing poses - DON'T LOCK YOUR KNEES! I don't know exactly why that is - but apparently it screws up your circulation and can make your legs fall asleep or the worst case scenario you'll faint! Feb 18 06 12:05 am Link The Art of CIP wrote: Important tip here, whether modeling or standing still anywhere for any length of time. Feb 18 06 12:07 am Link I have a freind that did this a lot - more dynamic poses are held for shorter periods of time - 4-5 min perhaps. A seated or reclining pose perhaps for 20 min or more. Muscle shake can really be an issue for dynamic poses - so don't hold any pose where you will be fighting gravity. (arm outstreched etc.) Gravity will ALWAYS win. As for keeping busy - reorganize your fridge in your head - plan the shopping for the next weeks groceries - make clear and detailed maps from your house to another destination. DON"T NAP WHEN RECLINING!! Snoring nude models make the students roll on the ground with smothered laughter. The resulting "Snoring Nude" studies are rarely flattering. LOL VintageV Feb 18 06 12:16 am Link ok, so i guess the relevant part regarding your specific question (since you already got the job) isn't until the second half or so, but yeah. i'm a full-time figure model, this is what i do all day most every day. anyway, more specifically... locking your knees is a bad idea, but 98% of your standing poses, unless you're in a reference position (think "medical chart"), will involve having your weight distributed unevenly on one foot. so you have to stabilize that leg without locking it. the good news is, if you're going to be taking a new pose after every break, you can switch which foot is bearing your weight. demand some sort of padding under your feet, with some drapery over it. clean fabric should be between you and any surface you're standing, sitting, or reclining on. that's the school's job to provide, not yours (same goes for heaters, but that's another chapter). something you can bring of your own that i have found helps immensely is insoles. you know, just the basic arch support insteps you can slip into your shoes. this is unobtrusive (since it's just slipped under your bare feet and can't be seen), provides another layer of support and cushioning for your feet, and has the added bonus of acting like a footprint marker if you move to take a break and have to come back to resume the pose. speaking of moving and breaking, if any part of you falls asleep or starts experiencing pain during a pose, inform the instructor or monitor, but you have the right to move that limb, flex that joint, whatever, and put it right back. unless the instructor is a total asshole, they will understand, and since you're only shaking out your hand or leg for, like, 10 seconds, you should be able to get it right back into the exact position again pretty easily. Feb 18 06 12:18 am Link Also Andon you have a great voluptuous figure that I know sculpturers (sp) and drawers love. So take some confidence in that. Be proud of your figure and show it off. One woman I spoke to told me she prefered voluptuous figured models then anorexic thin, bony models who have no curves for her life drawings. All the students are going to love you for sure. Hope the meditation, breathing in and out helps you and pass's the time quickly. Feb 18 06 12:25 am Link DEEEEEEP....MEDITATION! Think of something calm and relaxing with your eyes closed. DEEEEP.... SLEEEP! That usually will keep you still for enough time. You'll be fine. Feb 18 06 12:29 am Link i just reread my first post, and forgot how old it is. i copied and pasted it directly from my journal, but wow. August 2004. anyway, everything in there is still relevant, but i'm amused. also, while sitting there, it's best not to stare back at the students. gaze off into space and (as has been suggested already) meditate or find something to ponder like your grocery list or what order to run your errands in when you get off work. do mental arithmetic (like calculating your paychecks). try to remember the name of that weird kid from fifth grade who did that trick with the earthworm. invent new constellations in the dots on the ceiling tile. whatever it takes. just don't stare at the students. fleeting eye contact is unavoidable but staring is just... no. Feb 18 06 12:38 am Link You will do fine and should have a great expereince. As for the poses, let the professer tell you what to do. They may already have something in mind. I work with many models in the state who also pose for art classes, they have good stories to tell. After the first five minutes of jitter after disrobing and geting the pose, you will be ok. Make sure the place is warm!!! Thge lights they may put on you may keep you warm enough. What college are you possing for anyway. Mike Feb 18 06 08:03 am Link Jim Duvall wrote: not to worry Jim, just spray some focus solution and presto.. it all becomes sharp.lol Feb 18 06 08:04 am Link TAKE slippers or flip-flops... Art school facilities, no matter how well managed, are notorious for having dirty floors from charcoal and [art]chalk dust. You are liable to come out of it with feet that would look like a coal miner after a long day in the pit. Studio36 Feb 18 06 08:11 am Link You better hope like hell you are not doing that crouching tiger pose. Feb 18 06 10:49 am Link A great book, not that you need to read it before tomorrow, is The Undressed Art. Mostly from the artists' point of view but a couple of great chapters about art models. Highly recommend it. Even knuckle-dragging photographers might get something out of it. Feb 18 06 11:10 am Link My favorite figure model from my art class days brought along a couple props. Nothing major, but something that could be used for more dynamic poses. The one that stands out most clearly to me is a length of rope. He would tie one end to a chair or the bottom of the platform on which he stood, and his poses would be of pulling the rope, which really gave what would have been a static pose more motion and energy. It never occured to me until now, but I think some of the poses in my pearls story (see my portfolio ) may be inspired by this guy. Cool.Feb 18 06 11:17 am Link CAN'T PIPI or PUPU :-) Feb 18 06 08:40 pm Link The best sculpture models I have worked with have not tried to pose. Being yourself is your best gift, be natural, be comfortable. Take a good pillow with you, just in case. Usually models bring a robe while taking brakes. Good luck Miguel Feb 18 06 08:45 pm Link Raven Photography wrote: what a great meditation tip...ill be using that! Feb 18 06 08:47 pm Link studio36uk wrote: Too true! One model I had for class threw a hissy fit, but what do you expect in an art classroom of all places? ugh Feb 18 06 10:01 pm Link Brian Diaz wrote: i have some art nudes of this in my port Feb 18 06 10:34 pm Link Green Tea and Calcium magnesium. Green tea should relax you and CM will move the lactic acid out of your blood. And keep the legs from fallin asleep... Feb 18 06 11:00 pm Link well? how did it go? Feb 21 06 12:57 pm Link |
