Figure Drawing / Chancemania
Theodora
Vane
Drawing the human figure is not a skill you acquire once - it is a conversation you keep returning to, each time with slightly different eyes.
Where this perspective comes from
Gesture / Structure / Observation / Critique
Figure drawing pulled me in through sheer frustration. Early on, I spent months producing technically correct outlines that felt hollow - proportions measured, anatomy referenced, life completely absent. The problem was not my hand. It was the order in which I was thinking.
What changed things was slowing down with live models and accepting that a 90-second gesture tells you more about a pose than two hours of careful rendering can recover. Chancemania started in 2019 as a place to work through those realisations out loud - part sketchbook, part argument.
My writing here is opinion, not instruction. I share what I notice, what I disagree with in common teaching approaches, and what has actually shifted the way I see. You may find yourself disagreeing - that is the point.
What this site covers
Gesture drawing / structural anatomy / proportion systems / critique of popular methods / live model practice / composition in figurative work
Four things I actually think about figure drawing
These are not principles from a textbook. They are positions - some of which contradict what gets taught most often.
Seeing beats measuring
Proportional grids and measurement tools train you to verify, not to see. Artists who draw from observation without constant checking develop faster and produce more convincing figures - even when technically "off".
Short poses are undervalued
A 2-minute pose forces decisions. Long poses let you procrastinate. Most students spend too long on finish and not enough time doing 30-second work that builds the instincts finish depends on.
Anatomy is a tool, not a goal
Memorising muscle names does not make figures feel solid. Understanding how forms stack, compress, and rotate in space matters far more than any labelled diagram of the torso.
Feedback needs to be specific
Vague encouragement is not critique. Pointing to one specific line that lost the weight of a pose - and explaining why - is more useful than three paragraphs of general praise.
Keep the conversation going
The podcast transcripts, blog posts, and commentary here are all part of one ongoing argument about how figure drawing is taught, practised, and talked about. If something here annoyed you or made you reconsider something - reach out.