Maquette

A couple days ago I wanted to do some preliminary work on a drawing I'll be working on soon. I had a very, very specific pose in mind, but because of the number of elements involved, I was having a little trouble. I've gotten pretty good at thumbnailing poses and scenery, but I've still have limitations at it. The pose was very specific, the angle was specific, and the light source had to be very specific- but not in the traditional way- not lighting for shadows, just placing.

I decided to try a maquette. In the 50's and 60's, illustrators and painters used them all the time (commercial illustrators and painters, that is). I'm sure artists are using them less and less. I haven't photographed myself (or others, for that matter) for reference in a long, long time because whenever I did I thought the thumbnail was a better reference in the first place. But I liked the marquette and I'll probably use one again. Not for normal drawings, but for money shots and when everything has to be absolutely right and I'm having trouble with thumbnailing multiple figures, multiple planes and lighting points, I'll take a little extra time and set one up.

Here's the framing card I used and the flashlight on a clothes hanger. Getting the light where I needed it took the longest. It's times like that that I'm glad I have almost useless junk everywhere and a room designated for it all.