Figure Drawing Techniques with Charcoal (part 1)

You may be familiar with my digital art and VFX videos, but I am a traditionally trained artist and teach life drawing during the summer. It's a bit different from my usual, but here is a live demonstration of how I use charcoal and similar media for figure drawing. All good artists can draw, so I thought it would be beneficial to share how I go about drawing the figure (the most important subject) from life. Part 2 is here: https://youtu.be/l2zV98m1Rtw It's filmed in real time and not sped up, so this is a long video. I decided to split it up, so this is part one. Stay tuned for part 2, which should be up soon afterward. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, here is a breakdown of the topics I cover: 0:35 - charcoal and other useful drawing tools 3:10 - paper 4:30 - gesture drawing 5:31 - charcoal: a painting, not drawing medium 6:06 - starting the drawing with 3 major body masses 6:40 - foreshortening 7:41 - the purpose of the initial sketch 8:13 - initial sketch complete, then wiped away 9:53 - no detail! 10:46 - 'painting' with charcoal 11:30 - second sketch complete, then wiped away 13:07 - drawing hands 14:20 - exploring to 'discover' the final line 15:25 - third initial sketch completed 16:26 - drawing fills, not outlines 18:55 - the importance of observation 19:36 - how to use shadow 20:33 - moving around the entire drawing 21:49 - keeping it loose and light; don't get too dark too early 22:35 - simplifying down to highlight, midtone, and shadow 24:33 - how to avoid detail 28:39 - blending 29:27 - core versus cast shadows 33:45 - muscular structure in the arm 37:36 - let's talk about breasts! 40:35 - using an eraser for reductive or subtractive drawing 42:20 - depicting up and down with highlight and shadow 43:21 - negative space 45:52 - starting the face