One of the hardest parts of the course for me was learning that we needed to be able to draw people and characters that we could then dress. Fortunately, we were taught the basics of figure drawing, and over the first half of the year I gradually practised enough to get to what I considered an acceptable standard.
I found that breaking the body down into simple shapes, such as blocks and pipes, made it much easier to get the proportions right. It was also surprising how much expression and movement could be created using such simple forms. For some of the more historical poses, I even traced figures from reference images to make sure the poses looked authentic.
Tracing is allowed, although the hope is that with enough practice you will eventually become reasonably confident at drawing figures yourself. As costume design is such a large part of the course, we are expected not only to make clothes but also to design them. While using a pre-made figure template is one way of doing this, being able to draw accurately yourself becomes much more useful when you need to show a client changes or ideas quickly, especially when you are working directly with them.
I am still not going to claim that drawing people is my favourite part of the course, but I have definitely come a long way from where I started. And perhaps that is one of the most important things I am learning at university: learning does not really stop. There will always be something new to discover, another technique to practise, or something I thought I could already do that turns out to have another layer to it. I have always known that that learning is a lifelong process, and perhaps that is one of the most exciting parts of it.
This old dog can still learn a few new tricks.
