Some years ago (during my salaried days), I used to run a club called Cartoon Figure Drawing. We would meet weekly after work, often at the Royal Festival Hall, or in cafes or pubs (the Three Kings in Clerkenwell had a good upstairs room, full of vintage curiousities). Once, we did after-hours at the Cartoon Museum (central London) and another few sessions were at the erstwhile Rag Factory just off Brick Lane (no idea how they funded it at the time but it was the coolest old warehouse used for filming and art events such as Laydeez Do Comics).
Flyer design for Cartoon Fig
I would book a model - often an actor advertising on Mandy.com - and they would pose in costume or in character. We would draw lots of dynamic moving poses, review our work together and chat in the pub afterward.
It meant a lot to me. It was a bridge to creativity after the admin hours of the week. Everything I practiced in those sessions feeds into the work I'm doing today. I'm so excited to take another step forward with choreography for drawing.
I met so many creative, motivated people.
I remember movement coach and director Sarah Perry - she founded a company called Shapes in Motion which is still going strong. She did a lot of work with actors, training them how to move and work with film directors on animated films.
Virpi Oinonen - Professional visual simplifier. Uses cartoons to create harmony and positive change in the corporate world.
One model used to turn up sometimes in a full 'zentai' costume aka Morph suit. It covered her from head-to-toe in lycra. She could see through the fabric but you couldn't see her face. She would travel in on the Tube in full costume. I really enjoyed drawing her.
She had a nice line in stripey socks as well.
