Creative Research - Life Drawing

During second year, I haven't done half as much life drawing as I should have done. I found myself getting so wrapped up in my current projects that I wasn't making the time to draw as much. Therefore I have decided to dedicate a set amount of time over summer to doing this. Since I haven't drawn from life in a while, the thought of doing so actually makes me a bit nervous, because I don't believe life drawing is easy, especially when you haven't done it in a long time.

After carrying out some research to see how different people approach life drawing, it has become more clear to me that I don't just have to use the traditional pencil and paper. I really like the idea of playing around with other medias such as charcoal, ink and paint. I think this could make it more enjoyable for me too, unless I find myself in the mood to just use the good old pencil!

Also, after seeing some of the work produced by other artists online, I feel a lot more comfortable with the thought of just going for it, and not over thinking. I often over think when it comes to drawing, which can result in me getting internally frustrated. However, on the few times I have just winged it and not thought about it so much, I have actually found that the stuff I produce has been much better. 

Another thing I need to think about is drawing men more. I am quite comfortable with drawing women, and whist this is a good skill to have, I really need to get better and sketching males too. So this is something I will need to get working on. After researching what different artists have come up with, I feel a lot more confident to just go for it, and to not over think!