Help your model pose

[Chris Saper]

Unless you are painting a professional model, most sitters need guidelines, so that they can help you by retaining a pose.

Once I position my sitter (in a chair, on a couch, etc.), and determine the direction and angle of the head, I ask the sitter to close one eye, and with the other, look across the bridge of his nose. I ask him to find a visual point on the wall (bookshelf, whatever) that just touches the bridge of the nose before it disppears. If the wall is blank, I walk over to it and find the spot the sitter sees, and place a piece of colored tape on the wall.

I help the sitter set the gaze I want after the direction of the head is established, in just the same way.

Last, use masking tape to place the figure on the chair, so that the body angle can be reestablished after a break or between sittings.