Last weekend I got to do something fun and exciting: model BJJ poses for artists. No, I was not nude. I was in a gi, and had to hold poses while I was being sketched. I’d not heard of jiu jitsu folks’ experiences doing this, so I wanted to share about it as well as give some advice were I to do it again. For reference, I’m the one with short hair and the white gi.
I’d like to thank Mike Stewart of Jankura International Artists Community for inviting me to participate in this special drawing session. Mike graciously shared his art with me, and I’m including it with his permission. Information about Jankura will be included at the end of this post.
The first, 5-min pose. Not too bad!
It was a 2 hour session. The format was: five 5-minute poses, three 10-minute poses, and two 20-minute poses. I invited some jiu jitsu folks to model with me, but all that fell through, so I ended up partnering with a friend who had never done jiu jitsu a day in her life, which added a level of difficulty.
I discovered that dynamic poses are incredibly hard to hold, and 20 minutes is near agony. Anything where your head is lifted up or at an angle gets excruciating, even after only 5 minutes. For one of the 20 minute poses, my feet felt completely asleep and I couldn’t stand up afterward.
Another 5-minute pose. We rested our heads on one another.
I sacrificed some accuracy for the sake of comfort – both for myself and my partner. Some of it was just relaxing, some of it was having too much space, or not engaging your hooks, or just flat out putting your head on the mat. The reality is that comfort > accuracy when it comes to holding poses, because if you’re super accurate and it isn’t comfortable, you just can’t happily do it.
This wasn’t bad for a 5 minute pose. Note my head laying down.
Excruciating to hold this for 5 min – limbs and neck hurt a lot.
Things to consider when modeling for an art class
1. Find out the format. I hadn’t realized that I would have 20 minute poses. I thought I would only have 5 minute poses, and I would have chosen a little differently.
2. Practice the poses. I realized early that my partner had no clue how to hold her body or hands, so practicing with someone so I could figure out exactly what to have my partner do was important. We also met a little early to check out the space.
3. Have too many poses planned. The space we were in had a raised platform that made some poses difficult or impossible. On one or two, there were limbs hanging off it.
4. Make use of time between poses. Stretch. Drink water. Walk around.
5. Rotate. Those artists are sitting in the same place the whole time. Sucks if all they get to see is your butt and back the whole time. Change it up.
This wasn’t too bad for a 10 minute pose.
6. Relax, but don’t shift. When I was holding my partner in scarf, it was incredibly difficult to relax because I’m so used to HOLDING the arm. Not tightly, but just holding her arm I noticed my grip would get increasingly stronger, so I’d have to consciously relax.
7. Color coordinate. I wore a white gi and a blue belt, my partner wore a blue gi and a white belt. It made the limbs easier to distinguish.
8. Use a partner. Steph mentioned that without a partner, BJJ is little more than squatting and sitting. And any “cool” poses – like going inverted – totally unrealistic to hold for that long.
9. Be aware of the time. Have access to a stopwatch–visually or have someone call time, or measure time by songs. Pop songs or the like can be wonderfully distracting. Dreamy, sleepy music feels like it is going on for ages and not recommended.
**Edited to add 10-13
10. Smell nice. When you’re holding your face next to your partner for 20 minutes, you really want them to smell nice. Bring mints for between poses, shower that day, etc.
11. Remember it’s not a photoshoot. You’re being drawn, possibly crudely, possibly without a face, possibly without any distinguishing features. That means that even if you did wear perfect eye makeup, it won’t show up on a sketchpad.
12. Vary the poses. Make sure that you alternate between standing, sitting, laying, etc. You’re going for what’s visually interesting, rather than what’s effective in jiu jtisu.
13. Bring reference material. This could be a book with photos. It could be your list of moves to do. If you blank on what to do next, this is your saving grace.
Ultimately I had a great time and would do it again. I was grateful to my friend for stepping up, but next time I would prefer doing it with another BJJ person. That way I wouldn’t be responsible for every aspect of the posing, and it would be more of a shared experience that could include brainstorming good poses.
This was a 10 minute pose. It worked well and could have done it for 20.
The bottom one was the first 20 minute pose. My arm got very tired.
This wasn’t TOO bad, but my feet fell COMPLETELY asleep by the end of 20 minutes.
About the artist: Mike Stewart studied at the Hartford Art School. He has a B.F.A. in fine art printmaking. Mike has been living in South Korea since 2003. In 2012 Mike opened Seoul’s first foreign owned and operated art academy/share studio, Jankura artspace. Thank you Mike for sharing your art with my blog and my readers!
About Jankura artspace:
Seoul’s first foreign owned and operated artist share studio and art class space for adults with the expat community in mind. We are located just a short walk from Itaewon Station, so if you’re interested in art, want to join a community of creative people, or just want to gain a new skill, stop by Jankura artspace!
Have you ever done modeling like this? Anything you’d add?
**Edited to add points 10-13.
As an artist, I wholly support this post.
That said, i’ve never had experience with a live model. I’ve always worked off photos. The closest I’ve ever gotten was using a mirror. I’d be interested to give the experience a try.
Thanks! It was a really cool time. I just added 4 more points – I realized my list was slightly incomplete. Still, it made for a very interesting experience.
Is it weird that I didn’t even read your points because I was too busy looking at the drawings? I’ve always been a visual person and was distracted by the pretty pictures.
I actually got a chance to go to a starving artist showing this weekend, and sold a small painting for 15 dollars. Its the first time my artwork has ever been commercially appreciated. It inspired me to do a painting last night.
Hope you don’t mind if I leave a link to my gallery here.
http://warlordgrego.deviantart.com/
I’ve done it before, only I *was* nude. I got to choose my own poses, but I did mostly freeze-frames of Kung Fu forms, and also a little bo staff. I wanted to give them positions they’d never seen before- dynamic stuff. The longest pose I ever did was just short of 45 min. You really notice after about 10 min where your posture is imperfect… all the little things your teacher niggles you about; it’s like “Oh, *NOW* I see why you need to have your toe turned at just that angle…”
I often pose for the artists and have for years and years. I pose about once a month at Jankura (yes, I usually pose nude). They are a great group of people and it is an amazingly powerful experience. I actually recommend posing to women who have body issues (I know this is not related to your BJJ post, but it is related!) – whether that is “I don’t like my body” to “I don’t understand my body” to “My body has changed some.” Because artists see people as shadows and lines and curves, it takes away that whole “Is my butt too big?” thing. I have learned to see my body in a whole new light because of my interactions with artists. It is a great experience. I would add one more thing to your list, if I may.
14. Talk to the artists during the breaks if they are open to it. Because talking and “arting” use different parts of the brain, it can be difficult for some to switch right to left brain. Just smiling and looking at what they are doing gives them an opportunity to chat. (This is NOT an opportunity to critique their work).
I have found that by allowing my personality to come out in the studio, the work over time with the artists becomes deeper. Maybe I’m vain, but I think that their work is enhanced by seeing not just my body, but ME.
Glad you had fun, J!
the artists want to practice drawing different types of bodies. They don’t expect or even want all the models to look like Miranda Kerr.
The Life Drawing class that I was modeling for was in a small studio out in the boondocks; there were usually 8-12 middle-aged artists, equally divided between men and women. But one night I walked in there and besides the usual suspects, there were a good dozen unfamiliar young men in their early to mid-twenties. It was a group of graphic designers from one of the computer game companies (Digipen, IIRC). I was thinking, “Oohhhh, shiiiiiiiiiii- what did I get myself into?” I really had to grit my teeth to drop the robe. Fortunately, they were all serious and professional.
as an artist I envy those other artists. last time I was sick during karate I went to watch instead. I tried to draw a bit, but I was too tired and they relly never stand still :p