Classical and realism

The classical or academic tradition trains accuracy through careful observation, often by drawing plaster casts before working from life. Realism, as a 19th-century movement led by painters such as Gustave Courbet, also meant painting ordinary life truthfully.

Step by step

1. Sight-size method: place the drawing beside the subject so they appear the same size from a fixed viewing point, and compare by stepping back.
2. Cast drawing: draw a white plaster cast under a single light to study pure value and form without colour.
3. Use comparative measurement and plumb lines (vertical alignments) constantly.
4. Grisaille: paint the underpainting in greys or browns to establish value, then glaze colour over it.
5. Work from general to specific: big shapes, then shadow shapes, then half-tones, then details.
6. Patience is part of the method. Classical studies can take many hours over several sessions.