So you know how all art books you have ever read, always tell you to do sketches from life and you read it...think its a good idea, but still never do it? YOU SHOULD. Get over the fear that a person at Starbucks might freak out when you are drawing them..they never do. Often times they'll even ask to see what you drew!
In the last few months I've really ramped up the daily sketching and its helped a ton. It felt a bit like work at the beginning, but now its one of the highlights of my day. It REALLY helps to 'loosen up' your art.
The only frustrating part is that folks never stay still for very long!! Occasionally you'll get a great sketch going, then they move and its finished...its part of the territory! In order to help combat this, or when you can't make it out, just pop in a DVD and sketch out what you see. You can always hit the pause button to help work it out.
My last word of advice on this topic is to go for the GESTURE when life drawing, not the anatomy! I find if I start thinking anatomy, its over...you just dont have the time when you are dealing with seconds per pose. The gesture is really what you should capture here.
Now, when working from a live posing model, I've found....wait, that's a post for another day!
