Core Figure: Approaches to the Lay-In

The Core Figure Pathway is a series of classes designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the human figure through observation, construction, and structural thinking.

Building on the foundations introduced in Core Drawing, this pathway explores multiple approaches to organizing and understanding the figure—from gesture and block-in to volumetric construction and structural anatomy. Students learn to move from general to specific, think in relationships rather than isolated parts, and translate the complexity of the body into clear and intelligible visual structures.

Courses in this pathway include:

1. The Figure Starts Here: Approaches to the Lay-In – 10 Weeks 

Gestural, constructive, and perceptual approaches to organizing and laying in the figure.

2. Figure Construction – 10 weeks 

Volumetric thinking, interlocking forms, and constructive approaches to structure and form design.

Designed for both beginning and continuing students, the Core Figure Pathway serves as an entry point into the broader world of figure study and prepares students for more specialized exploration in figure drawing, painting, sculpture, and imaginative art.