Reclining female nude

Since we’re on the subject of reclining nudes, I thought I’d throw up this sketch. It was done in sienna, black, and white conte crayon on brown paper.

When I’m working on a sketch like this, I usually start with the sienna because the color doesn’t provide much contrast against the brown paper. This way, you can see what you’re doing but you don’t have to erase any mistakes. Then, I use the black to create the deepest shadows, and finally the white for the highlights.

My completion time for a sketch like this is about 20-30 minutes, but it mostly depends on the model. If the model is in an uncomfortable position, I try to take much less time so that they can rest.