Nude art models already existed in Ancient Greece, and it is a rewarding but difficult job. If you are interested in this profession, you must first feel comfortable with your body, know how to remain still while taking various poses and understand the artistic protocol. This article will outline how to get hired, worked and posed for an artist.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Get Hired
Step 1. Meet the requirements for this profession
To be an art nude model, you don't need to look runway ready or aspire to unrealistic beauty standards.
- Patterns of this type help artists draw the human body and understand its nuances and structure.
- Artists don't necessarily go looking for models that fit a stereotype. They are open to professionals of different sizes, shapes and ethnicities. Unique and asymmetrical bodies are actually sought after by many.
- An important requirement for becoming a nude art model is having a good relationship with your body.
- Before posing nude, you should feel comfortable enough to do it without blushing, covering yourself up or trying to show only the best parts of your body.
Step 2. Prepare a resume
Not all artists or art teachers will ask for it, but you should still have one.
- While you haven't done this work before, you can still try to incorporate some experience that you believe gives you a competitive edge.
- Offering a resume allows the artist or teacher to get an idea of your identity and experiences. This is important to make yourself known as a model; the environment of an art lesson is intimate both for the artist and for the person posing, therefore a relationship based on trust must be established.
- Include any experiences such as modeling, performance, art school, acting classes, dance, yoga, or other activities you have dedicated yourself to that have prepared you for this job.
Step 3. Find work as a nude art model
If you have decided to pursue this profession, then you need to start looking for job opportunities.
- Get in touch with your city's art institute or faculty of fine arts to find out if they hire artistic nude models.
- You can start with the art department, but ask if there is a particular person who is in charge of hiring models for all classes. Sometimes, individual teachers choose them personally.
- If you want to pose for a photographer, check out those classifieds websites that connect artists and models.
- Sites posting job vacancies also often present opportunities for nude art models.
- First, you should look for work in a proper school. Only once you have gained a deeper understanding of this professional world and are confident that you are partnering with a serious artist will you be able to consider private posing sessions.
Step 4. Discuss the details beforehand
When you are hired, it is best to immediately clarify the method of payment, the duration of the work and the days you have to lay.
- Nude art sessions usually last around three hours. In one session, several pauses are included and a variety of poses to be held for five, ten or twenty minutes.
- Find out about the types, duration and average number of poses; also, ask how many breaks are planned.
- Talk to the artist to discuss the total fee or the hourly rate, which can fluctuate quite a bit. Generally, the salary is around 15-25 euros per design. With a photographer, it is generally possible to earn more.
Method 2 of 4: Prepare to Lay
Step 1. Prepare the poses
Nude art models are usually required to assume four basic poses during a session.
- Typically, you are asked to stand, sit, lie down in a prone or supine position.
- When standing, you have to take different positions with your arms, legs, hands and feet. They may give you props to hold in your hand or require you to communicate certain expressions with your gaze.
- When asked to take a supine position, you usually have to lie down comfortably on a sofa with your back on it.
- When they ask you to lie down in the prone position, you have to lean on your stomach and raise your chest; imagine reading a magazine lying on the beach.
- These are the four classic poses, but there is a great variety of movements and gestures that you can perform when you take them.
Step 2. Be expressive
Draw on personal experience to think of interesting or thought-provoking poses. Any type of physical activity can be a source of inspiration for a good pose.
- A good model must be able to be expressive from the toes to the hands. Art is dynamic, and poses should be too!
- Many models are inspired by the poses depicted by classic works of art.
- Yoga postures are often used because they engage the muscles in interesting and dynamic ways.
Step 3. Be prepared to hold each pose for a certain amount of time
The different types of positions can be taken for short or long periods. It is best to be prepared to remain motionless for as long as possible.
- The expected duration of an installation may vary. Broadly speaking, it is determined by three factors: gestures, short poses and long poses.
- The gestures are poses that last less than three minutes.
- The short poses last three to twenty minutes, while the long ones are maintained in multiple twenty minute intervals with short breaks in between.
- Long poses are generally the norm for painting and sculpture. Drawing courses require numerous shorter poses.
- Typically, a lesson begins with a few "warm-up" gestures.
- If in the middle of a long pose you feel the need to move, someone will need to use duct tape to mark the position of the body. Just ask the instructor or a student to do this.
Step 4. Prepare a duffel bag to take with you to the studio
You should arrive prepared at the workplace, so as not to annoy the artist with your requests and demonstrate that you have high standards of professionalism.
- The bathrobe is the most important item to have on hand. In fact, you can wear it between one pose and another or to go to the bathroom.
- You should also bring a towel or blanket to sit on. It will come in handy for hygiene matters.
- Bring slippers or flip-flops to put on and take off quickly during breaks.
- You should also have water and snacks available.
- Always add a diary and a pen (or cell phone) to keep track of future appointments.
Step 5. Prepare the body
You need to be clean and natural looking.
- Before you go to work, take a shower and apply a cream to moisturize dry skin - it could cause discomfort while you are in the pose.
- Wear few accessories, unless requested otherwise.
- If not asked for, you shouldn't go overboard with hairspray or wear makeup. Better to have a soap and water look.
Method 3 of 4: Lay
Step 1. Undress
After saying goodbye to the artist and acclimatizing, you should take off your clothes.
- You will likely be shown a quiet room to change into, or you can do it behind a screen.
- Take advantage of this moment of privacy to focus and prepare for the session. Undress and stay in your bathrobe and flip flops.
- Move to the area where you need to lay. You must have only the stopwatch available to calculate the time that passes during each pose.
Step 2. Take off your bathrobe and flip flops
The artist will tell you where you can place them before starting the session.
- If you sit or lie down, it is best to do this on a towel or sheet. The artist could provide you with one, or you can bring your own.
- If you do not have towels, it is hygienic and highly recommended to place the bathrobe under your body when you sit or lie down.
- Some artists also like to draw the “drapery” that is created.
Step 3. Follow the artist's instructions
Keep your body and eyes still. Listening to the artist is the secret to a successful session.
- Gazing at a specific point is helpful. Don't make eye contact with artists unless specifically told to do so.
- Relax while assuming the pose, but not so much that you change the original position.
- They may ask you to time the poses, or the artist himself will tell you when you're done.
- If you are unsure whether you understand a statement, don't be afraid to ask for clarification. It is much better to remove all doubts than to risk taking the wrong position.
- If you are told to hold a pose that you find too difficult, it is better to say what you think than to try to assume it.
- The artist would much prefer to see you assume a pose that you can actually hold for as long as necessary than having to start over.
Method 4 of 4: Ending the Session
Step 1. Get dressed
After completing the session, put on your bathrobe and return to the private area where you undressed to get dressed.
- Make sure you don't leave anything in the studio.
- You should wear comfortable clothes.
- Having a special bag for your dirty bathrobe or towel is ideal, so you can wash them after your session.
Step 2. Prepare yourself before you go to greet the artist
At this point, you probably want to discuss any future sessions.
- Keep your notebook and pen handy after changing. Maybe the artist wants to work with you again.
- Also, it's a good idea to prepare a business card to give him.
- Ask them for feedback.
- After you've collaborated with an artist more than once, you can also ask them for a letter of recommendation that you can use to find work in the future more easily.
Step 3. Don't lose sight of the artist
If you want to get hired again, you need to show initiative and enthusiasm.
- Call or email him to confirm the date and time of the next appointment.
- If you don't book another session right away, get in touch with the artist a few weeks later to find out if they need your service.
- Ask the artist to give you other contacts if you have developed a good working relationship.
Advice
- Someone may ask you for a photo to use as a reference point after class for the purpose of completing a drawing. You might expect an additional payment (usually double or triple the standard rate for nude art models), but that's up to you.
- In recent years, cell phone cameras have started to be a big problem. Schools generally have rules on this, but models still need to be vigilant.
- When responding to an ad, whether on the internet or elsewhere, inform yourself as much as possible before taking the job.
- Private sessions earn you more, but there is always the risk (albeit minimal) of being a victim of sexual harassment, or worse. Be well informed and proceed with caution. Better to abound with precautions than to regret a job accepted lightly.
