The Rules of Distraction

You’re on your first assignment. You’ve done your first few gesture poses and are juuuuuust starting to get comfortable with the fact that you’re completely nude. You go for a longer pose. You’re starting to get in that Zen-like state (which I’ll discuss more in the next post) where you’ve found something to meditate on, but you’re not completely lost in the moment, either. And then it happens:

THWAP! CLUNK! BANG! CRASH!

Someone tipped their easel over, came late to class and SLAMMED the door shut, or dropped their pad of paper.

So how do you avoid perfectly natural instincts like looking at where the noise is coming from (or jumping out of your skin!)?

I’ll be honest: there aren’t any hard and fast rules. You kind of just learn to block things out after a while and remain composed--it’s one of those things that you just get better at the more you do it. There’s different types of distractions in the classroom, and what I’d like to do in this post is to tell you about some of the more common ones and how to minimize them so you can remain in pose.

Visible distractions: the best way to avoid these types of distractions is to avoid looking at any one particular person in the room if at all possible. You normally don’t want to be looking at anyone in any event, as people understandably have a tendency to move during a session, and it’s only natural that your eyes (and head) might inadvertently follow them. And let’s face it: if someone was staring directly at you for 20 minutes, you might get a little freaked out! Most importantly, if someone should come to class late, chances are that your eyes will be focused somewhere where you won't be tempted to look at the latecomer walk across the room and get settled.

You also don’t want to focus on inanimate objects that still have the tendency to move, such as an artist’s easel or a tree branch outside that might get rustled by the wind. It’s for these reasons that I try and find a spot on the wall that generally forces me to look up somewhat, and thus away from any line-of-sight distractions, particularly if people decide to move their position while I'm in the middle of the pose. I’ve also found that after a while, my vision starts to get a little fuzzy and I start to get tunnel vision. This actually helps, because you have a smaller, softer field of vision, and are thus less likely to pick up on any distractions in the classroom.

Every now and then you’ll get into pose and you’ll notice someone just moved into your line of sight because they moved their seat. If you’ve only been in pose for a few seconds, there’s generally no harm in moving your head minimally until you can find a new spot on the wall or on the floor to focus on. I’ve had to do it a few times. On a similar note, a lot of drawing groups are very casual, and artists will sometimes sit on the floor to draw you. And you may find that as they shift their bodies, the errant arm or leg will come into your field of view. In this case, you might have already been in pose for a few minutes, so you probably don’t want to move your head. What I usually do is shift my eyes ever so slightly to where I find another point on the floor to focus on that still keeps my head locked into the same position.

Audible distractions: you’ll know you’re a pro when someone accidentally knocks their easel over it, people jump up and shriek in fright, and you maintain your pose the entire time. That’s when you’ve made it to the big leagues! You heard the sound, so you aren’t lost in your own little world, but you’re mellow and focused enough that it doesn’t faze you in the least.

Aural distractions are a little harder to tune out then visual distractions, especially if the source of the sound is well outside your field of vision (think of a car backfiring on a busy street and you’ll know what I mean). This one is more mental discipline, and it’s a little harder, I’ve found, to trick your ears and your brain than it is your eyes. In my next post, I’ll tell you what I typically think (and don’t think) about when I’m on the podium, and how that helps get me into a special state where my brain is in the moment, but not overly so. It requires a bit more detail that’s really deserving of its own post, but just know that there’s a way to get your brain into a state where you pick up on things, but aren’t focused on them.

Other distractions:

Room temperature: this may not initially be an obvious distraction to most people, but a room that’s too hot or too cold will definitely distract you while up on the podium. Keep in mind that you’re not wearing any clothes, and you have the right to have the room at a temperature that’s comfortable for you so you’re relaxed and in the right frame of mind to give your best poses. In cases where the room is cold, someone will generally have access to a small space heater, but there’s been at least one instance where I was freezing toward the end of the night. It was early on in my career, and I didn’t even think to ask if there was a heater available. Don’t feel shy in asking for a heater or for them to focus more lights on you (and believe me, with all the lights that are on you anyways, you’ll probably be running a little hot, even if the room itself is somewhat cool). And I’ve had several people hem and haw when I’ve asked for a heater, but I don’t let them off the hook. That one session I just told you about? I was literally shivering when I was done for the night, and spent the first few minutes afterwards just trying to warm myself up. You can bet I won’t do that again!

Conversely, sometimes the room you’ll be posing in doesn’t have any air conditioning, and you’ll be sweating bullets. In those cases, I’d advise you to do simpler, less-strenuous poses, hydrate frequently, and ask to take a quick break if you find yourself getting dizzy. And I’d recommend that your longer poses be seated or reclining.

Visitors: every now and then, someone from outside the class might need to enter the room for a few minutes. While I’ve already discussed what you should do to minimize the impact of a person walking into the room late, this adds a bit of a twist because this person isn’t running late or anything: they’re not in the class at all! So they’re not the regularly scheduled people that are supposed to be seeing you nude.

For instance, I remember my first time modeling, there was a band rehearsing in the other room, and I was informed that on occasion, they’d need to enter our room in order to get equipment from outside, if you can believe it! In this case, however, I was told about this up front, and I agreed to it (and sure enough, they didn’t try to cop a look or anything, and were quite professional).

But sometimes, particularly in a classroom setting, you may have someone who’s not in the class but needs to get into the room, such as a professor from the next room over who needs to grab extra chairs, or a parent dropping off supplies for a student.

In cases like these, there’s really not much you can do, and I’ve never had an issue with someone staring at me when they shouldn’t (and this is one of the few cases where I’d recommend shifting your eyes just to make sure of this). Most people know enough to respect you by not looking at you. But if you find someone who’s clearly staring or loitering longer than they should, I think you’d have a completely legitimate reason to say something.

Smells: there have been one or two people over the years that had particularly pungent body odor. This one’s a real toughie. You can “program” your brain to be on standby mode. You can direct your eyes to a place in the room where no one will enter your vision. But you do have to breathe.

You're probably gonna have to suck this one up. You can’t move the podium, and chances are that person is going to be sitting where they’re sitting for the next three hours. This is unfortunately going to have to be a badge of honor, like not flinching when someone drops their art supplies. It’s definitely a case of mental discipline!

Immature students: if you’re in a class of freshmen or have a pre-college class, you’re going to have to deal with the fact that you might be the first person they’ve seen completely naked in real life. And for a lot of people, giggling is a defense mechanism that helps someone try to process something out that they’re really not prepared for. It hasn’t happened to me aside from one particular class, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a professor that doesn’t take a hard line on that immediately. I’ve both spoken with models about this as well as read models’ stories on the Internet, and it’s pretty much a universal truism that anyone caught giggling, trying to “distract” the model (usually a female student who thinks it’s funny to park herself in front of you and show you her cleavage while you’re trying to hold a pose) or otherwise acting immaturely is asked to leave immediately, and oftentimes will be booted from the course. I’ve known models who’ve said they’ve broken pose and said they refuse to continue unless the giggling and chattering stops.

And with that, I’d like to close by saying that virtually every single person I’ve posed for has been nothing less than 100 percent respectful of me and my body. I’ve had multiple professors let me know my comfort (physical and mental) was paramount. I guarantee you that you’ll discover likewise. But at the same time, no one’s a mind reader, so you do need to speak up if you’re not totally comfortable. But any artist or professor who’s worth their salt knows that without someone willing to do what you’re doing, there’s only so much art that can be created. And they’re typically sympathetic to and protective of their models as a result.

The Ambassador

The longer you model, the more you’ll find you’ll have some particularly inspiring or uplifting experiences. I’ve never had any truly negative experiences, but every so often, there’ll be a session that just hits the high notes for the entire duration. You learn to really, really appreciate them when they happen. They’re truly special. Dare I say it, you might even take those memories all the way to your grave.

I blogged about one particular experience earlier in the year (http://lightnessofjason.blogspot.com/2010/03/reflections.html). And I had another, incredibly positive experience last Saturday. Earlier that week, I got an email from a major art museum downtown. They were looking for a model for their Free Summer Saturdays program. Basically, as the woman who emailed me explained over the phone, they have an impromptu, pick-up drawing session that’s held Saturday afternoons in the atrium of the museum’s lobby during the summer. Anyone who wants to draw can get a clipboard, paper, and a pencil and draw out in the open atrium for as long as they wish.

Naturally, my first question was to confirm that this was a clothed gig (it was)! The woman I spoke with said that traditionally, there was a certain woman who worked these Saturday sessions, so she figured that having a male model would be a nice change of pace for everyone.

Yeah, no pressure!

I arrived on Saturday shortly before noon and there was a choir performing in the atrium. I thought that was pretty neat, especially because—as talented as they were—the conductor noted their ensemble had only gotten together several weeks prior.

Soon enough, the choir dispersed, and I saw a woman set a precariously small podium in the middle of the atrium.

After checking in, I chilled out for a few minutes as the coordinator set up chairs around the perimeter of the atrium and started handing out drawing supplies. There were a lot more people than I anticipated! About 30 to 40 seats had been laid out, and virtually all of them were occupied by the time I was asked to start!

Given that the podium was so small (maybe 4 X 2, and that’s probably being generous), I felt a bit limited in my poses, particularly as the format was simply to do 10-minute poses until whenever I wanted a break. Ten minutes is too long to hold most action-oriented poses, and in any event, the size of the platform really prohibited any pose that was too gripping.

So I figured I’d do three standing poses, take a break, do three seated poses, take a break, and repeat the cycle for three hours. Since I had zero idea of the skill level of the participants, I decided that I’d keep the poses fairly basic.

As a later post will tell you, it’s tough sometimes to block out the typical distractions that come along with the average classroom. But that’s multiplied tenfold in a museum! It’s one giant cocoon of sound, people are coming and going, staring, pointing, walking in your field of vision, singing (the choir had an encore presentation right above me!) taking pictures (note: I devoted an entire blog post to this subject recently, but this was a clothed gig out in the open, so it was no big deal. And besides, in a public setting like that, you really don’t have much in the way of privacy expectations, which I knew full well going in). It’s a lot to block out in order to keep your composure and successfully hold your poses.

It was amazing! People were:

• Slowly walking towards the atrium, trying to find out what the commotion was
  

• Standing and looking when they did find out what the commotion was

• Taking pictures of me (I was a real hit with Asian tourists in particular)
  

• Pointing and observing me from the balcony

• Applauding me between sets(!)
  

• Asking if I was an actor (which was nice, since I've been on the fence about doing another play)

A mix of people were drawing me: toddlers, seniors, people of all backgrounds and races. I found that to be incredibly, incredibly inspiring.

And then, towards the end of the session, it finally hit me: I was an ambassador of sorts for the art world. I mean, not literally, of course. But I realized that, for three hours, people from all walks of life, from all over the world, were either drawing me or stopping to grab their friends and family and look intently at what was going on in front of them. I even saw children drag their parents to the session! For many, I’m sure this was their first experience with either drawing a model or directly observing what happens when people draw from a model.

I’d like to think that hopefully, I was able to:

• Inspire people to find their inner artist

• Persuade someone to take their first art class

• Encourage someone to push for more funding for the arts in schools

It was an incredibly powerful feeling, which is hitting me even moreso while I sit down to type this.

You see, it’s experiences like these that really make it so rewarding to sit still in front of complete strangers for several hours. And while I’ve definitely had my share of classes that felt like they were on autopilot, it’s experiences like this one, and the one I linked to earlier, that make me proud to do what I do. Where people walk by, hesitate, and decide to spend a few minutes or more drawing you. Where people applaud and congratulate you for sharing something of yourself for a few hours in both of your lives. They’re experiences that are indelibly etched in my memory. And I count myself lucky to be able to have been afforded this, the opportunity, to do what I do.

Don't Spend it All in One Place

In fact, don’t spend it at all until you’ve got that money in your hand or you’ve at least physically modeled for your session.

When you get multiple bookings over the course of a few weeks or a few months, you’ll find yourself tempted, to (ahem) bank on that money to the point where you begin to consider it as good as yours. And proceed to start spending it in advance. This probably won’t happen to you after your first gig or two. It’ll most likely happen when your modeling career starts to take off and you find yourself working multiple times a month as opposed to once or twice every few months. Your popularity and demand will increase, and with all these bookings coming in, you may find yourself tempted to treat these upcoming sessions like the money’s already in your pocket.

I’m here to tell you this is generally a bad idea. Gigs can and do get canceled. In the past week, I’ve had one gig canceled due to low class enrollment (luckily, I was only on deck to model once for that class. I think there were one or two models who got screwed out of multiple sessions), and today, a drawing group canceled an upcoming session later this week (though I did get rebooked for later in the year).

And naturally, since one of these sessions was on the tail end of a long weekend, I figured I’d use that money in advance to splurge on some food and wine for the long holiday. After all, I reckoned, I’d be getting that money in cash in just a few days’ time.

It’s honestly no big deal, because these things happen, and you have to roll with the punches. No one owes you a living, and you’d be wrong to treat artists as such. But I realized that it’s a really good teaching moment: Don’t spend that money until it’s either in your hands, or until you’ve actually modeled for that class and know a check’s in the mail (and even then, you may want to wait until you have a check in hand).

It’s really, really tempting to start adding up that upcoming windfall of cash over the coming months and automatically make plans for it. Ever find a spare $20 in a pair of pants you haven’t worn for a while? Well, pretend that $20 is now several hundred dollars and instead of a pair of pants, it’s in the form of an email that says someone wants you to work for them three times in the next month. And now you’ll hopefully begin see where you find yourself thinking that money’s as good as yours. So why not spend some of it? After all, the email just said you were going to get three bookings.

Well, even if that gig doesn’t cancel, you could get sick. You could get stuck having to work late. There’s a whole host of reasons that you'd have to cancel, and you just can’t predict these things.

As I said in my last blog entry, you should view your modeling income as easy come, easy go. It’s just not a reliable enough source of income (for most people) to treat as steady money. I’ve been very lucky in the sense that I’ve only had a handful of gigs cancel since I’ve been doing this, and in most cases, I just got rescheduled later in the term.

But then, I’ve also had people promise to book me for sessions and they never followed through. You don’t want to treat vagaries as promises and just assume that someone who said they’d “definitely” book you in the future is going to come through. There’s a gambling term called “betting on the come,” which means that you may have a bad hand now, but you hope that things pick up and you’ll have the cards you need when the time comes. It’s basically whistling past the graveyard and hoping your luck will change when you need it most.

Bad idea. Do not, do not, DO NOT do this. It’s one thing to mentally determine how you’d spend this (X amount for a credit card bill, Y amount for a new pair of jeans, Z amount for dining out next month), you really don’t want to start solidly earmarking money that’s not even yours yet. Once you’ve been modeling for a while, you’ll generally get a good feel for which schools and groups are reliable, how much work you’ll average in a semester, etc. But you really, really need to resist the urge to think “okay, September’s usually busy, so I can assume I’ll pull in at least $300.”

Like I said: easy come, easy go :) Keep this in mind, and you’ll do all right!

Show Me the Money!

Okay, so now you’ve started to get a few modeling gigs under your belt.

And then it happens: you find yourself getting regular bookings. From different schools and groups. Each of which pays a different amount and has you posing for different amounts of time. What to do?

Now, as I’ve told you time and again, modeling isn’t an easy job, even if you do it part time. So you owe it to yourself to make sure you know for certain how much you get paid for each venue (it varies from group to group and school to school), and if you find yourself working a lot, you’ll find that you may be forgetting how much you’re owed, and by whom.

In this post, what I’d like to do is to give you some ideas on how to keep track of all that money you’re owed, as well as to provide you with some advice on how to manage it.

First off, I recommended in a previous post to mark all your upcoming gigs in a calendar of some kind. What you also want to do, as you book your upcoming gigs, is to confirm how much you’ll be paid. Usually, the people you’ll be working for tell you this up front, but it’s possible they might forget. Generally, the going rate is anywhere from $15 to $20 per hour, at least in an urban area. Frankly, I wouldn’t advise working for less than $15 unless it’s a favor to someone you’ve worked with before and know very well.

Think about it. You’re doing a job that 99.99 percent of people out there can’t or won’t do. And yet, there’s a demand for you. You’re the rare, select few that can take their clothes off for complete strangers. And hold some incredibly difficult (and painful) poses. You’re a valuable commodity. You owe it to yourself to get paid handsomely for what you do. After all, if just anyone could deal with the physical and psychological baggage that comes with the territory, you wouldn’t have work!

What I’m getting at is that, once you get established, you’ll come up with an idea of what you feel is the bare minimum per hour that you’ll work for. Occasionally, you’ll find that sometimes you may end up working for less than you think you’re worth just to establish yourself with a new group, and gain some exposure.

It’s all up to you in terms of marketing yourself and making sure that you work for what you’re worth.

Now once these gigs start rolling in, I’d highly advise you to create an Excel worksheet that lists each place you work for, their hourly (or flat) rate, and the days you work for them, per hour. This way, you have an at-a-glance way of knowing who you worked for, when you worked for them, how much they pay per hour, how many hours you worked for them, and the total that you’re owed.

Most art schools pay via check. Some pay you via direct deposit and take out the necessary taxes. Others have you fill out a 1099 but don’t withhold taxes. It’s up to you to set aside the necessary money (if any—generally if you make under a certain amount, somewhere around $600 per year, you don’t have to file) to pay any taxes owed. Since they’re reporting your earnings to the IRS, don’t think that you can dodge paying them! Other places (generally art groups and private artists) pay you under the table, and it’s up to you to determine whether or not you choose to report this to the IRS.

If you get paid up front, you’ll be paid at the end of the session (usually in cash, but sometimes in the form of a personal check). Even if it’s a multi-session gig, you’ll be paid that day’s wages at the end of the day. If you’re working for an art school, you’ll generally be paid via checks that are cut whenever they run payroll (usually bimonthly). If you’re being paid this way, I strongly, strongly advise you to keep tabs on what you’re owed (and this is where the spreadsheet I just talked about becomes invaluable, particularly when you have multiple gigs across multiple venues), because I’ve had several instances where I didn’t get paid and had to gently remind the school that I was owed a check. The model coordinator at one of the places I work for has me send an email to her after every session just to make sure I’m not overlooked when they do the next payroll run.

Eventually, you may find yourself making several hundred dollars per month (I wouldn’t, ahem, bank on this, but this will often be the case during certain months of the year if you’re reputable) and find yourself wondering what to do with it.

To be honest, I’d treat it as mad money. Easy come, easy go. First off, if you have a regular 9-5 job, gigs will be somewhat harder to come by since you’re only available during nights and weekends. It really isn’t that regular of an income to rely on each month. Some months you may have a gig or two each week. And then several months (typically June – August) you won’t have any work.

What I’m getting at is that it generally won’t be a steady or reliable enough source of income to the point where you know you can set aside X dollars on a monthly basis to pay off credit cards, student loans, rent, or set aside for a vacation, a new TV, etc. I honestly think it’s best to spend it on partying, dating, new clothes, and impulse buying (or what I generally like to call “stupid shit”) so that you can use your regular wages to pay for ordinary crap like rent, bills, etc.

Simply put, I treat my modeling wages like someone might treat finding $20 in a pair of jeans they haven’t worn since last Fall. It’s unexpected money that you can use to buy something you normally wouldn’t want to spend money on.

I once read the memoirs of a soldier who fought in the Korean War. He told stories of how he and his buddies used to gamble, but they never got crazy about their winnings. If they won, they’d spend it on booze. If they lost it during a game, no big deal. What he said next really struck me: the money he earned gambling with his buddies wasn’t the same money earned on the battlefield. Gambling money was easy come, easy go. It wasn’t the same money you took a bullet for.

Think of your modeling wages in a similar light. Perhaps one of the greatest joys I get is getting a last-minute (in some cases, literally last minute. As in, they sent me an email at 4:45 pm as I was shutting off my computer asking me to fill in for another model at 6 pm later that night) booking, and then realizing I can use it to buy a pair of jeans or a video game I’ve had my eye on!

Unexpected Opportunities

4:45 pm: Wait, that can’t be right! An art studio I solicited several times since 2008 replied back to an email I sent out a year ago wanting to know if I can—tonight—fill in for another model who can’t make it. Well, if they need me that bad…

4:55 pm: Hi! I just got your email. Sure, I’d be more than happy to fill in tonight. Uh, but just so you know, I may not be able to get to my apartment and back in time to get my modeling bag, so I might have to be nude the entire time, so I just wanted to make sure that was okay with you first.

5:00 pm: Okay, it was fine with them. But the studio’s not that far from my apartment, so I should be able to make it back in time to change into something a little more comfortable (like shorts and a t-shirt) and grab my robe.

5:30 pm: Great! I can get changed, pack my gym bag with my robe, and head out the door!

5:40 pm: Hi, I’m Jason! P. told me I needed to check in. Oh great, you’ve got an envelope in cash all ready for me! So where do I go from here? Down the stairs and to the front? Great!

5:45 pm: Are you A.? I’m Jason. Okay, I can get changed in the next room?

5:50 pm: A reclining pose? On a chaise? Fantastic! I’d love to tell you how impossible it’s been for me to be offered a reclining pose for the entire class. My ship’s finally come in!

6:10 pm: Time to start! Yeah, I can hold pose for five minutes while people do quick sketches from different vantage points across the room to see what location works best for them.

6:15 pm: Yeah, I can hold my neck in this position for 20 minutes a pop. I’ve done plenty of portrait gigs, so I’m definitely set. I can't possibly convey how good this feels to recline back, completely nude, for the next few hours and totally get paid for it! I feel amazingly relaxed and at peace.

6:35 pm: Wow, I’m getting compliments already! And I’m literally sitting on my ass!

6:45 pm: Okay, you think my leg was moved more towards my right? Over? Over? Over? Over? Ov… okay, right here? Cool. My shoulder was over here? Here? He… right here? Great, let’s get started!

6:50 pm: Before we break next, would you be able to mark me? Oh no, don’t worry. I should have said something before I broke pose before the break. Yeah, that’s definitely enough tape. Okay, one more mark by my shoulders, just in case.

7:15 pm: Yeah, I can time my breaks. Uh, didn’t realize you weren’t keeping time. Didn’t really think it was my call as to returning to pose without your go-ahead. It’s really not my place to get back into pose and basically tell you when you should be teaching your class, but if you want me to do so, it doesn’t really affect my pay.

7:55 pm: Yeah, I can hold this pose for 30 minutes straight, no problems!

8:25 pm: Thanks for having me everyone! I really had a great time!

8:30 pm: *opens envelope handed to me prior to class* Whoooo! $40 in cash for 2.5 hours of reclining in the nude. I can definitely get used to this!

8:40 pm: Walk out into the cool evening sky. Swear I’ll use it to pay for that copy of Alan Wake for the Xbox 360. End up using it to pay for food and beer for the weekend. Eh, who cares? It’s emergency modeling money. It’s easy come, easy go. It’s not like the money I sweat for nine to five.

Yeah, it was total luck. A studio I solicited several times since, wait for it... 2008(!) got back in touch with me right before I left work for the day. As luck would have it, I checked my hotmail right before I powered down, and found the golden ticket from the place that, until today, never got back in touch with me. Being a graceful, grateful (and greedy) type, I promptly called them in response to an email they responded to that was originally sent by me a year ago and kindly offered my services. No hard feelings. When opportunity calls collect, you gotta accept the charges! It was a super chill environment, with really supportive and friendly students, and I got to recline on a chaise the entire time. Aaaaand, after sending them a thank-you email, they said they'd contact me in October to formally put me on their schedule.

What I want you to take away from this is that, even though some doors may be closed to you initially, they may very well open to you later on, when you least expect it. It's happened to me several times, and it may very well happen to you too. How you choose to handle it, either gracefully (wow, in their time of need, they remembered me) or with spite (oh, those fuckers, coming to me now, when they can't find anyone!), is your call to make.

Just don't get discouraged if your initial efforts in establishing yourself as an art model get rebuffed. Don't take it personally. Those doors have a funny tendency to get reopened when you least expect it.

A Photo Finish

Something happened to me last Friday that I wanted to comment on. It never really came up before, but it’s not exactly unheard of either. And if you model, chances are one day it may happen to you. So I want to take the opportunity in this post to discuss it and tell you what your options are.

What happened is that someone took a photo of me while up on the podium. While nude. That’s never happened to me before, and I was a bit unsure of what to do.

You see, sometimes (especially during a multi-session engagement) an artist isn’t able to finish their drawing of you, so they’ll ask if they can take a photo of you to use as a guide while they finish it on their own.

The first place I interviewed for way back when told me that an artist or student asking to take a photo of you isn’t unheard of, so I’m lucky in the sense that I knew about this sort of thing going into my modeling. I was also advised to charge $20 per photo and get the cash up front (which in retrospect sounds kind of like someone wanted me to pose for a sleazy magazine, heh heh!). But it’s entirely possible someone new to modeling might not know if this sort of thing is kosher or not, and I’d like to be able to provide some advice.

The case I’m blogging about is different than what I described above. For starters, this particular person didn’t ask me for permission. I wasn’t even facing in his direction, but I noticed in the corner of my eye that he seemed to be aiming something in my direction. Sure enough, a few seconds later, I saw the tell-tale camera light. He wasn’t being sneaky like he was trying to take a quick nudie shot using a cell phone cam. But he didn’t ask me if it was all right, either.

Here I was, stuck in the middle of a pose, and someone took a photo of me! Nude. Several thoughts crossed my mind.

1. I could have stopped the session and confronted him immediately. I opted not to do this since it wasn’t as if he was going anywhere anytime soon. The dude was also in two previous sessions and never gave off any weird vibes before, so perhaps discretion would be the better part of valor.

2. Do nothing. After all, people have already seen me nude and like I said, he wasn’t giving off any sort of weird or creepy vibes. I opted not to do this for the simple reason that he didn’t ask my permission. To me, it’s a matter of respect, especially if the subject of your photo is nude. I’m in a vulnerable state as it is, and you’re already drawing me, and now you want to take a photo of me? Without asking me?

3. Say something during the first break. This is what I opted to do. I was still willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

So fifteen minutes later, I get into my robe, take a few sips of my soda, and quietly walk over to him. In a low voice, I cheerfully say,

“Hey, I couldn’t help but notice while I was up on the podium that it looked like you took a picture of me. Did you?”

I said it gently and softly. I made sure my face was neutral and free of anything that might be construed as anger. But I also looked him directly in the eye and was a whopping two feet in front of him when I said it.

He immediately apologized, and it seemed sincere. He told me he thought it was okay and that he didn’t need to ask. Just to be sure, I decided to do the following:

I called out to the woman coordinating this session and asked her in a voice loud enough for the others to hear what this particular school’s policy was on taking photographs of the model. And I made sure my tone of voice conveyed a sense of general curiosity. Now, a woman asked in front of the class during the first session if she could take a photo of me, and the coordinator immediately detailed the school’s policy ($10 to take a picture, in cash). But I figured asking the coordinator again would serve two purposes:

1. He’d be getting the official policy, something he didn’t get (or chose to ignore) the first time

2. It served as a reminder to the other students as well.

So she reiterated the policy and also added something I didn’t pick up on the first time—that the fee entitled the person to multiple photos. Sure enough, he declined, and even let me watch as he deleted the photograph. And I made sure that I wasn’t acting rude to him. While I think it was honestly a bit generous on his part (to say the least!) to think that asking my permission wasn’t needed, maybe he’s done this during other sessions for other schools and it was included in the price of the class (disclaimer: I do NOT think this line of reasoning is kosher by any means… I’m just trying to come up with some sort of excuse as to why he might have thought what he did was okay).

Would I have done it if he (or anyone) asked and offered me the money? The truth is, I don’t know. I’m fairly certain I’d say no, especially if multiple shots from different angles were permitted. There are a handful of exceptions I’d be willing to make—mostly people I’ve worked with multiple times over the years and trust.

The decision to let yourself be photographed is yours, and yours alone. What I’d like to do, though, is offer you some advice to prepare yourself if the situation ever comes up.

• Ask yourself how badly you need that extra $10 or $20.

• Consider that, with digital photography and the Internet, once that photo is taken, it has the potential to be sent anywhere. And posted anywhere. And there’s a 99.9999999yaddayaddayadda percent certainty that you’ll never know about where that picture goes once it’s taken.

• You’re not getting royalties or additional pay if that person chooses to use the photo(s) he or she has taken multiple times for multiple projects. A lot of artists will have you sign a disclaimer form saying that whatever art they create from your modeling belongs to them and them alone. You have the freedom to agree and to sign that form, or to not sign it and walk away. By letting someone take a photo of you, you’ve carte blanche signed one of those forms whether you actually did, or not.

• You have the right to refuse that a photo be taken of you. And if you catch someone trying to take a photo of you, surreptitiously or not, and without your permission, you have the right to confront them over it. The vast majority of artists are very, very appreciative of their models (face it—without their models, they don’t have a whole lot to draw or paint). And my guess is that someone caught red-handed trying to sneak a nude photo of you would probably find themselves blacklisted and disgraced in the local art community.

To sum up, it’s your body. And you, and only you, have the right to determine under what circumstances your body will be captured outside of a session. You have the right to decline, and you shouldn’t let yourself feel guilty about it. And if someone does try to make you feel guilty, I personally think you have the right to walk out right then and there.

It Figures--Gesture Poses

Okay, so you’ve read through all my advice on how to network to land your first gig. And you know what you should (and shouldn’t) do up on the podium. So now there’s only one biggie left. Knowing the different types of poses, and how to make these poses work for you.

Poses for a model are like a construction worker’s tools. You need to have a good assortment of them to do your job right. Your first few sessions are going to be trial and error. You may get overly ambitious and strike poses that your body may not want to hold. Or the pose you get into gets vetoed by a professor.

The more you model, the better you get at it (and if people want you back time and again, you know you’re getting better at it). But just like riding a bike, you’re going to have to expect to fall down (figuratively, and in one case for me, literally!) one or two times along the way.

There are two main categories of poses: gesture poses and long poses. We’re going to talk about gestures in this post.

Gesture poses are most likely the first poses you’ll do in a given session. They’re warmups for the artist, and they can run anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes in length, though one minute is usually standard. You’ll generally do 10 one-minute poses or 10 one-minute poses followed by five two-minute poses, though there are some exceptions. Some places don’t bother to do gestures and go straight into longer poses. In fact, they may have you sit in one pose the entire session. Other places will have you go straight into some five- and 10-minute poses after the gesture poses (so you might want to think of one or two seated five-minute poses you can get into to rest some of your more active muscles). For the sake of this post, let’s assume someone wants you to do 10 one-minute poses.

You won’t need a timer for gesture poses. In fact, constantly having to reset the timer will be a distraction. Keep the time in your head with the old “one Mississippi, two Mississippi” action. Just don’t find yourself silently mouthing along!

Gesture poses are all about the action! You can do a lot in a gesture pose that you just can’t do in a longer pose, particularly in terms of keeping your hands and legs extended, and doing some off-balance poses. So feel free to get creative.

You really don’t want to do any relaxed or reclining poses, at least not without including a particular twist to make it interesting. For example, laying down on your side and propping your upper body up isn’t very exciting for a gesture pose, but doing something like taking that pose and extending one of your arms out like you’re a second baseman stretching himself out to keep in contact with the base and catch the ball is definitely acceptable.

Speaking of which, thinking of athletic moves is a good start if you’re looking to come up with gesture poses. Getting into a track runner’s stance, pretending to throw a ball, making it look like you’re in midstride—these are all fairly easy poses to hold for a minute. They’ll accentuate your muscles (particularly your legs and glutes), and they’ll give something interesting for people to draw. Since the poses are so short, there’s not much that’ll limit your creativity. Still, like anything, you’ll occasionally come up with a pose that looks great in your head, but is far harder to hold in practice.

Since these poses are shorter in length, you definitely want to be sure you face different spots in the room in each pose, even if it’s only a few degrees off from the preceding one. Give as many people a chance to draw you head-on as well as in profile (from one of your sides). And be sure to incorporate negative space and foreshortening into your poses unless you’ve specifically been told not to (like the first day in a beginner’s class).

Negative space. Take your hands and put them on your hips like you’re angry with someone. See that triangular space between your arms and your sides? That’s an example of negative space. While you don’t have to make every space incorporate negative space, you want to make sure at least some of them do. Many artists find drawing the negative space first helps them draw the rest of you.

Foreshortening. Look at yourself in the mirror. Now point directly at your reflection with your arm straight out. Now imagine trying to draw someone like that. If you’re pointing straight ahead, you can see your torso and your hand, but the arm isn’t that visible. It’s much, much different than if you were pointing straight up into the air. This is a difficult technique for artists to learn, but it’s a vital one. Take a look at pre-Renaissance art. Doesn’t a lot of it look flat and lifeless? Foreshortening is a perspective technique to breathe life and action into an artist’s work. Unless the room is filled with complete novices, you want to incorporate some foreshortening into your poses. Just note that what’s foreshortened for one artist will be in profile for another one depending on where they’re seated.

One thing to keep in mind, especially for more dramatic, stretched out poses, is the firmness of the podium. Some places put a few blankets on the podium. That makes it more comfortable, but it also makes it a bit harder (for me, anyways) to maintain my footing if I have my feet and legs more than a few feet apart. It also makes it a bit tougher to me to do any poses where I have only one leg on the ground (like putting one foot on the floor and the other on a chair). It’s trial and error, and you’ll learn what, if any, limitations the podium puts on your poses in short order.

Don’t be surprised if you start to feel a little warm during gesture poses. I was talking with a model friend and we both agreed that even if the room temperature isn’t particularly warm, given that the lights are on you, the fact that you may be a little nervous, and the fact that you’re holding pretty dynamic poses and then quickly shifting into new ones, means you may find your body warming up. In fact, you may start to break a little sweat even though you’re the only person in the room not wearing anything! Don’t be tempted to break pose, even though I find it sooooooo freaky feeling to have a small drop of sweat trickle from the back of my head down my back and not being able to do anything about it.

Most sessions will usually do 15-20 minutes worth of gestures and then give you a small break to rest up for longer poses. Put on your robe and shake out any soreness. If you’re in a class setting, this is the time where I’ve found that a lot of housekeeping and briefing for the day’s class goes on. So don’t be surprised if what you were told would be a five minute break turns into 15 minutes.

Next up: longer poses.

Go Figure!

I mentioned in my last post that this post was going to give you the ins and outs of figure modeling. I was originally going to make this one long post that covered everything about figure modeling from A to Z. But on the advice of my good friend Mikkela (www.mikkela.com), I decided to make this a two-parter. The next post will walk you through the process of actually modeling: gesture poses, long poses, and other technical stuff.

This post will be about finalizing your first gig and what you should do prior to and after it. These things are easily overlooked, since (naturally) most people are more concerned about the actual mechanics of figure modeling, and not as concerned about issues that are more peripheral, but just as important.

The first thing you need to know is if someone sends you an email asking for you to do a “life drawing” or “figure drawing” session, it’s almost always going to be nude. If it’s an email query from someone I don’t know, I like to ask if it’s a nude class anyways (clothed gigs are rare, but not unheard of) and just say I want to make sure so I know to bring my robe. I also like to ask new people the following questions:

• Do I need to bring any props?

• Are cushions, pads, covers, chairs/stools and a podium provided? (I used to think they were de rigueur, but I’ve been to a few places where these weren’t provided.)

You also want to be sure to ask them how to go about contacting them before the session if need be. You might get lost. Someone might not be there to let you in when you were told someone would let you in. You may be running late. You need to make sure you have a way (preferably via phone) to contact people if something unexpected comes up.

And if you can’t make a booking, let the person who hired you know as soon as possible. While you don’t want to cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice, sometimes things come up. Better to let them know you can’t make it instead of just not showing up (and I’ve heard from artists time and time again that a lot of models flake out and just decide not to show up). But I’ll warn you: I’ve known a couple of very friendly artists that happened to tell me that they had people cancel last-minute, and while they appreciated the lead time, they basically wrote that person off from future consideration. It may not be fair to you. But you have to understand some people have been burned to the point where any cancellation without sufficient time to procure another model means you’re not reliable to them. Granted, if you have a good working relationship with someone as a result of numerous sessions together, they’ll probably be a bit more understanding that sometimes people wake up with a sore throat or that something at work shit the bed and they can’t get off on time. But you do have to realize that some people are more understanding about this than others. There was one time where I was on the phone with a professor and I happened to mention that a date about a month off was probably good for me, but that I’d need to check in the morning just to make sure. And she asked me if she could just book me for another date that I was definitely free, because she really wanted commitments from people as she was calling them. And I was totally okay with that. The people you work for are the skippers of their ships, and you have to respect that.

Okay, once everything’s squared away and questions have been answered to your satisfaction, MARK THE TIME AND DATE DOWN IN A CALENDAR. Don’t assume you’ll remember. You’ll probably work sporadically at first, and in that case, it’s usually easy to remember one or two bookings. But starting last year, I was getting booked for multiple sessions and with multiple groups, so I started putting everything into Google Calendar. You want to write things down not only to remember your bookings, but for another, equally important reason I’ll discuss later.

On the day of the session, I like to arrive about 30 minutes prior to showtime (especially if it’s my first time at a particular location), though 20 minutes is generally considered standard practice. You really don’t want to rush in out of breath and sweaty two minutes before the session starts! And if you're modeling, chances are you're in a larger city, and you probably rely on public transportation. Unfortunately, as most of us know, public transportation isn't all that reliable. It may be a good idea to keep a spare $20 on you the day of your gig so you can hail a cab if need be. I've had to do it several times.

The first thing you need to do on arrival is to find the professor or the person who’s coordinating that day’s session and check in. After I introduce myself, I like to ask what they’re looking to accomplish that session. Sometimes they’ll just ask you to hold one pose for the entire duration of class (with breaks, of course), but usually the session will be a bit more structured. It’s always a good idea to find out what the organizer’s trying to accomplish for two reasons:

1. So you can start thinking about your poses ahead of time.

2. So you can base your poses around the skill level of the class.

In the first case, it’s always a good idea to have at least a few poses in the back of your mind before you get started, and these poses are definitely going to vary based upon the format of that session. Some people like a lot of action poses, others like to start with 30 second poses and then work up to longer ones, others do something different. It’s also good to know the skill level of the group (specifically as it pertains to art classes) so you can not only be thinking about poses you can hold for the duration they’re looking for, but also at the skill level that’s most appropriate.

What I mean by that is this: In a beginner class, they’re not going to want you to hold all sorts of dramatic poses. In fact, I’ve often been told for some beginning classes to basically stand with my arms at my sides, like I was waiting for a bus. They don’t want crazy poses that beginning students simply won’t be able to draw. But if you’re working for a more intermediate or advanced class, you’re going to have to push the envelope and give more action-oriented poses. They already know how to draw someone standing up by now. They’d like to see someone getting ready to jump out of a three-point stance or pretending to throw a ball across a room. You don’t want to intimidate beginner students, and you don’t want to bore skilled ones. And don’t be afraid to ask the professor if there are any poses he/she would like to see. I’ve noticed that a lot of times when I ask, that they’ll think to themselves and say something like “you know, I think they really need to get used to working with negative space/foreshortening/etc.” I’ll tell you what these terms mean in my next post, but I think most professors appreciate your willingness to tailor your poses to their needs. This can be done either at the beginning of class, or between breaks (particularly when the class moves away from warm up poses into longer ones).

Next, I like to find out where the changing room is (which is usually the bathroom). You don’t need to get undressed and into your robe right away. In fact, I usually wait until 10 minutes before the start time to do that. That’s a personal preference on my part. I don’t want to be hanging out twiddling my thumbs while wearing a robe. But if you want to get changed as soon as you check in, that’s your call. I just don’t think anyone really needs/wants to be seeing me in a robe any earlier than they need to be.

Don’t wear anything fancy to a figure drawing/painting session. It’s all coming off anyways, and if you’re cramming your work clothes into a duffel bag, plan on having to dry clean the wrinkles out later. Machine washable is the way to go. Not to mention that you’d be amazed how many places artists can manage to get charcoal and paint on! When I model, I plan on wearing khakis and an older dress shirt to work that day. If something gets paint on it, no big deal!

You may want to have a book or magazine with you to occupy yourself between breaks. While most drawing groups are pretty punctual about starting and ending breaks, I’ve found most 10-minute breaks (10 minutes is usually the standard break length) in art classes tend to be a lot longer for a variety of reasons (stragglers getting back to class, housekeeping/admin work the professor needs to go over, peer review/critique, professor instruction to the class, etc.). But it’s good to have something to keep you focused on between poses.

Finally, you want to address any payment issues at the end of the session, not the beginning. It’s really bad form to ask for money before you’ve even gotten into your first pose! You wouldn’t start a new job and immediately ask your boss for your paycheck, would you? If you’re posing for an art class, they’ll usually be paying you by check, and they generally cut checks bi-weekly. But you still want to check with the professor to see if there’s anything you need to do, like fill out a time card or email the model coordinator with the date and time of class so they can clear things with payroll. Don’t automatically assume the professor’s responsible for that, because, conversely, he or she may assume that you are the one responsible! If it’s a drawing group, you’ll most likely be paid in cash at the end of class. In the two years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never had a problem with someone skipping out on a payment.

However, you can’t always assume people are going to remember everything. I know at the one art school I work with most frequently, a lot of professors also work at another school, and have art groups and side gigs going. It’s unfair to assume they’re going to magically remember things, because they often have a lot going on at once. You’ll remember that I told you earlier to mark down your gigs in a calendar. The added benefit to this (aside from ensuring you won’t miss gigs) is that if there’s ever a payroll dispute (or they accidentally forget to cut you a check—these things happen!), you have a record of how long you worked, when you worked, and who you worked for. Don’t rely on a foggy memory from a month ago. Be organized.

Lastly, thank the professor or whoever booked you. If you really liked working for these people, let them know! Tell them you enjoyed yourself and that you hoped they felt the same way, and that if they’d like to use you again, to call. Sometimes I’ll follow up with a quick email thank-you the next day. Just to tell them I had a good time and that I hope they’ll keep me in mind for future sessions. This also lets them know you enjoyed working with them and helps them remember to keep you in mind for future sessions.

Getting down to the nitty gritty: etiquette and social cues for the art model (part 2)

Disclaimer: in my last post, I discussed some of the more mundane things you need to know if you want to become a model. But in this post, I'm going to discuss all the things you need to know, but were afraid to ask (modeling positions, periods and erections) to fully give you an idea about what it's like being a model. So if that's causing you to blush already, you might want to skip this post.

Yup, that's right. We're gonna be talking about what some people consider to be taboo issues. But I'd be errant in my blogging if I didn't mention them. There are very, very few people you can really talk to about these sorts of things. It's probably my most NC-17 post to date, but I'm telling you the exact same thing I'd tell anyone face to face if asked.

But first, I want to cover two quick issues that piggyback the end of the last post. I'm including them here for sake of completeness. But if you want to skip these veggies and head on to dessert, I'm not one to stop you!

To accessorize or not accessorize: The bare minimum you need when modeling is a naked body and a bathrobe. There are a few more things you should consider bringing with you.

Flip flops: as a fashion statement, I abhor them in all but the most casual of circumstances. As a modeling aid, they’re invaluable. I’ve seen plenty of models walk around without footwear between breaks, and I always cringe.

I like to go barefoot too. But I’m here to tell you that you’re not getting your own green room when you model. You’re most likely going to be undressing in a restroom. A public restroom. In fact, I’ll put money on the fact that you’ll be undressing in a public (or semi-public) restroom on your next assignment. Would you walk barefoot across the bathroom in your old college or high school?

No, you wouldn’t (at least I hope you wouldn’t!). And artists probably don’t want to see dirty feet, either. Unless you’re modeling in someone’s private apartment or studio, bring a pair of cheap flip flops.

Hygiene matters: hopefully you’re reading this and groaning that you don’t need to be told this. Good! But most of your gigs are probably going to be after work, and summer's coming up. Spend a few bucks and a few minutes by freshening up while you’re getting into your robe. Comb your hair, apply some deodorant (even if you think you don’t need it) and take a baby wipe to your hands and feet. Let’s put it this way: your artists may not necessarily remember you if you’re clean. But they’re sure as hell going to remember you if you’re dirty and smell bad. I probably wouldn't apply any cologne or perfume. Maybe a quick dab on the neck if you really think there's something about it that'll put you in a good mindset when you're on the podium. But definitely don't overdo it.

Personal stuff (aka all you really wanted to know about modeling but were afraid to ask!)

Posing: A later post that I’ve got planned will give you the technical ins and outs of figure modeling. But one thing I thought I’d mention to you now is that generally, you’ll find yourself thinking about how you present yourself in a given pose strictly based upon what direction you’re facing. By that, I mean if you get into a pose facing the 2 o'clock position, you’re probably going to be only thinking about how the people in front of you and to the immediate sides see you.

While my upcoming post will tell you why you should consider how the room sees you for other reasons, I have particular cause to discuss it now. And it's to save you embarrassment. In some cases, the model podium is flush against the wall, which means there’s only 180 degrees where people can see you. But other times, you’re on a podium in the middle of the room, which means people can see you from all over the room.

For instance, let’s say you do a pose where you touch your toes. Now, if the podium’s against the wall and you’re facing 12 o’ clock, people are going to see you head-on, or at most, in profile from the side. No big deal, right?

Now imagine if you’re doing the same pose, facing the same direction, on a podium in the middle of the room. What’s the artist at your 6 o’ clock position going to see?

Yup. You didn't mean to, but you're giving someone an unfettered view of your butt and genitals.

What I’m getting at is that you should give a few seconds’ consideration when you get into a pose, and think how people are going to see it from all sides. For instance, I’ll often get into a track runner’s stance or a three-point stance like a football player might. I find it’s a great way to accentuate my leg muscles and hopefully provide the artists in the room with something interesting to draw. But I would never do it if there was someone directly behind me.

Believe me, once you start doing this regularly, you'll automatically assess how your next pose is going to be seen by everyone, even if you're making it up as you go. But if you're new to this, spend a few seconds thinking about how you'll be seen from different points in the room.

Biological concerns for women: This section won’t be as long as I’d like it to, mostly because I was initially expecting someone else to write it. If you’re a woman and you’re reading this, you might be a little nervous in booking gigs right around the time of your period. This happened to a friend of mine. I wanted to find some humorous euphemisms to explain this in a non-threatening way, but it’s honestly best delivered straight. She had a gig booked that was one day before she almost always had her period. That day came and went. So she figured it’d just come later that night or early the next day. No, it didn’t. She was a little worried, but figured it’d happen before she had to be on the podium. No, it didn’t. She told me how she was sweating bullets the entire time (I specifically remember her telling me that she’s an atheist and she actually began to pray silently while in pose). When it was time for a break, she’d dash off to the bathroom in a panic to check herself. She actually was worried people in attendance thought she was doing drugs! So after three hours of torture, she gets dressed and goes home. And proceeds to have her period.

I really hope that story didn’t sound graphic. It wasn’t my intention. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that basic bodily functions like this happen, and that in this case, you might want to have a buffer of a day or two before and after your period just to make sure you’re not in a situation like this. Let’s face it. When she accepted this gig (which was probably a month or two in advance) the last thing she (or any other woman) was going to think about was her period. But it definitely bears mentioning. A good artist friend was kind enough to let me know that most women will generally cancel if a situation like this comes up (but, as I'll discuss in another post, please give the person who booked you at least some lead time. Either that, or some women will wear a tampon and either snip the string or tuck it away.

Whatever you do, it's your call.

Biological concerns for guys: Okay, I’m not gonna lie to you. This one’s gonna be about the penis.

Surprised, huh?

Let’s get it out of the way first. If you have any issues or hangups about size, modeling nude isn’t for you. No, you don’t have to be freakishly endowed or anything (in fact, the rooms tend to run a bit on the, ahem, cold side). But if you’re even in the slightest bit worried about your penis size, don’t do this to yourself. I have no idea what’s going through anyone’s except for my own. But I think you’d have to be naive not to think that there’s at least one guy in the room who’s mentally comparing your size to his, and naive not to think that there's at least one woman in the room mentally making a comparison between your size and that of her lover.

I’m going to say it in plain English: no one gives a shit. But if you do, you won’t be comfortable. Don’t mentally torture yourself for three hours over something you shouldn’t give a second thought to.

Now, what I’m absolutely sure you’ve all been dying to know about: yes, erections can happen sometimes when you’re on the stand. But it’s not something you really want to happen. In fact, if it happens more than once or twice in a blue moon, you really ought to think about why you’re doing this. You either can’t control yourself--or worse, you don’t want to control yourself. In the case of the former, it's why I'd honestly never counsel a man under 25 to model unless they were damn sure they were able to keep things under control. In the latter case... well, unfortunately there are some male figure models out there who purposely try to get erections while on the podium.

For those people, I'd like to say this: Get out. And get over yourself. No one wants to see it. No one really needs to see it. And it’s people like you that make it tough for the rest of us (men and women) to get a first gig—because people are worried about inadvertently hiring a pervert who thinks this is Date Night. I’m not talking about someone specifically asking for a model to pose erotically. That’s different, and it’s something I’m unfamiliar with so I’m not going to comment on it. But I’ve seen enough comment boards on the Internet with people claiming they regularly sport wood for traditional art sessions and that everyone loves them. I seriously doubt it. Stop degrading the professions of both modeling and art.

On the other hand, you’d have to be blissfully ignorant to think that it can’t happen at all. I’m going to be completely honest here. I’ve gotten an erection twice. And I felt like utter shit both times. And from what I gather from other male models, they feel the same way. It’s nothing you strive for, and it shouldn’t happen (and in 99.9999999blaaaah percent of gigs, it doesn’t happen), but sometimes it does. In my case, it didn’t happen because I was thinking of anything racy or erotic. Both times it occurred the same way. I was sitting down in a particular position and the cushioning pressed against me in a certain way that, for whatever reason, caused me to get an erection.

So what should you do? Some men move their hand so it covers the offending appendage. Others call for a quick break. Me? I decided to toughen it out. I didn’t know what else to do. In the positions I was in, it might have been possible that people didn’t see anything. So I thought that if someone asked me if I needed a break, I’d agree to it, and if no one said anything, I’d roll the dice. After all, they might not choose to say anything and would just not hire me back. But if it was noticed and I was confronted over it, I’d apologize.

Well, no one ever said anything, and I was invited back both times (please, don’t read anything into that, or consider it an excuse for you to do this. I’m just being honest in what happened). And I didn’t apologize or otherwise bring it up (like I said, in the poses I was in, it was entirely possible that no one really noticed. Or perhaps the whole room noticed. I just don’t know). In any event, I can’t tell you what to do for certain, because frankly that’s something that I’m still uncertain about. I can only tell you what my experiences were.

But you should most likely be fine. The rooms run somewhat on the cool side. More importantly, modeling isn’t the easiest thing to do to pay the bills. I’ll discuss that more in my upcoming post on figure modeling, but believe me, you’ll be so sore and so jonesing to get home that it most likely won’t ever become an issue.

For instance, once there was a very attractive student in one of my classes. And she seemed a little *too* interested in me from what I was able to pick up on. Moreover, she was truthfully the type I’m often attracted to (on the shorter side, fleshy, buxom, brunette hair, high cheeks, button nose). And she gave me a few flattering compliments during the session, like that I had strong legs. I truly believe she wasn't trying to be inappropriate. She was a young college student, and she probably was most likely just trying to be nice and just didn't know any better.

And do you want to know what was going through my mind? I’ll tell you.

“That’s great! I'm really flattered! And I mean it. But you also know what? My back hurts! I can’t feel my right asscheek. Are you sure it's been 20 minutes? It really feels more like 30 minutes. I’m so sore my hair follicles hurt and I’m hungry and I’m tired and I need to go to the bathroom and I want to go HOME!”

Even if I wanted to do anything inappropriate (which I didn't--aside from my personal convictions on the matter, which you've already read about, the professor was someone who's always gone out of her way to hire me. I respect her and enjoy working for her, and I'd never even think about damaging our working relationship), I couldn't. My body was so sore and contorted that the last thing I'd be tempted to think about was sex.

For all the nudity, modeling is honestly the least erotic thing I can think of. So I wouldn’t worry about an erection too much. Stress on the body, boredom, nervousness, the fact that you're in front of complete strangers... these all set a stage that's honesty not conducive to the male libido. I’ve been asked how I avoid getting excited during a session, and while it's probably better suited for another post, it’s basically a combination of not being 19, being tired, being in physical pain, and just knowing I’m there to act like a professional. So if you're worried about this happening, don't sweat it! There's enough factors working against you in this regard that it shouldn't be an issue.

Okay! Next post: figure modeling—a how-to guide!

Flying by the seat of your, um... pants: etiquette and social cues for the art model (part 1)

First in a two-part series. I got started and there was waaaaay too much to detail in a single blog post.

As we grow up, we learn certain social skills that teach us how to act in group settings. People such as our parents, relatives, teachers, religious figures, etc. all had a part in shaping the kinds of people we are (or aren’t!). We learned basic social mores and means of interaction: you know, don’t ask how much someone makes, you look people in the eye, you don’t ask how much people weigh, stuff like that. You learn about all those unwritten rules of social interaction and that helps mold and guide your actions.

But that gets turned upside-down when you take your clothes off for a living! Let’s face it… nudity is honestly a societal no-no for the most part, and for plenty of good reasons. There’s a time and a place for it, but it just doesn’t crop up much. But in the art world, there’s definitely a need for that rare breed that can shed their clothes and bare it all in front of complete strangers.

How do you act when you’re naked on the podium? When do you communicate with people? How do you communicate with people? To wear a robe or not to wear a robe? There’s a whole slew of values and mores you need to pick up on, quickly, if you’re giving serious thought to becoming a model. But the very act of sharing your nude form with strangers is one of the most intimate things you can do, and there really isn’t a rulebook for it. Yet you’re going to be judged on the way you act and comport yourself, even though there’s really no playbook for it!

For me, I was making it up as I went along. I’m usually a pretty good reader of character. But a lot of it was flying by the seat of my pants. Figuring out how I was supposed to act in a certain situation, and then hoping I made the right choice.

So what I’d like to do with this post is to go over some things you want to consider if you’re thinking of modeling, and hopefully give you some good advice and point out a few things so you don’t have to make the same mistakes that others may have made in the past.

To talk or not to talk: This is probably one of the hardest things to determine, so I’d like to talk about it first. You have breaks when you model, and it’s only natural to want to fill the silence with small talk. I generally am very gregarious before and after sessions, when I’m clothed. But when I’m chilling out between poses, I tend to keep to myself. This is your call to make, but I’ve just found it “feels” better and seems to be the “right” thing to do if I make conversation only when spoken to.

I think that if you’re a guy, and you’re being talkative and going around and looking at other people’s art, you might get pegged as “that guy.” Even if you have a robe on. I have no concrete evidence to support this one bit, but the “read” I get the longer I do this is that it just feels more natural to keep to myself between breaks and stretch out and maybe read a book. I suspect that if I was a woman, I’d still refrain from making idle chatter because I wouldn’t want to be viewed as an attention whore.

And, as it takes a certain kind of person to willingly bare themselves (mentally and physically) in front of others, some of these people can be rather… distinct, perhaps, in terms of personality (I know I am!). But what I’m getting at here (and you’ll see me discuss this at length elsewhere) is you don’t want to even give someone the thought that this is Date Night for you. I guarantee you any attempts to be overly friendly, man or woman, fit or unfit, attractive or unattractive, are just going to rub people the wrong way. And you have to be aware that, even if certain signals you're giving off aren’t your intention, they may be seen as such anyways, and that’s why you need to constantly evaluate how you present yourself in a modeling session.

Some of the models I’ve seen have struck me as being a bit cold and aloof, and I know exactly why that is: they want to be seen as models, not pickup artists. I try to counter this by being really friendly and outgoing before and after class, and cheerfully doing whatever it is I’m asked. But yeah, I’d rather be seen as “that stuck up guy” than “that perv who walks around without his robe and talks to people.” Think of it as working in an office environment with close friends: you can be informal off the clock, but when it's time for work, you're all business. I truly believe people can and do pick up on this.

Now if someone comes up and makes conversation with me, then that’s different. I’m more than happy to talk! And I will say it’s a little weird turning around to cinch up your robe, and there’s someone standing next to you wanting to ask you a question or just talk. I consider myself to be my own ambassador when I model, so I’m more than happy to answer questions when people come up to me, and accept compliments humbly!

Also, you may find there will be occasional times (particularly if people are wrapping up in the last few minutes of a session) that people may ask you questions or talk idly to you. Take an "internal pulse" of the situation, and if you think people are okay with it (in most cases it's because the instructor was one of the ones doing this), then go for it! Just don't break pose!

To walk or not to walk: During breaks, you may be tempted to check out the great art that those around you are drawing. But you might also be a little apprehensive about it. Generally, I've found most venues don't really mind if you walk around and scope out what people are creating.

To be honest, though, I generally don't. I don't want people thinking I'm putting them under the microscope, especially that a lot of my gigs are academic in nature, and tend to be beginner's classes at that. Now, if someone asks me to check out their art, I'll gladly do so. But I just generally find that I feel I'm actually respecting people more if they're not thinking that I'm critiquing or judging their work (which you should never do). That's just my feeling on the matter, and plenty of models robe up and take a look at the various interpretations of them that others have created. It's really your call. I just tend to err on the side of giving people privacy.

To robe or not to robe: I always bring a robe with me to my scheduled modeling sessions. I say “scheduled” because there might be times where the model for a given night might have to bail, and you get tapped to fill in. And you might not have your robe with you.

I am personally advising you, whenever possible, to wear your robe. Yeah, they’re going to see you naked soon. And during the session, they’ve already seen you nude at least once.

Wear the robe anyways. Like I said, there’s a time and a place to be nude, and when you’re not posing, that’s your time to not be nude.

Sometimes you have to make do. A few months ago, one of my friends called me in a panic because she was supposed to model for a drawing group that night, but she just landed a new job and was super busy. So she called to ask me if I could fill in. After making sure she okayed it with the person running the group (some people don’t like to work with new models. Others have a particular gender scheduled on a given night for a reason, and some people aren’t happy if the replacement is of a different gender). Sure enough, he called me back to give me the 411. I cautioned him that I didn’t have a bathrobe with me since I wasn’t expecting to model, and he said that was okay. So I asked if he had a bathrobe, towel, drape, something to cover myself. He said he could drum something up, but it wasn’t a big deal if I chose not to.

I admire that. He’s taking a chance on a new model, sight unseen, and says it’s totally chill that I don’t have a robe. His people just want someone to draw! But I still asked for something to cover myself with anyways. It seems weird, doesn’t it? How you can just display your naked body and still want a modicum of modesty at the same time?

So I ended up draping myself with what must’ve been a curtain. I looked like Caesar! And truth to tell, if it was someone I knew already, and if there wasn’t anything to cover myself with, I most likely would have agreed to it. But this was my first time working with a new drawing group, and I thought it would be only professional to ask for something to cover myself with during breaks.

And let’s face it: they’re there to draw you nude. They’re not there to look and hang out with you nude. So cover up!

Now, if you model enough, you’re going to find yourself in the occasional “grey” area where you might not know if you should cover up or not. And you’re going to kind of have to take the pulse of the room and use those nude social cues you’ve hopefully been picking up on to determine if you need to cover up.

Case in point: there have been several instances where, after a few poses, the professor I was working for told the students to go ahead and quickly move their easels if they wanted to change where they were sitting. I was told to just hang out, so to speak, for a minute or two. If you’ve never just “hung out” nude, it’s definitely a bit disconcerting. I mean, you know you have to pose nude. But it’s weird just standing around twiddling your thumbs naked in front of a class for a few minutes until everyone gets situated. There’s really no point in putting your robe back on, and in each case, the indication was clearly that I didn’t need to put something on. My advice in these situations is to just roll with it. You can always sit/kneel so that your more private areas are out of sight if you want.

Another example: sometimes you’ll be asked in an academic setting to pose for a minute or two, where the students do nothing but observe you. And then the professor will tell you to break pose and have the class draw you from memory for a few minutes. This has happened several times, and in each case, I could just tell without having to be told that it was expected that I’d remain nude while the students drew me, even though I wasn’t posing. They had several minutes to draw me from memory, and then we moved on to a new pose. Getting in and out of a robe would honestly be impractical, so I thought I’d just remain nude unless whoever was teaching the class suggested I put my robe on.

That never happened. But you’ve got to realize how awkward it can feel standing around naked while students are doing there thing, the professor is doing his/her thing, and you’re just kind of left to twiddle your thumbs!

Similarly, there are going to be times where you find yourself needing to disrobe away from the podium and walking several feet until you can get on it. This is usually the case when the podium is in the middle of the room. I don’t like leaving my robe on the podium (unless I plan to use it to sit on a chair or stool) since it’s a bit of a distraction, and I don’t dare throw it on the floor (art classes are, as a rule, generally messy. And you’d be amazed at how thumbtacks just seem to end up on the floor and not the walls), so there have been times I’ve disrobed along the wall, placed my robe on a chair, and walked the six or seven feet to the podium. It felt weird the first time I did it, but no one said anything. Still, I try to minimize the time I’m nude. Not because I’m ashamed, but because I believe you don’t really need to be nude much longer after your poses are complete.

Sometimes, though, you can forget you’re nude, as strange as that seems! Remember when I talked about that drawing group where I used a drape to cover me? Well, this drape was probably about 10 feet long and actually weighed a good deal. So when I was done for the night, I just placed it on the podium and made a beeline for the bathroom (which was in the next room) so I could get changed. Well, as I was heading towards the bathroom a few of the artists were saying how nice it was that I was able to fill in for my friend A, and one of the artists jokingly said “I was going to say, you don’t look like A!” Now my friend A is female and I’m, well… not female, if you haven’t picked up on it :) So naturally my instinct was to turn around and talk to her since she clearly knew A, and I started to discuss how I knew her, and next thing you know, we’re having a full-on conversation for several minutes and I happen to realize that I’m still nude!

Clearly, it was no big deal to the people that were there, and it’s not like I was doing anything pervy. But here I was leaned up against the door frame talking to several complete strangers for a few minutes while utterly naked! And while no one was offended in the least (I was invited back), I realized that I broke my cardinal rule about nudity and modeling.

But what this story goes to show is that if you model long enough, you actually stop getting awkward about nudity. Someone far wiser than me quipped that it isn’t the nakedness that’s so scary about modeling. It’s the getting naked that’s so freaky. I agree! Until a few months ago, I’d frequently get nervous waiting to drop my robe for the first time, but when I was nude and on the podium, I was completely fine! And this seems to be a consensus among a lot of art models. What I’m getting at is that the more you model, the more you’ll eventually be comfortable in the nude, to the point where it seems almost like it’s second nature, much like I felt above. So the more comfortable you get, the more you need to remind yourself from time to time to not get too comfortable. There are definitely limits!

In short, the more modest you are, I believe the more likely it is that you’ll be asked back. Men and women who wear robes during breaks and read books during downtime don’t make people feel uneasy. Men and women who are overly-comfortable in their nudity and go out of their way to make idle chatter with artists make people feel uneasy.

Look for a followup post in the coming days—I definitely have more to say, but not enough space to say it :)

First-person perspective

*I didn’t set out to write this so much as I sat down to write something, and things just sort of started flowing for me. So I thought, as much as possible, I’d leave this entry as a stream-of-consciousness format to show you what goes through a model’s head when he or she shows up for a gig. Enjoy!*

Okay, it’s 6:20 and I’m now just getting off the Metro. And now I gotta hike up that hugeass escalator. I do not like running late. At all. Even though I know I’ll still manage to be about 20 minutes early. I hate the very thought of being late for a new gig. I am soooooooo nervous. This is probably the most popular drawing group in DC. And I got the nod, me… an unknown quantity for them, to model for them. You take a big risk when you hire a new model. I’ve never blown it before, but I sure as shit hope I don’t blow it tonight. Hmm… that girl’s got a pad of drawing paper. And it looks like she’s walking in the same direction as I am. Hope she’s not expecting to draw someone with a chiseled chest and washboard abs.

All right, that big church-like building is probably the church. Yup, this is where I’m supposed to be. Great, I’m actually 30 minutes early! Wonder how many people are gonna be here tonight? I’m the only one here. Oh, maybe I’m not. I’ll ask that guy. Wonderful! I found the right entrance.

I’m pacing. I’m twiddling my thumbs. I’m trying not to act in the least bit nervous. Okay, there’s a few more people waiting. And they’re probably in their early 20s. Ugh. I feel soooooo old and out of shape now.

CREAK!

“Oh, hi, are you P? Great! I’m Jason, tonight’s model! Up the stairs to the top? Thanks!”

Clack, clack, clack. Welp, stairs don’t go up any more. Guess this is the place. Wow, it’s someone’s apartment. Pretty cool! The guy who confirmed that this was indeed the location cheerfully walks in with me and points out the drawing room. Oh my. This room is

Much
Much
Smaller

than the pictures I saw on their website. I think my living room’s about as big.

“Oh, no, I don’t need an easel or anything. I’m actually gonna be the guy up there,” I say to the guy as I point to the podium. Awesome! He didn’t barf in his mouth or anything!

I walk back out into the living room and try to look as distinguished as one can get for someone who’s about to be naked in about 15 minutes. Hmm, is that the woman who booked me? (Yes, I’m Jason. It’s so great to meet you! Hope I didn’t needle you with the jillion questions I emailed you over the week). Whew, she’s friendly! Not that I expected otherwise, but I’ve worked with one or two taciturn people before, and when you factor in the whole not wearing clothes thing, it can get intimidating.

She’s giving me the run of the place and shows me where I can get changed. (Yay, she said I was “prepared”!) I’m sweating bullets. Man, it’s hot out. I should have never worn a suit. Honestly, what was I thinking? It’s all coming off anyways.

10 minutes until kickoff. Time to get ready (oh good, the bathroom’s free!). Jesus, I never realized until today how long it takes to get a suit off. I am never wearing a suit if I know I have to model, ever again! Grr, why do I sweat so much? And it’s always along the eyebrows. I swear I’m gonna shave those fuckers off. We’ll see who sweats like a beer bottle now. But if I do that, it’s gonna look weird, so I probably gotta shave my head and douse myself in frankincense oil like some ancient Egyptian dude. All right, time to slide on the robe. Oops, gotta brush the hair! How do I look? Overweight and sweaty. And nervous.

Deep breath. Okay, let’s give ‘em what they came to see!

It’s only what, 30 feet from the bathroom to the podium? It’s so crowded that it feels like the male equivalent of the walk of shame. EVERYONE knows the bathrobe's coming off. Maybe that’s why I wore a suit, at least subconsciously. It’s like a suit of armor compared to the bathrobe, or bare flesh for that matter. Thank God they’re not looking at me. Yeah, they’re cool. They’re professionals. This is a walk in the park for them. So I’ll just chill by the podium for a bit. “Yeah, sure, I can wait for a few more minutes while people settle in.” What I wanted to say was “Yeah, sure, I’m scared shitless. Take all the time you need.”

Wow, I’m one of probably three people who could tell you what Betamax was, or actually tasted New Coke, or could recite the Big Mac song (two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun!). And everyone’s in better shape than I am (can I run out and get a sledgehammer and knock the back wall out and add about another 20 feet of length to the room?).

Three 5-minute gestures? That’s not what you wife said. Better check. Hmm, looks like some people do want to do gestures. Yup, I’ll do 10 one-minute gestures!

Here’s where the magic begins. Here’s where I can never undo that fucking knot in less than 10 seconds. I swear, it’s not like I set out to tie a knot like I’m auditioning for the Coast Guard. *Awkward* This is totally, utterly surreal. There’s gotta be about 15 people in a room the size of my living room, most of whom are about 10 years younger than me, ALL of whom are in better shape, and it’s so packed, several are no more than two or three feet in front of me. And of course the ones I can practically reach out and touch are women. Why do I do this again?

Because it’s a zen kinda thing, as I finally free the knot, shed the robe, gently set it off to the side, and kick off my flip flops.

Damn! Even with the portable A/C clocking in at 68 degrees, I’m almost literally sweating my balls off, joy of joys. This is ridiculous. I’m the only person not wearing any clothes whatsoever, so why am I the only one who’s dying?

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m keepin’ the time in my head.” (Sweet, he seemed happy about that!). “Yup, got a timer for the longer poses too.” You learned your little lesson about forgetting your timer a few months ago, didn’t you? “15” minute pose my ass! Hell, I think my legs are still asleep from that one!

I like this podium. Not as hard as the ones at the art school, but not as soft as the ones at that other drawing group. Soft enough to be comfortable, but not soft enough to where I’m almost losing my balance. I can actually plant my feet down and do some strenuous poses without it feeling like I’m on one of those inflatable moonwalk thingies.

Break time! Damn, it feels so good to stretch out! Okay, I’m a bit nervous. Usually one or two people either compliment me or come up and ask me questions. (Oh shit! They hate me!) All right. Gotta suck it up. Another hour and a half and I’m a free man. Not everyone’s gonna love me. But I’m a professional, and I’ve got to finish the job.

Time passes. I’m really feeling my A-game today! I’m coming up with creative stuff and I feel like my poses are really, really steady. I know I’m my own worst critic, that even when I’ve been complimented on my statue-in-the-park ability, it feels like my muscles want me to buck like a bronco. But I’m pushing the envelope with some of my poses, and I’m holding steady. And my body’s finally adjusted to the room temperature. “Yeah, I can do a seated pose!” (Thanks for saying I’m tall!). “Do you want one long pose, or do you want another pose after the break?” (Okay, you’ll vote on it).

Ahhhhhhhh! So nice to sit down, and this chair’s really comfy. Love that they put a few pillows on it. Thanks for thinking of the model. You try sitting bare-assed on a metal stool for 20 minutes without moving and tell me how it feels. But this is nice! Time to get settled in, aaaaaaand we’re off! Uh oh… this particular pose with this particular cushioning is pressing on my sweet spot the exact same way it did that one other time. And Russell got a bit more animated than I would’ve liked him to. Granted, they didn’t say anything about it that one time (hell, they invited me back). Shit, they’ve already started drawing. Can’t adjust now. Welp, just have to hope for the best.

One hour left to go. Man, I could get used to these two-hour sessions. Start later, less work, it’s like modeling had an affair with French labor laws. This beats three-hour sessions hands down! Ugh, I’m getting that blurry thing going where half of my vision’s picking up the bright lights and the other half’s picking up the shading. Definitely gonna have to keep myself from nodding off. Don’t wanna fall asleep in the chair like last month (man, I’m glad I woke up before I fell over!)

Oh no. Nononononononono! I’m just dreaming. It’s not moving. It, it, it’s just the temperature change, that’s it! Yup, just gettin’ acclimated to the A/C kickin’ on. Doo dee doo dee doo! La la la la la la laAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH!

Fuck.

My.

Life!

Oh, god, they’re gonna think I’m some sort of horrible pervert! What the hell should I do! It’s not like I can break pose and look down and size up the damage *facepalm!* Half mast? Full banner? Damned if I know. All right, it’s the position, not my libido. I’ll just hold pose and if someone shits a brick, I’ll apologize. I’ve talked with other models about this before and, well, it just happens once in a blue moon. Everyone knows it can happen and it’s not a big deal and why oh why can’t I shut off my internal dialogue and why oh why won’t you just go away?!? FUCK! I bitch about how some models are so unprofessional they’ll expose themselves deliberately up on the podium. It’s a job. It’s not date night. Not cool! Am I a hypocrite or a victim? Okay, reality check. I’ve got my hands in front of me, and I’m sitting at an angle. No one can probably see anything anyway. Ahhh… I think this is about the 20-minute mark. Yup, the one where I lose all feeling from the waist down due to numbness and lack of circulation.

*Beep beep! Beep beep!*

Dear god, I am SORE! Damn it! Why the hell did I have to pick a checkerprint robe? I can never find which way’s up the first time! Okay, there we go. Mmm… time for some stretching and kneading of the muscles. This is so awkward. Everyone’s soooo close! I don’t like making eye contact because frankly it reeks of something some shitbag PUA would do, and this room is so small that I basically have to look aloof by staring up at the ceiling.

“Yup, I’m ready for the last pose? Did you all want the same pose or a different one? The same? Okay! Feel free to guide me if I didn’t get back into exactly the same position and you’re seeing something you don’t like.” Hmm… no one said anything. Cool. So tired. So very, very tired. My eyes are starting to lose focus, and that’s exactly when I start to feel sleepy. Only 20 more minutes. You can do this Jason!

*Beep beep! Beep beep!*

Okay, seriously? For once, I swear I will learn to stop fumbling with the damn robe! Well, time to go get dressed. Okay, first I swear I’m going to start bringing shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops to work so I can change into something more comfortable before I model. I hate getting back into a sweaty shirt and sweaty socks, I don’t care how many times I’ve done it. Okay, hair looks good, suit looks good. Do I have everything in my bag? Great. Anything left in the bathroom? Nope. Time to punch out and get paid.

Okay, I’m nervous. I mean, I don’t know what I was expecting. It’s not like they’re gonna charge me as I come out from the bathroom and give me a bouquet of flowers like I swept the Emmys or something. But they’re just sitting off to the side and making small talk. All right, time to do the whole eye contact thing. Are they happy? Are they unhappy? Do they want me back? Do they never want to see me again? Okay, this isn’t like my credit card statement where you just scroll down really quickly and hit the payment button.

“You got some REALLY great comments from the artists today!” she said.

(OMG really?!? Seriously?!? I mean, I know I gave it my all, but I was sooooo nervous!)

“Really? Why thank you! That really means a lot to me!” No bullshit. I’m totally flattered at this point!

“And we’ll definitely put you on the schedule for future sessions! We have a few openings in July, so I’ll send you an email tomorrow to see which day you want.”

Oh man! Not only did I pass the chemistry exam, I passed with flying colors, and got paid $50 in cold, hard cash. I gave it my all, and they wanted to have me back!

I can’t remember the journey home. I think I floated back. And I know I was definitely dancing to my iPod waiting for the Metro at Farragut West.