Yes anatomy drawing is a little different from life drawing. I should know I modeled for both. For the most part anatomy drawing is a detailed study of the body structure, including bones and muscles, not just drawing model poses like in life drawing classes. And unlike life drawing where body shape doesn’t matter too much, for anatomy classes they usually prefer fit or lean female models, and male models who are fit and lean with good muscle definition, this helps the students see the muscles and body structure better. And also preferably no tattoos since its distracting when studying the anatomy. If this describes you this then you are a good candidate to model for these type of classes.

Okay here’s what went down for my first anatomy class modeling. Once they hired me they let me know in advance which classroom to show up to. Keep in mind not all classes are the same, for me this is the way it came about…. First after the preliminary class discussion, the professor had me disrobe off to the side and I walked up to the front of classroom and stand nude facing the whole class. He had me stand next to a skelaton and some anatomical charts. The first time I did this, walking nude to the front of the classroom I was so nervous.Then seeing all those students stare back at me as I stood there completely naked in front of them, it made me even more nervous, and I felt this big lump in my throat. At those first few minutes after I stepped up, everyone sitting in class was looking at every inch of my nude body up and down and I just had to stand there and face them as they did. I felt like covering up and hidding but at this point it was too late, so I just had to take it and let them continue to look me over. So I just did some slow focused breathing to help calm me down, it worked a bit, I was still nervous but not as much.

The important part is; even if you are nervous you musn’t let it show or the class will be uncomfortable looking at you and you won’t make a good model. The hardest part for me was those first several minutes of being naked and facing the class while they all stared back at me for a prolonged period. I wasn’t expecting this, I thought would be doing different poses and have something to focus my attention on, instead I had to face the whole class with everyones’s eyes focusing on me while I stood there naked. Most people get self-consciouss having a room full of people stare at them while they are clothed, imagine being totally naked and facing a room full of people while everyone of them is intently studying your nude body while you are having to stand still as they are looking at you. Not to discourage you or anything, but something to keep in mind to see if you are to do this. Although its not really as bad as it seems, I’m laying it straight because not everyone is cut out for this.

As the lessons started the professor went comparing my body to the skelaton and some charts, talking to the class about body porportion and all the stuff that goes with the human figure, and every so often he would draw on the board. Also he would make me move an arm or lift a leg to show how the joints work. After that, and throughout the lesson, he would have the class focus on my individual body parts. He would draw attention to a certain part and discuss its details. This felt weird at first, like they were really scrutinizing every part of my body, and talking about me like I wasn’t there. He would say thinks like look at her collar bone how its angled this way, or see her hips how it situated this way, and so on. But I realized its nothing personal, they are discussing my body from the anatomical perspective, its not about me personally. So basically you have to be okay with the whole class studying and discussing your body parts in detail while you stand there naked. So your body becomes like a living nude textbook for the class to study. Don’t worry though, most all the students act very mature and respectful, they may discuss about you, but they won’t make fun of you.

So I pretty much stood naked in front of the class for like an hour before the first break. So you’re basically looking to be standing nude in front of a class for about an hour at a time while they study your body and the instructor talks about it. After the break it was pretty much the same thing, except this time the professor had me face to the wall and have my rear facing the class, so the students could study my backside. Again the same thing, he would discuss the porportions and what have you, and then talk about the individual body parts. He even discussed my gluteal area (the buttocks) and I was waiting for maybe some chuckles from the class, but no one did, all the students were very mature and professional about everything. After that was over, he had me turn to face my side to the students, and it pretty much went down the same way. So the class pretty much viewed me all around from all angles. So keep in mind they will be studying and turning you around to view all sides of your nude body. You basically are providing a them valuable tool of having a living anatomical example to study from. After that he had the students draw me till the end of the class. When the class was over I got dressed, the professor thanked me for doing a good job which I appreciated, and that was it. The other class sessions that came after were somewhat similar, except there was more drawing on the part of the students, and sometimes I took up different posses to highlight some muscle group or bones, not just stand straight the whole time. And goes with out saying that in all the sessions I modeled nude.

After the first session modeling was a lot easier to deal with. Basically I was only nervous the first time out presenting myself naked in front of everyone. And I think the nervousness was mainly in your head. The hardest part is actually staying still. Some extra tips are: Don’t make eye contact with the students, its uncomfortable for them and it may make you even more nervous. Face them but try not to make eye contact. Also learn some relaxed breathing or yoga, it will help you stay still and relaxed. Don’t take anything they say about your body personally, they are discussing the human anatomy not you in particular. Get to class 15 minutes early so you can prepare, and get with the instructor to find out what you have to do. Most importantly, stand still, don’t fidget, no one likes a fidgety model.

That’s pretty much how it went for me. I hope I didn’t scare you or anything, just trying to prepare you for what to expect. Besides its only really nerve-wracking the first time you are nude in front of everyone, it gets easier after that. And hopefully what I said here can prepare you so you won’t be as nervous as I was. Bottom line is; you have to make yourself be okay with standing totally naked in front of a room full of people while they observe you, and discuss about your nude body in detail. And like I said its not personal when they talk about you, its about the aspects of human anatomy. Even if sometimes it feels like they are talking about you, they are not, at least not on a personal level. Besides all the students try to be respectful and treat you well, and most of them are very appreciative as well. They are there to learn about the human anatomy and your job is to help them do that.

Although sometimes for me personally, some doubts would set in, like I’d be standing naked in front of everyone and sometimes I would think whether thay are silently judging me and critiquing my naked body in their heads. When that happened I just had to push those thoughts out of my head, and not take anything personally. And even if they were doing that theres nothing to do about it except to be yourself. Besides I don’t think most students did that, I think they really respect the models for the service we provide, most of them know they haven’t got passed their inhibitons or have the confidence to be able to model nude in front of a class like we do. All in all, I really enjoyed art modeling. It made me really comfortable with my body and have a better self-image to where it no longer phased me to be nude in front of entire classes, and whenever they discussed about my body I was totally okay with it.

Sorry for rambling on too long, I wanted to give as much detail like you requested. I hoped this helped you, if you have any more questions let me know, I’ll try to answer them.