Life Drawing: The Body (FINA10036)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Southbank)
About this subject
Contact information
Semester 1
Semester 2
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | Semester 1 Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This Breadth subject uses life drawing to explore the human body as a subject. It will explore how we visually perceive the human body, how we think about the body and how we theorise the body within art practice.
Within the practical studio classes students will be introduced to drawing through the foundational skills of observation and drawing techniques. These skills will be developed and extended so that students are able to explore and visually articulate their observations of the human body with increasing sophistication and complexity.
Lectures will introduce the history of the human body in art, focusing on the particular role that drawing the human body has played from pre-history to the present day. This will enable students to contextualise their own drawing practice, extending their conceptual understandings of the body and drawing, and assisting towards essay preparation.
At the completion of “Life Drawing: The Body” students should have a foundational understanding of drawing practice with knowledge and skills enabling them to visually communicate the human body as a subject.
Though this subject is designed for students who have little or no previous art making experience, it will also suit students who have previously undertaken a visual art Breadth subject or similar.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- demonstrate drawing skills required to effectively represent the figure from direct observation;
- discuss how the human body has been represented in both art historical and contemporary art;
- use pictorial and technical experimentation to explore visual and conceptual ideas relevant to the representation of the human body;
- produce original images leading to materially and conceptually developed artworks;
- demonstrate independent research in the field of figurative art;
- evaluate technical processes, creative outcomes and their own development.
Generic skills
On completion of this subject students should be able to:
- display an awareness of the graphic possibilities of a variety of concepts, materials and practices;
- exhibit evidence of skill development both pictorially and technically as a means of independent image making;
- indicate evidence of individual research in the relevant area of practice;
- demonstrate capacities for artistic imagination, creativity, transformation and interpretation;
- demonstrate practical skills in respect of critical analysis, problem solving;
- demonstrate an open, independent and inquiring attitude towards contemporary cultural developments and new ideas.
Last updated: 9 April 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 9 April 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Written Assignment
| Second half of the teaching period | 25% |
Folio, including all projects, finished drawing and paintings, trials, all life drawings, support work, visual diary, research and notes created throughout the subject.
| During the assessment period | 75% |
| Hurdle requirement: Students must submit all elements of assessment to be eligible for a pass in this subject. For the purposes of meeting this hurdle requirement, each submitted assessment must be complete and constitute a genuine attempt to address the requirements of the task. Submitting only part of an assessment (e.g. only the title page) or an assessment on an irrelevant topic will not meet this hurdle requirement. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
| Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of all scheduled classes. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Ongoing feedback is provided to students through the subject's duration via individual and group discussion. Additionally, a progress review will take place midway through the course, taking into account the following criteria: course engagement; work development.
Last updated: 9 April 2025
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Coordinator Colleen Ahern Mode of delivery On Campus (Southbank) Contact hours 36 hours, comprising 3 hours of on-campus lectures and workshop content per week Total time commitment 136 hours Teaching period 26 February 2024 to 26 May 2024 Last self-enrol date 8 March 2024 Census date 3 April 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 3 May 2024 Assessment period ends 21 June 2024 Semester 1 contact information
- Semester 2
Coordinator Colleen Ahern Mode of delivery On Campus (Southbank) Contact hours 36 hours, comprising 3 hours of on-campus lectures and workshop content per week Total time commitment 136 hours Teaching period 22 July 2024 to 20 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 2 August 2024 Census date 2 September 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 15 November 2024 Semester 2 contact information
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Additional delivery details
Quota
This subject has an enrolment quota of 88 students per availability, and places are limited. Places will be allocated until the quota is reached. Enrolment in this subject is not guaranteed.
Breadth Studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
Breadth studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music allow students from a variety of backgrounds to continue their interest in the arts or develop new skills and passions alongside their undergraduate degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the Victorian College of the Arts. Read More >
Enquire about this Breadth subject: vca-breadth@unimelb.edu.au
Last updated: 9 April 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Incidental costs
- Related Handbook entries
- Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 9 April 2025