Using human models to draw the human figure is a way for art majors to practice drawing the fundamental details of the body.

Students draw models with and without clothing, and art department faculty are searching for people interested in earning money as a model.

The models that the department uses are considered university employees. Models who pose clothed earn $7.95 per hour, and models who pose nude receive $8.95 per hour, said Sangram Majumdar, an assistant professor of art.

Art students drawing the models can be a little uneasy in the first class using a life model.

“The first day, you’re kind of nervous because you want to do the models justice in your drawing. But after a while, you get used to it and begin to see the advantages that the nude models bring to the work,” said senior Sam Servais, an art major.

Live models are changing the way students look at art, Starck said.

“The living figure provides us with the opportunity to observe the body in motion, as well as actual bony and muscle landmarks,” said Sandra Starck, an assistant professor of art who uses live models in her class. “As you draw the human figure, knowing and using these landmarks as points of reference will naturally help you to gain greater anatomical accuracy.”

Majumdar has nude models pose in sessions for half a semester in his figure drawing classes.

“All persons of all ages, sizes and shapes are greatly appreciated by artists and educators,” Starck said. “One necessary ability is that of being able to hold a pose exceptionally still for at least 20 minutes or more.

Modeling is more physically challenging than it may first appear; it takes focus and determination, Majumdar said.

“The model not only is the subject, but also sometimes affects what types of drawings the students produce through the poses they assume,” he said.