Episode 18: Art Student’s Part-time Job
Professor’s research office.
The printmaking assistant professor was sitting and admiring Kang Lim’s work.
Usually, the goal of material science classes is to learn how to handle materials, so students don’t pour their ideas into creating things.
But Kang Lim was a bit different from the other students. No, he was very different.
He didn’t draw from photo references, and to think he created this piece in such a short time?
“How many copies will you print?”
Hmm, how many would be good? Kang Lim pondered.
The rarity and price of a print change significantly depending on how many copies are made.
“About 30 copies?”
“Oh… that’s quite a few. Can I have the first edition number 1? I want to include it in the textbook.”
“Yes, of course. It would be an honor for me.”
The example works in the art textbooks I saw as a child. I wondered who made them, and it turns out people like me print them… I felt like I had grown quite a bit.
“It will be included in the high school art textbook! I’ll give you the book as soon as it’s out. See you next time.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
What… Is that it? Isn’t there any payment for this? The cost of materials…?
Even as he looked around a bit anxiously, the assistant professor continued to smile brightly.
It was clear that there would be no additional compensation.
“…Goodbye.”
Hiding his slight disappointment, Kang Lim left the classroom.
Well, at least it’s getting published.
Shortly after, Yoon Hyun, who was in charge of anatomy, suddenly opened the door and came in.
“Oh. Professor, you’re here?”
He looked urgent, holding coffee in his left hand and a bunch of drawing books in his right.
He had opened the door with his foot.
“Oh my… it must be tough to evaluate all that.”
Yoon Hyun sighed as he piled the assignments he brought on the desk like a tower.
The notebooks were filled with bones and muscles drawn and submitted by the students.
“Ha… indeed. There’s so much. But what’s that?”
“It’s a printmaking piece submitted as an assignment. Doesn’t it look like it’s from a student?”
Kang Lim’s drawing was reflected in Yoon Hyun’s eyes.
A city enclosed in an unknown dome-like substance with roads stretching into the air.
Bizarrely shaped cars that looked like waves or wind were speeding on those roads.
The gentle strokes suddenly gave way to rough lines, making it feel like the wind from the road was stinging your cheeks.
“Oh… did he draw a futuristic city? That’s amazing.”
“Yes. I don’t know how he could draw such a city.”
“Indeed… looking at the road panels, it’s not just imagined.”
Yoon Hyun recalled an article he read a few days ago.
It was about a state-of-the-art road developed in Russia.
It was designed for unmanned cars to run at speeds over 300 km/h, and uniquely, it was made of hexagonal tile panels that could be assembled.
“My goodness, he drew the detailed structure of those panels exactly. This is like an SF drawing… It’s an imaginative drawing referenced from technology…”
“What? What is?”
“Never mind.”
As Yoon Hyun carefully observed each drawing, things he hadn’t noticed before came into view.
The assistant professor continued to praise the drawings, not noticing Yoon Hyun’s slightly parted lips.
“Actually, the content is one thing, but the drawing technique is unique too. Usually, in shading, the parts where light doesn’t reach are treated dark. But this student reversed that concept. This technique is used in oriental painting, but doing it in printmaking makes the line quality very unique and interesting.”
“Indeed… that’s why it has such a sweeping feel.”
“I think he’s done well on other assignments too. Check his anatomy notebook!”
“What’s his name?”
“Kang Lim.”
Yoon Hyun immediately put down his coffee and rummaged through the notebooks submitted by the students.
The thickest notebook had Kang Lim’s student ID and name written on it.
He quickly took it out and opened it, leaning forward instinctively.
Page by page…
As he flipped through the densely drawn materials, his throat felt tight.
After inhaling deeply and calming his excitement, Yoon Hyun spoke.
“I finally found a student worthy of being an assistant.”
After lunch, Kang Lim moved to the E-building lecture hall.
For the anatomy class, all he needed was a drawing book, a pencil, and an eraser.
Today was the day they would finally draw from a live model.
Typically, the anatomy class spends nearly a month on theory lessons.
You need to understand the shape of bones to avoid drawing unrealistic movements, and you need to understand the function of muscles to draw lively expressions that show through the skin.
‘There were so many assignments… If I had drawn carefully while checking each one, I wouldn’t have been able to complete them all. I’m glad I studied anatomy in advance.’
No matter how well the professor teaches, students can’t fully keep up.
The human body is too complex to memorize unless you decide to study it like a medical student.
‘But I can remember things after seeing them once.’
Kang Lim passed through the campus lightly.
Until he heard the assistant calling from behind.
“Rim! Wait a minute!”
When he turned around, the assistant was running towards him, out of breath.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Oh, I didn’t get any calls.”
“Huh. Did I get the number wrong? Is this it?”
Kang Lim looked at the phone screen.
There was a mistake.
“It’s not 11 at the end, it’s 77.”
“Oh… that’s why you didn’t answer.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“Professor Koo Haeyoung is looking for you. Go to the research office after class.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t forget, you must go!”
“Of course.”
It was something very important.
Why is he looking for me? The thought of a one-on-one meeting made him swallow nervously.
Koo Haeyoung’s charisma was that strong.
When he entered the classroom at the end of the corridor, all the windows were covered with black cloth.
This was to prevent other students from peeking in and to consider the psychological comfort of the model.
On days when a nude model is called, the model’s comfort must be prioritized.
‘On a day like this, being late is especially unacceptable.’
Since the front center seat was the only one left, perhaps because the model’s gaze was burdensome, Kang Lim sat there.
Next to him was Seoyeon.
“Wow… sitting in the center. As expected of Seoyeon, you face it head-on!”
“Be quiet… I had no other choice; this was the only seat left.”
“Haha-“
It was fun to tease Seoyeon, who had diverse expressions.
‘Indeed, at this age, art students find it a bit difficult to look at nude models.’
When the human body is exposed under bright fluorescent lights, it’s not very beautiful.
True beauty comes from the situation and atmosphere.
The standards of beauty are subjective as well.
Shortly after, Yoon Hyun entered and immediately focused the students’ attention.
He didn’t even call the roll today.
“Today, since we have a model, please be quiet.”
“Yes.”
As tension filled the classroom, Yoon Hyun guided the male model who was by the door to the center of the room.
“We will start as soon as you take off your gown.”
The first anatomy drawing class usually starts with a male model.
Because female bodies have more body fat, making it difficult to properly observe the muscle structure.
As the model took off his gown and stood in the center, Yoon Hyun placed blue and red stickers on the model’s body.
Red stickers were placed on the prominent muscles of the upper body, while blue stickers were placed on the prominent muscles of the lower body in order.
As he placed the stickers, Yoon Hyun looked at the students who were blankly staring at the model.
He never had high expectations for the students.
‘If only they can capture the major muscles, I would have no other wish…’
After placing the final sticker on the vastus medialis, he spoke.
“The reason we have a male model is particularly because of these thigh muscles. Men have stronger and thicker muscles, so you can clearly see the vastus muscles and the divided adductor muscles, whereas women mostly have subcutaneous fat in their lower body, showing only a soft skin texture.”
“…?”
“This model has particularly distinct vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris. You all know this, right? Can you see it here?”
“…….”
Even though they had all learned this, they all had expressions of ‘When?’ ‘What is he talking about?’
Except for one person.
‘Let’s see their skills… If the assignments were drawn with understanding and not just memorized, they should be able to capture all the muscles even when the pose changes.’
Normally, they would imagine the skeleton inside the model, draw it, then draw each muscle, and finally draw the skin surface.
But, he was too curious about Kang Lim’s skills to proceed step by step.
“Today, think of it as a casual test and drawing session. When the model strikes a pose, you should recall the major muscles in your mind and draw.”
“Yes…….”
“We’ll review the bones and muscles by looking at the model again later. Next semester, we will also have female models and do quick 3-minute croquis.”
“3, 3 minutes?”
“Today, I’ll give you 15 minutes per pose. Since the model might get tired, we’ll take breaks after two poses. Of course, you know you can’t leave the room during breaks, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Let’s start now. Take a free pose.”
At Yoon Hyun’s signal, the model turned around, raised both arms, and twisted his waist.
It was a pose where the weight was shifted to the left leg by slightly resting on the right leg.
After stretching his arms as if yawning, the model froze in position.
Swish, swish.
With a serious look, Kang Lim observed the model.
‘It’s a difficult pose to draw. Especially since the spine is deep within the torso, making subtle movements hard to capture, and the students have probably never seen their own backs.’
People are familiar with frequently seen forms.
Therefore, drawing a back view is harder than drawing a front view.
‘It looks simple, but it’s hard to capture the fine muscles.’
After 10 minutes.
Yoon Hyun, expecting the drawings to be somewhat complete, walked among the students.
But what he saw was far from complete.
The proportions were a bit off, and they were struggling.
‘It’s their first time, so it can’t be helped…’
Passing by Seoyeon, who was diligently drawing with a frown and pouting lips, he approached Kang Lim’s seat.
‘As expected… this kid is different. He never disappoints me.’
Kang Lim was capturing the subtle movements of the muscles with graceful lines and varying strength.
The tilt of the ribcage and the delicate depiction of the spine clearly showed the model’s skeletal structure.
Scratch, scratch.
The sharp and precise lines dug into the paper as if separating bone from flesh.
“Alright. 15 minutes have passed. Change the pose!”
Even as the model changed poses, Kang Lim’s eyes remained focused.
In a state of intense concentration.
As the model turned forward and took a deep breath,
the soft pencil lines quickly followed the model’s movements.
Swish, swish.
The flow of air entering the mouth and nose was transferred to the notebook.
The expansion of the ribcage as the air filled the lungs was also captured.
So detailed that it felt like you could sense the pressure inside and outside the chest.
Once again, quickly.
Drawing soft joints, then suddenly sketching a strong horizontal line across the shoulders.
It was the collarbone.
Yoon Hyun was surprised and instinctively asked a question.
“Oh, but why did you give such a strong contrast to the collarbone? To create a sense of distance?”
Momentarily distracted from his concentration, Kang Lim turned around.
He hadn’t even noticed the professor.
“Oh, no. The model is likely left-handed. As you know, the collarbone changes shape with movement. The curve of the left bone looks more pronounced. If there’s this much difference, he might have been an athlete…”
The model, surprised by Kang Lim’s observation, widened his eyes and spoke.
“Wow. I’m left-handed. I used to do shot put.”
“……!”
He had noticed something even Yoon Hyun hadn’t.
Who would have guessed that the slender model had thrown shot put?
Such impressive observational skills!
Yoon Hyun asked urgently.
“Student… would you be interested in drawing medical illustrations?”
“Yes?”
His dream of turning assignments into a part-time job had come true.
