artists take a variety of approaches to drawing the human figure. they may draw from live models or from photographs, from skeletal models, or from memory and imagination. most instruction focuses on the use of models in "life drawing" courses. the use of photographic reference—although common since the development of photography—is often criticized or discouraged for its tendency to produce "flat" images that fail to capture the dynamic aspects of the subject. drawing from imagination is often lauded for the expressiveness it encourages, and criticized for the inaccuracies introduced by the artist's lack of knowledge or limited memory in visualizing the human figure; the experience of the artist with other methods has a large influence on the effectiveness of this approach.