Artistic improvement and astral pole dancers

So I've been doing a fair amount of practicing as of late. Most of it is with physical media, and since it's primarily just exercises I probably won't be uploading any of them to DeviantArt, but I did want to share some things I've noticed have been pretty helpful.

I've been trying to focus on figure drawing for now, since I ultimately want to draw characters and while my faces have improved tremendously my bodies still need work (particularly with proportions). The golden standard for this of course is drawing live nude models, and in the past I actually went to figure drawing sessions hosted by a local art shop, and others in the art school of a nearby college. Now though I've discovered a youtube channel that films nude models for the purpose of these drawing exercises, and I've been using that. It's called the Croquis Cafe and it can be found here if you're interested: www.youtube.com/channel/UCAZZ8…

Those exercises were great and all, but there was something missing. I didn't just want to draw figures, I wanted to draw characters. So I started observing moving people and trying to do very quick sketches to capture their feel and motion. It was really tough at first, but I've been getting better and better at it. The site that suggested this exercise also suggested it be done in something more permanent than pencil, so I used a marker. I was surprised how much of a difference it made when I knew I couldn't just erase a line; I had avoided drawing in pen because I hate the idea of ruining an otherwise good picture with one mistake, but I've found it really helps to keep me focused on being fast rather than being perfect, which is what the exercise is all about.

Finally, I've found a way to blend those two exercises (as well as giving me some dramatic lighting/shading practice), and I found it in the most unlikely of places: a music video a friend of mine showed me on New Years. My friend described said video as an "infinite astral pole dancer pole," and that's basically what it is. I found, though, that observing and drawing the various dancers really helped my grasp of the human figure, motion, and unique poses in general (also, the dancers are really impressive and I quite enjoy the music). I'd actually recommend it to anyone who's interested in practicing those concepts. The music video in question can be seen here: