One of the items we received for Christmas this year was a subscription to Vanity Fair magazine.  Other than knowing the name of the publication, I didn’t really know much about it before now.  Having now received and read two or three issues, I can say two things: it’s a good magazine, and it’s a weird magazine.  A typical issue might contain a lengthy political article by someone well-known, like say, Maureen Dowd; a few other “serious” essays; a photo spread of some half-naked movie star; and about a thousand fashion ads, several of which are those stinky perfume ads.  It’s hard to know quite what the magazine’s focus is, but given that I like all of the above things (other than the ads), I’ve been for the most part enjoying having an issue arrive every month.

Now to the important part, though: is the magazine any good as sketchbook fodder?  For hands, no.  Most of the hands featured in the magazine tend to be found in fashion ads and are usually stiff and posed, as opposed to the more natural hand gestures I usually doodle from in Time magazine.  Vanity Fair, though, does present ample opportunity for me to work on one of my other weak areas: drapery and folds.  Here’re a few examples from the last few days: