I’ve done life drawing before, but this time I am a bit worried. The woman across the room from me has done life drawing too, “but not with dogs”.

The problem with drawing people from life is they tend to move. The same is true of greyhounds, but they also don’t understand when you ask them to hold a pose.

As I enter TKO Tattoos, where greyhound life drawing classes are held once a month or so, I’m greeted by a white whippet wearing a fetching yellow, blue and black striped jumper. “That’s Fettuccine,” says TK, the parlour’s owner.

We’re in Eltham, about 20km north of Melbourne’s centre, in a small industrial building set back from the road. The walls are lined with tattoo designs and other art, many of them stylised greyhounds. “I’ve always wanted my own little art studio,” says TK.

Host TK with their whippet Fettuccine. Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

Finding I have no treats, Fettuccine loses interest and wanders towards the back of the studio to join the other star of the show. Nina, a smallish black greyhound, is lounging on a plush red cushion. She’s wearing a floral yellow collar and a jumper that matches Fettuccine’s – even inside, the weather is brisk.

Whippets and greyhounds look similar, with long, narrow heads and thin, muscular bodies. Whippets tend to be smaller than greyhounds. And, unlike greyhounds, they aren’t raced commercially in Australia, only by hobbyists.

Fettuccine the whippet strikes a pose. Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

TK’s mum rescued greyhounds, so they’ve lived with these dogs since childhood. Now they host classes to raise money for Greyt Greys, the rescue service through which they adopted Nina.

Victoria has one of the largest greyhound racing industries in the world, with thousands of dogs needing rehabilitation and good homes each year. This life drawing fundraiser sold out in about two days.

I take one of the seats oriented around Nina’s cushion as about 20 other artists file in – Fettuccine greeting every single person at the door.

One of Josh Nicholas’s sketches. Illustration: Josh Nicholas/The Guardian

There’s a wide mix, including some who have never taken a life drawing class. But there’s plenty of greyhound lovers.

“There are six greyhound ‘faces’,” explains Charlotte, sitting next to me. She has owned four greyhounds over the years; her current two dogs “have the same face”.

It’s my first of many lessons about greyhounds over the next two hours – such as did you know some greyhounds have translucent legs? It’s a skin flap on the back, really. I try hard but can’t see it. Maybe it’s just the way Nina is sitting.

Greyhound Nina sprawls on a plush red cushion. Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

I do some warm-up sketches of Fettuccine as he does the rounds, diligently investigating our bags for any undeclared treats. I keep drawing his face too narrow and mucking up the angle and curve of his hind legs.

Someone hisses: “They’re just goofy-shaped animals!” That’s it! Have you ever noticed how weirdly shaped whippets are? Someone else mentions a “reverse chicken leg”. This may not be correct anatomically, but just about nails the problem.

Fettuccine does the rounds during the class, investigating participants’ bags for treats. Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

I switch over to Nina, who is facing me with her front paws off the end of the cushion. She has gorgeous, deep-brown eyes that are hard not to stare into. She’s five years old, says TK’s partner Leah, who has Nina’s leash clipped on to her belt. Nina “was intended to race”, but they don’t know whether she made it on to a track, she says.

By my second attempt, Nina has shifted to face away from me. I draw the long sweep of her belly, all the way around her leg. Mostly from memory, as she keeps moving. Do greyhounds’ knees always point away from them when they lay down? Are those even knees? This leads to a heated group discussion.

‘I draw the long sweep of her belly, all the way around her leg.’ Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

“I keep drawing and thinking: this can’t be right! But no, that’s how she’s actually sitting,” says Emma, Charlotte’s partner. “I’ve just been ignoring the paws.”

So have I – they’re a very complicated shape with lots of joints. TK saves us with cards they’ve drawn of greyhound body parts, showing how to use circles and other shapes to construct the joints. It definitely helps.

If you’ve ever learned to draw a human head via the Loomis method, or break down the human body into a series of stacked boxes, then you’ve seen this approach. The Loomis method starts a drawing of a head with a circle and uses that to work out the facial features. Similarly, you can think of a greyhound’s head as a circle with a cone attached. The joints in their lower legs and paws are a series of circles you slowly flesh out into a cylinder.

Nicholas’s subject is prone to moving. Illustration: Josh Nicholas/The Guardian

By my sixth sketch we’re winding down. We leave our drawings on our chairs and take a tour round the room. There’s a huge variety of sketches, including some incredible, quick renderings in pencil and charcoal.

In the end, I’m not overjoyed with any of my drawings. But it’s not because of Nina and Fettuccine’s reverse chicken legs, or that they wouldn’t sit still. I just need practice. Perhaps a lot of it. And I’ll remember to bring treats for Fettuccine next time.

Josh Nicholas (centre back) and the other life drawing participants show off their sketches. Photograph: Charlie Kinross/The Guardian

• TKO Tattoos’ next greyhound life drawing fundraiser is on 8 August at 10.30am at the Round Shader Club in Eltham, Melbourne.