Studio Art-P7

Drawing the Figure: Gesture Drawings

Most gesture drawings are sloppy, inaccurate, and for practice only. That's what
they are meant to be. They are to help the artist "loosen up" and not obsess on
details so much. When an artist obsesses on details, they don't always get the
animated, fluid pose of the model.
Gesture Drawing is a great way for anyone interested in learning to draw at a
beginner level and an advanced level. You don't need to know a thing about drawing
the figure to make great gestures, but even if you have some experience, the
practice will only help to train/expand your observational skills.

Action Drawing-Gesture Drawing

Gesture drawing can exist on two levels - action drawing, and gesture drawing. Both
involve the principle of movement. However, action drawing deals with physical
movement; and gesture drawing involves not only physical movement, but a deeper
concept of essential identity, as well. You are not capturing what the figure or object
looks like, but what it is doing.

Practice 1- Gesture Drawing Tutorial

The gesture drawing focuses more on the representation of the action of the form,
not a literal transcription of what is taking place. Practicing quick gesture drawings
will train your eye-brain-hand co-ordination to pick up on dynamic lines in forms and
understand basic structures, foundations and limitations.
Gesture drawing is many things: a way to "see", a technique of drawing, an
exercise, a defined "scribble", and a finished style. In the sequences of pages that
follow, gesture drawing will be demonstrated in many of its facets.

If youre thinking that gesture drawings are only exercises, think again. Some of my
best figure drawings were gestures! A gesture drawing is far more likely to capture
the tension and movement in a body than a tightly controlled, realistic rendition.
The marks are quick and deliberate. You look at the subject and try to sum it up with
a few marks, as you might describe it in a few words. Because you don't have much
time, each word - each mark - a gesture drawing must say something significant
about the subject.
1

Gesture Drawing: Old Master Examples

Gesture drawing is a great way to improve your art. It keeps your drawing loose and
helps get the overall pose. Also, since they are done with speed, they improve your
ability to see shapes and proportions quickly. The foundation of most artistic
endeavors is proper drawing skills. You can build these skills by learning gesture
drawing and by sketching 3-dimensional shapes.

Thoughts on Gesture Drawing

A sense of purpose and direction is important in everything in life, and it's no
different when it comes to gesture drawing. I got to monitor the gesture class today
for 15 quick minutes, and walking around helping others draw really made it clear
how important it is to be committed to a direction - to have each of your drawings
make a statement.
Movement/ Gestural Drawing Dance
The Opposite Style, but still Observation - Unlike contour drawing, gesture drawing
does not start with an outline. It starts from the center (the core) and moves out to
all the joints, the extremities, emphasizing movement and action as it rapidly colors
in the figure. Gesture drawing is the opposite of slow and careful contour drawing.
Gesture drawing is from observation, but it is done very fast--not slow and
deliberate as contour drawing needs to be.
Recognizing Tension
Look for areas of tension, that is, where the most activity is going on. It is also not
necessary to do a complete outline of the form. You can sometimes represent an
arm or leg with one line that describes one edge of the figure. This form of drawing
encourages faster drawing as well as good observation. It is also a great way to
catch a moment in time.

The drawing activities below can help in mastering the art of sketching in quick
time. Techniques and tips presented below should help in understanding and
practicing this form of art.
Action in Detail
The action of a figure is usually expressed as "gesture." It means the movement and
attitude of the figure. It is body language and all of those subtle differences that
characterize individuals, whether they are human or animal. In this regard, when I
2

refer to the model, I mean not only a model posing for short poses of thirty seconds
to three minutes, but also people who are not posing and are in real life situations.
We use essentially the same learning procedure in what is referred to as the "quick
sketch." It will be assumed that for the sake of learning, at this point, they are the
same. Other terms used for what we call gesture are "attitude" and "body
language."

Gesture Drawing with Sharpie Markers, or Pen and Ink

The marks are quick and deliberate. You look at the subject and try to sum it up with
a few marks, as you might describe it in a few words. Because you don't have much
time, each word - each mark - in a gesture drawing must say something significant
about the subject.

Charcoal Gesture Drawing

The technique is reinforced by limiting the time spent on drawing, using broad
sweeping gestures with the charcoal. The body structure, stance, movement, and
proportions of the model/figure are quickly assessed as soon as the material hits
the page. As you do this, try not to lift the charcoal from the page as much,

repeating the fluid, sweeping motions across the paper.

Vocabulary- Attitude, Body Language, Movement, Action, Motion, Emphasis,

Tension