There's only really one reason why beginners struggle with gesture drawing
and even give up on it it's because they think that they should be drawing the figure
quickly. In this video, I want to share some thoughts about gesture drawing for beginners
that I think might help you, if you feel that you can't do gestures.
I've helped so many people break through major blocks and frustrations in their
drawing and I've seen total transformations take place after exploring this method.
My name's Siobhan, I share videos about figure drawing and specifically a dynamic
and expressive approach to drawing the figure. So in this video I'll share
a process of a couple of gesture drawings that i did at a recent live drawing session
If you're struggling with gesture drawing I want you to remember what gesture is the gesture that
you see in the pose is the movement or dynamic quality within that pose. A gesture drawing is one
that captures that movement or dynamic quality. So gesture drawing is not a fast sketch or a
simplified version of what the finished drawing should be. It's a drawing of the energy or the
power within the body. Thinking that you have to draw the physical features or the landmarks
super quickly is actually counterproductive and it's naturally going to be difficult.
A gesture drawing has got very little to do with drawing the anatomical details, the proportions or
the landmarks. Those are elements that you learn about as you deepen and develop your knowledge of
figure drawing and over time you can definitely weave them into your responsive gesture drawings.
By the end of this video you'll know how that happens and why - but when you're
first starting out it's really not important to include them.
The difference between a fast drawing of the figure and a gesture drawing
is the biggest distinction that you need to know about and be aware of. Thinking that you
have to draw the figure with correct details and proper proportion very very quickly, sums up a
misconception about gesture drawing that can be misleading to beginner artists on their journey.
The whole idea of a gesture drawing is to not "draw" the figure!
If you try to draw the figure you will obviously end up with bad gesture drawings, and mostly
you'll end up with drawings that might look a bit cartoony. And unfortunately, by trying to draw the
figure in one minute or two minutes you'll miss the point or the potential of the whole exercise.
The point of gesture drawing is not to draw the figure quickly, it is to make
a drawing that captures that movement or dynamic quality that you see in the pose.
And you do use fast fluid marks to make that dynamic quality appear on the page
but don't try to draw the anatomy the details or the proportion correctly.
The second point is that you also are training yourself in how to understand and draw and
express your response. When you look at the model or the pose or the reference you always
have a powerful first impression, and that's something that you see that no one else sees.
Now if you took three hours to slowly draw the figure perfectly, you'd likely lose
that strong first impression. That's why we time ourselves to 30 seconds or one minute.
The fastest or the soonest that you can get your marks down on the page
the more dynamic powerful and vital your gesture drawing will be. And that's really what you want:
you don't want nice perfect figures in 30 seconds, you don't want cartoony simplified figures,
you want strong dynamic and powerful marks that say something about the pose.
So does this really help you though in the long run? I mean, what if you just want to
learn to draw the figure properly, to you know get proportionate and anatomy correct and accurate?
Well the important side effect of learning how to capture the dynamic quality or capture your
impression in a 30 second drawing, is that you learn over time how to draw with your own natural
response. So having that as an experience early on as a beginner actually lays the
foundation for a way of drawing that will always change and develop as you grow as an artist.
So your drawing will evolve and your method of drawing will also evolve.
Very often in figure drawing, I see people who have developed and grown as an artist but their
method of drawing remains rooted in a step-by-step approach that doesn't change and usually what
happens is people reach a plateau in their figure drawing and they can't really progress further.
So I really believe that gesture drawing and contour drawing are keys to unlock a powerful way
of drawing. And i think it would be a huge pity as a beginner if you missed out on experiencing that.
So if you're starting out figure drawing and you're really not getting gesture drawing,
consider that you don't have to draw the figure at all for these quick poses.
Draw what you feel, what you see and what you understand in that split second first impression.
And either way that is just a lot more fun than having to draw the figure correctly,
so you may as well give it a try
So i really hope this video was helpful i hope you got some useful information
let me know in the comments what you think i'd love to hear from you
and consider subscribing to this channel so that we can stay in touch
also follow me on instagram at drawinglife.io i've also set
up tick tock that you can follow me there as well and i'll leave those links in the
description thanks a million for watching and i'll see you in the next video you