The Art & Science of Figure Drawing: GESTURE

Welcome!  In this introductory video you'll learn everything you need to get started drawing the figure including what materials to use and how to set up your drawing space.  For quick reference, here's a list of the recommended materials:

18x24" paper (Newsprint are white drawing paper are both fine.  I'll be using white drawing paper).

Drawing Board (A basic masonite board with metal clips attached is fine.  I'll be using a hollow wooden drawing board with separate clips.)

Drawing Pencil of Any Kind (Don't stress over this one. If all you've got is a yellow #2 graphite pencil, that's fine.  I'll be using an assortment of oil based colored pencils, but any nearly any colored pencil or drawing pencil will work.  Go to the art store and experiment! raw with what you have or what feels good to you!)

Just one more video before you get to the lessons.  This video takes a look at the essential but mysterious art of Gesture Drawing and explores what it is, how it's done, and why it's important.

In this first lesson you'll learn hot to simplify the figure into a single action line that sums up the pose.  The primary action line will serve as the foundation upon which you will build the rest of the figure.

This practice reel contains 30 second poses.  All you need to do is draw a single, primary action line for each pose.

Once your primary action line has been established, this lesson will teach you how to capture the action of the entire pose by first focusing on the dynamic directions that the various parts of the body are traveling and how they relate to one another in terms of length and placement. 

In this practice reel you'll be drawing from 1 minute poses.  You'll begin drawing the primary action line from Lesson 1 before drawing additional action lines for any parts of the figure that the primary action line left out.

Here, you'll learn how to observe and draw the transverse axis lines of the shoulders and pelvis.

In this practice reel, you'll still be drawing from 1 minute poses.  You'll draw everything you've learned thus far including the axis lines for the shoulders and pelvis.

In this lesson you'll begin fleshing out your gesture drawings by first establishing the largest volume of the body: the torso.  You'll learn how to simplify the torso into a dynamic and flexible volume.

Before starting this practice reel, first draw the basic shape of the torso you learned in lesson 4 a minimum of 25 times.  Once you're comfortable and familiar drawing the torso shape on its own, you can begin the practice reel.

In this practice reel you'll draw from 2 minute poses. Include everything you've learned thus far including the basic shape for the torso.

For a bonus challenge, try this exercise again using the 1 minute practice reel from Lesson 3.  This is a great way to improve your skills and increase your speed.

In this lesson you'll learn how to bring a sense of volume as well as anatomical accuracy to your figures by learning to draw the centerlines on both the front and back of the torso.

Here, you'll draw from 3 minute poses.  Include everything you've learned including the centerlines on the front and back of torso.

For a bonus challenge, try this exercise again using the 2 minute practice reel from Lesson 4.  This is a great way to improve your skills and increase your speed.

In this lesson you'll continue to flesh out the figure by learning to draw the shapes of the legs as well as what happens to these shapes as the legs change positions.

In this first practice reel you'll draw from 3 minute close ups of the legs.  This is an opportunity just to familiarize yourself with the shapes and forms of the legs before attaching the to the rest of the figure.

In this second practice reel, you'll draw from 4.5 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity to incorporate the legs into the rest of the gesture drawing process you've learned thus far.

In this lesson you'll get an introduction to the basic forms of the feet as well as learn how to ground your figures using shading.  This powerful technique will lock your figure onto the ground plane as well as give them weight and authority.

In this first practice reel, you'll draw from 3 minute close-ups of the feet.  Remember to keep your feet simple!  Gesture drawing is about distilling the pose to its essential elements.  Don't get distracted by details. 

In this second practice reel you'll draw from 6 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity to incorporate the feet into the rest of the gesture drawing process you've learned thus far.  Don't forget to ground your figure!

In this lesson you'll learn the essential anatomy of the upper torso including how to draw the pectorals, breasts and some of the muscles of the upper back.  This is an essential lesson that too many artists never learn.

In this first practice reel, you'll draw from 3 minute close-ups of the torso.  First, establish the basic shape of the torso as well as a centerline.  Next, draw the visible elements of the upper torso you learned about today.  These pose times are pretty short!  This is an opportunity to increase your speed and efficiency; essential figure drawing skills.  But remember, if the 3 minute poses are just too short, you can always pause the practice reel.

In this second practice reel, you'll be drawing from 6 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity to incorporate what you've learned about the upper torso into the rest of the gesture drawing process. 

In this lesson you'll learn how to flesh out the arms and how to make sure they are in proportion to the rest of the figure.  You'll also learn how to use basic angle evaluations to help with foreshortening.

From now on, each lesson will include 3 practice reels.  In the first practice reel you'll draw from 3 minute close-ups of the arms.

In this second practice reel you'll be drawing from 8 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity for you to incorporate the arms into the rest of the gesture drawing process.

In this third practice reel you'll continue drawing from 8 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity for you to incorporate the arms into the rest of the gesture drawing process.

Here, you'll learn to draw the basic forms of the hands.  Gesture drawing focuses on the big picture, not on small details, but accurate hands are a wonderful opportunity for expression and detail that can add a sense of movement and realism to a gesture drawing.

In this first practice reel you'll be drawing from 6 minute close-ups of the hands.  The hands can be complex so make sure you've understood the process and the elements necessary to draw them!

In this second practice reel you'll be drawing from 4.5 minute close-ups of the hands and arms.  This is an opportunity to practice attaching the hands to the wrists as well as scaling down your hand drawings in preparation for adding them to the entire figure. This is also an opportunity to draw the hands and arms with more speed and efficiency, but remember if the poses are just too fast for you, you can always pause the practice reels.

In this third practice reel you'll be drawing from 9.5 minute poses of the entire figure.  This is an opportunity for you to incorporate the hands into the rest of the gesture drawing process.

Here you'll learn how to draw volumetric heads and necks that accurately relate to the rest of the in terms of both proportion and action.

In this first practice reel, you'll draw from 4 minute close-ups of the head and neck.

In this second practice reel you'll be drawing from a 12 minute pose of the full figure.  This is an opportunity for you to incorporate the head and neck into the rest of the gesture drawing process.

In this third practice reel you'll be drawing from a 12 minute pose of the full figure.  This is an opportunity for you to incorporate the head and neck into the rest of the gesture drawing process.

In this final lesson you'll learn to shade the figure by focusing on the moment the figure goes from light into shadow.  This dramatic shading technique is an excellent way to complete your drawings.

In each practice reel for Lesson 12 you'll be drawing from 15 minute poses of the full figure.  This is an opportunity to pull everything you've learned together.  Remember, you don't need to include every single element you've learned in every drawing.  Decide what elements are most essential to the pose and focus on those.  If you don't finish the drawing before the times up, that okay.  And, of course, you can always pause the practice reels for more time.

In each practice reel for Lesson 12 you'll be drawing from 15 minute poses of the full figure.  This is an opportunity to pull everything you've learned together.  Remember, you don't need to include every single element you've learned in every drawing.  Decide what elements are most essential to the pose and focus on those.  If you don't finish the drawing before the times up, that okay.  And, of course, you can always pause the practice reels for more time.

In each practice reel for Lesson 12 you'll be drawing from 15 minute poses of the full figure.  This is an opportunity to pull everything you've learned together.  Remember, you don't need to include every single element you've learned in every drawing.  Decide what elements are most essential to the pose and focus on those.  If you don't finish the drawing before the times up, that okay.  And, of course, you can always pause the practice reels for more time.

As a bonus challenge, try drawing everything you've learned in the 12 minute, full figure practice reels from lesson 11.  Sequentially decreasing the time of the poses is a great way to develop speed and efficiency.  Once you can draw everything you've learned from 12 minute poses, start working your way down the practice reels until you're comfortable drawing the full figure in as little as 3 minutes.