3 WAYS TO PRACTICE GESTURES AND FIND YOUR OWN STYLE

In this video you’ll learn what gestures are and how to go about drawing them. I’ll demonstrate 3 different ways to practice gestures each meant to strengthen a different aspect.
You’ll also learn what gestures are NOT and how to pick the right kind of gesture strategy for your needs.
See me demo:
Rhythm based gestures
Shape based gestures
Skeleton based gestures
My personal approach
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Materials I used in this video:
Wollf’s Carbon Pencils 4B
Newsprint Paper
Drawing Board

[@skullknight6584]

Im very thankful for this. I was always confused because each people here in youtube have their own and different ways of gestures drawing and then they say you shouldn't do this whilst the other advices you to that. You just washed away a confusion to me. Again, thank you. Your channel is very underrated.

[@CarolinPeters]

Thank you so much for your sweet comment. I'm so happy this video helped strip away some confusions for you. Let me know if you have any other drawing questions that have been eating away at you. I'm always happy to help!

[@infamousdee2006]

Do you have a video of you doing gesture while having a reference photo up I pretty much understand better now but seeing you work from a reference photo would really solidify me getting a better perspective on it

[@MrJDiazER]

This is one of the better quick gesture demos I've seen.

[@CarolinPeters]

Oh good. I hope it was useful!

[@tugcesentuna8034]

Exactly!

[@PortgasDAce-wt2qu]

Straight to the point, very quick but concise. Thank you so much! This really helped me understand what gesture truly is!

[@CarolinPeters]

That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear this helped you! Are there any other drawing questions you're curious about? If so I'm always happy to help :)

[@AUNKNOWN80]

Shocked that , you don’t have many subscribers. , great tips 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@CarolinPeters]

Thanks! I'm working on it. Feel free to share the channel with friends 😉 Happy drawing to you!

[@iblastful4653]

This is probably one of the best videos on gesture that I have seen. A lot of other videos are somewhat vague on why we should use gesture and show only one form of doing it. This goes a little more in-depth and shows multiple ways of gesture and how they help drawing a figure.

[@CarolinPeters]

I'm so happy to hear it was useful! Please let me know if there are any other things you wished artists would answer in their videos!

[@iblastful4653]

@@CarolinPeters maybe finding proportions for figures?

[@CarolinPeters]

@@iblastful4653 I'll put it on my list. Thanks for the suggestion 😊

[@meenadabaria3050]

I am just think about why u don't have millions of subscribers? You know much much more about drawing from others. Maam luv u😘😘😘

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, thanks! So glad you find this useful. Let me know if you have drawing questions you want me to explain in the future. That's what I'm here for 😁

[@Pedalinglover]

Same thought stuck in my mind when i first saw her drawings n style of sketching. as she is very confident and clear about her drawings and her lessons are really worthy.

[@rekhasrivastava1882]

I generally broke into simple shapes like in 2 style of your, but no other youtuber does that so I thought I was doing it wrong. This really helped me and cleared my confusion. Thank you!

[@CarolinPeters]

That's so awesome. I'm glad I was able to help you out with that. Let me know if you have any drawing related questions, I'm always happy to help :)

[@reth6090]

wow. ive watched a tOn of videos abt gesture drawing and while theyre all helpful, ive been feeling like theres this struggle im having that those videos arent quite answering. so thank god i saw this video bc now its like. something clicked lol, thank u so much for this video!

[@CarolinPeters]

Oh awesome. So glad it helped you make progress!

[@frankiecardona1656]

thank you

[@sadashivashetty3810]

Super technique, thank you lots

[@ricardopietrobon1222]

Outstanding!!

[@Ha-wk8ms]

This was very helpful! Thank you so much 💞

[@CarolinPeters]

You're so welcome!

[@Joyboy9776]

I didn't expected this video to be this good Thank you, it is really helpful

[@CarolinPeters]

Glad it turned out to be a pleasant surprise

[@drikting]

1.Connections 2. Shapes 3. Skeletal. Thank you!

[@CarolinPeters]

You got it 👍

[@derekcutsinger3511]

This was super helpful! So many vague videos about this topic on YT. Thank you!!

[@CarolinPeters]

Awesome Derek, I'm so glad this was useful for you. Let me know if you have any other drawing related questions for me. I'm always happy to help.

[@derekcutsinger3511]

@@CarolinPeters Currently watching more videos of yours. Will do. Thanks!

[@cripsudroiid452]

Muy buena técnica y mucho extilo👏👏👏👏👏👽

[@infamousdee2006]

This was the most helpful resource on gesture I could find that really made it more understandable to me thank you

[@CarolinPeters]

That makes me so happy to hear this! Please let me know what other drawing related questions you have so I can help :)

[@teira1336]

This is the best gesture drawing video I've seen, it's very helpful because improving as an artist imo is realizing what you need to improve and focusing in on that for a time

[@CarolinPeters]

Soso glad it's been helpful for you, Teira! How is your drawing practice going?

[@imagineplenty3147]

These videos are really awesome and helpful. Especially Gesture is such a key topic for me. Its the fun in drawing, its an awesome exercise its the best way to proceed. And with your videos i feel perfectly equiped 🤗

[@CarolinPeters]

That's wonderful! Your embracing gesture will serve you well and you focusing on fun is certainly a great way to keep practicing. Keep it up!

[@poweredbyjoy9682]

Excellent explanation!

[@CarolinPeters]

Yay, that makes me so happy to hear this :)

[@madmoisellechaotica6934]

Thanks!!

[@prakashsavaikar5819]

Excellent Tutorial!

[@CarolinPeters]

Thank you! So glad you liked it!

[@ramosmiguel1977]

Thank you so much. Very useful indeed.

[@CarolinPeters]

Glad to hear that! Happy drawing!

[@ramosmiguel1977]

Do you recommend any book in particular for gesture drawing?

[@CarolinPeters]

I don't know of one just for gestures, but I love Michael Hampton's figure drawing book

[@ilovelegos2000]

This was so easy for me to understand. All the other videos in youtube based on gesture drawings had me puzzled

[@CarolinPeters]

Ahhh, that makes me so happy to hear. Glad it was useful for you!

[@AnTran-ro7kh]

awesome! thank you

[@CarolinPeters]

You're so welcome

[@KrazyFalcon]

Holy shit, your advice is so simple and helpful. I've started rebuilding my foundation of art and decided to follow Prokos lessons on gesture drawing, but it was way too complicated for me and I decided to watch something else. Thank you a lot again, I'll put your advice into work during my drawing session later today and update you on how it went.

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, I' so glad it helped you out, Ravi! Keep me posted on your development. And I'm always curious, what is the most confusing thing to you in your drawing practice these days. What drawing questions have been eating away at you for way too long? Let me know so I can make videos to finally answer them! Happy drawing, Carolin

[@KrazyFalcon]

@@CarolinPeters Thank you, I've signed up for your free 4 day mini class on Figure drawing so hopefully that will answer all of my questions, however if not, i'll be sure to ask them here. Just a quick question, but can figure drawing be used for anime/manga/comic stye drawings? That's mainly what I'm working towards but I've never seen anyone that does this type of drawing talk about figure drawing. Thank you again!

[@silvermig]

Great Tutorial!.

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, thanks. I'm glad it's helpful.

[@thewatcher6295]

Thank you for the helpful video. I need to loosen up my figures. I tend to be stiff, I am self taught. My figures tend to be stiff but I'm slowly getting into the mindset of loose strokes. I must also not strangle my pencil and lighten up. I find when I start with simple lines and not overwork it in the early stages it helps.

[@CarolinPeters]

I love how you're becoming aware of what needs to happen to find more fluidity in your drawings. Let me know if you have any other drawing related questions!

[@NewWaveEnthusiast]

Thank you for this video :)

[@CarolinPeters]

Your so welcome!

[@tugcesentuna8034]

I watched so many videos about this (hours) but your only 5 minutes video made me understand everything better than all other videos! Thank you, subscribed!

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, yay! That makes me so happy to hear, Happy drawing to you :)

[@tugcesentuna8034]

@@CarolinPeters you know what would be so great? 😃 If you make a video about rhythms and visual connections part, like you don't even have to talk but few minutes with fast drawing with photos of the posed humans, so we could see how you do that omggg it would be SO SO SO great! ♥️

[@CarolinPeters]

@@tugcesentuna8034 Have you watched this one yet? You can scrub past the intro and just watch the demo part, but I do recommend you watch the whole thing because the information builds up on itself: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3e0mYmKlJeEetk

[@tugcesentuna8034]

@@CarolinPeters omg that was exactly what I was looking for, YOU ARE THE BESSSSSSSTTTT THANKS! ♥️

[@mintigorhobby5510]

Your lessons are very usefull for me!

[@CarolinPeters]

Wonderful. I love hearing that! What are your personal drawing goals?

[@mintigorhobby5510]

​@@CarolinPetersRight now I'm trying to become a freelance illustrator, but my ultimate goal is animation work.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@mintigorhobby5510 awesome. Do you go to school for it?

[@mintigorhobby5510]

@@CarolinPeters Nope, just courses here and there, paid or free.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@mintigorhobby5510 Cool! Be sure to connect with me if you're ever ready for more in-depth mentoring! I help artists interested in creating their own narratives, go from being tired of feeling like frauds due to technical gaps and an on-again-off again practice, to mastering drawing, so they can create the work they've always hoped to produce.If that's you, stay in touch ;) Happy drawing to you!

[@Koellenburg]

i do all thee too .. in the order 1,3,2 .. first flow of pose, then adding major masses, then puting the outlines over all

[@CarolinPeters]

Nice! Happy drawing to you!

[@lunaticlemon2997]

this and vilppu will definitely with my gesture drawings

[@CarolinPeters]

Oh wow, that's high praise. Good luck with your practice!!!

[@ngocle3934]

Rất hữu ích, cảm ơn!!

[@CaptMenek]

great stuff :)

[@CarolinPeters]

Thank you. Glad you like it

[@christianjames5085]

Amazing!!!! its similar to what i do

[@CarolinPeters]

So glad it resonates! Let me know if there are any other drawing questions on your mind!

[@christianjames5085]

@@CarolinPeters yes ofc!!

[@shuvoDhar.5537]

Very nice❤❤

[@CarolinPeters]

Yay, love that you like it!

[@KASA2019]

This lady is the best ever at teaching. thank you.

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, well thank you! I'm glad you liked the video. Let me know if you have any drawing questions for me!

[@KASA2019]

@@CarolinPeters Please can you recommend some books on art you like,

[@KASA2019]

Also, I may have missed a tutorial on this: but, can you please do a gesture drawing of a figure in side view position, so I know how to draw the three major masses.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@KASA2019 Sure thing. It depends what you are interested in. For figure drawing I simply adore Michael Hampton's Invention and Design or Glenn Vilppu's Drawing Manual. For general Drawing Basics I highly recommend Lessons In Classical Drawing by Juiette Aristedes and How To Draw What you See by Rudy De Reyna. Was that what you had in mind?

[@CarolinPeters]

@@KASA2019 I don't think I have one on this subject yet, but I just put it on my to-do video list. SO be sure to subscribe and keep checking in, in the next few weeks. For now, to keep you drawing, be sure that your ribcage egg-shape, in a neutral spine is tilted back, and your hip shape is slightly tilted forward. This is because of the double s-curve in the spine. The two should be a fist's size apart, unless the pose is compressing the model's core. Only when the model is tucking their pelvis under will the two masses stack vertically on top of each other from the side But again, I'll be sure to make a video about it soon. Thanks for your question!

[@skypoem5153]

You're an incredible instructor, thank you. I'd love to know more about rhythmic lines & rhythm. I'm excited to apply what you've demonstrated here.

[@CarolinPeters]

Aww, thank you! I'm so happy to hear that you found the video useful! Yes, rhythmic lines are a way of making your drawing appear like it is full of life instead of static. You can use muscle contours, or the edges of bigger forms like the ribcage i.e. as a jumping off point for these lines. I'm curious, what's your art background? Are you a student/pro/lover of all things art?!?

[@aichacamara1825]

I really like this technique, thank you so much for sharing! Also could you tell me what type of pencils do you use? :)

[@CarolinPeters]

Hi there. So happy you like the video. Yes, my favorite pencils for figure gestures are Wollf's carbon (it's a carbon pencil, which is similar to charcoal but has more oil in it which makes it smoother to work with) and I also enjoy Cretacolor Nero (soft) (these ones feel like a combination of a graphite and a charcoal pencil). Try them out and let me know what you think! Happy drawing!

[@spandonsaha5210]

Dear Sensei, your videos are very helpful. I am watching drawing tutorials on youtube for like 6 months and watched videos from countless channels. But they were seldom helpful and practical for an amateur artist like me. Today I suddenly found a video of your channel and clicked it, then I watched 3-4 videos. All of them are extremely good. These videos should get a lot more appreciation.BTW, I have a question. May I know the GMT of when you go live on Facebook? I am from Bangladesh, so it would be helpful to match the time.

[@CarolinPeters]

Hey there! Thanks so much for you kind feedback. I love that my videos are useful for you! Currently I'm not hosting any LIVE sessions. I will resume them in the future but have not decided if I'll do them here on YT, on Facebook or another platform. Do you have any preferences?

[@spandonsaha5210]

@@CarolinPeters Anywhere you do is great, sensei.

[@99lanterns]

@Carolin, I want to improve my figure drawing. I decided I was finally going to learn to gesture draw. I am having a horrible time trying to get it down, I was thinking I would like to use gestures as more of the sketch to build towards drawing the figure. Is that the right way to think, or is gesture JUST to get practice on building towards sketching?

[@CarolinPeters]

Hi there, I’m so happy you’re getting down to tackle figure drawing! Gesture is a hugely important component, as it is the element of drawing that adds that sense of life. I definitely think of it as the first pass underlying ALL of my drawings (even subjects that aren’t the figure, have an underlying gesture). Gesture is not just sketching. I recommend you watch this video where I go in more depth about what gesture is and isn’t. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWPGp6x6gd-bbLs Also, if you’re ready for more, you’ll probably love my free masterclass about creating drawings you absolutely love. I have links to it under most of my videos. I hope this will help you on your figure drawing journey 😃

[@michaelzhang7748]

Good tutorial :)

[@CarolinPeters]

Thank you! I'm glad you find it useful. How are your gestures coming along?

[@michaelzhang7748]

@@CarolinPeters they are doing great! i been doing them everyday and I noticed the many layers behind masterful figure drawings, I haven't seen anyone talk about it in practice, this is a great clarity! How long have you been drawing for?

[@CarolinPeters]

@@michaelzhang7748 so glad you're finding clarity on the videos. I started my training in 2002, and started teaching in 2008. Keep on drawing my friend.

[@ngocle3934]

Đây thực sự là một hướng dẫn rất có giá trị, cho dù với người đã vẽ tranh nhiều năm như mình. Mình đã vẽ rất lâu, mình vẽ cũng không tệ lắm nhưng luôn thiếu linh hồn và dấu ấn riêng, video này đã chỉ cho mình một con đường luyện tập khá rõ ràng.

[@CarolinPeters]

I love hearing this. That's exactly how I felt for so long (which is why I made this video). I'd be good at painting and rendering, but I never understood how to make drawing reflect my style. So happy that you now see a way forward, too!

[@madmaster3d]

my gesture almost is like third one i thought im wrong ty sooooooooo much

[@CarolinPeters]

You're so welcome!!!

[@sushirollart3722]

Thank you so much! Helped a lot Also when more uploads

[@CarolinPeters]

So glad to hear it was useful! I'm in the middle of enrolling students into my online program so it'll probably be a while until I'm back to producing the next batch of videos. Any requests?

[@cory99998]

im focusing almost exclusively on the flow one, I feel like if I can get that down then everything else will click into place, at least for the stuff I want to draw atm. I've practiced form / perspective a fair amount but how to click it into place is another story.

[@CarolinPeters]

Yes. One thing at a time. My tip for you is to REALLY pay attention to the confusions that arise when you draw. The more you can isolate what it is that's not linking up for you the better you can get at finding answers. Often it's not that we don't know enough about all the technical aspects (perspective, proportions, etc) but that we start our drawings without a clear goal for what success in this particular drawing will look like. Wishing you all the best for your practice!

[@cory99998]

@@CarolinPeters thanks, thats a great point. My better drawings are always a result of increased levels of intention where I can intuitively feel the emotionality or objective behind it. When I dont have this, I start drawing random lines and end up with a complete mess. Its surprising how much worse my bad drawings are from my average drawings! Currently I'm finding that my gesture is too complicated and I'm trying to jump into larger forms without truly understanding the flow or what my forms are trying to accomplish, so I've back off and simplified it to just head, shoulders, hips, and then squiggles for the arms, legs, and spine. Instantly the clarity came back and the flow started working again. I will figure this out first and add to it later on. Trying to learn the building blocks just one step at a time.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@cory99998 Sounds like you're on the right path. Keep me posted on how it goes. I'm on IG @curastudios if you want to stay connected :)

[@DEATHPlLOT]

I hope this isn't a stupid question but is there a proper way to go about using references as sometimes my art will look stiff or not interacting as the pose should suggest like holding a cup. nevertheless this tutorial/lesson was very helpful, thank you so much!

[@CarolinPeters]

No such thing as stupid questions. I think this video may have some answers for you. Let me know what you think of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3e0mYmKlJeEetksi=df_-PtsB6TBrZNt1

[@Badartist888]

As a noob I'd not thought about different styles to focus on different things. More just getting overwhelmed by the clock while trying to do it all. This should be a bit help. Thank you.

[@CarolinPeters]

So glad it's giving you something useful to think about. Happy drawing to you!

[@WorldOfEli1984]

🙏

[@jessica5497]

so there is no right style? I can create mine? Cool! this makes me less anxious

[@carolinhosac904]

Absolutely. The whole point of art is to connect with YOUR creativity, not to become someone else's clone. At least that's my stance. How do you think about this?

[@anissakate2846]

Does it important to master gesture for figure drawing? I can see the human body through shapes, but can't draw gesture. My figure drawing looks quite good.

[@CarolinPeters]

In my opinion it is, especially if you want your drawings to feel full of life. The goal of a gesture is to build an energetic connection between the parts making up the whole. So instead of drawing separate shapes for each body part you want to find a way to link them together and the gesture can do that for us. I have a more recent video about what a gesture is and isn't and I have a feeling it may explain the value of mastering gesture drawing. Happy drawing to you!

[@Exsecrabilis]

-12/19/2022 @ 14 15- 🙂

[@danny_decheeto8300]

damn gesture is hard glad I have this for a guide though

[@CarolinPeters]

Hope it'll help you out

[@DanielleDeutschTV]

For some reason I always love a good gesture drawing more than finished rendered pieces. Anyone agree? :P

[@CarolinPeters]

I feel that!

[@dusk1234567890]

So when you are doing these you aren’t necessarily drawing the outer edge or inner edge of bodies?

[@CarolinPeters]

Yes exactly. I think of it as a visual path invisibly connecting the body parts, drawn in rhythmic lines. Sometimes it's the outer edge that'll become one of these rhythms, but often it's not an actual body part at all, but as I said, this imaginary connection. Strangely enough these lines will represent the body to us when we see it in the drawing.

[@sketchartist1964]

Do you offer any tutorials on drawing the figure from imagination?

[@CarolinPeters]

Hi there, I only this one video so far about drawing specifically the figure from imagination: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2KvoISfh8qnpa8 What are you struggling with the most in regard to drawing form imagination? I have a series of videos that shows you exercises to work on to build your drawing form imagination-muscle: kzbin.info/aero/PLKe393vLrTkBc63TFeWS8FfYQdBX9UCkg I hope this'll help :)

[@sketchartist1964]

@@CarolinPeters Thanks for the response. I can draw the figure pretty well from imagination, until I try to draw it from a more complex angle. I get better results only if I have a model to work from. Foreshortening the figure from imagination has always been difficult for me.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@sketchartist1964 Got it! My suggestion for you is to be very familiar with how to simplify the forms of the figure into cylinders and boxes, and then how to draw those simple versions from imagination, first. Once you can do that you can start to layer anatomy volumes on top. I'll try and make a future video on that :)

[@sketchartist1964]

@@CarolinPeters Yes, that would be very helpful, thanks!

[@arcaces2206]

Do i have to understand anatomy, to draw gestures?

[@CarolinPeters]

Big fat no on that one. But anatomy is helpful for other reasons. But yes, go ahead and draw gestures before ever studying anatomy.

[@arcaces2206]

@@CarolinPeters OK thank you, do you know about "asymmetry lines" in the michael hampton Design and invention.

[@CarolinPeters]

@@arcaces2206 sure do. It's a great book. What are you wondering about them?

[@arcaces2206]

Well, I'm having trouble with asymmetrical lines c, s, I curves, the spine in gesture drawing.

[@arcaces2206]

That's so confusing to me.

[@Zorahime29]

Drawing the arms is kinda difficult for me🤕🤕 My gesture drawing starts looking kinda stiff whenever i draw the arms

[@CarolinPeters]

I know what you mean. How do you draw your arms during gestures? DO you draw a single line for each limb at the center of the limb? DO you draw a single line for both upper and lower arm together, or do you draw the outer edges? Let m know and I'll give you some feedback :)

[@Zorahime29]

@@CarolinPeters i only draw a single line for the upper and lower arm

[@CarolinPeters]

@@Zorahime29 Ok, then we have a starting point. Stiffness is either caused by only using totally straight lines only, or by using not enough fluid/organic lines. I recommend you allow your hand to create a few more "searching" lines when you describe the limbs. That can be lines creating a simplified channel describing the edges of the arm, or a few on the inside of the arm where the bone would be. You're not drawing the bone, just the direction of the arm, using a few organic looking marks. If that doesn't make sense hop onto my IG account curastudios and look at the post from January 31 2022 and September 8th 2021. They may help explain :)