How to Master Structural Gesture

Patrick Jones dives into 'structural gesture' in figure drawing. He talks about getting the balance just right between flow and structure. You'll see him work with charcoal, focusing on learning from your slip-ups and really enjoying drawing. The lesson gives you tips on using charcoal and pencil to make your drawings lively and realistic, blending structure with gesture to nail the human form both accurately and creatively.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FIGURE DRAWING FROM PATRICK JONES:
How to Draw Fantasy Female Figures - www.proko.com/s/T3eW
Get Patrick’s eBooks - www.proko.com/@patrickjones/t...
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:52 - Structure & Gesture
05:27 - Demo
18:34 - Outro
RELATED LINKS:
BOOST Your Figure Drawing Skills Following These Tips - • BOOST Your Figure Draw...
Check out Patrick’s channel ‪@pjartworksPatrickJJones‬
#gesture #figuredrawing #drawingfundamentals
Subscribe to Proko: bit.ly/SubProko
Don't miss new tutorials - Hit the BELL!
Premium Videos - www.proko.com/store
Pose photo sets - www.proko.com/tools
FOLLOW PROKO:
Email Newsletter- www.proko.com/subscribe
Instagram - / stanprokopenko
Twitter - / stanprokopenko
Facebook - / prokotv
Tumblr - / stanprokopenko
Pinterest - / pins
WATCH MORE PROKO:
Latest Uploads: • Finger Drawing Mistake...
Figure Drawing: • How to Draw Gesture
Art of Caricature: • The Art of Caricature ...
Popular Videos: • How to Draw the Head f...
ABOUT PROKO:
Instructional How to Draw videos for artists. My drawing lessons are approachable enough for beginners and detailed enough for advanced artists. My philosophy is to teach timeless concepts in an entertaining way. I believe that when you are having fun, you learn better. I take pride in producing high-quality videos that you will enjoy watching and re-watching.
CREDITS:
Artist | Instructor - Patrick J. Jones (www.pjartworks.com/)
Producer - Stan Prokopenko (www.stanprokopenko.com), Sean Ramsey (www.peoplewhodrawstuff.com), Charlie Nicholson ( / shloogorgh )
Stephen Clark (www.peppermintgentleman.com),
Editing - Ash Lo Russo (www.artstation.com/ash_lorusso), Charlie Nicholson
Models - Taryn (www.nma.art)
Publishing - Alex Otis, John Birchall
Music Used with Permission
Intro - The Freak Fandango Orchestra
All materials shown in these videos are not sponsored and were recommended by the instructors on their own.

[@ProkoTV]

Want to learn how to boost your figure drawing skills? Patrick Jones has these tips you should follow - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bme2gnWepNWdgrssi=_-v6u5_-yri5afIO

[@davidaugustofc2574]

Just watching someone's thought process is so much more, educational, than looking at reference pictures by themselves

[@krsmanjovanovic8607]

You can watch Richard Smitheman's streams and clips of figure drawing, dude's bonkers, he records whole process from the begining to end in real-time and explains his every step, great suplement when learning figure drawing, I hope this helps!

[@willc3900]

“When the artist draws everything, it’s like someone is screaming at you” *GOLD*

[@ducksoff7236]

His words were pretty..... "If you're bored while you're drawing you'll do a boring drawing and that's a FACT" 3:52 and those words were sage!

[@HirikiW]

I was looking for this comment and i'm definitely taking that by heart from now on. That, with the part where he says what the point of drawing is when you're not having fun while doing it.

[@Omoayanfe]

@@HirikiW❤

[@hristohristov5218]

Patrick Jones is absolutely one of my favourite artists and teachers, his Anatomy of Style has helped me so much towards the goal i want to reach in fantasy art

[@ProkoTV]

It's a great book! Thanks for spreading the word about Patrick's teaching.

[@goodnoodle5224]

Wow he’s a legit master at this. Hearing him speak about the muscle groups and bones very intricately really put into perspective how little knowledge I have and how much further I need to go to be just as great. Really good teacher 😌

[@joemartin7451]

i love how he's describing the whats he is drawing with love and care. feels like watching a master chef describing his favourite dish to make.

[@dannycruz5446]

I'm going to guess that anyone traumatized by the thumbnail probably hasnt done much life drawing

[@nobody5814]

Who the hell gets traumatized from that? The worst you would get is bricked up💀

[@__mads__]

How to Properly Shade a Fartbox

[@N0k4hara]

As a child how is the female body even traumatizing😭

[@Silencer796]

@@N0k4harabecause apparently woman are scary… -_- I can’t even…

[@businessclank1564]

I just started life drawing 3 weeks ago. I forgot the model was going to strip down naked💀

[@kevinstockard4453]

Patrick’s voice is very soothing and reassuring. You feel like he’s talking to you personally, giving you the confidence you need to have in yourself.

[@ProkoTV]

He's the reassuring ASMR artist we needed lol

[@kevinstockard4453]

Yes, indeed. I have already purchased one of his books and would like to purchase others.@@ProkoTV

[@TheDexterwayne]

I completely loved this video. I felt I was in a masterclass. Patrick style is so hypnotizing and the way he explains everything is just like the cherry on top. He reminds me of Uncle Iroh from Avatar, so wise and calm.

[@ProkoTV]

You made me think of "Leave From the Vine" song 😭

[@ashtynjones9407]

Patrick was one of my teachers in university! He absolutely ignited a passion for drawing that I didn't previously have. (It was for 3D animation and had never done figure drawing before)

[@immortalgraveyard2099]

It's such a pleasure to watch a passionate professional having fun, enjoying his beloved thing and telling you very cool stuff!

[@phoebe893]

What a beautiful demonstration. I love Patrick's way of teaching and that his style is so relaxed, the drawing evolves. It's like meditation but you get something lovely in the end.

[@TheKane105]

Mr Jones is a great teacher, talking out his process while demonstrating what he's talking about is so helpful. I struggle with learning from videos but this is fantastic.

[@francisgoodluck9941]

I love watching him draw. Its so relaxing and mesmerizing.

[@skeik1362]

Watching Patrick Jones' and Mike Mattesi's live demos make me so excited to go draw

[@ProkoTV]

Me too!

[@breisyaispuro2410]

An art instructor once told the class that making art isn’t fun. This was back when I was in college 10 or 8 years ago and I refuse.

[@ProkoTV]

That's maybe how they feel about it. But it doesn't have to be that way!

[@fandeandreaarruti]

I've been a teacher and I'm an actor, that sounded totally crazy for me.

[@breisyaispuro2410]

@@fandeandreaarruti same

[@breisyaispuro2410]

But that man was dead serious

[@fandeandreaarruti]

@@breisyaispuro2410 I guess every teacher has his method.

[@carloscamero6525]

Observation is the most important thing of all. The analysis of form is essential to establish relationships of proportion and structure correctly with the appropriate use of contrasts👍

[@sillyweebanimeisforkids3413]

PATRICK J JONES!!! I loved his female fantasy figure course

[@APG2112]

Patrick’s fantasy oil painting technique books are fantastic study guides. He’s a excellent teacher no doubt about it. Looking forward to adding some more of his books to the collection.

[@LadyGreen78]

This is really the kind of practice that reminds me why I love drawing. Beauty of the lines, abstract yet lively and realistic, our flowing energy translated into a drawing... wow thanks for this great instruction

[@adanrodriguez2124]

I didn’t want this one to end. So relaxing

[@OpenBorders4isengard]

Honestly most of this stuff is just intuitive knowledge achieved by years of drawing, copying, and trying to replicate others. It’s mostly just pattern recognition, muscle memory, and fine tuning of your motor control. A huge amount of it is mindless, something your brain just works out naturally the more you draw and compare. Much of it cannot be explained, it just happens. It’s like magic almost. Methodology can be helpful but you really need a large base of mileage in order to exploit it. You’ll often see this manifest in online art tutorials, the drawing just seems to inexplicably appear from the ether, only very loosely following the guidelines/gesture/structure underneath. That’s intuition. That’s muscle memory. That’s the mythical “visual library” at work. I would go as far as to argue that a lot of drawing methodology is just post-facto rationalization for an unconscious process. I think we give good artists far too much credit when in this regard. They aren’t all these super-geniuses that mathematically plan everything out in fine detail with some complex interweaving of conscious choices and theory every step of the process. You ask these guys, and many don’t even know how they’re doing it, they can’t explain why everything seems to work out so well aesthetically/harmoniously.

[@slamotte]

the timing...i was literally just looking at his courses and this pops up. is proko watching me???? 😮

[@nhasirduck3500]

I am blown away, watching videos of masters makes me so inspired

[@ledah8165]

there is so much insight in this guide. I'll come back every once in a while. thanks!

[@jwinner6940]

i followed you at least 5 years ago , i stopped drawing long ago but still appreciate your tutorial's and admires them , thank you so much

[@artgirl1339]

I've just gotten comfortable doing regular gesture so this shows up at the perfect time. I've been wanting to add some solidity to my gestures but wasn't so sure if it was something that i would be able to figure out on my own. Thanks so much for this. ❤

[@parsakh4452]

this video is by far one of the best videos in this channel, it changed my entire mindset, glad I saw this before growing bad habits in sketching

[@praneetakki]

He's such a great teacher, I learn a lot from him. Proko taught me all the fundamental of Figure and Anatomy so I am able to study his works better.

[@M0rt86]

It is magnificent to hear and learn from Mr. Patric.

[@rebekahdavis8731]

Let's be real, that thumbnail was a very intentional choice. No complaints here :D Another great lesson, I feel like no matter how much I improve or how good I feel about my progress, I can always come to these videos and learn something.

[@isabellarammcreative]

A fantastic watch for a Friday afternoon at work! Thank you for the inspiration - can't wait to get home tonight and draw.

[@zedharith6695]

Thank you Proko and Patrick Jones for this, currently struggling with female anatomy so this is splendid. Time to learn baby!

[@Cdomingoz]

This guy drops so many gems

[@plasticshorts6972]

I love how he wipes away the lines with the back of the hand, like a real ctrl-z

[@ProkoTV]

That's the beauty of charcoal!

[@ducksoff7236]

Only difference was he didn't draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, draw, wipe, trying to find a single line. Like most schmucks who "ctrl-z".

[@user-ck8kp8vb4l]

@@ducksoff7236 so?

[@ducksoff7236]

@@user-ck8kp8vb4l Exactly...yawn. I have no problem clicking away from skilless pretenders either.

[@user-ck8kp8vb4l]

@@ducksoff7236 what are you on about dude?

[@solidzak3732]

Absolute master of figure drawing

[@lelepoopoo]

I love gesture drawing, this is brilliant

[@Arata987]

I had no idea i needed this video Once i managed to make a drawing like this by pure coincidence and had no idea of how i could do it again This helped me immensely to understand the process i accidentally used... Wow.

[@Bombur777]

This dude loves his gluteus. For real great video, nice approach.

[@3dness449]

What a masterclass! Awesome video.

[@gabrielsyme4550]

This aproach is really fun and interesting, gonna try this on my next gesture drawing session. Muchas gracias.

[@aminproduct]

Patrick line quality is amazing ❤, true Master

[@algernonwolfwhistle6351]

Lovely stuff and Clanger references too.

[@jon1580]

I love this video, I like a lot seeing the thought process behind every action Patrick Jones takes on every line and shape, I just got one suggestion to make these kind of videos the absolute best, if when they speak about a certain muscle or bone, I think it'd help a lot to people learning like myself, to have a picture/diagram or something the like to show in the video, to help related those names to a specific form and shape.

[@FunkeeDonkee]

Go, Patrick!

[@Msannamitta]

i like this charcoal is one of my very favorite mediums to work in. ❤

[@sfwcommenting]

A video of supreme value

[@callibor3119]

Hey, Proko. There is a Oregon-born cartoonist who helped with Carl “The Duck Man” Barks on Donald Duck Comics and Jack Kirby on 2001: A Space Odyssey. I hope you get to talk to him about his cartoonist adventures. He is one of many cartoonist in Oregon that worked with Walt Disney to keep The Oregon Duck as our University of Oregon mascot.

[@JoshTheFlyGuy]

Just got into gesture drawing still at the learning phase with 30seconds - 2 minute gestures but this is crazy!

[@airingcupboard]

That was fantastic.

[@SanJacintoArtGuild]

Thanx muchly!

[@morne4080]

What a Master

[@rameshkonaje5444]

Thank you

[@ktfartz]

This man is anatomy Bob Ross, love it.

[@adam01120]

Brilliant

[@fandeandreaarruti]

He knows anatomy so well that if feels he don't need to even look the model.

[@KarenDodo9]

Awesome video, thanks

[@warehawk]

What's a good way to practice not setting your own standards too high? I struggle with figure drawing because I have this tendency to want my drawing to match the subject to a T and when I can't do it or can't figure it out I have to just give up and get really discouraged

[@ProkoTV]

You can try isolating one element you're trying to practice. Focusing on drawing the gesture lines or even just the bean of the torso for a while. Practicing one individual aspect of a drawing will make that part of the process more automatic, rather than having to think of every part of the drawing at once. One less ball to juggle at the same time.

[@OmniVenom]

YOU GOTTA FEEL IT!

[@SlashCash29]

1:21 "I'm thinking about thighs here". Aren't we always brother, aren't we always

[@ProkoTV]

Caaaaaaaalm down

[@snap2cb777]

Amen🫡🫡🗣️

[@MEANDITV]

7:25 only artists say stuff like this with such passion lol

[@Ben-bg2lp]

Love the thumbnail. Don't listen to the haters.

[@existencialmentefalhando4494]

Eu gostei desse video!!

[@amd.8627]

5:07 ayooo 💀🗿😂😂😂 I like dis guy

[@travisnobleart]

This presentation is filled with so much passion and so many welcoming ideas that it just makes me want to get out my charcoal box and start drawing. Right now. Before the video can even finish.

[@ProkoTV]

Do it!!

[@madmaster3d]

nice video ty

[@nicoleweddepohl]

I❤it thank you 😊

[@applesauce.6011]

GYATT

[@DavydWood]

Bob Ross eat your heart out now we have >>>> "find your broad end"... Gotta love the pencil! 😆😉

[@alexrosenthal2682]

Clangers! Thank god I’m doing something right

[@alexrosenthal2682]

Great lesson

[@17th_Colossus]

10:18 Gonna study this part for an hour so it actually sticks in my head.

[@BIackstinG]

17:53 seems like you don't really need the ref picture at all, you're even putting shadow where there's light and light where there's shadow in the right shoulder blade area

[@ProkoTV]

Reference isn't something that artists use just to adhere to strictly. We can depart from it, invent and stylize as we like!

[@julianburke7225]

I just noticed that I'm either really good at gestures or I'm really good at form. It can't be both when I'm drawing or the drawing looks weird

[@harshmonga7663]

❤

[@user-gt1uq5ep7d]

Благодарю 👍🤩👏👏👏

[@user-xy2qh8tg1v]

🙏

[@Ron_Sensei]

"By the power of holy YT thumbnails, I finally have arrived at my destination"

[@theromanst.clair.]

I always feel like my gesture drawings are so ugly. I don’t understand how some people just draw perfect gesture drawings in a minute

[@theromanst.clair.]

Guess you can say I only draw “clangers”

[@ProkoTV]

It's all about that practice. As you build up your experience with it and increase your observation skills, you learn what's most important to communicate with fewer lines, line weight, and shadows. All while also training your hand. Keep at it! You have to get a bunch of clangers out before you can start making the gems!

[@luxinvictus9018]

I have come to realise that all artists have a *very* healthy appreciation for the human form. I used to think it was only me

[@plasticshorts6972]

You could do a demo with Mr. Jones here and have it be silent except for his voice, and you got a new Bob Ross

[@mobiletechreviews9831]

can you tell me what is the things that you draw with i always use pencil but i am in love with the texture the the first tool

[@ProkoTV]

The little nub he uses is a piece of a charcoal stick, worn down like he shows in the video.

[@WizardIllustrator]

When you draw human anatomy, basically thing logically about how the parts are "weighing on each other" , "it's movement in space" and "any other interactions with other parts that limits it or extends it".

[@__Mal_]

Ive seen countless videos of drawing all sorts of twisted human poses. I've never seen good video of someone explaining hot to draw figure in contrapost.

[@irmabecx4758]

What grade of Pitt Charcoal pencil is that; Soft or Medium? It looks so much darker than the other one!

[@ashfromproko]

17:08 Soft!

[@irmabecx4758]

@@ashfromproko Super coool, thanks! :D

[@Panda-yp4sm65]

The "S" sounds get quite loud maybe because of the edit? But I love the draws and subject

[@Demi_god28317]

Proko teach me how to draw teeth.

[@Onion224]

23 secs ago lol btw i love proko

[@bozoclown2098]

He looks like Patrick Jones

[@MothBones-1122]

49 seconds ago is crazy

[@Saptarshibanduri]

First comment and first like ♥️

[@ProkoTV]

Like three people beat you to it, sorry.

[@socratesthecabdriver]

🙏🔱🌊

[@bindu492]

Plan

[@desembrey]

"Clanger: British slang. A faux-pas" ... HAHAHAHA ... I love that this required explaining. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@BrunoPochette]

Damn

[@springroll6758]

Noice

[@user-bq8pi5ck5k]

2:23 😂😂😂

[@d4darwin458]

The thumbnail is honestly a good art piece and a thirst trap You know me too well proko

[@ogvishu6122]

I am too early here!

[@joshuaosiris]

Isn’t the point of drawing to create the best piece you can?

[@ProkoTV]

Sometimes! Other times, a drawing can just be an exercise in learning or putting an idea on the page.

[@botarakutabi1199]

Best is very subjective in art. Depends on the intentions of the piece.

[@startreker8591]

So he sees through the garments 🎉lovely…I must start my fave hobby again my natural fondness for drawing but actually lettering like my father y cut outs y stencil y silk screenings etc…my dad was a natural artist really though my niece took fine arts y my son was a media artist a UCSD grad add my youngest did digital arts y a self taught y took computer engineering y did apps y the like even computer games omg😢

[@ProkoTV]

No. The original images were nude. The ones shown here on KZbin have clothes edited onto them. Good luck with returning to art!