The Beautiful Scribble (a Gesture Drawing Technique)

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you for watching! Hope this is helpful - leave me a comment about how you tackle mark making for gesture drawing specifically, do you work with scribble lines, or tonal drawing? A combination of both? 😀

[@davidtidsall9266]

Great video Siobhan, my gesture drawing came out scribbling I love the emergent quality of the work. I like the permission in your description of the “beautiful scribble”

[@Drawing-Life]

That's so great to hear David!! Yes, that emergent quality, is one of the most exciting aspects of this approach! Wonderful to hear that.Thanks for watching :)

[@kalpanaartwork4230]

Superb 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you friend!!

[@francesca8325]

I like very much the body engagement in drawing. Usually I don't feel the freedom to try because it involve the ability to accept failur. After your video I think I will give me a chance

[@Drawing-Life]

Great!! Thank you for this comment, let me know if you do it! 😊

[@matthewmccourry7145]

This is just what I needed

[@timclayton8214]

I am working through your wonderful videos and learning so much, thank you. I am fascinated by how you constantly change your grip on the pencil to change your mark making. A video about this would be very instructive. Thanks again Siobhan.

[@Drawing-Life]

So happy to hear this Tim, thanks for the feedback. I think mark making is so essential, and you're right its worthy of a video because it's nearly the most important aspect of a drawing practice. Only, it's hard to explain it on video, using photo reference. I'll give it a try though! I don't think about it consciously in the moment, but changing grip and using different marks is completely connected to seeing the gesture and understanding the emphasis in the particular pose, and that really comes with practice, but there are ways to get there fast, if you practice gesture a lot. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions! :)

[@recreepy]

Truly appreciate your talent, you created a masterpiece here.

[@Drawing-Life]

That's super kind of you to say. Thanks so much for watching ❤

[@marlenemaier2168]

I love how the figure emerged from your beautiful marks

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you Marlene! 😊 thanks for watching!

[@KarenDodo9]

I so appreciate your comment on developing your own drawing language, I am battling to see my own handwriting in my drawing and as you so well coined, to get myself out of the way in my drawing, another great tutorial, thank you

[@RafaelLimaVieira]

Your art is so expressive and unique. It's really inspiring to watch your videos. Thank you for sharing your art :)

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much :) that's very encouraging for me to hear, I appreciate it! thanks for watching ❤

[@Muthukaviyarasan]

😃👍🙋🏻‍♂️

[@lshwadchuck5643]

A natural way to make those scribbly marks part of our language is to spend lots of time doing blind contour drawings. Any old object around the house. Better to draw this way from 3D subjects, so your eyes are deeply finding relationships and overlaps. Never look down at the page. It's a slower process than gesture. When you bring this experience to drawing quickly from photos, the marks are sincere explorations, not a curlicue to simulate searching.

[@Lecartt]

Hi Siobhan, just wanted to stop by and say your drawings are nice and inspiring. Keep it up!

[@Drawing-Life]

@Lecartt thank you!! That means so much, I really appreciate it :)

[@davidschmidt4653]

are you copying a drawing or is this from your head? I see you drawing some marks that appear to be not recognizable until the finished drawing. could you do the same result with a charcoal stick? thanks

[@Drawing-Life]

I’m drawing from a reference yes; the link to the pose is in the description 😊

[@davidschmidt4653]

@@Drawing-Life I'm new. Scribble marking works here.

[@TonySwaby]

Scribbling is one of the ways I teach people to connect and respond to their subject, in fact I've done a course on it :)

[@richardcatterson5872]

very good

[@cgungm]

hearing you say things like making your marks your own --words to that effect-- is great to hear!

[@Drawing-Life]

So glad that resonates with you! Drawing is after all a language , a way of communicating, and one that you can definitely make your own. Thanks for watching 😊

[@johnprentice1527]

Thank you, Siobhan. More than the paintings of the Renaissance masters, I love their drawings. I have been frustrated with the line quality of my own drawings, always comparing them to those of the Masters. I think your video will help me be more patient with my own line making. I love the two terms you employ: "beautiful scribble" and "emergent quality". I have tried, with little success to use the "provisional" line technique that Karl Gnass uses; I simply don't yet have the skill to put down a provisional line using the side of my pencil or chalk and then commit to that bold confident line that he uses. Maybe some day; but maybe my style will develop differently. In the meantime, light beautiful scribbling might help me enjoy the PROCESS more fully and to be less critical of the results that I think I ought to be achieving.

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi John, well I'm not sure there is anyone who would not be less that frustrated comparing their drawings to Renaissance Masters, so you can take that pressure off yourself! Haha, but, Obviously looking to them for inspiration and studying their lines is essential to understanding your own work. I'm not familiar with Karl Gnass' provisional line technique, will find out. But I think part of the sense of freedom in your line needs to come from the process more so than focusing on the outcome - exactly as you say. I would recommend getting to a life drawing session in person if you can, that is the best practice. Hope this helps, keep me posted if you do go, or if you already are going! :)

[@angelruizrisueno2729]

Maravilloso 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you! :)