What Gesture Drawing Is - and What It Isnt

[@MartiHectorR]

I have a tendency to contour drawing instead of capturing the gesture, so I constantly come back to this video for inspiration. Thank you for sharing!

[@Drawing-Life]

That's wonderful to hear, thank you! Contour drawing can also very beautiful, and I try to use a mix of both in my drawings.

[@johnbai400]

I used to mix contour and gesture. It is fun process.:)

[@gemmafowler6900]

This is the first art video to inspire me to get back to the reason I began drawing years ago. To be able to produce an individual piece of work with energy and meaning.

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi Gemma, thank you so much for this comment - that is amazing! I'm so glad to hear this, keep me posted if you get back to life drawing, or start your drawing practice again. Great to know this resonated!

[@mapdesign1383]

This video makes a lot of sense to people who are learning about drawing gestures like me. It was like a ray of light at the end of the path I was looking for. thank you very much

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear you thought so, , it means a lot! :)

[@Drawing-Life]

Thanks for watching! hope you enjoyed this video, would love to hear any comments about your figure drawing experience and how you approach gesture drawing! Leave a comment below :)

[@marcusdekker]

Hi Siobhan, I just love to watch you draw! Watching you draw is my zen moment, i just drift off. You're a great artist, all the best. P.S. i am doing one of your courses now 👍

[@Drawing-Life]

Ah that's so great to hear!! Thanks a mil for this comment!! ... and really glad you're in the course - let m know if you have any work you'd like to get feedback on or discuss

[@johnbai400]

I love what you said and show what I had experienced. After learning academic drawing for a long time (usually 3 hours drawing and including rendering), I learned gesture drawing in the US. It was tough for me initially; I have a hard time getting the pose of people's bodies quickly. I try to take off my glass to see fewer details of the body, and I focus on the blurred figure in the general flow of the body with values. I also listen to music at the same time. I will move my body with the melody and bring my body movement to my hand's movement influenced by my strokes. Through the process, I gradually love gesture drawing. Instead of showing the figure's accuracy, I was enjoying the rhythmic flow of strokes and values through my muscle memory spontaneously. I enjoy expressing and enjoy the movement; the drawing on the paper becomes a casting process or archive. Your video now help me to recall these details and reflection. I appreciate it!

[@Drawing-Life]

@Johnbai wow, that's so fascinating to read - thank you so much for sharing this! I don't have that much experience with academic drawing, so hearing your perspective on gesture and fluid, expressive drawing is so insightful. I'm sure that your drawings were amazing - to combine an intuitive process with muscle memory of a more rigorous careful way of drawing. Wow, to me, that's the goal of drawing! :) I've come to see gesture drawing now as more about the response to the pose, I try to get the impression down quickly, and I also find that squinting or blurring my eyes helps! Thanks again for leaving a comment! And for watching :)

[@kf3310]

@@Drawing-Life Wonderful comment!

[@vincentcooper7181]

Thank you, I'm pitting your suggestions into practice.

[@AlexiBalian]

Your explanation resonates with me and clarifies many of my struggles, looking forward to applying the fluid method that seems a more natural way for me personally to draw a gesture- thank you again.

[@siarametanal4317]

Really nice explanation, thank you!

[@sylvainst-pierre5224]

uuum.. these short videos are helping me improve like crazy.

[@petejackson9270]

Siobhan. Your videos are genius.thank you

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

This is excellent practical advice and demonstration. Thanks. :-)

[@sichibukailaw6418]

I just discovered your channel but I already love it. I’ve watch like hundreds of videos about gesture drawing but with only one you made me realize that I didn’t understand some things I thought I did

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much! That's awesome to hear that, I really appreciate it :)

[@ericsamuelaguirre5709]

She is a wonderfull teacher

[@rabindranathmf2975]

Te escribo desde Costa Rica. Precioso dibujas y fantásticas técnicas

[@patszer8314]

Thank you so much for this lesson. It was just what I was looking for!

[@pauljerome01]

Ooh thank you for talking about stylization and how it differentiates very helpful

[@Drawing-Life]

Ah great! I'm so glad it made sense :) Thanks for watching and leaving comment !

[@patszer8314]

You have the gift of drawing beautifully and the gift of being able to verbally express love and passion.

[@TheLuconic]

Roman I think it’s called hard work and being consistent. Nothing to do with gifts. Gifts don’t exist. Only skill.

[@cypressstreet1]

Really enjoyed your KZbin videos - Just finished your Skillshare class, I learned so much!!! Thank you =)

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much! That's awesome to hear, so pleased thanks for watching :)

[@ecru_5819]

I tried this method out And I feels alot less stressful compared to what I was doing previously from what I've tried so far. It feels easier to catch the energy of a pose this way.

[@Drawing-Life]

Ah so glad to hear this! That's awesome, thanks for leaving this comment. Gesture is about following the forms, but finding the flow of energy through them. Hope this supports your drawing going forward!!

[@richardedward123]

Most useful video I've seen on gesture drawing. I think I understand now. Thanks!!!

[@Drawing-Life]

Hi Rich, that's so great to hear your feedback, I am only seeing this comment now, that means a lot thank you so much!

[@captokyo]

Thank you you are a great teacher :-)

[@jeconquy]

great video!

[@HIMMBelljuvo]

Great video. I would also add that drawing with a pen is useful. As it sort of forces you to be more economical with your mark making. And so it encourages you to capture the essence of the subject in as few lines as possible. That's how I tend to approach it

[@Drawing-Life]

Yes! Excellent point thank you! I totally agree, I think that is what it is all about ultimately, is finding a way to express what you see with as economical - or direct - a way as possible.

[@superlimone]

You are so sweet and calming. Wow. Thanks from Italy 🥰

[@Drawing-Life]

Ah thanks Luca! that's great to hear, Italy is my favorite place :) thanks for watching!!

[@chizu6478]

Very helpful!!! Thank you!!!!

[@Drawing-Life]

So glad to hear this, thanks for watching :)

[@deathnote7294]

A great video, thank you so much!

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you so much! Appreciate you watching it :)

[@purpleslippers8]

You’re a gift. Do suggest always working big? Is it easier for a beginner?

[@Drawing-Life]

@purpleslippers8 yes I do generally recommend working big, especially for beginners: it's crucial in order to "free up" and understand or discover your response through drawing / mark making. Drawing in a small sketchbook really can't produce the same experience - another aspect is that working big helps you to use your own gestures in your body while drawing the pose. Having said all that... this advice relates most to drawing the figure from life, in a life drawing class, or setting. So, working at home, from photo reference, I'm not sure it applies to the same extent. Hope this makes sense :)

[@purpleslippers8]

I do understand! I was fortunate to go to two figure drawing classes at a real art college when I was high schooler. It was cool, but I hated it because I’ve always been a details kind of person. I didn’t get it was about the essence not the actual form. Now that I’ve been reflecting on that I was wondering if it would work the same with picture references. I guess I will have to give it a shot and see if it “frees” me up more. Thank you for responding and giving me your input! Have a wonderful rest of your day/night!

[@jeancouteperoumal5964]

Merci

[@arka.prabha]

Thanks for the video. Can you clear a quick question. How does gesture drawing help resolve the figure drawing process in its finality?

[@Drawing-Life]

Great question Arkaprabha! It depends on what you aim to achieve in a "finished" drawing. Personally I find gesture drawings quite beautiful, finished drawings in themselves - for me capturing that quality is more important than capturing an accurate likeness (but that's just my taste). But, on the other hand, to accomplish a realistic, accurate drawing Gesture helps resolve the process by mapping out both your subject AND your response. If you keep your initial gestural marks very light you can work up a fine tuned, measured and accurate drawing on top of those marks, and either keep them in as part of the work, or erase them out as you bring the drawing to completion.

[@arka.prabha]

@@Drawing-Life This really helped. Thank you so much! Please post more videos! I'd love to watch them. I'll also tell my friends! Thanks a ton! Stay safe, wash your hands and all the positivity to you! Love from the other side of the world.

[@Drawing-Life]

@@arka.prabha wow thanks! That means soooo much. I'm stuck at home right now :) I'll be back in the studio next week and hope to get back to making content. So good to connect here though - hope you and everyone you know is safe and sound. X thanks again for being here X

[@Artinsane]

Amezing videos

[@Drawing-Life]

Thanks for watching!

[@calmcloudsmeditation1007]

Very interesting! Love your explanation

[@Drawing-Life]

Thank you ! Really appreciate your feedback, thanks for checking this out

[@shinydenz2721]

I’m confused on what to do with the gesture since when I try to had the construction everything seems out of proportion

[@Drawing-Life]

Very common problem. The way to approach it is to not add in construction. If you want to achieve a pure gesture drawing, you need to follow movement, not construction - it's a completely different way of drawing the figure, and often takes a bit of a mind-shift. But, it's so helpful because it trains you how to draw instinctively and to focus on how you observe rather than what you think the drawing should be (in terms of accuracy) ... if you want you can check my other video here : kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIjVloCajaahbLM I explain it further, but I hope this short explanation helps!! Gesture drawing is a powerful way to unlock your own expression, so I hope you find a way into it :) Thank you so much for watching!

[@Lovo-kz7oo]

Hii there ! I watched your video and it's great ! But I have questions I can't answer by myself even if I did some research. I feel like gesture drawing is more to improve your observation skills. So how to use gesture drawing when you draw from imagination ? And how to practice effectively gesture for drawing from imagination ? (if it's possible of course)

[@Drawing-Life]

Wow that's such a great question!! Thanks for your comment, I'll try to give you my understanding as best I can: gesture drawing is normally a way of drawing used when you are drawing from life, such as at a life drawing session. This is because you are trying to capture the movememnt or dynamic quality in the model. The human figure is such a dynamic and complex subject that using gesture is a great way to express the whole pose, as well as a way to express the subtle energy or quality that you feel or pick up on when you look at the pose. Personally I feel that gesture improves your mark making and your expression, but over time because it trains you to you look at the figure for emotion, or movement, it can have a dramatic effect on your observation skills and helps you to see the pose in a moment and to understand anatomy much more intuitively. Having said all that - to get to your actual question, how to use gesture drawing when you draw from imagination!! Well, gesture can also be understood as a drawing technique. It's a way of making marks that are intuitive, free flowing, not tied down to actual shapes or forms, but marks that flow through them and around them. I often describe the technique of gesture drawing as : Follow the forms (the anatomy) but draw the movement. So, if you were to draw from imagination, you'd just have to keep your line work loose, free flowing, and aim to describe an action or a movement rather than details or anatomy. Try to draw the line of action first, then add loose markers for head, torso and limbs. Also, don't aim to "finish" your drawing - instead just do more, try to fill up a whole page of poses, and make the poses as dynamic as you can (that's easier if you start with a line of action). I really hope this helps!! Let me know? If you have any questions, or need more clarification reply here and I'll unpack it more as best I can! :)

[@Lovo-kz7oo]

@@Drawing-Life First of all, thank you very much for your answer, it helped me to see more clearly in my understanding of the gesture, you explained it very well ! However, I need to clarify one more thing. When you say "to draw from imagination, you'd just have to keep your line work loose [...]" and "gesture drawing can be understood as a drawing technique", that's mean If I would like to just draw from imagination, I don't really need to overpractice gesture drawing from real life, but I need to get how technique of gesture work to put it into my imagination drawing ?

[@Drawing-Life]

@@Lovo-kz7oo Well....Yes, that's true, if you develop your technique of drawing you can focus on just drawing from imagination. But, you see, I personally feel that the only real way to improve your drawing - whether its gesture drawing or anything else - is to draw from life because you improve your observation and your understanding of drawing. So, for figure drawing, drawing the model in a life drawing session is really important even if you want to draw figures from your imagination. So, it's not really an "either / or" situation, its more like, if you can do both, then drawing from life will help you to draw BETTER from your imagination. The point I was making is that gesture drawing is also a technique or style of drawing that you can apply to your own work, from imagination. I really hope this makes more sense now! .... (Oh, one other tip that I thought of and I just wanted to mention it: when you are drawing your figures from imagination, and you want to make really dynamic poses, a good tip is to always exaggerate or push the pose even further than you think, that will really help you to make strong gesture drawings. )

[@Lovo-kz7oo]

@@Drawing-Life Thank you very much for your answer! It's true that I have to work on my observation. I wanted to know first of all, which exercises improve my drawing of imagination and which exercices improve my observation skills, so it will be easier to work more on one skill than the other but while working both. In any case I understand better now so thank you very much !

[@yzozuz]

👍

[@brooklyn5755]

she looks like Elen a little bit.

[@Drawing-Life]

Ellen stole my style 😆