Gesture Drawing is the quick scribbling of a figure making a certain pose or action. It usually involves an artist drawing several figures in a single line of action in a succession of usually 10 seconds.
It’s meant to serve as a quick draft of a drawing and a warm-up before going into the central part. It is not a mandatory skill; however, most artists self-learn it to put their ideas into a rough draft.
What is the Purpose of Gesture Drawing?
For an artist, gesture drawing serves many roles. The primary purpose of forming gesture drawing is to study the human figure in action.
It uses a single line of action as an axle to make the figure pose. Artists understand the exertion of muscles and the effect on the joints when twisting the body to apply it to their final drawing.
To keep their attention, artists use gesture drawing. Artists can use this technique to draw challenging or spontaneous poses that a live model may not be able to hold for long enough.
For artists, gesture drawing also helps in solving calisthenics problems. Artists who learn to gesture draw receive the benefits of self-training their drawing ability. For many artists, gesture drawing might make help make preparations for more sustained work.
Drawings that are longer than two minutes are usually not considered gestures. They are meant to allow the artist to gain more time to measure and plan the drawing.
Once the artist begins measuring, erasing, or improving the picture, they have ceased to gesture draw and start rendering. Gestures help improve or correct potential drawing problems that an artist might face in his artwork.
Tools for Gesture Drawing
Paper
Typically, artists use cheap sketchbooks or identical notepads to draw gestures. Artists prefer to use newsprint papers because gesture drawing serves no real purpose other than taking references. Of course, artists may also choose to use different papers that best suit their art styles.
Drawing Tool
It is easier for artists to draw gestures using graphite pencils due to their loose, expressive lines. However, other tools like pens, chalk, markers, charcoal, etc., are also used.
Model
Traditionally, human models were hired to pose to illustrate their gestures. However, nowadays, online pictures and videos are often used to do the same thing. Other gesture drawing subjects may include animals, live landscapes, or still-life objects.
How to Practice Gesture Drawing?
· Find a Distraction-free Place to Draw
When you are first starting, you might need to have a place all to yourself. Remember, you are new at this, and so you need to give out your absolute 100 percent concentration if you want to master it efficiently. So make sure your workplace is quiet.
If you are already a professional, you are free to draw wherever you want since you already have the meticulousness of an artist.
· Set Up Your Model
When setting up models, live ones are preferred above all. However, if you cannot manage live ones, sculptors or online pictures can also be used. If the gesture takes too long, your creativity will play an important role here since you need to draw as fast as possible.
· Setting Up a Time Limit
Individual gestures can take 15 seconds to about 10 minutes for someone who is just starting. You need to set up your time limit based on the number of poses you will be drawing. However, do not overdraft past your time limit. You can even challenge yourself to complete the time limit.
· Sketch Your Gesture Drawing
Start drawing when the time starts. Consider smooth, fluid lines and movement rather than small, rigid details when you draw.
Your first drawing may be below mediocre. However, as you gain more experience, you will get the hang of it. Keep practicing; your gesture drawing skills will develop naturally.
Take a Look at the Finished Artwork
After you draw, take a minute’s rest and look at your product calmly. What do you notice? Does it seem comprehensible? Which lines were off?
Which places could you improve in? Ask yourself these questions, and you will receive your answer eventually. When you draw the next time, you will see your improvement.
Some Tips to Follow
- Keep your lines fluid
- Do not go for details. Gesture drawing is rough drafts that do not include any details
- Take inspirations from real life
- Challenge yourself to finish before the time limit ends
Things to Avoid When Drawing Gestures
- Do not spend time thinking which strokes to take from which angle
- Use deeper strokes from the beginning. This helps decrease the chances of wanting to erase
- Always use straight lines with only tiny bits of curves
- Measure everything and size them up in accordance with your notebook
Gesture, Figure, and Contour Drawings
Many people often confuse these three and think that they are the same thing due to their many overlapping properties. However, they are not the same at all.
Gesture Drawing
It is a form of artwork without many details are usually drawn in quick succession. They tend to make use of bold fluid lines with slight curves.
Figure Drawing
It is often called umbrella drawing. Figure drawing is any drawing of a figure or anatomy, like a human. Gestures can include figure drawing, but not all figure drawings are counted as gestures.
Contour Drawing
This type of drawing is the most time-consuming. It includes any artwork with curves or ellipses used to create various shapes. These are usually more precise than gestures.
Contour drawings can also be counted as figure drawings when using curves to draw human or animal figures. However, other still objects can also be counted as contour drawings as long as they are drawn with curves.
Ending Notes
Gesture drawing is easy. Even a beginner can get into it after some practice as long as they have dedication. Learning and using gesture drawing is beneficial for all artists.