How to Draw Gesture

Summary

In this figure drawing tutorial, Stan Prokopenko emphasizes the importance of 'gesture' in capturing the essence of movement. He explains that gesture is not about contours or form but the flow that connects them. Prokopenko suggests practicing quicksketches to internalize gesture recognition, which is crucial for dynamic figure drawing. He introduces concepts like the 'Line of Action' and the use of 'C', 'S', and straight lines to simplify and convey motion effectively. The video also touches on the expressive potential of exaggerating poses and the importance of asymmetry in body language, promising further guidance and resources for mastering gesture drawing.

Takeaways

• 🎨 **Gesture Importance**: Gesture is crucial in figure drawing as it captures the movement and flow, not just the form or contour.
• 🏃 **Understanding Gesture**: Gesture is the essence of motion and action, connecting different parts of a figure in a drawing.
• 🤔 **Beyond Details**: Focusing on the gesture rather than just the anatomical details can lead to more dynamic and expressive drawings.
• ⏱️ **Quicksketch Practice**: Practicing quicksketches helps in developing the ability to perceive and capture gesture quickly.
• 🚶 **Gesture in Life Drawing**: Gesture is the primary concern in life drawing sessions, where poses vary in duration.
• 👀 **Seeing the Gesture**: Training the eye to see gesture immediately is key to improving figure drawing skills.
• 🎭 **Gesture and Storytelling**: Gesture can be used to tell a story by capturing body language and conveying emotions.
• 🔍 **Longest Axis Focus**: When drawing, focus on the longest axis of the form to find the fluid motion and gesture.
• 🌀 **CSI Approach**: Use simple curves (C, S, I) to eliminate unnecessary details and capture the gesture effectively.
• ➰ **Line of Action**: Identify the main line that shows the directional flow of the pose, known as the 'Line of Action'.
• 🌊 **Curve Dynamics**: The 'bendiness' of the curve used in drawing can indicate the level of tension or relaxation in the gesture.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the first video in the figure drawing series by Stan Prokopenko?

The main focus of the first video in the figure drawing series is on the concept of 'gesture', which refers to the movement that connects the contours, forms, and tones in a drawing.

Why is gesture considered important in figure drawing according to Stan Prokopenko?

Gesture is considered important because it captures the rhythm, motion, action, and flow of a figure, which are essential for conveying the story and emotions through body language, rather than just focusing on the details of anatomy.

What is the purpose of quicksketch exercises in art school as described by Stan Prokopenko?

Quicksketch exercises are used to train artists to see and capture the gesture of a figure quickly, which helps in designing details that complement the gesture instead of randomly copying them.

How long does a typical quicksketch session last and what is the range of poses per session?

A typical quicksketch session lasts 2-3 hours, with poses ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes each.

What is the 'Line of Action' in gesture drawing?

The 'Line of Action' is the main line that shows the directional flow of a pose, often attempting to connect the head to the toes with one long line or a combination of curves.

How does the 'bendiness' of a curve in gesture drawing affect the perception of the gesture?

A longer, fluid curve gives a relaxed feeling, while a more bent or zig zag curve indicates tension and sudden changes in movement.

What does Stan Prokopenko suggest to do before watching the step-by-step video on gesture quick sketches?

Stan Prokopenko suggests practicing the concepts of gesture drawing on your own before watching the step-by-step video to have a better understanding and be able to pull more information from it.

Where can viewers find reference photos for gesture drawing practice as mentioned in the video?

Viewers can find reference photos for gesture drawing practice at proko.com/poses.

What is the significance of the longest axis when finding the gesture of a form?

The longest axis is significant because it helps in finding the fluid motion from one form to the next, which is essential for capturing the gesture.

What does Stan Prokopenko mean by 'CSI' in the context of gesture drawing?

In the context of gesture drawing, 'CSI' refers to using simple lines such as C curves, S curves, or straight lines (I) to eliminate unnecessary information and capture the gesture.

How does the asymmetry of the body influence the gesture in figure drawing?

The asymmetry of the body, with alternating angles from the head to the lower leg, creates alternating C curves that lead the eye through the body, adding to the dynamic flow of the gesture.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Understanding Gesture in Figure Drawing

Stan Prokopenko introduces the concept of 'gesture' in figure drawing, explaining that it refers to the rhythm, motion, and flow that connect the contours, forms, and tones in a drawing. He emphasizes that gesture is not about the details of anatomy but the movement that ties everything together. Prokopenko suggests practicing gesture drawing to make it second nature, which is crucial for quick sketching. He describes a typical quick sketch session and how it helps in mastering the gesture, allowing artists to design details that complement the gesture rather than copying them randomly. The video promises to cover all necessary concepts for successful gesture-focused quick sketches and hints at future videos that will build on these foundations.

05:01

🔍 Key Concepts for Gesture Drawing

The paragraph delves into the specifics of gesture drawing, starting with identifying the longest axis of a form to capture the fluid motion. It advises using simple lines like c curves, s curves, or straight lines to eliminate unnecessary details and focus on the gesture. The 'Line of Action' is introduced as the main line that shows the directional flow of a pose, which may require breaking down into parts for a more accurate representation. The paragraph also discusses the use of relaxed and tense curves to convey different feelings in a gesture, comparing it to the natural movement of water. Asymmetry in the body's forms is highlighted as a key aspect to consider, and the paragraph concludes with a prompt for viewers to practice these concepts on their own before watching a step-by-step tutorial in the next video. It also mentions resources for reference photos and additional premium content.

Keywords

💡Gesture

Gesture refers to the rhythm, motion, action, or flow that connects the contours, forms, and tones in a drawing. It is not about the specific details but the overall movement that gives life to a drawing. In the script, Stan Prokopenko emphasizes that gesture is crucial for capturing the essence of a figure drawing, as it conveys the movement and energy of the subject. For example, he explains that the gesture of three balls would be a curve that describes their relationship.

💡Contour

Contour in drawing refers to the outline or edge of a form, defining its shape. The script distinguishes between contour and gesture, stating that while contour is important, it is the gesture that connects and gives life to the drawing. The contour is the static line that outlines a form, but gesture is the dynamic flow that brings the form to life.

💡Quicksketch

A quicksketch is a rapid drawing exercise typically done in art school, where students draw a model within a short time frame, usually ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The primary focus of a quicksketch is to capture the gesture of the figure. The script mentions that this exercise helps artists train their eyes to see and capture gesture immediately, which is essential for improving figure drawing skills.

💡Line of Action

The Line of Action is a concept introduced in the script to describe the main directional flow of a pose, often represented by a single line that connects the head to the toes. It is used to simplify the gesture of a figure into its most basic form, capturing the overall movement and direction. The script uses this term to illustrate how to reduce a complex pose to its most expressive line.

💡CSI

CSI, as used in the script, stands for curves (C), straight lines (S), and I-lines. It is a method to simplify the lines used in a gesture drawing to the most basic forms. The script advises artists to use only these simple lines to capture the gesture, eliminating unnecessary details and focusing on the essential movement.

💡Relaxed and Tense Curves

Relaxed and tense curves are used in the script to describe how the curvature of lines in a drawing can convey different feelings of tension or relaxation. A relaxed curve is long and fluid, suggesting ease and flow, while a tense curve is more angular or zig-zagged, indicating abrupt changes and high energy. The script uses the analogy of water in different states to illustrate this concept.

💡Asymmetry

Asymmetry in the context of the script refers to the natural imbalance or unevenness in the human body when viewed from the side. It is about the alternating angles of the head, ribcage, pelvis, and legs, which create a rhythmic flow through the figure. The script emphasizes the importance of capturing this asymmetry to avoid stiff, unnatural poses.

💡Body Language

Body language is the non-verbal communication through which we express ideas and emotions using our bodies. In the script, Prokopenko discusses how gesture drawing should capture body language to tell a story. It's about conveying what a person is doing, feeling, or planning to do through a few lines that represent the body and its movements.

💡Exaggeration

Exaggeration in drawing is the technique of intentionally amplifying certain features or aspects of a subject to emphasize or clarify its characteristics. The script suggests that exaggerating the pose can help tell a better story and capture the essence of the gesture more effectively. It also implies that as one becomes more skilled, they can capture subtleties while maintaining the exaggerated essence.

💡Action Lines

Action lines, as mentioned in the script, are the lines in a drawing that represent the movement and action of the subject. They are not static like sticks or straight lines but are dynamic, showing the energy and motion. The script advises against thinking of these lines as sticks to prevent the drawing from becoming stiff and lifeless.

💡Rhythm

Rhythm in drawing refers to the pattern or sequence of movement that gives a sense of flow and harmony to the artwork. The script talks about training the mind to see rhythm in everything, which is essential for capturing the gesture and making the drawing dynamic. It's about the ebb and flow of lines that mimic the natural movement of the subject.

Highlights

Gesture is a fundamental concept in figure drawing, referring to the movement between things, not just the contour or form.

Gesture is essential for capturing the rhythm, motion, action, and flow in a drawing.

Focusing on gesture rather than just details can lead to a more dynamic and expressive drawing.

Practicing gesture drawing can help make it second nature, improving overall figure drawing skills.

Quicksketch exercises are a common way to train the eye to see and capture gesture quickly.

A typical quicksketch session involves drawing multiple poses within a short timeframe.

Mastering quicksketch can lead to significant improvement in figure drawing over time.

Gesture drawing is not just for stick figures but is a foundational skill for more detailed work.

Gesture can be used to tell a story by capturing body language and emotions through a few lines.

Exaggerating poses can help in capturing the essence and emotion of a gesture more effectively.

The 'Line of Action' is a key concept for understanding the main directional flow of a pose.

Using the simplest lines (C, S, I) helps in eliminating unnecessary details and focusing on gesture.

The 'bendiness' of curves in a gesture drawing can convey different levels of tension and relaxation.

Observing the longest axis of a form is crucial for finding the fluid motion in gesture drawing.

The body's asymmetry should be considered to create a more natural and dynamic gesture.

Reference photos and pose sets can be helpful tools for practicing gesture drawing.

Proko's website offers additional resources, including pose sets and premium content for further learning.

The importance of practicing gesture drawing before watching tutorial videos for a deeper understanding.

Transcripts

Hey there, I'm Stan Prokopenko, thanks for watching Proko. This is the first video of

the figure drawing series. And it's probably one of the most important. In this lesson

I'll be covering "gesture"

What the butt-munch is gesture anyway? Gesture, rhythm, motion, action, flow - these are all

words that are used interchangeably and they basically mean the same thing.

They all refer to the movement between things. It's not the contour, or the form, or the

tone. It's the movement that connects the contours, the forms and the tones. For example

if you have 3 balls, the gesture here would be a c curve that describes the relationship

of these balls. This would be the contour, but this is the gesture. It's simple to understand,

but difficult to put into practice when you're actually drawing a human figure. We're so

tempted to draw the details of the anatomy and all the little bumps of the contour because

we think that detail will make our drawing look better. But the reality is, the detail

is nothing without the gesture. You might accidentally find some gesture while you're

copying the contours, but I don't like to rely on accidents.

A better approach would be to practice finding the gesture of the figure so many times that

it becomes second nature. Quicksketch is a common exercise in art school that involves

drawing the model from life within a few minutes. A typical quicksketch session lasts 2-3 hours

with poses ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes per pose. Gesture is the primary concern.

Doing this exercise will train you to see the gesture immediately. You can feel it.

Then you will be able to design the details to complement the gesture instead of copying

details randomly.

Your journey of mastering quicksketch will be a long but exciting one. There's a lot

to learn and every time you learn something new your sketches will show improvement. During

a normal session you'll finish anywhere from 25 to 100 drawings. Think about that... You're

drawing the human figure up to 100 times within a few hours. If you do this on a regular basis,

you're going to get better.. The best thing about it, is it's actually fun, if you don't

stress over it... In this video I'll go over all concepts you need to know for a successful

quicketch drawing that focuses completely on gesture. In future videos I'll build on

to that and introduce additional concepts all of which come together. And in the end,

with enough practice you can use all these concepts to produce a completed quicksketch

drawing in 5-10 minutes.

So basically gesture is in everything around us. It's an approach to drawing that you can

use to draw anything.

Use gesture to tell a story by capturing the body language. We use our whole body, not

just words to communicate ideas and emotions. This is what the gesture should capture. What

is the person doing? What is he feeling? What did he just do? Or what is he going to do?

This can be told through just a few lines, which the viewer will recognize as the body

and can identify the emotions that person is feeling just like we can intuitively identify

emotions of the people around us. It's a good idea to exaggerate the pose to tell a better.

As you become more skilled in exaggerating, you will also improve in capturing the subtleties.

You're probably thinking, stan, is this another April fools joke? Are you drawing another

stick figure? no.. Don't think of it as a stick figure. Because that could make your

drawing stiff.. They're not sticks. They're not straight lines. They're action lines.

Observe the pose and analyze the movement. It's more about how it feels, rather than

how it looks.

Later, we will add more structure to these drawings to make the figures feel more solid

and real. So, for those of you who don't find this inspiring and are thinking "I don't want

my people to look like spaghetti" remember that this is not meant to be a finished drawing.

It's a exercise to practice a concept. You're training your mind to see rhythm in everything

you draw. You're training your mind to consider more than just the contours when you're drawing

shapes. It's an important concept that needs to be intuitive. In all these drawings that

you're seeing now the element of gesture was applied to the anatomy to make the figure

dynamic.

Let's go over some important concepts to remember while practicing your gesture drawings.

Longest axis

When you look at a form and try to find the gesture, look at its longest axis. Going down

the length of the torso, down the length of the leg, down the length of the arm.. It's

in the longest axis of each form where you'll find the fluid motion from one form to the

next.

CSI

To eliminate the unnecessary information in the contours and to capture that gesture the

lines you use should be simple. Don't use anything more complicated than a c curve,

s curve, or straight.

You can use combinations of these curves as you move down the figure, but attempt to do

it in as few lines as possible using the simplest lines, C S or I.

Line of Action

The gesture should be drawn with as few lines as possible necessary to capture the idea.

Start by finding the longest action line of the body. Try to find a curve that could connect

the head to the toes. Not all poses can be efficiently described with one long line that

connect the head to the toes, but there is always one main line that shows the directional

flow of the pose. This is called the "Line of Action". In this pose the line of action

would be a c curve showing the major flow from the torso to the legs. But this doesnt

tell the whole story, so this pose would need to be broken up into more parts. I think this

sharp turn in the hips is important, so describing it with a soft curve isn't right. In this

case, I would use a combination of a c curve for the torso, and s curves for the legs.

Relaxed and tense curves

The "bendiness" of the curve you use changes how the gesture feels. A longer, fluid curve

feels relaxed and moves the eye quickly through that flow. As you start to bend the curve

more, you show more energy and more tension in the gesture. Eventually, when it's bent

far enough you can use a zig zag. A zig zag indicates tension, sharp corners, very sudden

changes in the movement.

Nature presents this very well with water. When the water is calm the waves flow in an

S curve rhythm. During a storm, when there's more energy in the water, the waves flow in

a zig zag pattern.

So, when you want to create tension, think zig zag. When you want to show something is

relaxed, use a flowing curve.

Asymmetry of the body

Consider the asymmetrical aspect of the body from the side. The forms alternate in angle

from head, ribcage, pelvis, upper leg and lower leg.

This causes alternating c curves that lead the eye through the body. Like a river flowing

through a stream...

The tendency for us is to make things, but this stiffens the gesture and makes the figure

look like a snowman

Next week I'll show some examples of gesture quick sketches and guide you step by step

through the process. But, I suggest you attempt to practice these concepts on your own before

watching the step by step video next week. You'll have an idea of what it's like and

will be able to pull more information from it because you know what to look for. You'll

have questions you can focus on, and you can compare what you did with what I do. If you

need reference photos, I have some posefile sets you can get at proko.com/poses.

If you want to see a more detailed explanation and plenty of examples.. oh cmon! Really?!

if you want to see a more detailed explanation, plenty of examples and more premium videos

check out proko.com/figure. For every free video that I post during this figure series,

I'm posting additional premium content on proko.com. This week I have...

If you like this video, share the wealth. Tell your friends, post it on your favorite

social network. And click on this button here to subscribe to the Proko newsletter if you

want to be updated about new videos. buh bye!

Ahem.. Squeaky squeaky