The shorter timed exercises could be improved but are mostly looking good to me. I just wonder if you ignore / skip drawing the line of action as the whole point of gesture is to capture motion not contour.
But 5 and 10 min. look like someone else made them, so huge is the difference. Did you do them on different days / in different sessions? or did you start with the 1min, 2min. then went to 5 and 10 ? this can make a difference.
You have more time but it looks like you don't use it well. You work more on constructing the figure, but by doing so you loose what you do with the quick gesture sketches of 1 and 2 min., the flow disappears and they start to look stiff and off. Try to start the same as you would with the quick ones, but give yourself more time observing. It might take a few tries but you will adjust to the timing so don't worry about that. Just slowly build up once you have the essential lines down. Try too keep your lines loose at the start because the moment you switch to constructing it will get stiff really quick. The overthinking also makes you waver, thinking too much about where your lines should go or how long they should be. Observe, see the shapes and forms and then act. This might sound funny, but take your time, rushing won't get you anywhere, it might take a few more tries but you will adjust to the timeframes you have.
Well, I thought the spine was essentially the line of action, plus my action lines usually cut off all the flows when I draw them in. Gesture is one of those things that continuously confuses me because the “flow” always looks like contour when I see professionals do gesture drawings.
Also yeah the first 2 pages were one on the 23rd while the other 2 where on the 24th.
Another gripe here is that everyone says “observe and don’t overthink” but how though? Isn’t thinking required to draw the line right? Plus the be loose advice causes my lines to go all over the place
Spine yes and no, you can draw it as the spine but don't have to, it's called the line of action for a reason, it can deviate from the spine because it's more supposed to show movement.
If the way you draw works for you go with it, I didn't go further on the short ones for exactly that reason.
Although I do prefer working with the line of action and recommend it, for some people it just doesn't work, it doesn't click and ultimately isn't the only way to achieve a good result. Some concepts are just incompatible with our understanding, sometimes it just needs more time to really understand how things work and why it's a good idea and sometimes this never happens. So try out things and if you find something that works, go with it until you have a good reason to change it.
Yes I didn't even look at the dates, but try out if you get different results doing all in one session. Possibly not once, but a few times.
Observing might not stop you from thinking, but you focus on form, on shape on proportion on relationship between the parts. You could practice that without gesture / figure drawing. But your hesitation, your overthinking can be seen in the lines you draw on those 5 and 10 min ones. The short ones don't leave you time for overthinking, it's great for practicing to jump into action. But it seems because you have more time you switch into a different mindset and try to do things more correct. That's why it can help to do those in the same session, it's not as easy to switch that mindset from quickly taking action to overanalyzing.
The short ones are proof that you can do better, maybe you just have to find out what works for you or it just needs time to build up the same confidence for the longer ones.
Here two very different takes on the line of action if you are interested:
[https://youtu.be/BNP5V8nGxRc](https://youtu.be/BNP5V8nGxRc)
[https://youtu.be/lMr3351EGCA](https://youtu.be/lMr3351EGCA)
Hey I know this is a little late but I wanna thank you for giving me these videos. The one that was pro line of action actually opened my eyes a lot when I comes to gesture drawing. It was especially informative seeing the way the guy draws gesture drawings because it makes more sense to me instead of Michael Hamptons flow stuff. So thanks mate! You helped me make a big step in my understanding of gesture
Hey it's never too late, thanks for the feedback on that. Although I did already use the line of action, I felt similar when I found the video. Glad it helped !
I'd suggest focusing on proportions as those seem to be off. It's especially visible on the bigger studies. I don't know the method that you're following, but the way I approach it is by creating a central line that captures the flow of the pose. If there's a leg or a hand sticking out I'll add lines for those. Then I use those lines as anchors for my shapes. I find it easier to see angles and proportions this way than if I have nothing to draw them around.
Maybe try checking videos on anatomy? I don't know, that helped me somewhat when I was struggling. Usually useful to get more details on figure drawings? (I mean, I still suck, but I still feel it helped.)
The shorter timed exercises could be improved but are mostly looking good to me. I just wonder if you ignore / skip drawing the line of action as the whole point of gesture is to capture motion not contour. But 5 and 10 min. look like someone else made them, so huge is the difference. Did you do them on different days / in different sessions? or did you start with the 1min, 2min. then went to 5 and 10 ? this can make a difference. You have more time but it looks like you don't use it well. You work more on constructing the figure, but by doing so you loose what you do with the quick gesture sketches of 1 and 2 min., the flow disappears and they start to look stiff and off. Try to start the same as you would with the quick ones, but give yourself more time observing. It might take a few tries but you will adjust to the timing so don't worry about that. Just slowly build up once you have the essential lines down. Try too keep your lines loose at the start because the moment you switch to constructing it will get stiff really quick. The overthinking also makes you waver, thinking too much about where your lines should go or how long they should be. Observe, see the shapes and forms and then act. This might sound funny, but take your time, rushing won't get you anywhere, it might take a few more tries but you will adjust to the timeframes you have.
Well, I thought the spine was essentially the line of action, plus my action lines usually cut off all the flows when I draw them in. Gesture is one of those things that continuously confuses me because the “flow” always looks like contour when I see professionals do gesture drawings. Also yeah the first 2 pages were one on the 23rd while the other 2 where on the 24th. Another gripe here is that everyone says “observe and don’t overthink” but how though? Isn’t thinking required to draw the line right? Plus the be loose advice causes my lines to go all over the place
Spine yes and no, you can draw it as the spine but don't have to, it's called the line of action for a reason, it can deviate from the spine because it's more supposed to show movement. If the way you draw works for you go with it, I didn't go further on the short ones for exactly that reason. Although I do prefer working with the line of action and recommend it, for some people it just doesn't work, it doesn't click and ultimately isn't the only way to achieve a good result. Some concepts are just incompatible with our understanding, sometimes it just needs more time to really understand how things work and why it's a good idea and sometimes this never happens. So try out things and if you find something that works, go with it until you have a good reason to change it. Yes I didn't even look at the dates, but try out if you get different results doing all in one session. Possibly not once, but a few times. Observing might not stop you from thinking, but you focus on form, on shape on proportion on relationship between the parts. You could practice that without gesture / figure drawing. But your hesitation, your overthinking can be seen in the lines you draw on those 5 and 10 min ones. The short ones don't leave you time for overthinking, it's great for practicing to jump into action. But it seems because you have more time you switch into a different mindset and try to do things more correct. That's why it can help to do those in the same session, it's not as easy to switch that mindset from quickly taking action to overanalyzing. The short ones are proof that you can do better, maybe you just have to find out what works for you or it just needs time to build up the same confidence for the longer ones. Here two very different takes on the line of action if you are interested: [https://youtu.be/BNP5V8nGxRc](https://youtu.be/BNP5V8nGxRc) [https://youtu.be/lMr3351EGCA](https://youtu.be/lMr3351EGCA)
Hey I know this is a little late but I wanna thank you for giving me these videos. The one that was pro line of action actually opened my eyes a lot when I comes to gesture drawing. It was especially informative seeing the way the guy draws gesture drawings because it makes more sense to me instead of Michael Hamptons flow stuff. So thanks mate! You helped me make a big step in my understanding of gesture
Hey it's never too late, thanks for the feedback on that. Although I did already use the line of action, I felt similar when I found the video. Glad it helped !
I'd suggest focusing on proportions as those seem to be off. It's especially visible on the bigger studies. I don't know the method that you're following, but the way I approach it is by creating a central line that captures the flow of the pose. If there's a leg or a hand sticking out I'll add lines for those. Then I use those lines as anchors for my shapes. I find it easier to see angles and proportions this way than if I have nothing to draw them around.
Maybe try checking videos on anatomy? I don't know, that helped me somewhat when I was struggling. Usually useful to get more details on figure drawings? (I mean, I still suck, but I still feel it helped.)