Gesture is NOT about "drawing the figure" in a literal sense. Follow the forms, but DRAW THE MOVEMENT. I think gesture drawing is one of the most important concepts for a beginner figure drawing student to learn, because it's just so much harder to access later on when you've ingrained rules about proportion and structure. Hope this video was useful, let me know if you have any thoughts about how to draw the gesture, if it's something you enjoy or if you prefer to focus on getting details and proportion accurate in your work? ❤
Another super video. Thanks so much. I'm watching from San Antonio, Texas, USA. I'm wondering, can I practice gesture drawing with a simple ballpoint pen? I've been liking the scribble technique. Scribble with ballpoint pen whilst doing gesture drawing practice. Hmmm...
Hi Rich! Yes, that's how I first started exploring gesture! with a ballpoint pen, using scribble marks. It's a wonderful drawing tool, and can actually be really versatile and give you a range of tones and marks. Plus I love the fluid, easy quality of the lines. So, yes! Experiment away! that's what it's all about ... keep me posted how you get on. So cool to hear you're in San Antonio! thanks for watching and leaving a comment :)
Something opened, something affiliated my intuition about how I personally want to draw, watching you, hearing you. I literally have tears in my eyes. I am totally self taught but after 2 years of watching people draw ovals and sticks and fill them in, only to produce lifeless robotic (though very precise!) figures. I KNEW that this was not the direction I wanted to move. I can’t thank you enough for your generosity, sensitivity and talent. I have subscribed and look forward to coming along on your path to expression and feeling.
Wow, thank you so much for this comment. This makes it all worthwhile to hear that you resonate with this approach and appreciate the video!! Thank you so much. I know how hard it can be to be self-directed and self-taught; I was lucky to have a life drawing teacher, and in these videos i just hope to pass on the knowledge as best I can. I always say figure drawing is not only about proportion and "photo likeness" is mostly about creativity and self-expression. Excited for you to be on this journey!! Thanks for subscribing! :)
OMG, THANK YOU!!! I needed this info and explanation so seriously much! It happened to me too! Being too hasty, trying to draw a more or less perfect… figure…🙄😬 And then get dissapointed at myself and feeling failure. Thanks! 🙏❤️
Ah, so happy to hear that! I'm really glad this clicked for you - it's not about drawing the figure in a literal sense, more about drawing that feeling or energy you see/feel. It doesn't have to be perfect, and naturally you'll want to "follow the figure" as you draw, but I think at least having that understanding as your starting point makes all the difference!! Keep me posted, let me know if you see improvements!
Great to get to follow along your life drawing session like this, and it's so true: the more detail and rendering you add, the stiffer the drawing tends to become. Even starting out with a pretty wild gesture, the more things you add it's like you're constantly fighting that tendency to straighten things out and flatten them down... :)
Ah yes!! I totally relate. I can say that over time you do start to learn when to scale back and be selective, and leave well enough alone! .. that comes with practice and with getting to know what it is you are choosing to look at (at first, it feels like you have to take everything in, but observation with practice can be discerning as well). I'm so glad to hear you like the life drawing sessions, thanks so much!! That means a lot to get your feedback, I really appreciate it :) thanks for watching!
It's a practice, think of it like a drawing drill, it's not going to make sense right away, work with it over time. I would also suggest using it as a way to draw abstractly, that can be the best way to loosen up and get confident in your lifework. Doesn't have to be a recognizable figure. Some people will tell you it's not for beginners, but trust me it's essential part of developing your drawing. Ok, last advice - it really helps to draw from life, if you can go to life drawing then it will help hugely. Keep me posted! and thanks for watching :)
I love your technique and videos, bought your Udemy courses as well but i still struggle too much doing gestures which i find magical and inspiring. How do i know where to place the "c" or the "s" when following the flow? I end up with sausages... Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Luis, ah great to hear that you took the Figure Drawing Course. If you are still struggling with gesture drawing, I have 2 resources that will help you: 1). check out the Udemy course I published specifically on this technique: tinyurl.com/yhtht83a ....that will certainly help you to know where and when to place your gesture marks. Regarding C or S.... watch this video: ruclips.net/video/jx5d8KC9YO0/видео.html Then, if you still feel that the drawing is stuck, please send me a message via Udemy, we can discuss your drawings and where the issue is!! I'm there every day, so feel free to contact me and if you can send me your drawing that would be great. It would be great to feel confident in your gesture drawing because it really is a powerful drawing technique so I would love to help you get there. S
@@Drawing-Life didnt expect your reply so soon! I have the udemy course that you've suggested and will also follow the YT one. I'll reach you out through Udemy, you'd be my life saviour if you do boost me there, i have the feeling everything starts at Gesture drawing once the fundamentals are there.
Thank you. I am interested in gesture drawing people playing golf and am new to figure drawing. Could you point me in right direction please as to best way to start the golfer figures please?
Golfing figures will have really strong line of actions ... I would suggest watching my recent video "How to See the Gesture in Any Pose" for advice on how to capture a pose such as a golf swing etc. ruclips.net/video/jx5d8KC9YO0/видео.html
Hi Andreas! Wow, thank you very much, I appreciate your feedback it's really good to hear that. Personally I learnt "how to draw" from watching my figure drawing teacher draw, when she did demos - there is so much value in seeing the way others make their marks and approach their drawing, that you can take and incorporate into your own work. Thanks for watching! :)
Wowww!! That's so amazing to hear! I'm so happy, this makes my day. 😊The right approach to gesture is something that will constantly support how you develop your drawing technique. Hope you enjoy working with this for a long time to come.
Your gesture drawing is an inspiration to me. I am learning so much by watching your videos. I am currently taking a once a week 3 hour life drawing class and I really feel that I have improved my response to the model from your instruction,
Hi Sarah, that is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for this comment! I'm so happy that you find these videos a support in your drawing, keep me posted, let me know how you get on with life drawing!! Enjoy the journey 😊❤
That's so awesome!! I'm really glad this made sense, and I hope it makes sense in life drawing tomorrow! I recommend the book "The Natural Way to Draw" as a support for anyone going to life drawing - not necessarily to follow the schedules and exercises in it, but just as a reading material it's very useful. Let me know how you get on!
Hi Siobhan, the part about mark setting...I will remember this tot take in to my life drawing classes .... I have been growing in my drawing skills since I follow your posts. Very gratefull for this. And also learning to follow my impressions, without the stress of timed poses. Great work and thanks again!!!! Kind regards from Antwerp...
I'm so glad to hear that! That's wonderful that you can see a difference in your work. Drawing from life rather than from photos always has an impact on your drawing, so its great that you can get to life drawing classes. Definitely don't worry about making a full drawing in a short timed pose, as you say follow the impression that you see. There are always the longer poses to make a full drawing.
Oh wow, what an awesome comment! Thank you 😊 that's really nice to hear, I think it might also have to do with the medium... charcoal is particularly expressive and its really nice to push the charcoal around and get different marks out of it. Really appreciate you watching, thanks so much!
Im drawing my mother daily and have been looking for guidance to capture her more fluidly. I appreciate your drawing style, suggestions and tips. It is also great being able to watch you draw, and see how you see as your drawing emerges :) Thanks for sharing your insight! Im loving your channel!
Thanks Rachel! That means so much to hear your feedback. What a beautiful practice to draw your mother every day, i think that must be such a wonderful experience. I can highly recommend a book called The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Niccolaides as a resource for gesture drawing, and a more responsive and observation-based approach to drawing. Thanks for watching these videos!! :)
@@Drawing-Life I am very fortunate to be able to usher my mom in her end journey. She captured stories in her art, something I’d like to emulate:) I ordered the book you recommended. Thank you for your reply.
Youre too kind! thanks for saying so ... mostly these drawings don't go anywhere after a drawing session, plus they're all drawn on newsprint which doesn't frame well at all! It's so thin that it's really difficult to frame! But, this comment makes my day, thanks for saying that. And thanks for watching!! ❤
Thank you 😢 was really sad tonight because I didn’t know what to do in my gesture session, now everything just seems to click 😭😭😭 , gesture for now is describing a pose to you not using words but lines 😫.
Gesture is NOT about "drawing the figure" in a literal sense. Follow the forms, but DRAW THE MOVEMENT.
I think gesture drawing is one of the most important concepts for a beginner figure drawing student to learn, because it's just so much harder to access later on when you've ingrained rules about proportion and structure. Hope this video was useful, let me know if you have any thoughts about how to draw the gesture, if it's something you enjoy or if you prefer to focus on getting details and proportion accurate in your work? ❤
Another super video. Thanks so much. I'm watching from San Antonio, Texas, USA. I'm wondering, can I practice gesture drawing with a simple ballpoint pen? I've been liking the scribble technique. Scribble with ballpoint pen whilst doing gesture drawing practice. Hmmm...
Hi Rich! Yes, that's how I first started exploring gesture! with a ballpoint pen, using scribble marks. It's a wonderful drawing tool, and can actually be really versatile and give you a range of tones and marks. Plus I love the fluid, easy quality of the lines. So, yes! Experiment away! that's what it's all about ... keep me posted how you get on. So cool to hear you're in San Antonio! thanks for watching and leaving a comment :)
Something opened, something affiliated my intuition about how I personally want to draw, watching you, hearing you. I literally have tears in my eyes. I am totally self taught but after 2 years of watching people draw ovals and sticks and fill them in, only to produce lifeless robotic (though very precise!) figures. I KNEW that this was not the direction I wanted to move. I can’t thank you enough for your generosity, sensitivity and talent. I have subscribed and look forward to coming along on your path to expression and feeling.
Wow, thank you so much for this comment. This makes it all worthwhile to hear that you resonate with this approach and appreciate the video!! Thank you so much. I know how hard it can be to be self-directed and self-taught; I was lucky to have a life drawing teacher, and in these videos i just hope to pass on the knowledge as best I can. I always say figure drawing is not only about proportion and "photo likeness" is mostly about creativity and self-expression. Excited for you to be on this journey!! Thanks for subscribing! :)
OMG, THANK YOU!!! I needed this info and explanation so seriously much! It happened to me too! Being too hasty, trying to draw a more or less perfect… figure…🙄😬 And then get dissapointed at myself and feeling failure. Thanks! 🙏❤️
Ah, so happy to hear that! I'm really glad this clicked for you - it's not about drawing the figure in a literal sense, more about drawing that feeling or energy you see/feel. It doesn't have to be perfect, and naturally you'll want to "follow the figure" as you draw, but I think at least having that understanding as your starting point makes all the difference!! Keep me posted, let me know if you see improvements!
My sole NATURAL RESPONSE is to bugger a thing up 😂
Being a senior artist myself your lessons have helped me tremendously. Thank you.
What would you call, "progressing further" as a figure artist?
Great to get to follow along your life drawing session like this, and it's so true: the more detail and rendering you add, the stiffer the drawing tends to become. Even starting out with a pretty wild gesture, the more things you add it's like you're constantly fighting that tendency to straighten things out and flatten them down... :)
Ah yes!! I totally relate. I can say that over time you do start to learn when to scale back and be selective, and leave well enough alone! .. that comes with practice and with getting to know what it is you are choosing to look at (at first, it feels like you have to take everything in, but observation with practice can be discerning as well). I'm so glad to hear you like the life drawing sessions, thanks so much!! That means a lot to get your feedback, I really appreciate it :) thanks for watching!
Is it a charcoal stick that you are using?
Really inspiring words, your process is so refreshing!
What you say seems important. But it would have been helpful to actually see the model you are drawing.
This is RUclips, so unfortunately not possible unless I want to get strikes and bans. It's more for guidance.
Muchas gracias por el contenido! Saludos desde Venezuela
🇻🇪 ❤ 🇻🇪 ! Thank you
Gesture has been giving me so much trouble, and it really annoys me because this is where everyone says to start if you want to draw figures...
It's a practice, think of it like a drawing drill, it's not going to make sense right away, work with it over time. I would also suggest using it as a way to draw abstractly, that can be the best way to loosen up and get confident in your lifework. Doesn't have to be a recognizable figure. Some people will tell you it's not for beginners, but trust me it's essential part of developing your drawing. Ok, last advice - it really helps to draw from life, if you can go to life drawing then it will help hugely. Keep me posted! and thanks for watching :)
How long should gesture drawing poses be?
Wow! Beautifully done. Thank you for sharing your process.
Hermoso,genial esa técnica👽👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I need to teacher like you
Thanks so much for you explanations! They´re really helpful!!!!
Ah great, I'm so glad to hear that!! thank you for watching :)
Bon Soir. Wrong. I have been able to do gesture drawing et aussi figure drawing for 15 years.
Lol. That's awesome
Beautiful work and instruction, Siobhan
Thanks! I really appreciate this :)
Genial gracias
Amazing 😍
So good
I love your technique and videos, bought your Udemy courses as well but i still struggle too much doing gestures which i find magical and inspiring. How do i know where to place the "c" or the "s" when following the flow? I end up with sausages... Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Luis, ah great to hear that you took the Figure Drawing Course. If you are still struggling with gesture drawing, I have 2 resources that will help you: 1). check out the Udemy course I published specifically on this technique: tinyurl.com/yhtht83a ....that will certainly help you to know where and when to place your gesture marks. Regarding C or S.... watch this video: ruclips.net/video/jx5d8KC9YO0/видео.html Then, if you still feel that the drawing is stuck, please send me a message via Udemy, we can discuss your drawings and where the issue is!! I'm there every day, so feel free to contact me and if you can send me your drawing that would be great. It would be great to feel confident in your gesture drawing because it really is a powerful drawing technique so I would love to help you get there. S
@@Drawing-Life didnt expect your reply so soon! I have the udemy course that you've suggested and will also follow the YT one. I'll reach you out through Udemy, you'd be my life saviour if you do boost me there, i have the feeling everything starts at Gesture drawing once the fundamentals are there.
Thank you. I am interested in gesture drawing people playing golf and am new to figure drawing. Could you point me in right direction please as to best way to start the golfer figures please?
Golfing figures will have really strong line of actions ... I would suggest watching my recent video "How to See the Gesture in Any Pose" for advice on how to capture a pose such as a golf swing etc. ruclips.net/video/jx5d8KC9YO0/видео.html
@@Drawing-Life thank you very much.
I really really really love to see you drawing. Very inspiring for my own work. Thank you for all the videos!
Hi Andreas! Wow, thank you very much, I appreciate your feedback it's really good to hear that. Personally I learnt "how to draw" from watching my figure drawing teacher draw, when she did demos - there is so much value in seeing the way others make their marks and approach their drawing, that you can take and incorporate into your own work. Thanks for watching! :)
Thank you soooooo much for this video! It’s helped me in the two days I’ve decided to mix up my drawing game!
Wowww!! That's so amazing to hear! I'm so happy, this makes my day. 😊The right approach to gesture is something that will constantly support how you develop your drawing technique. Hope you enjoy working with this for a long time to come.
@@Drawing-Life I know I will I have the drive and will to go beyond what I know now!
@@MixItUpWithStasia Enjoy the ride! Keep me posted :)
Nice
Thanks friend!
Your gesture drawing is an inspiration to me. I am learning so much by watching your videos. I am currently taking a once a week 3 hour life drawing class and I really feel that I have improved my response to the model from your instruction,
Hi Sarah, that is so wonderful to hear, thank you so much for this comment! I'm so happy that you find these videos a support in your drawing, keep me posted, let me know how you get on with life drawing!! Enjoy the journey 😊❤
Thank you, that was really, really helpful. I shall approach tomorrow's life drawing session differently.
That's so awesome!! I'm really glad this made sense, and I hope it makes sense in life drawing tomorrow! I recommend the book "The Natural Way to Draw" as a support for anyone going to life drawing - not necessarily to follow the schedules and exercises in it, but just as a reading material it's very useful. Let me know how you get on!
Hi Siobhan, the part about mark setting...I will remember this tot take in to my life drawing classes .... I have been growing in my drawing skills since I follow your posts. Very gratefull for this. And also learning to follow my impressions, without the stress of timed poses. Great work and thanks again!!!!
Kind regards from Antwerp...
I'm so glad to hear that! That's wonderful that you can see a difference in your work. Drawing from life rather than from photos always has an impact on your drawing, so its great that you can get to life drawing classes. Definitely don't worry about making a full drawing in a short timed pose, as you say follow the impression that you see. There are always the longer poses to make a full drawing.
the way your hand moves while drawing is somewhat magical, I had to watch the video twice bc I was so lost watching the flow of your hand.
Oh wow, what an awesome comment! Thank you 😊 that's really nice to hear, I think it might also have to do with the medium... charcoal is particularly expressive and its really nice to push the charcoal around and get different marks out of it. Really appreciate you watching, thanks so much!
Im drawing my mother daily and have been looking for guidance to capture her more fluidly. I appreciate your drawing style, suggestions and tips. It is also great being able to watch you draw, and see how you see as your drawing emerges :) Thanks for sharing your insight! Im loving your channel!
Thanks Rachel! That means so much to hear your feedback. What a beautiful practice to draw your mother every day, i think that must be such a wonderful experience. I can highly recommend a book called The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Niccolaides as a resource for gesture drawing, and a more responsive and observation-based approach to drawing. Thanks for watching these videos!! :)
@@Drawing-Life I am very fortunate to be able to usher my mom in her end journey. She captured stories in her art, something I’d like to emulate:) I ordered the book you recommended. Thank you for your reply.
Great work. I like how you use the charcoal loosely and with great effect.
Very informative
@drawingwithajay thank you so much!! Nice to hear that from a fellow creative. Thanks for watching :)
Thank you for your perspective on this and clearing up misconceptions. It's very valuable
Ah that's great to hear, thank you! I really appreciate that, there can be a lot of confusion around this topic :)
You are such a gift! ❤️
Ah wow, what a lovely comment to get! Thank you Alicia! I really appreciate you watching, it means the world
great stuff Siobhan. thanks for these. they are very helpful and unlike other videos online
Thanks Liam, I really appreciate that ! I'm so glad you found it helpful, such a vital part of the figure drawing process. Thanks for watching! :)
So wonderful to stumble upon another local artist. Thank you for the tips ☺
Hi! Awesome, it's nice to connect with you here, thank you so much 😊
And these gesture drawings you make are my favorites, I really love them! Would like to have some framed on my wall!
Youre too kind! thanks for saying so ... mostly these drawings don't go anywhere after a drawing session, plus they're all drawn on newsprint which doesn't frame well at all! It's so thin that it's really difficult to frame! But, this comment makes my day, thanks for saying that. And thanks for watching!! ❤
Thank you 😢 was really sad tonight because I didn’t know what to do in my gesture session, now everything just seems to click 😭😭😭 , gesture for now is describing a pose to you not using words but lines 😫.
Ah exactly!! Thanks so much for this comment, this is great to hear, I really appreciate it :)
God bless you 🙏
😊🙏