I am half way through the gesture drawing course. I am finding that a lot of my gesture drawings are lifeless and are telling a different story from what I am writing down. Does anyone have tips on how to improve my gesture drawing.
Thanks
@robbery The biggest thing I see is something that I've always struggled with, not starting with a more stick figure focused way of drawing. Gesture drawing is supposed to be quick and focused on the posed (most poses of a gesture drawing last no more than 3-4 minutes and those are on the long side). I'd pull back from adding hair and facial features, even the details like the folds of the skin. It slows the process down and ends up making the pose look lifeless.
Additionally, continue to work on your proportions. The legs look too short for the rest of the body.
I like the expressions and the upper half of the poses on a lot of them, you're on your way!
Website: laurenpetiti.myportfolio.com
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"So the man who really loves God could...paint his pictures, even if no man ever saw them. He knows God looks upon them." - Francis Shaffer.
@lpetiti @robbery Exactly this. The only thing I could add is to exaggerate more. When there’s a curve, CRANK that curve. When there’s a straight or even only slightly curved line turn it into a totally straight line. Gesture isn’t about learning how to draw the figure it’s about learning to convey the feeling that a certain figure evokes.
@griffin I agree and had forgotten about the exaggeration (which is funny because I teach animation...). Yeah definitely, and it's going to look "wrong" if you're not used to it, but remember that it's easier to come back from exaggeration than continually trying to push the exaggeration.
@robbery I have a cartoonish style, and I feel that drawing gestures and poses is the most fun part about drawing! Besides what was pointed above - drawing stickfigures, simplifying the figure, accentuating the pose lines, and exagerating a bit, I would share one wierd thing I do and I think others do also, without thinking of it. When drawing a pose, I "feel" it. Not exactly taking the pose but I think myself in it, someone looking at me drawing might see me moving a bit wierdly 
. It is someting of a reflex thing that you must not overthink but maybe it can help. I also do this when drawing faces, I catch myself "doing faces"!
I also recently found a kinda related video on improving on something you draw, it's called "iterative drawing", I tried it a bit and I liked the method: https://youtu.be/k0ufz75UvHs
Thanks for everyone’s advice. This weekend, when I had time, I tried to do some gesture drawing with the advice in mind. I really like how some of these turned out. Thanks again.
@robbery these are great improvements!
@robbery Much better! Try to get even simpler than that, go back to a circle for the head and lines for the spine and joints. Out of curiosity, how long are the poses you're sketching?
@lpetiti Any where between 3 to 5min.
@robbery most gesture drawing is way shorter! Try going with 30 seconds to two minutes at the most. That will give you time to only focus on the movement of the pose
Hi Roberry!
I admire your effort in these drawings and I can tell that you have the ability to draw well… but I think you need clearer instruction to accomplish your goal. But worry no more!…Two of the best people to study in regards to gesture are Glenn Vilppu ( Vilppu’s Drawing Manual - You can find it on Scribd dot com ) or Michael Hampton’s (Figure Drawing: Design and Invention on Amazon). Vilppu is a Master in everything he draws but he breaks it down into understandable steps. I really don’t think there is anyone better. Also, Michael Hampton’s book is similar but makes the gesture part a little bit easier to grasp. I use both books interchangeably. Vilppu worked for Disney for many years and knows the figure inside and out. His Book sells on eBay for $70-100 but you can find it on Scribd. Michael Hampton’s book is on Amazon at a reasonable price.
In a Nutshell I believe gesture should be a simple flow of opposing curves not a bunch of scribbles nor should it be a stick figure. Many poses can be memorized when you understand the flow.
I included some drawings I did based on Vilppu’s gestures to serve as a guide. Many poses can be broken down into S-curves or B-curves.
Finally, Another book that many comic book artist’s have learned from is the late great Andrew Loomis’ "Figure Drawing for All Its Worth". He has many other books as well and they are all gems. You can find most of them on Scribd or Amazon.
@robbery Great work on these! I agree with the former comments here, and I wanted to add another note: the first few videos of the Figure Drawing Fundamentals class with Michael Parker might be something to revisit - to get out the charcoal on cheap newprint and really lean in to just making fast curved lines for the spine, arms and legs. Keep up the great work! 
@Birchwood Sorry for the late reply and thank you. I will be looking into getting those books.
@Kristen-Lango thank you and i will go back and look at the Fundamentals of figure drawing.
@griffin I agree and had forgotten about the exaggeration (which is funny because I teach animation...). Yeah definitely, and it's going to look "wrong" if you're not used to it, but remember that it's easier to come back from exaggeration than continually trying to push the exaggeration.
