Gesture drawing is a quick sketching exercise used to warm up before longer drawing sessions. It focuses on capturing the essential movement and proportions of a subject within short poses ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes. The goal is to suggest the entire subject with a few lines that establish the main axes and points of articulation through fluid arm movements while primarily observing the subject rather than focusing on details of the drawing. Gesture drawing helps artists see and record the underlying structure and energy of a pose.

1. Gesture Drawing
Thomas_Green

2. Gesture drawing is an essential exercise for “warming up” prior to a more extended
drawing session. Although it is most often used in relation to the figure and its
inherent energy and potential for movement, it is viable to apply gesture drawing
principles to any subject matter

3. In addition to its preparatory value, gesture drawing is a great exercise in and of
itself, and provides the perfect complement to a longer, more sustained drawing
Experience

4. A typical gesture drawing/gesture pose lasts anywhere from fifteen or thirty seconds
to three minutes. Some prefer to begin with shorter poses and progress to longer
poses, while others find it best to begin with three-minute poses and work toward
fifteen-second poses

5. • Spend some time just looking at the pose before
beginning to draw.
• Spend the majority of time looking at the model or
still life rather than at the drawing
• The movement of your hand should duplicate the
movement of your eyes as you scan the figure for
proportion and general disposition
Seeing Is the Key

7. • Establish general scale and proportion purely through
visual observation. A formal use of the sighting stick and
the sighting process is inappropriate in gesture drawing
because of the limited time involved.
• Stand at arm’s length from the drawing surface in a
position allowing a broad view of both the model and the
drawing surface. Keep the drawing surface at a height
that is most comfortable for you
Seeing Is the Key

9. Keep It Simple
• Details are unimportant in gesture drawing and
should not be of concern.
• Try to be economical with marks—don’t overwork
the gestures. Let gesture drawing be a statement of
essentials or essence.
• Define the general characteristics—movement,
direction,

11. Pick up the pace!!!
The figure or object and its position should be suggested in its
entirety within the first few seconds of drawing. This is
accomplished by recording the largest and most apparent axis
lines first.
• Think energy and immediacy. Gesture drawing is a record of
the energy and movement that goes into making the mark
• Use the entire arm and wrist and shoulder to draw; use your
whole body. Stand up when doing gesture drawings to enable
fluid and rapid drawing

13. Work from the inside out
• Have an awareness of underlying structure, which acts as the
armature for the object
• Indicate general points of articulation, such as extenuating
arms, protruding edges, or intersections of these “arms” and
“legs” with the main structure of the object or figure.

14. Key points of articulation, such as where the thigh meets the hips or where the
hips meet the torso, are addressed through marks that move into the interior of
the figure