Figure Drawing Fundamentals
Gesture
The Bean
Structure
Landmarks
Robo Bean
Mannequinization
Balance
Exaggeration
Proportions
Measuring
Shading
Figure Drawing Demo
Closing Thoughts
Bean Examples – Tilt, Lean, Twist and Foreshortening
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Bean Examples – Tilt, Lean, Twist and Foreshortening
Lesson by
24K
Mark as Completed
Finding the motion and simple volumes of the torso.
Newest

brianhargan
2mo
Can anyone explain to me how you decide which way the tilt lines overlap at an angle straight on like this? first pic is prokos example and second is my attempt. I dont know how you can tell the difference in a pose like this. Thanks.
yecai
1mo
I remember I dew the same way as yours. I thought the way the two ovates overlap in this image wasn't so clear to tell apart.

Benjamin Green
2mo
More bean exercise.

Benjamin Green
2mo
Some bean practice. About 1/2 way through the examples. I first did this exercise when Proko put these on Youtube some 9 years ago or so. I didn't think I would have any trouble, but it showed me that I don't exaggerate poses enough. Linework is getting better since I switched to digital only. Anyways, critiques always welcome.

nusso
3mo
Hmmm... bean salad.
I honestly liked drawing these, though I did feel like I've exaggerated a bit too much on some. Gotta practice the twist a bit more (no I won't dance)
Critique is always welcome!
Johnathan
3mo
Your beans are nice. I notice some beans have scratcy lines, Good job though.
B.chandra sekhar reddy
3mo
hai sir chandra sekhar
Hector Marti
4mo
In this one I think the model is not twisted enough as to see part of the front. Instead, the model is showing her back, what is not shown in the bean presented. Am I right, or the bean is correct for the sake of exaggeration?

mcarp
4mo
I think the center line should run down the left side of the bean (upper back) and then continue to show the pinch from the buttocks that you are showing.
Dwight
4mo
Just my idea, but I think it's correct because of exaggeration. If you were to "continue" the pose, you'd twist the body more and show more of the front of the body, and less of the back.
I've tried showing what it'd look like without the exaggeration, and notice how difficult it is to place the shoulders (without using the robo-bean).
And ultimately, the bean isn't the final product in a drawing (unless specifically practicing it). Instead, it's to build muscle and form on top of, and it's easier if you exaggerate so you know exactly what the body is doing, instead of having to guess what your lines mean.
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4bypunk
4mo
hmm
im curious too

levinsond
5mo
Chris Martin
5mo
Following along with Stan
Zoungy Kligge
6mo
A page full of leans, twists, tilts, and foreshortened bean poses

qcy
6mo
More beans. Really having trouble with the relative placement of the two ovals.. is the pelvis oval suppose to follow the contour of the buttocks?
Zoungy Kligge
6mo
Generally I think the answer is yes, that is how I did mine. But sometimes Stan is pushing the positions to help exaggerate a bend, lean, or a twist

a_dead_gpu
6mo
I've drawn 6 beans and would like some critique as to what might be wrong or what i can do better. I dont know how to organize pictures but i hope you will be able to see which bean corresponds to which picture.
Denitsa Dineva
7mo
I went almost through the entire course and now I go back through the videos and I try different exercises - Here I'm trying to guess the bean and I'm expanding it to a whole figure drawing. I don't know how much OK these are, but as far as I couldn't even draw a simple gesture at the beginning I think I have some progress. I still struggle with measuring and finding the correct proportions but I'm on the way.
Sorry for the bad picture, but my baby is sleeping and I hurry to draw as much as I can while having this precious time for myself.

Luan Chan
7mo
shkelly1113
9mo
Any suggestions on what tool to use for these drawing, i am using a regular pencil but it makes the lines more messy than the tool he is using in the video, also this may be a beginner question but does everyone hold their drawing tool the same as he does in videos, does it matter ?

jverme2r
8mo
Conte 1710 HB pencil is good

lukemorrow
9mo
Hi there! I'm new to this too, but stumbled on his drawing supplies and pencil holding videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_W9sZ8S7RM, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMC0Cx3Uk84 respectively.
I just recently got a hold of some charcoal pencils, and I can only imagine it takes practice to keep the process neat. I'm smudging and making unwanted marks all over the place.
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s3pi0l
10mo
Hi, here are some beans drawings i made. How am i doing?
Howard Chiang
10mo
What's the difference between this 40 min video and the Tilt & Lean, Twist, And Foreshortening videos? Are the latter just this video, split apart?
Jaemoon Lee
10mo
Yes. This way you can download the videos seperately instead of the whole 40min video.

adoree_
10mo
Hi, here's a page of beans. I never feel quite sure of how good I am doing whenever I draw them lol.
Any advice/feedback?

testzn
10mo
this is my attempt for this, i think i have a problem when exaggerating
10mo
Really nice drawings!
- You might want to use varying line thickness to emphasize the gesture and clarify overlaps, as described in this comment https://www.proko.com/s/PpnZ.
- If you find drawing beans too easy, see if you can find images with more difficult poses and angles. The poses in your drawings seem pretty similar. It would be nice to see some with more foreshortening and some more twisting beans. Stan's examples are great, since he has a wide variety of poses and angles.
Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!

Dimmu
1yr
Can someone help me with the twists? In the twist section, sometimes the bean takes an "S" shape where there are opposing overlaps in both sides, this one makes sense to me, but sometimes if you were to look at the silhoutte it looks like a tilting bean (with one long "C" curve at one side), but the vertical contour line bends like an S. It's not so much that I don't understand the bean itself, but when looking at the body I have no idea which twisting motion I should draw.
The way I'm doing the excerises is that I'm doing the bean myself, and then see how Proko does that same pose and at this point I'm just guessing. Sometimes I do it like he does but honestly it feels like I was just guessing,
For now, my theory is that if both spheres are twisting in the same direction but one less intense than the other then use the tilting silhouette and denote the twist with the vertical contour line, and if they are twisting in opposite directions then use the full S-shaped bean. Can someone confirm or correct my hypothesis? Thanks!
Kombuchie
1yr
I was a bit thrown off by 27:08 (Man laying back) and the one with the answer.
Typically, it seems like whatever portion is nearer/coming toward the viewer will overlap, so that's why I don't get those ones. *shrug*
When I drew the men I made the pelvic sphere overlap the torso on the pinch side (our left) because the torso is leaning back away from the viewer and behind the pelvic sphere.
And, to me, on the answer pose, the pinch side looked right the first time because the torso is not rotating to the right toward us, it's positioned so the right arm goes forward and left, which is what he emphasizes in his curve, but that's away from us and the pelvis, so idk. *shrugs*
I'd like to hear other's thoughts and experience on those two examples as well.
Anyway, I see your theory. He uses the S curve to really emphasize the more opposite facing portions, especially useful for twists. At first I sketched the curves "as is" and my beans looked very flat, hehe, so the S curve really dramatizes dat bean!

afty
1yr
this may seem like a weird advice but try to draw twisted flat objects or just draw twisted leaves and how they work, it will help you visualize better
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emma kate
1yr
fist time practicing this!!
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.