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About instructor
Educator, painter, writer, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention.
comments 9 submissions
Drew along all the critiques to get a better sense of what you were looking for. Think I also was trying to just construct as they were shown to me rather then focusing on just the energy and rhythm of the pose. Im guessing as a rule all these gestures should be drawn from the arm to get that flowing line. (I drew from the wrist for most of my life)
LESSON NOTES
What's in Premium?
In this critique, we focus on enhancing your gesture drawings by emphasizing rhythm and connections, specifically in standing poses. You'll learn how to:
- Separate contour from rhythm and abstraction to create a strong foundation.
- Set up a blueprint for developing gestures into full figures.
- Examine rhythm in your drawings and address unintentional symmetry.
- Explain differences in weight to add depth and realism.
We'll demonstrate how to:
- Initiate rhythm on a diagonal to introduce movement and drama.
- Emphasize thrust and counter-thrust between the ribcage and pelvis.
- Use wrapping lines for foreshortening and depth.
- Adjust limbs to enhance flow and unity in your figures.
We'll also cover:
- Connecting limbs seamlessly into the torso's rhythm.
- Creating flow throughout the figure without relying on contours.
- Handling back views with opposite wrapping lines.
- Adding interest to symmetrical poses by introducing diagonals.
By focusing on the story and design of your poses, you'll learn to convey emotion and movement effectively. We'll provide practical tips for practicing gesture drawing and highlight common issues to avoid, such as overemphasis on contour and unintentional symmetry.
Get this lesson and more in the premium course!
DOWNLOADS
critique-first-steps-to-mastering-gesture.mp4
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critique-first-steps-to-mastering-gesture-transcript-english.txt
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critique-first-steps-to-mastering-gesture-transcript-spanish.txt
58 kB
critique-first-steps-to-mastering-gesture-captions-english.srt
89 kB
critique-first-steps-to-mastering-gesture-captions-spanish.srt
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This gesture critique focuses on emphasizing rhythm, movement, and fluid connections rather than contour.
Hi! Watching this video gave me a lot. First of all, it made me realize how important it is to remember about the diagonals, because I think I was too often using something close to verticals or horizontals. Now I consciously exaggerate and use stronger diagonals. Searching for rhythms sometimes happens in one long stroke.
I’ve adopted a strategy where I first draw while looking at the reference, and then I rely more on my own sketch rather than the reference to correct myself and increase my awareness. I’m really happy with this third sketch, even though I know you’re not supposed to be satisfied with yourself but I’m just really glad I managed to get some results so quickly. These gesture drawings really help with drawing figures from imagination. Now I can capture a pose in just a moment.
And as always, I really like your teaching style, because above all, you’re logical. Everything comes from somewhere, which makes it so much easier to understand and absorb the material.
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7d
Great work! Also, you should be satisfied! Nothing wrong with that whatsoever.
Hi Michael! I had a question about gesturing the spine after looking at your suggestions. You pointed out that the spine has a S like curvature to it, starting with inward facing C curve. During your demo for the Dave Greeco piece around the 18-19minute mark in Critique 2, you've flipped the direction of that curve (I think), and I wanted to ask if that was to get a better asymmetric rhythm to the thoracic? I think something similar happened with the second example in Critique 1 where the cervical is a little right of the head, and I was wondering if that is what you meant that it didn't need to be central to form.
Some other questions I had were how accurate to the underlaying part are we aiming to be? Is the concern stopping at general proportion according to the sheet we did earlier?
Edit: I've looked at my screenshots longer, and it's probably not accurate to see these are inverted, but maybe off center might be a better way to describe it? I've posted some my attempts prior to this video incase that helps..
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3mo
Nice studies! And yes, I'm only drawing gesture as a tool of creating rhythm. While I reference the parts in the lecture to help ground this explanation, I'm not looking to match the curves to a specific part and area. What matters most to me is the abstracted rhythm itself not where the line sits relative to the reference. Anyways, hope this doesn't cause for more confusion.
Drew along all the critiques to get a better sense of what you were looking for. Think I also was trying to just construct as they were shown to me rather then focusing on just the energy and rhythm of the pose. Im guessing as a rule all these gestures should be drawn from the arm to get that flowing line. (I drew from the wrist for most of my life)
Yeah more art history seeping into the lessons!
Definitely gonna keep an eye on connections of rhythms.
Awesome critique video, Michael. I have to watch this again and take notes.
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8mo
Great! So glad you found it useful!
Thanks for the critiques, very insightful on things to pay attention to when working on these gestures
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8mo
My pleasure!
Thanks so much, Michael, for posting the critique video on the first lesson. I learned quite a bit from watching this one. Also, I truly enjoyed the assignment on finding pictures to go on to our first steps of mastering gestures. The stuff I found through my art books, I had, and poses I found were quite a fun challenge to conquer. I'm definitely going to watch the remaining videos soon and look forward to continuing to practice and preparing for the upcoming assignments. I'm definitely going to keep on practicing with this to get better. :)
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8mo
So glad to hear it!
