Figure Drawing Fundamentals
Gesture
The Bean
Structure
Landmarks
Robo Bean
Mannequinization
Balance
Exaggeration
Proportions
Measuring
Shading
Figure Drawing Demo
Closing Thoughts
Quicksketch Assignment Examples - 2 Minute Poses
Lesson by
48K
Mark as Completed
Quicksketch Assignment Examples - 2 Minute Poses
Lesson by
48K
Mark as Completed
Demonstrations of 2 minute gesture quicksketch.
Newest
Makoto Yasumasa
3d
The left image is in 30 seconds. The right image is in 2 minutes. I tried drawing for 30 minutes today. It was difficult!
Makoto Yasumasa
3d
I posted this video on my Twitter and YouTube. Even though I tried putting the link on here, it was recognized as spam. Haha. I use 'Realistic Paint Studio'. I love it.
Anthony Scott
17d
2 minute gesture sketches I did the other day. I want to get really good at Gesture Drawing. Will come in handy when planning out my animations. I have a lot to learn. :)

@dwt12345
20d
2 minutes from the poses in this video, more or less in order. Very difficult to focus on flow without completely giving up any semblance of accuracy.

@ryansulaiman
2mo
I just started this course a few days ago and tried some 2 minute gesture sketches. I would appreciate any feedback or criticism on my work so far.
15d
Hey there! It seems like you improved greatly connecting lines together to maximize the flow of the figure, so great job :) I would say that right now it's starting to steer a bit more noodle-y, so bringing back some structure can help. A way you can do this is looking for a balance between straights and curves throughout the figure. Usually where one area curves more, there will be an opposite or nearby straight edge, and finding this will help counterbalance your drawing. I would also say to watch out that the bottom half of your figure doesn't get too small, so a good rule of thumb is that the legs + pelvis are about the same length as the torso + head.
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Gabriel Azzalos
2mo
I am an absolute beginner and I am not sure how long to practice the first two quick sketch assignments (30 sec & 2 min). When is it time to move on?

@eliseo
2mo
Here are my 2 min quick sketches from today. I was trying to keep in mind the 3d forms of the figures while trying to have some flow. I’ve been trying to do quick sketches daily for the last few weeks. I do think going steadily in the course and coming back to quick sketches with what Stan showed in the later lessons really helped with these. Especially with getting a better understanding of the form of the figure.
Any feedback or critiques on what to work on would be really appreciated. Thanks for reading!:)
References from quick poses
medium charcoal pencil on rough newsprint
@kwaku
2mo
For some reason I think I did the colored ones better than the pencil work which I tried to make a gesture drawing. I wanted to add less details as compared to the colored one. I would love to know what my problem is through a critique

@grugrugru
2mo
Good work on the sketches! Like @Noe Luis said, focus more on the C, S and I curve lines.
As for why the colored sketch looks better there are 2 reasons for that.
1. Colored pencils can only go so dark so mistakes will be less visible on paper compared to darker pencils.
2. The colored sketch you did is actually better and cleaner than what you did in the first uploaded sketch for example. But it is still comparable with the last sketch.
I recommend to try and go for longer, cleaner strokes when drawing instead of short, messy ones like in the first sketch.
Try practicing capturing the gesture with just 5-6 lines in 30-60 second sketches. And really go for the clean C, S and I lines.
If you have trouble with cleaning up your line work try Ghosting your lines. It's where you plan out the line, go through the motion from your start point to the end point without touching the paper, and then execute the mark.
You capture gesture well, keep working on the line work too. I hope this helped.
Noe Luis
2mo
Wow the details on the figure are good but it would be nice to focus on the gesture using SCI curve lines.

@sinkrity
3mo
Here's my second crack at 2 minute gestures! 1-10 are 2 minutes, the rest are 1 minute. I tried incorporating some suggestions of form when I had extra time in the pose, but I'm not quite sure I'm on the right track, and can't tell if they're adding to the gesture. Feedback on any aspect of the drawings would be appreciated, thank you in advance!

@amit2140
3mo
Im really struggling with the arms and legs of my gestures drawings can anyone help
3mo
Hi there :) Would you be able to post some of examples of your work on here?
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@lassek
4mo
I feel like I'm getting better at volume. The line quality is not where I want it to be and I often end up running out of time. But the gesture and flow in my figures is showing more.
Any critique is appreciated.
4mo
Good self-analysis, that's always a great quality to have in learning. Something I'd like to point you towards in your gestures is to keep an eye on the depth of the figure, more particularly to show an indication when noticeable in the pose. For example, the bottom left gesture has her arms stretched backwards. It would help with clarity to show the roundness of her elbows, along the lines of how a cylinder would look like at that angle, to indicate their retreat into space. Similarly with the bottom right figure, I think applying this to the torso/chest leaning backwards would help add believability, even if just a quick curved line. Hope this helps :)
Show all replies (3)

@lassek
4mo

@reina1999
4mo
here is my 2 minute gesture quick sketch exercise. I’m still trying to break the habit of only apply lighter line pressure on the paper when I’m
drawing faster then usual. I hope I can improve on my line confidence as I work through the course. any further critiques are welcome!

@thesmokingrotoscope
4mo
Howdy! Gesture's something I've got experience in, but still struggle with for a number of reasons (i.e. trying to do everything at once, a lack of developed knowledge on drawing fundamentals, etc.), so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
3mo
Hi @thesmokingrotoscope, nice studies!
- I can tell that you've done gesture drawings before; your poses have nice rhythmic lines that flow. There is still more for you to discover about gesture, but for know, I would pay some extra attention to proportion.
Check out this reply https://www.proko.com/s/kfiM
and try the exercise I suggested there. As a complement you could also try the same exercise, but draw from a drawing by an artist that you admire. Study how they build their figures.
When you've done the exercise, tag me (@Jesper Axelsson ) and I'll try to take a look.
Cheers!
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@sumstwoone
4mo
*edited as I think my initial advice was less helpful
I'm no pro but I think I can offer some insights
A lot of your drawings seem to have very choppy and uncertain lines, which makes it difficult to reflect on your own decision making. I'd recommend focusing less on having accurate lines to the photo and just moving along through the motion of the figure
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angelina andreas
4mo
4mo
Nice work! Just some quicker pointers: try out incorporating more straight lines into your drawing, especially where you could show off weight, force, or the squash of mass--think about where the person is leaning or standing. Also, the heads right now are leaning towards the smaller side, remember the average size would be about 1/7 or 1/8 of total height, or from the top of the neck to about the nipples/bottom of the sternum.

angelina andreas
4mo
Leonardo Ferretti
4mo
Hello!
I want to share with you my first cycle of gesture drawings in 2 minutes. These are not my first attempts, as I watched the free version of the lesson before buying it. I'm not sure if I've done a good job; sometimes, I believe that I focused too much on the volume of the figures rather than their motion. However, some of the drawings seem balanced and capture a good expression of motion.
I'm not just open to any critique, but I crave them!
I have numbered the pages if you have any comments on a specific drawing.
Yuliia Poperechna
5mo
Browny Sparks
5mo
Hello!
I would really appreciate any feedback, I'm a newbie and don't even know what to look for. I sometimes retry when I know what my mistakes were or do corrections to keep in mind for future drawings, but I'm sure there are also things that I'm not seeing.
@Jesper Axelsson I saw some of your critiques of other people's homework and I found it super helpful! If you have the time if you could please take a quick look at mine and let me know if there's any obvious mistakes that stand out.
Also, full disclosure, my "2 minute" gestures are more like 10 minutes most of the time. It has gone down slowly with practice, and sometimes it's 6 or 4 mins if I've warmed up and it's a simpler figure. But I still definitely need a ton more practice.
Do you think this is good enough to move on to the next videos and lessons? It's hard for me to tell.
Thank you! :)
4mo
Hi @Browny Sparks, beautiful drawings! I can tell that you've put a lot of care into them.
- I looked through your album. You seem to have good control of line and proportion (assuming that your drawings aren't tracings). I think working some more on the gesture would complement those skills very well.
There are some nice flows in your drawings, but I'd like to take it to another level. As a first step:
Do some more figure drawings where you don't draw the contour, but instead draw lines running through the forms. You could imagine that there is a river flowing through the body. The lines you put down is the water.
Try to feel the forces of the pose, as if you were the person striking it. In fact I would even recommend striking the pose yourself (if it's possible and safe XD).
Try the exercise with different time limits, maybe in the range of 15 sec to 5 min. But stop drawing when the time is out, even if you're not happy with the result. Write how long it took, next to the drawing.
I attached a paintover I did of Dre Torres work, as an example.
When you've done a few, tag me so that I can take a look😎👍
- It would be interesting to hear what your goals are. That could help me guide you. Do you want to do animation? Comics? Realistic figure drawing? Or something else?
- "Do you think this is good enough to move on to the next videos and lessons?"
Whether to move on or not is for me more a matter of how long you've been working on an exercise, than what quality your work is at. There is still things for you to learn about gesture, but if you've been doing this exercise for a long time, I don't want to hinder you from exploring the rest of the course. About how many days have you stayed on this exercise? About how many hours of practice has that been?
Another thing to consider is how you feel about the exercise. Do you feel like there is more for you to extract from it, or do you feel done with it for this round?
In my experience, it's better to move too fast forward, than to stay on things for too long. As you learn other concepts, the things you've learned in this lesson will be put into greater context.
If you move too fast, you'll notice that sooner or later, but if you stay on a single exercise forever, you'll have tunnel vision.
You'll keep getting back to practicing gesture on your art journey. Think of learning to draw, as something circular; you'll keep revisiting concept.
Most importantly: get feedback and ask questions, as you're doing now😎👍
- "I'm a newbie"
I see that you're taking the Drawing Basics. That's great! Keep doing that :)
I hope this helps :)
Show all replies (2)
Dre Torres
5mo
Was getting burned out with drawing so I made a despising that helped. I wanted to start being able to draw armor so I would do a 2 minute pose then turned it into a mannequin then added armor on top of it. It made it more enjoyable.
Dre Torres
5mo
I keep on making the head too small lol

@romero505
5mo
What do you think? Am I ready for the next lesson?
Dre Torres
5mo
Hello these look nice but, I think you focus a little too much on the contours. Remember, gesture is about the feeling. Make sure you time them as well I don't know if you did or not. You will never really just be good at these 2 minute poses until you've done them for months maybe even years so you will probably never really feel ready to move on to the next one. Stan himself in a podcast said you should spend a maximum of 2 weeks on each section of the course. I highly recommend listening to the draftsmen podcast while drawing. It's entertaining and informative. This is coming from someone who hates podcasts.
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About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.