Drawing the figure in motion?

[hound312]

Hello,

I posted this in the education forum, but it seems to be more appropriate here.

I'm a graphic artist who has decided to refine what little illustration skills I have so that I may move my career more in that direction. I have taken life drawing and drawing classes in the past, but the subjects were always still. I was fairly capable of drawing what I was looking at as long as it didn't move. I've recently spent time trying to capture moving subjects at the park, but people move really fast when you are trying to draw them and I can't seem to take in any of the details or even the basic pose. I'm beginning to frustrate myself in an attempt to draw the figure in motion. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions to help me proceed?

[Avetice]

i know this advice might sound annoying but,
just draw.
Keep at it, its all about gesture. Getting the essence of the pose. The drawing doesnt have to look exactly like the person for starters. Its about getting the big shapes down FAST. Eventually after enough practice they won't seem so fast because youll be getting faster.
Im still working on this but I hope that helps.

[Tedsuo]

A good method for quick gesture (or at least, how I was trained):

1. Start with the head, indicate the tilt and direction

2. Indicate the shoulders in relation to the head (are the up, down, tilted, etc)

3. Follow the line of action down to the weighted foot.

4. Indicate the line of action to the non-weighted foot.

5. Follow the line of action out to the hands, indicate the hand gestures.


If I go in that order I usually get down the important stuff fast. Also, I try not to use box forms and stuff, like indicating the head with a circle and a cross for the eye line. Instead I try and use what's there. Maybe I draw the brow to indicate the tilt of the head, or indicate the shadow shapes in the eye sockets and under the nose and mouth to imply the face. Doesn't really take longer than the sphere and cross thing, and it includes information about the actual person you're drawing. Same with the shoulders, maybe their shirt has a collar or they're wearing a jacket with a stripe on it, something I can use to indicate form and describe the person all in one go. And you just follow the line of action down the body like that, going from one important characteristic to the next. You don't have to finish forms or anything. For example, if you have the hips and feet all placed correctly in relation to each other, you don't really have to draw the legs. Maybe indicate the knees or part of the legs that follow the line of action. You don't need to draw both sides of every form. If you try and get every part of the leg in there, you may end up sticking the foot in the wrong place because you're going so fast, and getting the foot in the right place is the most important part!

If you get the important stuff down, you can usually fill in the rest on your own. Even easier if the person is still in the area, you can keep referencing them. In general, quick studies are more like drawing from your head, using the person as reference/inspiration. If you have to take every measurement or line from the person, you're gonna be really frustrated whenever they move even a little bit! So having a library of shapes already in your head helps a lot. If you have to figure out how to draw hands WHILE trying to indicate a hand gesture, you'll never make it!

Drawing people who are actually IN MOTION is like that, only even more out of your head. Maybe you see a guy with a jaunty step, wearing suit and sporting an upturned nose and a top hat. So you draw a guy with a jaunty step, wearing suit and sporting an upturned nose and a top hat, out of your head. Again, if he's still hanging around when you're done, maybe you can notice another defining feature our two and add them into your drawing, but you're still basically drawing from your head. More like "riffing from life" or something.

Oh, and one last thing. Pick your poses! If they're in a really uninspiring pose, or your angle of view makes for a strange shape, no way your drawing is going to come out decent. There clearer and simpler it is, the better for gesture.


Heh, I think this is my longest post ever. Hope it was helpful.

-T

[hound312]

Thank you for the tips! Tedsuo you really spelled things out a bit for me, especially when drawing moving figures. I've been approaching it as one would in the studio, slavishly studying the figures details, rather than using a figure that I've seen as more of an inspiration. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions!!!

[nikia]

I was a starving artist at one time in my life. Needing money I went out in the street and started drawing people. I got very good at drawing people on the move. If you're just starting out one of the best places to draw people is in bars. They move around but are in the area for a long time, so you can check details as they are moving around. It's best to ask them if you can draw them though as some people do not want a sketch floating around of themselves. ie: they might be wanted. I started out by looking at the person once and drawing as much as I could before I looked at them again. Pick out the main features you want, to get your initial sketch down, looking back for the finer details. This will train your memory to pick out a lot of details at a single glance. Eventually you will be able to draw most if not all of a person with one look. If the person moves on before you a finished, you can quit often go back to the same bar until they show up again and finish the sketch. This also works in parks to a lesser extent. People usually frequent the same bars, and parks. (if you are old enough to go to bars that is, if not try cafes', or buses) best of luck, It's actually a lot of fun to do.

[dbclemons]

Tedsuo's comments are very accurate, and well said.

Before drawing people who are moving, I make mental "snapshots" of them, and capture that on paper. It sounds rather Zen, but it does work. I concentrate on the figure intensely looking for elements of them that stand out, and try to capture those in quick gesture drawings. It's like a mental shorthand where I'm not trying to be specific, just making notes of what was I was seeing. It all has to be done quickly, or the person may leave, so practice drawing economically, and focus just on certain body parts, their angles, and relationships. Anyway, that's my approach.

I draw animation for a living, so I have to do this often. Those mental snapshots come in handy when you try and identify what's wrong with a drawing later. It gets somewhat easier with time, but you have to stay in practice.

-David