gesture drawings, C&C please

[nil]

well, in an effort to be more productive etc etc, ive done a bunch of gestures and would love to hear some comments and CRITIQUES from you all. i basicly did these after reading some comments by KChen, checking out this (http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=Columns&column=vilppu&article_no=573) vilppu article and looking at a bunch of KChen's quick drawings. obviously these dont compare to Kevins awesome work, and since ive never done these before hopefully you guys will be able to help me out (maybe ill even hear something from the man himself.)

anyway, enough with the talking, make with the drawings already.

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture01.jpg
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture02.jpg
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture03.jpg
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture04.jpg
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture05.jpg

these are about 3" in size, done (mostly) with a 4b graphite stick off photos from "The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference For The Artist"

ive never done these before, is it ok to do gestures from photos? am i getting the right idea? should they be bigger/smaller? anything at all you guys have to offer will be aprreciated.

oh, and sorry about the bad proportions on some of these :D

[danteort]

I'm really not sure whether or not it's "bad" to do gestures from photos, but I do know that you will respond completely differently to a live model than you will a photo.

My current figure teacher suggests "skating" through the major axial directions (the angles of the head, spine, hips, and limbs) with the side of the stick in about five seconds. This gives you no time to 'think' about what you're doing, just enough time to look at the figure and let your arm draw what you see.

Keep in mind that gestures aren't meant to be drawings really. They're more like a graphical representation of an emotional response. So it really doesn't matter whether or not your gestures 'look like' the model; more importantly your marks need to have lots and lots of energy, and you should not take your time in laying them down. Don't be afraid to move 'through' the figure.

Try doing some blind gestures (where you look only at the figure and not your paper).

[nil]

thanks a lot for the reply danteort. laying down the axial directions sounds like a good idea, ill give it a try. this was exactly the sort of thing i was after :)

heres a few i did today, i spent way too much time on them though, its hard to bring myself to do these without trying to make them look like the models, as you said. ill post some more in a couple days.

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture06.jpg

heh, i cant get boobs right.

[Bradart]

nah, your boobs are fine

[TheBlasianOne]

nice gestures,i'd just work on the feet. they can really ground a drawing and make set it in space

[fredflickstone]

For your first time attempts, these are fine. Think of the figure as one big form, but you will need to divide it up into understructure first before you make the sides of the figures. These all lack torsion, or a natural twist and bend. If you can think of three things first, the head ball, the rib cage ball, and the pelvis ball, all tied together with a string, the spine, get that moving first with action, then attach the limbs to those ball forms, you will have more chances at seeing motion and movement in the figures when you draw them.

Great work, and just keep pushing forward, dont stop because you think they are bad or not so good or whatever. Let me decide that...hehe...really, dont let yourself stop your progress if you are the only critique around. We will always find a way to defeat our progress...


Good luck

Ron

[nil]

thank you all most kindly for the replies.

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/crompton/images/gesture07.jpg

TheBlasianOne: i see what you mean about the feet. admittedly, im concentrating mostly on the main masses for now, but i will keep it in mind if i start doing these more detailed (read: faster) :)

fredflickstone: i really appreciate you taking the time to have a look, ron (may i call you ron?) your comments are very encouraging, its easy to get frustrated with this stuff, specially as i have no teachers or anything to instruct/critique me :) i did this last page with what you said about the ball forms in mind. also, something you said made me take another look at the bridgeman life drawing book again. i already see slight improvement in these (heh, im sure its all in my mind:rolleyes: ) thanks again.

[fredflickstone]

Oh yeah, this page is already better. Just remember, it will take hundreds, if not thousands of drawings, plus crits to walk into full bloom without art instruction over your shoulder, but you can still get there. DOnt stop and keep posting your progression.


Ron

[BlackGuy]

I'm having a hard time finding a way to do gestures. I personally think they're fun, and I don't mind doing dozens of them per day. Only problem is I don't know where to do it. When I try in real life, It's hard to capture the pose because the person is in that pose for less than a second. And in movies, when i pause its usually too blurry to catch the pose, so I dunno what to do.

[nil]

heh, yeah im having the same problems. plus, its kinda hard to get a gesture of someone with clothes on. or maybe im just incompetent :rolleyes:

edit: oh, and i will post some more in the not too distant future, ron :) your words are very encouraging.