Gestural Drawings

2/22/21

In the beginning, we practiced the figure of people through minimal sketches:

Choreography from a hip hop dance (Prismacolor pen and Copic warm gray)

I’m familiar with gesture drawing for animation practice, so I did a few characters as well. One thing to note is that for these, the proportions will be enlarged, and are not necessarily synonymous to anatomical proportions in real life.

Digital

I then subtracted the process, focusing on the bare form and skeletal structure only. This time, I used Copics.

Marker Drawings (30 sec each)

To be honest, I’m not particularly satisfied with any of these. The first two were my final ones, and I feel better about them, but overall it was very scratchy and stiff, and I started off with too many marks.

Finally, I worked on stylizing and feel of each drawing, rather than form

Bonus: drawing gesture from just a few lines

GENERAL NOTES:

• In figures, check their silhouettes. If dynamic/standing movements look like blocks, then you didn’t incorporate enough negative space between the body and limbs.
• Think about foreshortening for static positions! Is it hunched? Are they leaning forward? What parts of the body suddenly look bigger?
• Check head proportions — I have a habit of making the legs a tad long
• Look at the line of action for dynamic poses: how can it be exaggerated and avoid stiffness?
• When bodies are leaning forwards or backwards, think about tension/strain. Head perspectives also matter!

2/24/21

Eric suggested doing the same poses but with varying style/mediums, so I went back and redid a few of them.

From peer commentary, the first version seemed more stylistic, so I used it to practice foreshortening and perspective. I also experimented with a brush pen.

Foreshortening with prisma vs FAT brush pen

OVERALL NOTES:

• I drew lines on top of my poses to see if I could get a distinct “where does my eye go to first, and what follows after” line.
• Looking at my drawings, it’s clear that one of the main distinctions of a pose relies on the line of action. Even a static pose has a sense of conserved energy: hunched in and building a more round curvature.
• This study helps indicate how forms work in relation to line

Lines of Action on my poses

2/28/21

Last class we learned more about proportioning the average-6ft-male-but-should-technical-look-androgynous-even-though-they-really-don’t figure. We practiced with a simple line first, then worked towards segmenting the body for chest, naval and knees.

(I am approximately 7.8 heads tall. I also apparently have a very, very small head)

Sketchbook notes

We learned about skeletons, proportions, and distribution of such. I did a study of the various technical methods we learned, and how they each build up the physical form of a human being.

The skeleton helps with the proportions, while the more simple, circular “pear” shapes helps me identify the curves and fat of the body. The last sketch breaks up the body in a more geometric format, and blocks in height v.s. width parts of the figure. It also gives indication of 3D movements, such as twists.

Body Analysis

Our assignment was to create three poses that interacted with an object, so I decided to have a person hold a very hefty box (inspired by this screenshot I saw three years ago in Sophomore year and is still saved in my iPad to this day):

I figured that interacting with a large, heavy object would allow me to practice weight and foreshortening perspectives, which is more challenging.

Warm ups

I think the gesture isn’t half bad, but the linework is much too sketchy.

Things to look out for:

1. Same proportions for each person
2. Watch out for perspective
3. Make sure the box is the same size!!!

Moving a heavy box

Feedback: Focus on balance, especially where the feet are. Head on the first image is slightly too small. I clearly have a style, so try and work on different filling outs of form and rendering to improve.

3/3/21

I was partnered with Sam for the breakout rooms. I wanted to practice with sitting and static motions, since I’m not very good at them. To be honest, I hated a lot of these: the torso would be too long, and I somehow kept making the person taller and taller. It was only until the very end (far right drawings) that I felt better about them. I also noticed that when it comes to traditional, where I start the figure goes all over the place.

Sam!

Now that we’re playing with action movements, I have to incorporate more objects.

Warm Up action sketches

I practiced two motions: the pull of a hammer throw, and the kick/push of a pebble while walking. This allows me to practice a variety of energy levels.

Eric also recommended that we work with different mediums for exploration, so this time I used a black colored pencil.

High and Low energy actions

Feedback:

• The proportions are pretty good, save for the last one on the top row (the legs are a little long)
• Try blocking the body to improve technical skill (like with polygon-like building blocks)
• Practice more perspective, line segmentation, and blocking (Matt’s styles) just for stylization practice to break away from your intuitive knowledge
• Avoid overworking unnecessary spots that steer away from the gestural form and look overly scratchy (inner thigh, bottom foot, etc.)
• For the next part, make sure to work on refinement, but not so much that the piece looks “dead.” There’s a difference between a sketch and a drawing

Feedback

For the next assignment, I decided to use the second pose from the top (hammer throw). I felt like it had the most tension, and the action and balance was the most logical.

Hammer throw shot references

I created a spread of the same pose from different angles (save for the left side because I was still experimenting). I also tried to convey more intense perspectives, such as the top-bottom and bottom-top shots that require 3-point perspective. I also built a perspective scene space for one of the poses I decided that I liked.

Hammer throw spread (plus two-figure render)

3/10/21

Now that we’re delving into facial features and muscle groups, it’s time to practice skull structures. I noticed that a lot of my initial faces are more squashed than I’d like, which is likely a product of my style.

Facial practice

Head and Body notes

We also began practicing other parts of the body, such as hands and feet. These have always been struggles for me, so it was nice analyzing it from a structural perspective.

Feet and Hands

3/20/21

For practice purposes, I wanted to work on more hands, feet, legs, and overall human structure. I feel like these are all things that we only lightly touched upon, so I wanted to analyze the muscle structure, overall blocking, and form.

Finally, I did a few pose redraws of some of my old figure drawings from the beginning of the unit. I wanted to see the extent to which I’ve improved, and focus on the form, lineart and structure rather than interpretive gesture.

I’m really, really happy with these! I think it shows how far I’ve come this unit, and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made throughout.