Figure drawing: How to draw gestures

2 years ago
10

How to do 1-minute gesture drawings. The poses were taken from Eadweard Muybridge's The Human Figure in Motion.

Process: 1. line of action 2. major masses (head, chest, pelvis), preferably with a hint of geometry that shows their rotation and placement in space 3. Place hands and feet (NOT arms and legs) and fill in the legs and arms afterward 4. Take a moment and think about the placement of objects, using imaginary plum-lines to confirm when hands or feet are too up/down/left/right in comparison to other parts 5. If you still have time, rough in some shadow terminators, cast shadows, extra rotational geometry, anatomy, etc.

Glossary
Line of Action: a single line that encapsulates the WHOLE figure
Masses: The head, chest, and pelvis. If you think of them as cubes, cylinders, or something showing 3D rotation in space, it will help you place things later.
Plumb line: an imaginary horizontal or vertical line that can be used to compare two landmarks in space

The Human Figure in Motion is available in the public domain. https://archive.org/details/The_Human...

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