Using observational skills to quickly sketch the basic internal structure of a posed human figure. Give students specific time limitations to complete a drawing.
Gesture Figure Drawing
step 1
Place the oval of the head high enough on the page so that the rest of the body will fit.
step 2
Draw the spine half way down the page (about three heads down).
step 3
Line up your pencil with the angles of the shoulders and hips.
step 4
Draw the shoulders in with a line wider than the oval and a line at the bottom of the spine for the hips slightly smaller than the shoulders. It creates a capital letter “I”
step 5
On the hip lines place small circles to indicate the hip joints and place small circles about a head and half down the page for knee joints. Check the location of the knees in the pose.
step 6
Connect the hips and the knees with a light line to create the thighs.
step 7
Draw small ovals another head and a half down for the feet and connect the knees to the feet to make the calves. Always check the location of the body parts in the pose.
step 8
Draw small circles on the shoulders and at about a head’s distance down from there draw a circle for the elbows and connect the shoulders to the elbows.
step 9
Draw small ovals for the hands (check where the hands are in relation to the body in the pose) and connect the elbows to the
hands with a line.
step 10
Connect the shoulders circles to the hip circles on both sides to fill in the girth of the torso.
