Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The "how to" of a Gesture drawing

It sometimes seems that the more explanation given to gesture, the more diluted the practical side gets. Expressive mark making, the importance of privileging artistic subjectivity, telling a story, capturing exaggeration, etc., not to mention the myriad of divergent approaches make pinpointing a "how to" problematic or discouraged. 

While the above qualities matter and are important, I have always concerned myself first (especially when teaching) with stripped down practical mechanics. Once comfortable,these later can be built up, tweaked, or turned upside down in the pursuit of a personalized style by a student/artist. In that spirit (and after realizing that this is largely missing in my own book) I included a brief description of my step by step process for gesture as well as notes to follow these lines clearly. See if you can follow my list below in looking at the examples. Keep in mind that all of these lines are abstract (so not directly referential like contour), on the inside, and are primarily devoted to creating a rhythmic armature for the figure. 

Step by step list

1. Start with a round sphere for the head.
2. Draw the asymmetrical movements of the spine in 3-4 lines. Lines should loosely represent 1. the cervical section (neck), 2. thoracic section (rib cage), 3. an imagined line for the abdomen (curve of the front), and 4. the lumbar section (lower back).
3. From the line of the lumbar create a curve for the hip on the weight bearing side. 
4. Describe the gesture of the legs in 3 lines - one for the femur, the knee, and the lower leg. The leg can also be drawn in 1 or 2 lines depending on the degree of simplicity you desire.
5. Describe the supporting leg with the same considerations. Tip - sometimes I keep the supporting leg simpler (1 or 2 lines) than the weight leg to indicate for a more relaxed quality.
6. Draw each arm by relating 1. a curve representing the shoulder to the movement of the rhythms created for the spine (In a back view this line could represent the scapula, from the front a more abstract rhythm). From the shoulder draw 2 lines, one for the humerus, and the last for the lower arm (this line can also flow into the direction of the hand or another line can be added for the hand.





This approach is heavily influenced by the teachings of Glen Vilppu. If you ever have the opportunity take one of his classes or read his "Villpu Manual" I highly recommend them. http://vilppuacademy.com/2013/

8 comments:

Manel said...

Hampton, do you have any gesture video process demonstration and if not, have you ever thought of recording some? Just curiousity, since I have your book, but I always feel that it would help me to actually see how you do it.

Thanks.

Figuredrawing.info said...

Hi Emmanuel, Thanks for the comment. I do have some videos I was thinking of posting. They really just need to be edited. Hopefully I'll have them up soon.

Unknown said...

That would be really awesome! I took AFD with Christian Nacorda and it was awesome.Trying to understand gesture is a bit tricky.Even though mr Nacorda was teaching your techniques it was a bit difficult to understand how he approached gesture. These videos would be very helpful. Will they be available on youtube?

Unknown said...

That would be really awesome! I took AFD with Christian Nacorda and it was awesome.Trying to understand gesture is a bit tricky.Even though mr Nacorda was teaching your techniques it was a bit difficult to understand how he approached gesture. These videos would be very helpful. Will they be available on youtube?

MC_Hollis said...

I was looking at the demonstrating picture, showing the numbered steps to your process. The only line I can't identify in any of your demonstrations is the curve that is meant to be the pelvis. Can you help me?

Anonymous said...

Would I assume correctly that the curve for the weight bearing leg would be used differently in a sitting or pron position?
Example: The curve would be used for the part of the hip that is more visible in sitting position even if it's not weight bearing part.

Figuredrawing.info said...

Yes, that's absolutely right.

Get Nude Life Drawing said...

Hi Hampton, we try to teach students how to life draw although it's usually for fun reasons, nevertheless we would still like to try and get the best work out of them when they attend. I've been reading some of your other posts including your latest on your youtube video - would you mind if we referenced some of your material to our students?

Many thanks,
Matt & Graham
Get Nude Life Drawing