Gesture drawing can be said to be a work of art where images are defined by rapid execution of images. It can be defined as the exploration of movement as well as form of any object in space. It is different from pencil drawings and pencil sketches but there are some similarities. It is said by some observers that gesture drawing is more like explaining something to someone using hand gestures. The hand gestures are similar in ideology to the images portrayed by gesture drawing.
The emphasis in gesture drawing is usually to express as a drawing what is being done by the subject rather than what it looks like. A feel of the thing or subject being drawn should be expressed. For example, is the subject hard or soft, is it tall or short, thin or large. Each gesture expressing the subject must have significance and should say something about the subject. Gesture sometimes uses rough, circular drawings to indicate motion, an artists should look closely and examine their subject then try to notice any points of tension, direction of weight and pressure as well as protrusions into space.
The rounded human form is perhaps the reason why circular flowing marks are used to indicate motion. For example, an angry person is usually expressed using a fist with curvy marks on each side to indicate fist shaking and an expression of anger.
Gesture drawing and digital art
As you all know most people are used to artistic images drawn on paper using colored pencils or on canvas by artists such as painters. Well, artists did a great job in producing great works of art using these tools and platforms. Modern technology has come up with computer programs and software that enables artists to engage in this form of art. This is the design, creation and artistic expression of images, ideas, portraits and other works of art using pens, pencils, charcoal and even paint a focusing on motion and form rather than appearance – which is what gesture drawing is.
Modern technology takes matters a step further by introducing technology and software that can help generate these gesture drawings faster, easier and more accurately. Good quality gesture drawing can be done now with this new form of technology, and yes, most art schools also teach their students how to use modern computer technology in producing their art works, digital artworks.
The gesture drawings you will see in my portfolio made in the traditional way using pencil and paper. Later on I’ll produce some gesture drawings that done digitally, like most of my artworks.
A little tip for those who want to start drawing gesture – most of my gesture drawings are inspired by a 3D models that can be found at Posemaniacs, a great site that have a huge collection of poses that can be used as a reference for any kind of gesture drawings, a great practice for the beginners and the expert.
That’s it for today, if you still confused what gesture drawings is, one image worth 1000 words – check out my gesture drawings section.
You are invited to contact me for any reason,
Amit.