Gesture Drawing Week 1: Line of Action

The first lecture of gesture drawing focuses of the line of action. In terms of delivery, the lecture was very coherent and well thought out. However, the concept of the line of action seems to be a bit fuzzy at the best of times, and while the explanations were easy to understand, they weren't always internally consistent. For instance, Alex Woo mentions that the line of action is not a contour or outline of the shape. However, I was advised to make my line of action something I could use for the rest of the gesture (which is another way of saying outline) by Louis. I think this is just an inherent issue when an art class is taught by two teachers. I don't think that either is wrong, just different.

The lecture also includes two 20 minute gesture drawing sessions made up of 30 second poses. This is a great resource in and of it's self. I drew threw them both several times just to unwind after a long day at the office.

The homework this week came in three parts.
-2 hours of live cafe gesture drawing
-Overlay a line of action for 10 pictures of your choosing
-Draw the lines of action for the second 20 minute video.

The cafe drawing and video drawings wouldn't make much sense without the reference, so I'll post the overlays.

Next Course: Gesture Drawing with Alex Woo and Louis Gonzales

So, it's been a while since I finished my first schoolism course (Drawing Fundamentals with Thomas Fluharty), and my next one is about to begin. By this point, I am at least cognizant of the fundamentals (hopefully), and the next step is get a better sense of motion and form. Gesture drawing seems like the next logical building block. Here is the lesson plan for the next 12 weeks.

Lesson 1 - Line of Action

The line of action is the foundation upon which you will build the rest of your drawing. It is analogous to the main idea or thesis in an essay paper. There is always a point to a well-written paper, and the same is true of a well-drawn drawing. For your first assignment, you will be distilling poses down to their bare essence - a single line of action.

Lesson 2 - Shape

Shape will help you determine the overall feel and dynamics of your drawing. It is another form of distillation, and the next step from your line of action. Your assignment this week will be to abstract poses into shapes.

Lesson 3 - Silhouette

Creating a strong silhouette will enhance your drawing's "readability". A strong drawing should be "readable" even when it is completely blacked out. This week, you will be drawing with the intention of creating strong silhouettes.

Lesson 4 - Space

Using space will help give your drawings depth, and make them feel grounded in a physical reality. Spatial depth will add dimension to your work and help pull your viewer into your drawing. For this assignment, you will focus on creating depth and space in your gesture drawings.

Lesson 5 - Exaggeration

Using exaggeration in drawings is analogous to using hyperbole in a rhetorical debate: you're pushing extreme examples in order to effectively communicate your ideas. In gesture drawing, we should aim for communicative accuracy over anatomical accuracy. For this week's assignment, you will focus on pushing and pulling aspects of the pose in order to effectively communicate your ideas.

Lesson 6 - Extrapolation

Extrapolation is the process by which you "read between the lines" and see beyond what is there. Through successful extrapolation, you will SEE a pose of limbs, muscle and bone, but FEEL an idea, emotion, or action. For your assignment, you will extract ideas you see in the pose, and instill them onto unrelated characters and objects.

Lesson 7 - Story

Story is the most important element in all of gesture drawing. All of the earlier topics we covered are meaningless unless they are used in the service of a greater good - telling a story. Your assignment this week will focus on drawing the pose in the context of a story.

Lesson 8 - Final Review

I will review the course topics, talk about how they fit into the final communication of your story, and offer you my final thoughts on gesture drawing and its importance on growing as an artist.

Wish me luck. I'll see you on the other side.
-DC