Hello Max! I think that this drawing is lacking a variety of edges, I'm mostly seeing hard and firm edges, you need to get better at making and identifying where to make soft edges, remember that learning art is more learning to see than learning to paint/draw. That skill of observation will develop by observing instructors interpret references, watching them draw and you being aware of those decisions, or at least I think I improved the most that way. As for the technique, you also need to practice making soft gradations so you can make a form turn beautifully, keep practicing the simple forms, balls, cones and you'll get better

I like the Ss in the lower figure and the gesture is generally there in the entire sketch. Though I think the lower figure could use more variety in terms of straights vs curves. It seems too fluid like spaghettis. If possible, I recommend Proko's figure drawing course - the free videos - on the gesture tactic CSI. Your upper figure is incorrect in that it doesn't mimic the gesture of your reference accurately. I don't know whether it is by design. I understand that it is okay to exaggerate with gesture drawing, but I think your figure doesn't reinforce the one of your reference. Your reference has force and power but yours seems to tone down on those two aspects. Also, I think it would be nice if you draw with abandon. With gesture drawing (or even quick sketches), having fun is part of the process. Your sketch indicates a lot of erasing. Practice getting it right with more confident and free form strokes. I think it is okay to draw over your lines provided you keep your strokes light. Aim to get the gesture you want. Let loose and draw. With time, it will be second nature. I'm not there yet myself but I'm working on it. You are not alone. Have fun! (please forgive my illustration, freehand drawing with a mouse is not easy. but i hope it helps to get the point across)

I think what you could do is focus less on getting proportions + perspective right and more on capturing the feel and motion of the pose. The perspective and proportion on these look good, but the top one looks kind of stiff. For gesture, it's helpful to start with drawing something like a stick figure. A way you can start doing that is draw one line of action that captures the main movement in the pose, it usually follows the movement of the spine. You can also add lines for the arms and legs. You won't draw a lot of lines, and usually the lines you draw will be pretty big. The way most people practice gesture is by doing a bunch of really fast drawings, and usually when you start out they'll be pretty messy. Practicing gesture is also a great time to get used to using an overhand grip. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMC0Cx3Uk84) Here's a website that explains it a bit better than I do, that you can also use for reference photos: https://line-of-action.com/learn-to-draw I hope that was helpful, and if you have any questions, please ask!

Hey Max, When we say gesture drawing, what we are talking about is the flow of the pose. We want to find a long flowing line to describe the pose. The lines we use should be either a "s" curve or "c" curve. The reason this is so important is that as we add structure and details, it can stiffen up the pose. As you can see in the drawing, you used straight lines to describe the pose which causes it to be stiff. I hope this helps in your gesture drawings going forward :)

gesture drawing