Here some beans I made over the last couple days, first set was done by myself (unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to do more, but I'll do that now to warm up) and the last two images were done following this video. I definitely feel like I have difficulty identifying twists in the body, so that's something I'll work on, but is there anything else that I could improve on?

After 2 years I have returned to this exercise. Working on these beans again, I am reminded how deceptively difficult it is to execute a good bean. Several nuanced issues are being solved with relatively few lines. This is great in terms of line economy, which is very important in gesture, but also requires more comprehension of underlying concepts to execute properly. As you can see in the attachments, I am by no means a master of this exercise. I have studied the figure a decent amount over the past couple of years, and it was always so demotivating to struggle so much with this simple concept. I regret to say I have avoided working on this problem. It made me feel like I had studied the wrong material all this time, and I can't help but think not understanding this concept holds my figures back a decent amount, especially my quick sketch. So what I'm going to do now is use this comment section here to think through my issue step by step, and marry things I do know with the concept I am trying to learn. This is bound to get very specific and detailed, but I just need the space to think. This will mostly be noted for myself, so if these ideas don't apply to how you approach things feel free to ignore them. With that being said let's get into it... I believe the main factor that complicates things, especially as I compare my beans to the ones Stan's did in this demo, is overlap, Understanding all the factors dynamically influencing the overlap between the two volumes seems to be key. Let's first look at this problem in its most simple form. Looking at the figure from above, the ribcage should necessarily overlap the pelvic form. Consequently, when looking from below, the pelvis is now on top. While this is true it only applies under high degrees of foreshortening becoming harder to apply with twists in the forms. So I'm going think through this issue in a Logical step-by-step manner. Lets first abstract and box out the bean into its 2-D graphic shape, ignoring twist for the moment (I'll include an example below). If this is done correctly, a single pinch, and consequently, an overlap becomes clear(excluding twists that operate by slightly different rules, which is explained later). This is why twists are so hard, at least for me. I get bogged down with visualizing the overall movement and turning of the two forms to each other, it slows me down and increases the chance I will miss the primary tension in the overall shape. My theory right now is for every bean, I need to solve the Primary pinch first before I even tackle the center line. This sounds obvious as I say it but I find this has a lot more practical use when considering the twisting forms of the bean, which I seem to struggle with the most. First, you solve the Primary pinch as described, and decide which side carries the most tension. In simple terms, decide whether the bean is crunching on its left or right. After this is done, tackle the center line. Decide whether it's an S, C, or if it crosses over both sides. Easier said than done of course, but I think I may have found a trick to avoid confusing myself when doing this. I just need to look at each form individually(pelvis and ribcage) and ascribe a sub-centerline for each in isolation. This may even be the best time to decide to exaggerate as it is still relatively early and it's simple to rotate one form at a time, rather than two at once. After I have done so I can combine the two into a larger more descriptive centerline. I think this method might help identify subtle twists, even double C pinches. If it is a twist go to the side that has been identified as the primary pinch, and on that side, identify the corner that is retreating away from the camera, its contour is on top of the same side edge. If the center line is an S repeat the same concept on the diagonally opposite corner, producing the secondary crease. It is important to note that if the S curve isn't very extreme the secondary overlap will either be very subtle, maybe to the point of being invisible and its only trace is a slight concave in the contour. Okay, I think this is a solid starting point. Next is to go through the tilt, twist, and foreshortening videos, and see how well this ethos applies. Hopefully, I can type out my updated thoughts in a day or two.

These are my attempt after watching the demo and after looking at the critics. After receiving a feedback from the community (thanks again) I tried to do 50 more while focusing on the angles of my centreline and cross contour (I.e., to ensure that the bean actually looks like a “round” form).  Any comments or feedback welcome. In the meantime, onto the next lesson ! 

All my beans, they don’t look super great. Will refine after seeing other posts and further proko demonstration.

Here are the draw-alongs I've done related to this lesson. I had to split them between two days, so 2 different sessions. It's pretty cool to see the evolution through iteration.

Here are my bean drawings. Feedback is welcome

These are my attempt after watching the demo and before looking at the critics. For some of them, I tried variations of different poses to try to nail it down and understand what was happening (with various levels of success lol ). I now know I need to focus on cleaning my lines, taking a bit more time to analyse the pose before placing my shapes to avoid trying to find them on the paper. I will also try to exaggerate the poses a bit. In the meantime, any comments or feedback welcome :)

the last three pages are from the proko videos. occasional confusion with the twists. feedback welcomed and appreciated!

I first attempt to do the bean by on my own (Labed as A.), then did the bean again after watching the demo (D.). I started sloppy at first just to get a feel for it. I was struggling on finding the twists and center lines intuitively, so I made a prop using 2 tennis balls and a sock. I also drew limbs and other features on the bean so I had a better idea on how it all ties together.

This was helpful. The twist poses were particularly challenging. I could almost feel the synapses in my brain straining to reach out to each other.

Very good learning I got from this, but I got a bit of confusion as well, I followed the video, paused, did the bean myself, then saw Stan do his' and I did a corrected version if mine was too off (C), in the case of the leaning woman at 19:41, I though his initial solution was correct, the "answer" looks strange to me, following the logic of the corners closer to use will overlap over the corners farther from us, the answer doesn't quite make sense to me, (woman's shoulder is coming towards us so it should in theory overlap), I wish stan explained why the "answer" was correct so I could understand it better, if anyone has the explanation they could share, I would really appreciate it, also feedback on my beans :P!

This was fun! The way I approached this, was to pause the vid, have a go, and then see how Stan did it. That's why there are some corrections here and there. I feel my lines are starting to flow better (still getting used to the overhand grip,) which makes the process much more enjoyable :)

Some bean practice from the examples. Also drew them again after watching the example. And a 30 min gesture for warmup.

Looking for some critique as to how I am doing with regards to capturing the gesture. These were done in about 10 - 15 min each for a total of 1h 6m this evening. I did a lot better on my tablet having the models right beside my sketches. I prefer traditional mediums but this was me trying to do something different to see if I can improve with my digital medium.

A handfull of the many beans I practiced past 2 weeks (I think these are from the last 3 sessions) Overal it was doable, the only thing that confused me sometimes was combining the bend forward with the twist as it broke the rules of drawing a twist due to perspective. I kinda figured to let go of the rule and just try to draw what I saw. If anyone has tips on this or other feedback I would appreciate it!

I had a hard time with some of the images provided that looked like they were twisting and some other pose. With poses I knew were twisting, I kinda struggled with how to put my curves on the beans. Also foreshortening like, bending forward into a fetal position were hard for me. Any advice would be helpful!

Had difficulty with twisted torso.

the pose at 7.30 is marked as wrong by Proko and this same pose is explained as the correct one in the earlier bean video. It looks completely correct to me and the explanation is also right. Can anyone help make sense of this? Why suddenly this is marked as incorrect here?

Beans

Trying to get used to twists and turns, first time doing these types of beans so any critique would be welcome :)