The Gesture Course
Intro to Gesture
Proportions
Learning Gesture
Difficult Poses
Now that we've covered gesture drawing basics—focusing on ideas over copying—let's dive into proportions.
Newest
Zander Schmer-Lalama
3d
Here’s my attempt at the proportions. I did Mr. Hampton’s demo and did my own attempt from memory. I believe I did fairly well, even though I had some mistakes and some fine tuning. Advice and feedback is appreciated!
@thaihoch
9d
Thomas Sperl
11d
Very well explained. Love it so far
Mario Ulloa
13d
Was just following along while watching to stay active
Stevie Roder
1mo
I know I'm a bit late to turn in the critique video for this lesson. But as I watched the video the other day, I slowly noticed that beginning-level gesturing is a lot of fun. I must admit I am having trouble with correctly getting the proportions and angles alongside the alignment on each body segment. But I plan on continuing with plenty of practice. This was a fun first lesson.
katherine
1mo
Still learning drawing, but your class is really helping me better understand the idea I want to get down on the page. Also, I think I may have too much of an angle on the side view of my chart. Thank you!
Martin Defensor
1mo
I still need to learn more about the directional angles of the upper body and the alignment of the spine. Thanks for the explanation!
Emily
1mo
“I can’t do math at all. It doesn’t work for me. My head’s never accepted it on any level.” Thank you for your relatable humor! A little late to this posting party, but here is my attempt.
Tara Smith
1mo
Great intro and first lesson. Here is my lesson. The rib cage is a bit thick so may try again.
@it0
1mo
There we go, easier seeing it than doing it ;)
@kthom4477
1mo
My first stab at the proportions
Ari a
1mo
So I tried to do it, but I think this doesnt look good
Michael Giff
1mo
The big ideas are there though! A few observations from my novice eyes:
I would say for your front view the larger hand size is correct! Beware of tiny hands!
Your femur joint (greater trochanter) seems to be a tad low. It should be 2/3 the way down the pelvis this looks like it's touching the bottom which will shorten the bone. (screen grabbed an example from the lesson for ya)
I'd advise to post your work on the project tab, that would give you a better chance for the teacher or more advance students to review your work. (I am a very, very, very, basic student and you deserve to talk to someone that knows what they're doing!)
Hope that was helpful, best of luck in your art journey!
Noreen Long
1mo
I used newsprint and pencil. Thanks for teaching this way of giving structure to the human form. It was new to me; I struggled and now feel much more confident. I have a system! thanks, Michael.
@yzz
1mo
I feel that my proportions are a bit off, especially around the torso
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1mo
Nice!
Glenn Hughes
1mo
Really enjoyed this. I've always struggled to understand gesture so this course is really welcomed. Looking forward to how we build from here.
Allen Gordon
1mo
Can’t wait to get further in this course already! I’m also realizing why my older gestures looked like they were scrunched.
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1mo
Nice work!
Sarah Rivera
1mo
I really liked the bit about just cutting the line at the bottom to make it 7.5 heads tall. I've always been so confused making shorter people because I don't know how to divide the proportions! Do you just keep chopping off the legs? When do you adjust the torso proportions so it doesn't look odd and how can you do it so you end up with a 6 head figure rather than a tiny 8 head figure? Should I try it for the critique video or stick to more conventional proportions?
Also really loved the comparison to the horse! I also love drawing animals so it was super interesting! Would love more tidbits like that further in the course.
@arylide
1mo
I feel like this is such important information, but I've never even really seen it or heard it before.
Jay Nightshade
1mo
Having an overview of the proportions this early in the course will help a ton. I found that a lot of times, it's added in towards the end of a course. I struggled with it. Time to practice. Thanks Michael!
Mon Barker
1mo
Great explanation Michael, I definitely draw hands too short, legs too long, butt too high and so on. Would it help with gesture to know at least some basic anatomy of muscles and bones or are these big ideas, as you say, enough for this course? Guess we’ll pick up some anatomy along the way - really cool how easily you drew that arm. Cheers.
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About instructor
Educator, painter, writer, and art historian. Author of Figure Drawing: Design and Invention.
