How to Simplify the Motion of the Torso – The Bean
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How to Simplify the Motion of the Torso – The Bean

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Mark as Completed

How to Simplify the Motion of the Torso – The Bean

80K
Mark as Completed

Draw the Bean

This week, practice drawing the bean from the pose photos at proko.com/poses. It shouldn’t take you more than 30 seconds to a minute for each pose. Look for tilting, leaning, twisting, and foreshortening. Exaggerate the motion and draw the two volumes, the skin in between, and the centerline.

Post your work and participate.

Newest
Kaelin Harris
Did 30 beans yesterday and today. It s a really fun exercise!
Chuck
21d
I am a beginner and all ill do here is try to discern what i think the subject of the bean was doing for the first 10, in that way it will be a critique of how well you communicated the tilt, lean, forshortening or twist! 1. slight front lean 2. left tilt w/ front lean 3. forshortened front lean 4. upward tilt 5. right tilt and forshortening 6. classic twist 7. right tilt 8. upward tilt 9. classic twist 10. left tilt I really like your use of line weights for the outline i think it just looks clean. There are a few beans like 24,4,7 that i thought should have a centerline to emphasize their flow through space a little better. But these shapes are strong and really sell the illusion.
@magnumexpress
Some 30 second beans I did from Sekaa and Marcia poses. Really want to better understand this exercise, so any critiques or tips will be appreciated Number code in corner is the model name (S = Sekaa, M = Marcia) and the corresponding pic number in the model pack
Rich Lowenberg
Hey Proko team, I think the link to the poses is dead in this lesson.
Val
2mo
I still struggle with the bean. it makes so much sense when I look at it but attempting it on my own is whole different thing. Also, the figure on the right is from my imagination and the figure below is from a reference.
Martha Muniz
Keep at it! I think you've got some nice stretch and squash in your practices, though I recommend trying out different pose variations, like a sideways curve instead of just front and back. You're definitely on the right track though, you've got this!
Cristian Reyes
Definitely need to work on my line quality. My biggest struggle as far as the bean is the extra details: the folds, the twists that make Proko's beans so descriptive. I really struggle to put these details in and make them aesthetic. Hope it's clear which bean belongs to which pose, Ill be sure to number them next time
Rachel Dawn Owens
Beautiful beans here. It is clear which one goes to which reference. You got it. You might just be overthinking the folds. Use fewer marks and keep it simple. It might feel weird at first, but give it a shot.
Cristian Reyes
sorry not a submission but is there a recommended pose pack? too many options and Idk i can only buy one rn
Quinn Ingram
If you're on a budget and need free poses, line-of-action.com is a good resource
Alek
3mo
It lowkey sucks so bad :(( My arm refuses to follow what i wanna do
Rachel Dawn Owens
Drawing is a humbling thing. As you learn, you level up your eye, your hand, and your mind. It can be frustrating when your hand lags behind but, keep practicing. It gets easier over time. It’s part of the process. These beans are looking nice. You kept your lines long, light and loose. Nice work. Keep going!
@dropfeeling
First attempt at bean drawing. It's quite difficult figuring out the twists.
@elyusium
3mo
These are actually quite well shaped, good job. I would suggest you to now try to do them with cleaner, more continuous lines. Focus on big gestural motions, drawing them bigger overall. It will become easier to feel the gesture that way. And don’t forget to pay close attention to how you place the center lines, they will make or break your volumes. Best of luck! :)
Dave S
5mo
Bean practice.
Robert
5mo
Here are some beans I did. I got one question regarding tilt: When you got someone in profile and there is pinching happening, how do you indicate that. I usually draw the pelvis over the ribcage or the other way around but what do I do, if the ribcage and the pelvis are on the same level or the same distance away from you? Would appreciate some feedback
Rachel Dawn Owens
I would say, just pick one part of the bean to be in the front. The overlap will give the drawing more dimension.
Nicole Guz
6mo
Eric Birdman
Beans from the Proko Gesture Reference Sampler. I drew all of them, Please critique, and thanks in advice
W.I.M.U
7mo
Here’s my new approach to the bean ! Any feedback is welcome. I added a bit of shadow though I’m not sure if I’m supposed to do that. @Bob Ross is it any better then before?
Soul
7mo
Hi, I think it'd help if you drew them a bit bigger, like just having 5 ones done to the best of your ability covering an entire page, so that we can see it clearer. And also, this is sorta an extra step but using Canva to sorta group the references with the drawings could help, it's free too. Or maybe numbering them using the editing stuff in your phone with the corresponding picture could be cool too
W.I.M.U
7mo
I have been practicing the bean for a while now and I am absolutely desperate for help. It feels like I still don't quite understand how to deseing the forms or make them look enjoyable to look at . I've been trying to focus on making them accurate, but the lines and the forms don't come out very nicely. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Bob Ross
7mo
My first recommendation is to get blank paper. It's much harder to read the beans on lined paper. The other is to do them bigger and make sure your using your arm to draw. The final thought is to really look at the motion before drawing, for exemple in 1 there's no real sense of them stretching up in the in the bean and the twist is missing in the bean, based on the bean I'd expect them t obe standing upright.
@fruchtose
7mo
Here are some beans I've been practicing. I'd love a critique.
Soul
7mo
Hey :) Good stuff, but I think it'd be a more approachable to critique you if you did just a few poses to post, like maybe your 5 best ones.
Jocelynn Darlene
Here are some of my lil beanses
Soul
8mo
If you can, could you include the references too? To compare where you exaggerated and stuff too :P
Giorgi Karkuzashvili
Beans before watching demos and critiques. Was actually fun
Soul
7mo
Hi @Giorgi Karkuzashvili, I think you're off to a good start but it's a bit hard to see the photo. I'd recommend using a page dedicated to just a few poses, maybe 5 max, and then also posting it with the reference image as well. And then it'd be a bit more approachable to go in depth on the nuances of your beans. Best wishes :^)
Jocelynn Darlene
Nice! Let's see the after demo results. I just finished this lesson and found the beans fun to draw aswell.
Phil
9mo
More beans! Cleaner and more intentional on this attempt
Chee Rei Tan
These are some of my bean attempts. I used the poses from the videos without copying Mr. Proko. I struggled the most with foreshortening and twisting. (Foreshortening is quite hard because I wasn't sure how foreshortened the ellipse should be, twisting is hard because I'm not sure which direction is the pose twisting to exactly) Would appreciate any feedback given, thanks!
Rachel Dawn Owens
These look great! All I notice is this one bean is missing the midline in the front. I also added a line for more pinch to the side. This little extra overlap helps the beans pop Keep it up!
DrawYer
10mo
These are my beans attempts before watching the demo. I realised (after watching the demo), that I was following the forms that I was seeing a bit too much, instead of trying to simplify it. It’s part of the training I guess.  I often tried multiple variations of the same pose to see what I could improve or if something was missing. Some twists give me brain knots I won’t lie.  As usual, any comments or feedback welcome :)) 
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Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
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