How to Think About Gesture
How to Think About Gesture
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How to Think About Gesture
courseThe Gesture CourseFull course (27 lessons)
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Gabi Arrieta
This lesson was very interesting!. Now I need a complete art history course with Mr. Hampton, please Proko make it happen😄
LESSON NOTES

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In the full lesson, we break down the fundamentals of gesture drawing into three key components: understanding why we draw gestures, determining what we're drawing, and deciding how to achieve the desired look. We'll explore the importance of abstraction in conveying ideas, using simple lines and shapes like curves, straights, and basic forms to express complex concepts. You'll learn how elements like the line of beauty and rhythm enhance your drawings, and how shapes influence character perception in design. We'll also dive into capturing non-verbal communication and body language to tell a story through your figures. By understanding these concepts, you'll develop a personal and effective approach to gesture drawing.

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COMMENTS
Michael Hampton
Let's break down the nebulous concept of gesture—it's about conveying ideas and emotions through abstract lines and shapes in your drawings.
Newest
Shayna Boyce
Good first lesson!! I look forward to the rest :D
Ash
2mo
Nice notes! We hope you have a great time with the rest of the course. Can't wait to see what you draw :)
Shiro
3mo
Hi Hiiiii !!! Thank you so much Mr. Hampton I've learnt a lot ! this was my attempt when the course released, I've learnt alot about shapes and most importantly body language. The fact that mixing these shapes and playing around creates complex characters is sooo incredible to me. Thank you so much to our teacher and everyone else who's attempted this lesson.
@abhilashpillai21
I never really understood gesture and then I saw your video on youtube and it clicked. Just one free lesson early in the morning and I was able to do a few gesture drawings. So immediately subsribed to your course. Today was my first lesson. Thank you !
@juriga
4mo
As someone who unfortunately never learned a lot of these concepts in an educational setting I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed this lesson, so much that makes sense but I feel like I've never put those pieces of the puzzle together before. Really looking forward to learning more on this journey.
@b1egun
5mo
Wonderful lesson! By the way, I love little curiosities like the one about hands. That when a character raises their hands, it naturally draws more of our attention 😊
@fweise
5mo
Great introduction and video/audio quality. I like the course is starting out with basic definitions and background information even based on deduction from other known artists. Analysing the abstract shapes of popular arts really helps me to understand the psychological motivation. Yet I am still wondering if this approach holds mostly true for modern productions (by e.g. Disney, Sony, etc.) or also for Fine Arts and old master techniques (such as David Kassan, Rembrandt, etc.)? I hope to find out throughout the course and for the following the course to help me devlop a stronger foundation for live drawings of real humans.
@xsamhainx
6mo
All i gotta say is the constant blinking back and forth between zoom levels on the video whenever he's on camera, very distracting and annoying. Pick a zoom level and stick with it already, Proko :)
Michael Hampton
My bad
Mario Ulloa
I came here expecting to learn about the body. but learning so much about archetypes, story stereotypes and how sometime you can use shapes to break conventions in visual story is such a plus in this class already.
Fernando Gomez Sancha
Your first lecture is a joy to watch. Impressive work. Congratulations Michael, it is already worthwile having purchased the course.
Lin
8mo
I am currently doing his head course and have his figure course in the queue (while doing Marshall’s perspective class) but every single notification I get about this is so enticing. XD I think I might cave and just get it even if I can’t do 3 at once efficiently.
Eric Bunn
9mo
Can't do this exercise too many times. Really excellent way of expressing the proportions of a figure. I tried to construct this step by step as I progressed through the lesson.
Val
9mo
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so excited for this class! I didn't spot your head and figure construction courses until they were already over, but I am determined to do this one live. Gesture is an at times frustrating subject to me, but the way you break it down simplifies the complexity and emboldens me to push further.
Noreen Long
II am geriatric & wanted to draw a Geriatric model.
Noreen Long
Pencil on smooth newsprint. Took more than 10 hours to understand these simple patterns of design & complete 3 sketches correctly! I feel very good about completing this project & more confident about shape & structural support. Thanks, Michael.
Lesley Rawlings
I’m loving this course but legs are not right, and not sure what to do to fix them.
Stevie Roder
Watched the video last night. Really insightful first intro lesson Michael. I actually pretty much learned the basics from it on what to think about gesture drawing and how to approach it. I am looking forward to the upcoming lessons now. I also loved the in-depth of having us think why n how were doing it as well. Very fun things to take notes on.
Michael Hampton
Glad to hear that!
@andy_essayer
the subtitles between 11:04 - 11:32 is empty, please have a fix.
Sean Ramsey
Sorry about that! I've sent out a fix request and hope it gets resolved tomorrow.
Aritra Das
9mo
When can we expect the next lesson?
Sean Ramsey
The next should go out today!
Paul
9mo
Tried to gesture draw and its really fun to do and a nice change from the basic drawing course that Im following. Still lot of practice needed on my side but Im quit pleased with this attempt. :-)
Michael Giff
The figures do read nicely.
@carrot
9mo
Michael, I’ve been looking forward to this course and think it’s a brilliant way to help people consider what they actually want to convey or create, instead of just jumping in and starting with pencil to paper. (Which can be frustrating when you spend time on something and it’s just not as expressive as you’d like it to be). Terrific 1st lesson, and looking forward to the next!
Michael Hampton
Thank you! So glad to have you.
Ari a
10mo
When are the videos published?
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