Project - Rhythms

5.4K
Course In Progress

Project - Rhythms

5.4K
Course In Progress

It’s time to draw the figure! Use the rhythms method I showed in the previous lesson to draw the poses from the photo references in the downloads tab.

Deadline for submissions to be included in the video critique is 10/6/2023.

  • Capture the gesture of each pose using rhythms.
  • Spend at least 5 minutes on each pose, ideally 1-2 hours per session. Take breaks as needed.
  • Shoot for accurate proportions by eyeballing placement of the rhythms. Have an idea of where the line will end before you execute the line.
  • Use the the template as a starting point, but observe the pose. Remember that each pose might have some of their own unique rhythms that differ from the template I proposed. This will develop your own rhythms over time.
  • Balance loose, energetic lines with more committed singular lines. Don't let it get too messy. Consider what we've learned about line quality.

Level 2

There are a few ways to make this more challenging. Mix and match based on your comfort and experience.

  • Set a timer for 5 minutes to force yourself to draw only the most important rhythms.
  • If that's too easy, go for 3 minutes.
  • Practice developing the overhand grip.
  • Try charcoal pencils (sharpened like a bullet) on newsprint paper.
  • Add another layer of smaller rhythms indicating the muscle masses. You can add some time to the clock.
Newest
@bovine_designs
It's pretty disorganized, I try to make use of my as much of the paper as possible 😂 but this was good! I used to snowman so much more w/ my anatomy and I now understand why my poses are super stiff! Ill keep practicing, figure drawing is one of my favorite exercises.
Rachel Dawn Owens
I love figure drawing, especially the fast poses and I love you’re drawings here. This one particular figure you drew might be my favorite. The long curves are really dynamic and feel animated. The little triangle tip is something I do sometimes that I think could help this drawing too. Love it ❤️ Keep it up
Angel Kritikos
Level 1 assignment 10 minutes spent most on each.
Melanie Scearce
I love the gestures in both figures on your last page. Keep it up!
Arsen
10d
I think I messed up proportions on second.Might end up doing more of these
Arsen
6d
Axel Gyllenstierna
As always, critique very welcome! Spent more time on this assignment than I intended because of sheer enjoyment! All drawings done on newsprint with the overhand grip (I had some prior experience since drawing from Proko videos back in 2015). As a grand crescendo, I attended a live figure drawing session yesterday. Would warmly recommend it to fellow students. The poses in the live session were 2 minutes, 5 minutes and 10 minutes, break, 10 minutes, 5 minutes and 2 minutes, like a pyramid. Was amazing how much better the latter 2-minute drawings looked compared to the first ones (included time indications on the live drawings). Some things I learned: - Fewer lines with more weight variation has more impact than more lines with equally large weight variation. - Exaggerating the pose makes all the difference! - Increasing the "fish-eye" perspective in a pose can have great effect. - Don't make the head too small! - Simpler shapes are more expressive. - With the correct sharpening of the pencil it feels like painting!
Rachel Dawn Owens
Wow!! These are amazing!!
Rynhardt van Vuuren
Having a intensely tough time with this. Will do more after watching the demo.
Axel Gyllenstierna
I think you did a great job! Especially no 20, well done capturing the weight and proportions of the pose, looks amazing! One thing that might help would be trying to draw more sweeping lines (like you did in the back of pose 03). For example, the lines in pose 18 (especially the right-side shoulder) could be done in a more fluid motion. While doing gesture, don't be afraid to overlap lines and "overshoot". Keep at it!
Patrick Alexander Büchi
First try on the rhythm poses, very fun, but theres lots of spots that could be improved. I definitely need to make this a routine!
@androida
16d
I really really liked this exercise - albeit the messy results. I drew them twice. These are from the second time. B-pencil - I tried to do the overhand grip - it's challenging to control the pressure and line width with it. I erased a lot started adding unnecessary details towards the end. 2 poses per one side of 9x12 inch paper, except my two fave poses with got their own whole sheet on thicker paper. :)
Melanie Scearce
Keep at it! The overhand grip is a big adjustment but it's worth it for the range of motion and resulting flow.
Gloria Wickman
I think the hardest part for me is that I keep falling into essentially doing a quick sketch of the contour instead of really focusing on rhythms. Its a bit of a weird feeling because when I watch the demos it seems obvious what to do and then when it comes to doing it myself I keep reverting back to contour. I tried to push and push myself more and more to focus on rhythms instead, so the later drawings will look more "simple" than the first ones. I also think that my control over line quality is not good and that also contributes to the rhythms not having the smooth, flowing feeling that I'd like them to have. I think my greatest strength in these is that many of them do feel firmly grounded, which was exciting because i usually tend to draw figures that feel like they're floating. I didn't time myself strictly but I tended to go around 7 minutes per sketch and did them in several sessions.
Melanie Scearce
Wow, it sounds like you had a big breakthrough while doing these. Creating that sense of weight and groundedness is not an easy feat! See if you can let up on the pressure you're applying with your lines, at least initially. The first lines you lay down should be light and loose. There are areas on some of your drawings where you can see that you went over the same curves with multiple dark lines. These areas catch the eye and get in the way of the flow.
@androida
15d
It's hard for me to not fall into the contour following either. It think you did a good job finding the spine curve in many of these - that'll be a helpful skill later :)
Kyle
16d
This project was a struggle, I never felt like my rhythms felt fluid and were stiff. I’m sure doing a lot of them would help but I’m not feeling motivated to. I’ll definitely come back to these at some point since I’m really interested in figure drawing!
Nicole
20d
Really tried using FORCE here like Mr Mike Mattesi mentioned. I realize I enjoy doing gestures most of all in figure drawing!
Rachel Dawn Owens
Keep your love of gesture. You will learn so much.
Randy P
23d
Had a tough time with this assignment. Spent several days trying to improve on finding rhythms with many iterations and watching both demo vids. Still need to improve in trying to get proportions correct with fewer search lines but think I need to move on from this lesson in order to avoid getting stuck.
Rodolphe MIGON
Here are my attempts; they were really fun !
Tyson
27d
I tried again after watching more demos.
@yashimon
30d
I tried 5poses. I realized that I like figure drawing!
Martha Muniz
Awesome! Definitely see the nice stretch and pull of the poses. It also helps to look for the counterbalance to the stretch, usually on the opposite side, where the push and squash will be as the figure bends and compresses into itself. It's especially a key part of making the torso feel real and dynamic. Keep up the great work!
@yashimon
30d
@pmirko
1mo
i went and drew all the 24 reference, here some f them...it was very challenging
Melanie Scearce
These look very elegant!
Sajil Sewpersad
Had a lot of fun with these
Melanie Scearce
I really love the gesture of the dancer in the top row!
Laurent Van Acker
Challenged myself to do all 24 before watching demo and critiques (as that's a few hours of content). Most went fast, and noticeably got faster the more I progressed. What do you think could improve? I doubt I don't have blind spots :). I consulted the eBook a few times as well, but I'm really eager to watch the demos and continue with new drawings!
Melanie Scearce
Very solid drawings! I love the gesture of #3 and #20. Keep pushing the degree of exaggeration of gesture in these poses. Some of the less dynamic poses are a bit stiff. Look for patterns that you can push with some invention and lean into the power of asymmetric curves. Sometimes you might push it too far, but that's okay. You have to break it sometimes so you know where the limit is.
Laurent Van Acker
The remaining four (max 20 images).
@squash
1mo
Started off a bit rough with the first few, but I think I got somewhat better by the end. Still a long way to go though.
Tyson
1mo
I did four, to start. I'm not totally convinced this isn't some sort of woo-woo, but what the heck, it's kind of fun.
@deadsm
2mo
My hand hurts from the overhand grip, but I feel like I am getting the hang of using the force shapes. These are, in order, left to right, and I can definitely see what Stan meant about warming up. My last one was quicker and more solid. I'm actually surprised that the proportions aren't the worst, even though I didn't think about them as I went.
Full course
You will be given unexpiring access to watch the videos online .
View course details
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
Help!
Browse the FAQs or our more detailed Documentation. If you still need help or to contact us for any reason, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!