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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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ASSIGNMENTS![]()
![Jon B]()
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![Samuel Gariépy]()
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![Araphel]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![Victor]()
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![rheannon]()
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![Jon B]()
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![Jon B]()
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![Carson Eagy]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![Turbo Fish]()
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![Ben Kraske]()
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![Rain Kipper]()
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![Stig Johannson]()
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![CharmLotta]()
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![@blydoit]()
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![Kim Solon]()
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![@peter_g]()
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![Hayden Cremer]()
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![Melanie Scearce]()
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![Tofu]()
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![@peter_g]()
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![Melanie Scearce]()
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.
After a week, I decided to go back and use quick pose and limit myself to 180 seconds per pose (normally I spend 15 mins at least). Results uh... As bad as expected.
Interesting to see if I do this a few times a week how things improve.
Will go for a longer time next time. I literally didn't have the time to think of the techniques we learned and I'm definitely not at the point they flow instinctively. Far to easy to just fall back on replicating contours.
Strangely I find the images where models are sitting/laying easier than standing. Go figure.
Definitely need to refresh by watching the videos again before next session
Two sessions of gesture drawing using rhythms. HB pencil in my sketchbook. I'll buy some big newspaper pad and charcoal pencils later today. I tried various poses with unlimited amount of time, 5 minutes, 3 minutes and 1 minute time limits.
I'm not sure if i'm ready for level 2 as I just started seriously drawing this month, and actually started with doing quick gestures every day for half an hour but until now nobody really told me what to look for and how to do it besides the big idea... so this was eye opening i guess?
Anyway, i did five on my own and then watched the demos, drew along with Stan then did three more on my own and I think that's enough for today haah. ordered the pics in the order i drew them.
they look much more faded for some reason than irl. I used a mechanical lead holder with an overhand grip to try it out!
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5d
These are looking good! One thing to note is to be careful about how many lines you're putting down, and how dark those lines are. Some of these have a lot of overlapping sketch lines and the shape gets kind of lost in the scratchiness. At around 13:15 in the project video Stan talks about using multiple lines along with committed lines. Some added lines can add some energy to a pose, but it's also important to be mindful about how you're designing the lines before you put them down. Nice work on these, you've gotten the gesture and pose down on these, keep it up!
It’s really frustrating to see how badly they’ve turned out. I think what makes them look so bad is the proportions. I need to practise this one more.
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5d
Don't be afraid to further break up the shapes of the body, and let your lines overlap as you're drawing to help understand where and how different parts of the body connect and flow together. You're capturing the line of action for these poses very well, I would just practice more in identifying those connections and how you can build your rhythms. It might help to go back to this video and try some of the rhythms that Stan uses, and let them evolve as you get more comfortable. Keep it up! :) https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/draw-any-pose-from-any-angle-rhythms
Found this quite difficult at first but got into the flow of it after a bit, even in subsequent days [level 1]
Took me a long time - Definitely need to lock into the stricter time limiting - but I think that was ok for first time - lots to remember. By the third it was definitely more flow and less think! (Tomorrow I'll do this - less time and detail, more poses)
On a real positive - I'm 5-6 weeks in and im so happy with the fact that for the first time in my life I have drawn (rough!) sketches of people that actually look vaguely like people, and with a somewhat understandable pose!
Strangely Im finding overhand grip much easier for sweeping sketchy lines - really feel like i've learned to hold the pencil looser, and control it better this week.
Critiques welcome - so much to improve. Felt like I only remembered 1 percent of the lessons!
Hands and feet ha wow. Tough puzzles!!
Tried a few more this morning. Forced myself to be quicker, but Still far too slow and hard to resist the urge to erase! but fun!
Feels like more simplification is the key
Had a solid 2 hr session of these. I really need o clean up my lines and make more confident strokes.
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13d
Got some nice solid poses here, great energy! Your lines look good, if I could suggest anything it would be to have your initial sketches be lighter, or to try to ghost your strokes before placing one so there's not as many lines overlapping. Looks really good!
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13d
You did a great job! There's a few things that I think would help to improve what you mentioned. Don't be afraid to let your lines overlap each other as you're drawing! Let your pencil strokes taper and follow through without stopping it abruptly, and the rhythms and lines of the figure will begin to feel more natural. On your last figure, it feels like you went almost too minimal with your lines, and as a result the proportions get a bit lost, and there's abrupt changes between parts of the body, versus a natural flow. I think a bit more observation and being intentional with how you're constructing the rhythms of each body part will result in anatomy and line quality that you're more pleased with. You're doing very well with getting the energy and action of each pose that you drew! Keep up the great work!
Level 1 practice. Struggled with perspective and proportions. And after seeing demos, it seems I prefer too much straight lines for rhythms. Enjoyed this assignment too...
My first few attempts. I definitely a lot need more practice. There are some that are OK as first attempts and others where the proportions are off. It's not necessarily that they are difficult, but I do find them kind of exhausting.
Watch some free videos from other courses - "Gesture" section from "Figure Drawing Fundamentals" also by Stan and "The Gesture Course" by Michael Hampton. There're very helpful.
Here are my first attempts. I speeded up a bit with the last ones.
And am enjoying the exercise much more than i'd expected.
These are my assignments for this project. It was so hard, but I’m glad I still pushed through and did them.
Stan really is a master of rhythm. While I was watching him draw, it looked easy, but when I tried doing it myself, I realized how difficult it actually is. What I ended up doing was adding more details so the drawing would make more sense to me.
I still hope that, with more practice, I’ll learn how to use rhythm more effectively the way Stan does when drawing the figure.
I tried going big now. It is not uncomfortable, however there are some proportional errors that started to appear more vividly the before. I personally think that this is fixable as long as I don’t ruin the paper by passing trough it too much( it already happened several times.)
I really enjoyed trying the overhand method on this project, combined with the charcoal and newsprint, I see why Stan recommends it! I think at times I got too distracted by details on some of the poses but overall i'm happy with how I captured the rhythm on a good portion of them.
* I'm also just now realizing that I struggle to spell the word "Rhythm" on half the pages...
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1mo
Wow, these are excellent! I love the variety of line weights and softness that you used with the charcoal. Nice work 👍
Rhythm assignment (level 1) i did a few days ago. I notice i start to chicken scratch when i cannot figure out what's going on, i think it's also because i don't practice using different body types. Aside from chicken scratching i also noticed i end up focusing on contours (which ends up breaking into different segments) when i am unsure of the rhythm or gesture.
After watching the critique video, i think i still look too much on contours and can be looser. There were rhythms and lines that were pointed out in the video that i didn't manage to capture too.
I am seeing progress with every new pose that I do which is satisfying. Something that is inexplicable to me is my tendency to do the drawings smaller and smaller. I have started with the mindset to draw a pose per page because of the size that I was going for but instead I found out to be more confident when I drew smaller, I don’t know if that is a problem to be concerned about or not ( perhaps some inner fear of messing the bigger picture?)
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1mo
Glad to hear that you're feeling good about your progress! I'll share my observations in regards to the small drawings. I've seen students who feel uncomfortable with drawing with fluid, long strokes, using their whole arm, revert to using shorter lines to compensate. It can indicate a lack of confidence in that case. Small lines don't require practice and conditioning to control. There are some artists however who do beautiful work at a small scale, so the fact that you're working small isn't specifically a problem unless you're using your wrist instead of at least your elbow to make your marks, and using a bunch of short, scratchy lines to make up one long line. Issues can arise from working like that, from physical pain in your wrist over time to your drawings ending up looking stiff and lacking dynamism. Take a look at your process and consider specifically how you're making your lines. I hope that's helpful!
