Project - Rhythms

5.5K
Course In Progress

Project - Rhythms

5.5K
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
Tyre Blackshire
This one was harder than I thought it would be. I found it hard to not just follow the contour. Drawing with my entire arm still feels kind of awkward to me so my lines are probably not as good as they could be. Any critique and advice welcome.
Mason Stroud
I enjoyed doing this one a lot! Some poses are definitely harder for me than others. My brain just didn't want to see the rhythms in certain positions. I also spent way too much on each one. About 15 minutes each. Going to try the level 2 next to force myself to go faster. I also need to work on accuracy. Critiques welcome!
Melanie Scearce
These are solid drawings! Just a word of advice, if you want to work faster you may sacrifice on accuracy a bit. But as a reward, you may get more exaggerated gesture. The more you understand about anatomy the faster you can go accurately, so working quickly can be a good test to see where the gaps in your knowledge are. Keep up the good work :)
@hobodios
Sorry for the bad pictures/order I got carried away and filled almost the entire sketchbook with these but here are some good and bad poses I did. Aside from the bad line quality (because I'm still getting used to the overhand grip :sob:) my main issue is that sometimes I cant tell if my poses are flowy or stiff Idk why its just really hard for me to be able to tell the difference. I would appreciate it if someone gave me feedback thank you!!
Aubrey Hannah
Here are my practice sketches that I did for the project. The numbers represent which reference photo I used for the poses. I think one of the fundamentals I will focus on most after completing this course will be figure drawing and gesture. I'm pretty good with my line work, but I'd like to become more versatile with my use of shapes.
@hobodios
11:57 Does anyone have an example of an artist or strategy on how to capture the gesture without using rhythms? I'm curious :D
Lost 247365
There are parts I’m happy with and parts I’m very displeased with. I struggled not to revert to the tripod grip on the level 2 ones by pure habit.
@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
19d
I think I messed up proportions on second.Might end up doing more of these
Arsen
15d
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
25d
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
24d
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
25d
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
29d
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
1mo
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
1mo
I tried again after watching more demos.
@yashimon
1mo
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
1mo
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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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