Gesture drawing  

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Gesture drawing, as performed in art schools, academies, and colleges, is the practice of drawing a series of poses taken by a model in a short amount of time, often as an exercise with which to begin a life drawing session. The model may hold a pose for a few seconds or several minutes.

More generally, a gesture drawing may be any drawing which emphasizes action or movement.

Purpose

The primary purpose of gesture drawings is to facilitate the study of the human figure in motion. This exploration of action is helpful for the artist to better understand the functions and exertions of muscles, and acts as a foundation upon which more sustained observations may be based. The practice allows an artist to draw strenuous poses that cannot be held by the model long enough for an elaborate study, and reinforces the importance of movement, action, and direction, which can be overlooked during a long drawing. Thus, an approach is encouraged which notes basic lines of rhythm within the figure, which may be expressed through contour (line) or mass (value). The rapidity of this routine suggests an aesthetic which is most concerned with the essence of the pose, and an economy of means in its representation, rather than a careful study of anatomy or form.

For the artist, there is a calisthenic logic: just as an athlete warms up before exercising or participating in sports, artists use gesture drawing to prepare themselves mentally and physically for a figure drawing session. The fast pace of gesture poses can also help an artist "loosen up" to avoid a stiff drawing style.

For some artists, a gesture drawing is the first step in drawing a long pose, in order to map out the proportions before building up detail.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Gesture drawing" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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