Can't finish quick sketch in time

https://line-of-action.com/article/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action

https://line-of-action.com/article/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips

https://line-of-action.com/article/gesture-basics-3-joints

Line of action+pelvis+ribcage+12 dots for joints+12 sticks for limbs... That makes one action in sec, right, not mentioning figuring out the proportion and planning the action?

Ooops 30 sec are out. Actually more often I can't even make the above carcass work in time. And it's not precise at all. Not mentioning any realistic contour detalisation.

Should I switch to bit slower sketches first, e.g. 60 secs to make the whole work? Or keep doing this 30 sec run, trying to make it even faster?

What about contour? Should 30 sec sketches be just stick figures or a bit more realistic? Should I switch from sticks to the contour or try to do both in given time fast?

How you guys do these realistic sketches in 30 secs?

• Konst54 edited this post on December 6, 2019 10:59am.

Admittedly it is a very brief time and I don't complete all of the points. However I treat these fast sketches as a way to engauge feeling and reaction rather than spending too much time considering and analysising the pose. I use these shorter times to get some focus and then as class mode pans out I find the longer times allow me to develope the full image.

Hope that helps.

If I'm getting your idea right, you don't do the carcass at 30 sec, but mostly action line / contour / accents in freestyle just to warm up? And from 5+ min do the analysis and carcass work? Seems reasonable, thanks.

Found an article with some more details about gesture sketches.

Hi Konst54, to be honest we all learn in our own ways don't we?

May be change the time so you can finish it. It is frustrting when you don't quite have enough time.

Vanessa

To be clear, you're not expected to finish it. These are drills. All you're really looking for with the 30 second drawings is to get a good sense of the flow first - draw your line of action. After that, you can work out some of the basic feel of the different muscle groups.

Definitely, definitely study anatomy if you're not already. Loomis's "Figure Drawing for All Its Worth" is a nice little reference, but I find it's easier to go to more streamlined sources. I like Christopher Hart's "Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy" and Solarski's "Drawing Basics and Video Game Art". I've also had mixed success with some Udemy courses. What's important is that you're just getting a quick feel for how these muscles and bone structures look - gesture drawing will get you in a good head space, and also teach you about how those structures move.

My sessions look like:
30 seconds: Crude lines of action with circles and oval heads
1 min: Some fleshing out of actual forms
5 min: Crude sketches
10 min: Occasionally more detailed sketches
30 min- 50 min: Almost finished sketches - or at the very least, mapped out structures with more consideration for how light affects the parts of the body (planes).

a gesture is more capturing the energy and movement of the pose rather than actually having it look like something. you should not expect to have the proprtions correct, and all the limbs, 30 seconds is more just warming up.

• JBakun edited this post on December 8, 2019 9:51pm.