gesture or figure first?

Hi!
Im confused.

Should I go for in-depth figure study first
before doing gesture drawing?

or is the opposite or maybe do both alternately?

based on your experiences which is more effective to learn the anatomy by heart?

Hi there!

My advice is to practice gesture drawing first. The idea of gesture drawing is to give you a feel for the motion in the image and get you comfortable with recognizing the proper proportions necessary to make drawings that look right.

In case you haven't seen them yet, I recommend giving these articles a look-over:

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

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

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

You have to keep in mind that for many many artists, gesture drawings (including people who draw cartoons) are the core foundation of what makes a realistic image. Stiff images, even when anatomically correct, are not too appealing in most circumstances.

You will also find out that once you have captured the motion of the image, it's MUCH easier to build on that gesture sketch and create a detailed work of art. Almost every artist I know of starts with the basic 'circle for head, shape for torso, shape for hipbones, attach joints and limbs in the form of small circles and stick lines', and if you get this base wrong, you're much more likely to have a deformed or disproportionate end result.

Knowing anatomy by heart takes time and practice, especially if you want to get more detailed. You already cover about 50% of anatomy with gesture drawings though!

I hope this was helpful to you. :) Let us know if you have more questions!

thanks, Sanne!

Your feedback was helpful.
gotta do lots of gesture drawings this month. :)

Great advices, Sanne! I'm newbie in this forum, but I'm an old fan of this site.
Your tips will help me too!

The emphasis on gesture drawing really makes sense — I've often struggled with stiff figures, and this puts into words why that happens. The articles you linked are super helpful too, especially for visual learners like me. I’ll definitely be incorporating more gesture practice into my routine from now on. Thanks again for taking the time to write this out — it's genuinely encouraging!

Hey @xwagame,
That’s a great question — I used to wonder the same when I first started balancing gesture vs. anatomy. In my experience, doing them together but with intention works best. Gesture helps you capture rhythm and flow, while in-depth figure study solidifies the structure underneath.

I sometimes start my mornings doing quick 2-minute gestures to “wake up” my hand and eye coordination — kind of like warming up with small sketches or reference photos. Then later in the week, I’ll switch to longer poses and detailed anatomy breakdowns.

If you’re into visual inspiration, I found that looking at expressive imagery — even outside anatomy — helps me think about form and mood differently. For example, I often browse immagini buongiorno e buona domenica collections just for their composition, lighting, and color use. It sounds random, but observing how emotions are conveyed visually really helps my gesture drawing loosen up.

Keep experimenting and rotating focus — that’s what eventually helped me connect gesture, structure, and storytelling in my figures.