Bad Habits

Hey folks, I'm brand new here and I want to learn how to make my drawings more fluid and dynamic. I spent an hour drawing gestures today, and I think I'm doing ok as a beginner, but they aren't quite right. Can someone take a look and tell me how I can start heading in the right direction? Since I'm brand new, I want feedback on my first drawings so I don't start developing bad habits. (I've only done gesture drawings a few times in my life, so these are some of my first.) Thank you!



https://imgur.com/a/I3AZfoY



Also, what the heck are you supposed to do with 30 minute poses? I feel like I ended flooding the page with lines and making my drawing muddy before the 15 min mark...

Habit #1: It's better to do 10 minutes a day than an hour a couple of times and then go on a lengthy break. There is no habit that will get you further in art than developing a consistent daily practice.

Habit #2: develop a consistent, daily practice that is long enough to gain skills but short enough to avoid burnout. If your goals are too steep to actually accomplish, you're going to quit.

Habit #3: CONSISTENCY IS KEY.

(Yeah, they're all the same habit, but it's that important.)

Your poses look fine for someone who has only done gesture drawing a few times. They look the way they do because it looks like you've got some holes in your understanding of anatomy. I wouldn't go longer than 5 minutes on a sketch at this point. Right now, you're just trying to get through the first 1000 lousy drawings so you can cultivate good practice habits and look at lots and lots of anatomy.

This guy on deviantart has only been drawing for about 2 years, and he's awesome now, but he started out fairly bad at drawing. This is a great example of what a consistent and focused practice can do for someone. https://www.deviantart.com/vagabondof

First, I'd like to say I agree with Sarbearstare-- I think shorter, more consistant practices might be more benficial. It might not seem like you're doing alot in the short term, but you will see alot more improvement over time.
I'd also like to add that, one way to make you're drawings more fluid would be to work on making more fluid strokes using your whole arm, rather than a ton of quick, short strokes using only your wrist. It may feel awkward at first, but a few things to help with that could be standing up, and/or having whatever you are drawing on at an angle (like on an easel, for example). Not only does this make your drawings more fluid, but your wrist will thank you in the long run, too.
Hope this helps!

Thank you both for your feedback! I've been doing 20 minutes of practice per day now and I'm focusing on drawing with my shoulder. It's a hard skill to learn!

In terms of anatomy, how do I begin to learn that? Do I trace photos? Do I copy them by sight? Do I need to start learning muscle names and stuff or should I focus more on general shapes and proportions? I just don't know where to start, what to draw and how to draw it.

Thanks again!

I would start with the skeleton and get very comfortable with the proportions of the shin bones to the femur and the forearm bones to the humerus, and then hips and ribcage, and then the skull. Then hands and feet. (The skull, the hands, and the feet are the most complicated parts of the body.) Once you have this, then I'd move on to learning muscle groups. When you start learning the muscle groups, make sure to note them as you're drawing people and see how they look when they're contracted or relaxed. It might also help to notice the muscles on your own body to identify their range of motion. This will help you identify when a pose looks out of wack, but you can't put your finger on why. Good luck!