This gesture drawing tutorial had some excellent tips that will come in handy for Urban Sketching People. Being able to capture a gesture quickly is an invaluable skill to develop, especially when you’re urban sketching. When people are constantly on the move, sometimes all you have time to do is capture their gesture. But if you’ve made those marks on your page effectively, you’ll be able to fill in the rest of the details around that gesture long after the person have left the scene.
Using Magazines for Gesture Drawing Reference
I used photos from a magazine I had lying around to use as sketching reference to try out these tips. Models make great references when you’re trying to see how the tilt of a head or hip affects the positioning of the rest of the body, or how it affects the line of action.
I didn’t find all 11 tips relevant, but here’s that resonated with me:
- What are the landmarks and how do they relate to each other (a good urban sketching tip)
- No need to measure your figure’s proportions, capture them intuitively. (I do this already)
- To focus on the key elements and not get lost in the detail, focus on capturing C-shaped curves, S-shaped curves, and straight line.
- Use an overhand grip on your pen to keep your style loose (I draw in ink, but I’m going to see which pens I can do this with).
If you have 15 minutes to spare, check out this YouTube gesture tutorial:
Have you watched a good gesture drawing tutorial recently? Leave me a comment with the link so I can check it out.
